Tw: description of injury

PoV: Scar

The earth shakes.

I drop the blocks I'm crafting, backing from the workbench as the world rumbles around me. My breathing quickens, heart racing. Only a hand gripping tight to the wall stops me falling. The objects carefully placed on my shelves crash to the floor. Bottles shatter, the smell and smoke of potions cloud the air. The ceiling shudders, threatening to cave in. I take another step towards the door. My mind scrambles for logical answers and finds none. What's happening? Why is this happening? Is this everywhere? Am I even near the epicenter or is it worse elsewhere? Can I fly and avoid it? My hand burns against the shaking wood, splintering into my palm until blood slicks it.

I lose my grip. Unbalanced, screaming, I stumble backwards. The world disappears and I crash to the tracks below the train. The word keeps shaking beneath me as I lie there, unable to stand. One of the hanging plants strikes the ground next to my head and I curl up tight, hands covering my face. Fear burns through my chest. I struggle to breathe. Behind, I hear creaking growing louder, something splintering.

Something snapping.

I glance through my fingers to see the sun gone, the world shrouded in shadow.

The giant redwood tree falling in my direction.

I can't move.

I can't escape.

All I can do is scream as it slams to the ground.

'...no this isn't good...'

'...kind of earthquake, I felt it from...'

'...only cause we can find...'

'...ck there's blood over here...'

'...someone under it scar's stuck...'

'...car? Scar? X, dude, help he's trapped...'

'Is he breathing? Is he alive?'

'...loody hell I'm gonna vomit.'

'Then go elsewhere! Observe the tower!'

'Scar? Scar, wake up, man. Please...'

A hand in mine. Pain. Blinding light,

'Cub...? Why am...'

'...ove the FUCKING TREE that's ON TOP OF...'

'...take too long he'd bleed or glitch out before we get it off...'

'...A TERRIBLE PLAN, X!'

'Cub I can't...' Everything hurts. I can't move. There's something heavy on top of me. Someone's holding my hand.

'It's ok, Scar. I'm here. I'm right here.'

'...die anyway if we do nothing! Xisuma please we can't...'

My clothes are stiff and sticky with something. There's a reek of blood everywhere. Cub sits next to me tears in his eyes. There's something on top of me I can't move.

'Ow... Ow... C-Cub what happened I...'

'...stay right where you are, Scar. It's ok. Xisuma's finally...' 'that tree, and you'll be free.'

'Exactly, Scar.'

There's blood in my mouth. Why is there blood in my mouth. Why can't I breathe? Why can't I move?

The weight lifts.

The tree's gone.

I open my eyes, blinking, trying to speak. Cub's there, and Grian. And Xisuma. Holding material firm against me. It's covered in blood. I'm covered in blood.

'What- ouch- ow... ow...'

'You're awake?'

'I don't know. I don't know what happened. There was an earthquake?'

'One of the trees fell on you. We've been trying to free you for a few hours now.'

'And the Watchers... they...'

'Don't.' Xisuma cuts down Grian before he can speak.

'Watchers?' I try to sit up. Agony explodes through me and I yell with pain. Cub forces me back down, panic in his eyes.

'Woah, woah, woah, Scar, stop. Stop. Now. Please.' I stop moving immediately at the terror in Cub's voice 

'I... I'm not moving, Cub. I'm not. I promise I won't move. I... just... please... tell me what happened. The ground shook... I fell out the train and then... the tree just... I couldn't move away, Cub. I couldn't move...'

For a moment, Cub doesn't speak. I ask another question.

'Am I gonna die?'

'No, no. You won't die.' There's confidence in Cub's voice, enough to allay some fear. 'The tree... it broke your right leg and arm, a few ribs. A couple of branches cut deep but didn't damage anything vital, most injuries are just scratches. There was a... lot of blood loss. But we've stemmed it. We've covered everything.'

'And- and my base?'

Cub's confidence falters.

'There's a lot of damage. It'll take a while to rebuild.'

'And there's the...' Grian pauses. The worry Cub's detailed description dissipated returns. 'The stuff the Watchers left.'

My heart stops.

'What? Cub?'

'They left writing in galactic,' Cub mutters. 'Burned into the ground.'

'Writing?'

'Just one word.' Grian explains. 'Mercury.'

I can't breathe.

Memories flood my mind. Scroll after scroll of the same 3 words. A square symbol on a blank omniscient face. Nightmares of the same charred forest and crumbled buildings. Alone. Always alone. And the Watchers' hissed threats in my ears.'

'You're ours, Mercury.'

'No... no no no...'

'Forever, you'll be ours.'

'Scar, it's ok.'

'No no...'

'It will be ok. We'll fix this.'

'You don't understand. They- that's not how this works.'

'That's not how this works, Mercury. You stay here forever.'

I struggle for breath, tears burn in my eyes, my heart burns in my chest. It's beating too fast. I thought I was free. I'm not free. They came for me. They're going to kill me. They're going to kill me. The Watchers will kill me. They'll hurt me. They'll trap me again.

'Scar, Scar, deep breaths, ok? Deep breaths.' Cub holds my hand tighter, but he can't hug me. I can't hug him. 'We're sorting everything. The Watchers aren't going to hurt you again. I won't let them hurt you.'

'You can't promise that, Cub.' mutters Grian.

'We are here to protect you, whatever the cost, Scar. We're never letting them hurt you like they did before.'

'They attacked him with his own tree! Imagine if that was the fire-tree, Cub. What then? We barely got here in time as it was. The Watchers are leaving threats specifically for him!' With every one of Grian's questions, my panic grows further and further out of control.

'Grian, fuck off, you're making this worse!'

'He needs to know, Cub! We haven't even mentioned the worst part.'

There's.

More?

Ignoring everything the hermits said about staying still, I hug Cub. Pain flares through me. I black out for a second, but don't let go of Cub, sobbing in his lap. Every sob hurts. Every movement hurts.

'SCAR NO!'

'I said FUCK OFF!' Cub snarls at Grian. I feel his growing vex magic. The pain doesn't fade. The terror doesn't fade. Cub can't hug me back, just running a hand through my hair as I lie there, sobbing. I manage to turn my head towards my base. The redwoods that took so long to perfect, fallen and broken. The station, crushed by one of them. I see the deep cracks in the ground, all leading to-

'Scar, no, don't-'

It's too late.

I stare at the stone structure as utter dread fills me.

And the Secret Keeper stares back.