To make up for the last chapter, I made this one longer than normal :)

Warnings: Blood

~Vikk's P.O.V.~

     "Nngh..."

     Well. That's a surprise. I'm not dead, which really should be a good thing, but being dead doesn't sound too bad right now. I inwardly grumble, pain encasing my entire body along with a pounding headache. After all, if I was dead, I wouldn't be feeling this much pain. At least... I don't think so. I haven't been dead before, so who's to say? Whatever... I guess I should probably open my eyes.

     The moment I crack open my eyes, I think with a start that I might be blind, seeing nothing but darkness all around. But upon turning a bit more, I can see two light sources. One being a bright light off in the distance, and the other a dull warm glow directly in front of me. The first light I recognize to be daylight, which only confuses my more seeing as last time I checked, we were underground. The second light on the other hand, is unmistakably coming from Preston's skin. I'm about to approach him to check if he's okay when I hear shifting to my right, in an area where no light can reach.

     "Ow my head..." A pained voice mumbles.
     "Jerome? Is that you?" I question in the general direction of the voice, trying to pick out its distinctiveness.
     "Yeah, is that you Vikk?" Jerome asks back.
     "Yes, hang on a sec, I think I might have a torch."

     I reach into my inventory, and as I guessed, find a single torch. Pulling it out, the flames instantly light up the area. Jerome is sitting near a corner, a scowl on his face as he rubs his head. Preston is sprawled out on his back near the opposite wall, his skin glowing less bright than it would if he was in good condition. Rob and Lachlan are in the middle of the floor, Lachlan unmoving on his stomach and Rob just beginning to stir. Mitch is out cold near where I am, his arm bent at an odd angle. It seems we're at the bottom of the pit, in a hollowed out area with a hallway stretching in front of us. At the end of this hallway is the daylight I saw a few minutes ago.

     "That was quite a fall..." I comment, glancing up at the drop above us.
     "Jerome? Vikk? Where are we?" A weak voice sounds, which we soon discover to be Rob, now sitting up.
     "The creepers chased us to the edge of the pit and we fell down." Jerome explains, pushing himself to his feet.
     "Oh..." Rob says frowning, "Not exactly what I was thinking in terms of getting down here."
     "Well it's a good think we didn't break anything." Jerome states, cracking his back.
     "You spoke to soon Jerome, look at Mitch." A fourth voice joins.

     Lachlan's now awake too, he seems to have caught enough of the conversation to figure out what's going on. He nods towards Mitch, and we all glance at his bent arm, which is clearly broken.

Just then Preston's skin glows a tad brighter, and he too is regaining consciousness. He groans and rubs his back, pulling himself into a sitting position. Preston's eyes flicker around the room, between the four of us all massaging our head, Mitch still sprawled out on the floor, the hallway to our right, and the drop above within three seconds.

"I'm assuming you put two and two together?" Rob comments when Preston doesn't ask any questions.
"Yep."

The next few minutes, which seem to drag on for an eternity, are filled with nothing but silence. Not even a single ghastly call from a mob rings out. And then finally Mitch shifts, clearing up some unseen tension in the air. Mitch yelps out in pain the second he tries to push himself up, leaving him once again on the ground. His eyes drift our way helplessly, and he opens his mouth. But I decide to cut in before he wastes his breath.

"The creepers chased us over the edge, we all were knocked out when we hit the bottom of the pit, the mutant fight is down that hallway, and your arm is broken."
     "Oh." Is Mitch's simple response, accompanied by a frown.
     "Here, I have a spare healing potion. It's only first tier so it won't completely heal your arm but..." Jerome trails on, pulling out the hot pink liquid, "It should help."

     Mitch nods his thanks and graciously accepts the bottle from Jerome's hand. He lifts the potion to his lips and down the entire thing in a single gulp. The effect is instantaneous as his arm twists back to normal.

    "Better?" Jerome questions.
     "Yeah a bit." Mitch replies, twisting his arm, "It still really hurts though. I won't be able to use my bow. I'll have to stick with using my sword... And only one hand too."
     "That sucks." Lachlan comments.
      "No duh." Preston states, rolling his eyes.
"So is this it then? Are we going to fight?" Rob pipes up from previously just observing the banter.
"Yep. Let's do this. For real this time." I declare, whipping out my sword.

The six of us trot down the corridor, towards the light at the end. Our boots clang against the stone ground, bouncing off the walls in the large corridor. The corridor is so big in fact, we can all group together without getting squished. But as we approach the end of the tunnel, as it becomes more and more likely the light is daylight, we step into a room that is so unexpected, the six of us gasp in unison. The 'room' is more like dome, or even an arena, almost circular in shape. If I had to fess its diameter would be around 100 blocks, and I'm not exaggerating. In terms of height the area stretches so high that it's completely open to the sky, a ledge of dirt surrounding the edge. This would explain why daylight is visible so far underground. Ores scatter the cliff faces, ranging from coal to even a few diamonds. If there's one thing for certain, this place is not natural.

"Woah... What is this place?" Jerome breathes in awe, his jaw hanging open.

The rest of us all mumble our confusion, all of us except for Mitch. In fact, Mitch isn't even looking at the sheer massiveness of the pit. He's gazing directly ahead.

"...It's where we fight him."

      In an instant all our eyes are trained on the figure standing before us. Even when it's hunched over slightly, the monster stands a few blocks tall. It's extremely bulky, the upper portion of its body making up 2/3 of its body. Torn navy pants and a torn aqua shirt expose a good portion of rotting green skin. Just the look of this mutant zombie gives off the possibility that it could crush someone in an instant. And, it's not burning. Even in direct sunlight.

     "Well... This is it." I state nervously, holding my sword out towards the mutant, "BRING IT ON."

     The six of us let out battle cries, charging with weapons drawn towards the mutant. The zombie from its side starts the charging at us, the ground shaking under its feet. Preston and Jerome skid to a stop, pulling out their bows and firing at the zombie while Lachlan, Rob, Mitch, and I continue head on towards it. The arrows sink into the zombies flesh, but it seems unaffected as it approaches at breakneck speed. Suddenly, just a second before we can engage it in combat, the zombie launches into the air. The four of us dive to the sides as the zombie slams down with its fists in the same spot we were standing a second earlier. Shockwaves emit from the impact, knocking all six of us to the ground.

     Preston, who is the first to regain his footing, slings his bow across his back and heats up, charging towards the zombie. The rest of us scrabble to our feet, trying to regain our composure and help Preston. But as we all begin to corner the mutant, it throws back its head. An earsplitting roar bursts from its gaping mouth, sending such a big shockwave that no matter how hard we try to hold our ground, the sheer force pushes us back a couple blocks. Immediately my ears feel like they're bleeding, and ringing starts sounding in my head.

After a few seconds the roar dies down and we shake our heads, trying to wear off the effect, beginning to advance yet again. And then suddenly the ground in front of Mitch, Jerome, Preston, Rob, and Lachlan starts to rumble. My eyes widen and I skid to a stop in alarm, momentarily ignoring the raging mutant not twenty blocks away.

"GUYS LOOK OUT-" Too late.

The five of them attempt to stop, but end up crashing into five zombies that just burst out from the ground. It seems though that only five of them spawned. As everyone else engages in combat with the surprisingly skilled undead mobs, I notice the mutant targets Mitch, who is having the hardest time fighting seeing as his arm is hurt. Oh no you don't!

"MITCH BEHIND YOU!" I scream, teleporting behind the mutant.

Mitch whips around to try and defend himself as the mutant grabs at him. But he forgets the fact there is a zombie behind him. The temporary daze from teleporting leaves me unable to help him as the smaller zombie sweeps Mitch's feet out. Finally recovered I try to strike the mutant but it grabs Mitch and throws him hundreds of blocks in the air. This all happens in a span of six seconds. The mutants spins around to face me. Crap.

     While I try to dodge the rapid fire blows from the mutant, I only catch glimpses of what's happening with everyone else between each swing. Mitch clinging on for dear life at the ledge of the dome, where it opens up to the sky and a thin line of dirt lines the edge, his feet unable to find a foot hold. Lachlan, Rob, and Preston trying to fight off the five zombies while Jerome stands, arms outstretched, under Mitch. Mitch's hand slipping, sending tumbling towards the ground. Mitch crashing into Jerome, Jerome having sacrificed himself to break Mitch's fall. Jerome howling in pain on the ground, clutching his knee. And I can't do a thing. I could've saved Mitch from falling if this stupid zombie would just fudge off!

The mutant realizing it's not getting anywhere by simply lashing out at me tries a new tactic. Raising its arms high above its head, it smashes the ground in front of me, a shockwave of stone sweeping me off my feet. Unable to scramble away fast enough, I'm forced to teleport away before the mutant can crush my head beneath its foot. Thank goodness for this teleportation. I would've died multiple times already without it. I note, finding myself popping beside Jerome and Mitch. It seems Lachlan, Rob, and Preston have beaten down the five zombies, but Mitch is kneeling by Jerome in concern while Jerome whines and holds his knee.

"This isn't going very well..." I comment, Jerome's eyes flickers towards me to acknowledge my presence.

But I don't think Mitch cares too much at the moment. He's more focused on Jerome.

"Jerome why would you do that?!"
"What does it look like?! I saved you!"
"YOU BROKE YOUR KNEE."
"YOU COULD HAVE DIED."

I watch on silently as they continue on like this for a good few minutes. I chuckle inwardly. I might seem like they're fighting but I can tell it's because they care about each other, and considering the circumstances, Mitch is expressing his thanks. Even if that involves scolding him in some sort of cheeky love-hate way.

"Y'KNOW ITS GREAT TO SEE EVERYONE GETTING ALONG SO WELL, BUT NOW ISN'T REALLY THE TIME." Lachlan shouts, despite having to dodge the mutants attack, still managing to squeeze some sarcasm in.

Whoops. Guess we forgot the zombie is still there.

"We're coming Lachlan!" Mitch yells back. "Now Jerome you can like, shoot your bow or whatever, but do NOT move. Got it?"
"Says the one with the hurt arm." Jerome huffs.
"Yeah yeah, now cmon Vikk lets go."

Mitch and I dive into the battle, and just in the nick of time. The zombie has just knocked Preston and Rob back with a slam to the ground, and then spun around and backhanded Lachlan in the face. Lachlan's now seated on the ground, blood dripping from his nose and mouth.

"Hang in there Lachy!"

Before the zombie can turn Lachlan into a pancake, I tackle him, teleporting both of us a good ten blocks away.

"Are you okay?" I ask hastily.
"Yeah thanks Vikk." Lachlan pants, attempting to wipe the blood from his face but only smearing it more.

And then, just when it seems we'll never win, the tables turn. Jerome begins covering us with a shower of arrows, drawing the zombies attention just enough for us to swoop in. Mitch does the best he can to slash at the zombies legs and lower back, making sure to always keep behind it. Rob has literally climbed onto the zombies back and is plunging his sword repeatedly in and around its neck, causing it to roar in pain. Lachlan, the zombie being distracted, has managed to slip in front of it, striking at its chest. Preston for the moment has backed away, and seeing his skin start to drip from heat, I know what I need to do. Levitating a stone block into the air, I let it whiz towards the mutants head. It makes direct contact and the zombie tumbles forwards, Lachlan stepping out of the way as it lands on the ground with a thud.

"Preston! Burn it before it can get up!" I shout, watching on edge as the zombie tries to push itself up, but Rob managing to keep it down since he's still on its back.

Preston nods and lunges forward, Rob rolling out of the way as Preston slides across its back. The zombies clothes burst into flame, and soon enough the entire thing is one big bonfire, the smell of burning flesh wafting through the air. And just like that, it's gone, a music disc spinning in its place. The six of us all stand (and sit) panting heavily, adrenaline still coursing through our veins. Then all at once, we let out a noise of relief and slump to the ground.

"We... We did it." Preston rasps, leaning heavily against the stone wall.
"You better believe it." Jerome wheezes, scooting over to us.
"Now go get that disc Vikk, you... Deserve it." Lachlan huffs, sweat and blood covering his face.

I nod and crawl over to the disc. And I'm pretty sure that I faint the second I touch it, exhaustion overtaking my body.

~~~

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