Me: *inhales* ...... "Finally.. We have arrived."
####: "Arrived where?"
Me: "SSH-HHSHSHHHHH!!"
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Section 9:

     A stale slab of meat slammed into Steve's back, knocking him forwards a little. His broken and beaten body shivered as the piece of flesh plopped onto the ground and slid into the very corner of his view. He neglected the idea of the substance, turning his head with a grimace on his face. Clutching his stomach as it growled in pain, he knew he needed it. He really did. But he wasn't going to eat anything he was given.. Not after witnessing what they had done to Billy. No sane person would dare allow themself to feel a fraction of comfort around monsters like them.

     "Human need food. Eat!" The creature demanded in a gruff voice, poking him in the shoulder with a stick as it stepped closer. Steve flinched slightly at the opposite of friendly contact, but otherwise made no attempt to look or sound phased. He couldn't, however, ignore it when that same stick returned, swinging at the back of his head. There was a hollow tonk sound on impact, and Steve fell much farther forward than he thought he would. "Eat!" The being demanded again.

     "Why don't you make me.?" Steve hissed from within his defensive self-hold on the floor. Only moments later, he felt a tug on his hair as he was lifted off the support of his hands, and the stick came again to swat his left calf. Steve yelped at the pain of his still healing bone shifting, opening his mouth wide enough for the hard brick of meat to be shoved down his throat. Strained breaths fought for passage. Steve still refusing to bite down, he felt the stinging pain of a cold, dull knife piercing down on the top of his shoulder and staying there. Only when the blade began rocking slowly inside the open flesh of his wound did he tighten his jaw on the bitter sustenance. Then he was dropped, allowing him to cough up the miserable taste as the creature beside him watched with a scowl.

     "Human, eat." It repeated yet again, before leaving the man alone to finish his supper. The human's expression grew bitter to match the food he had been forced to consume. Once again the door was shut on him, and he was left in a cold, dark cell. At least it wasn't frigid. He would survive a little longer..

     Steve stood on his knees, half huddling over the slab of meat that was his meal, until the shock subsided and he realized what he was doing. With the realization that he was doing exactly what they wanted, the human tore the food from himself and threw it into the darkness beyond. He could only hear it slap an opposing wall. The man huffed again in frustration, and then decided to get up and walk towards one of the walls or something for support. Bad idea. The moment he put an ounce of weight on his recently shifted leg, he fell to the floor, left leg burning fiercely. The man hissed through his teeth, grabbing the injury even though it hurt more with the contact. The pain was nearly as bad as when he first broke it... Nearly. Like an injured animal this time, Steve crawled towards the nearest corner he could find comfort in. Once settled in a seated position, one arm wrapped around his injured leg, the other one checking his new bleeding cut to see if it would need any extra atrention, Steve sat in complete silence. Only his own trembling breathing accompanied the man in his troubles.

     By himself, his mind wandered... Exactly what did those Illagers need his blood for..?

Section 10:

     Another day.. or, at least it seemed so... Steve had no way of knowing for sure.

Crreeeeee'k

     The human sunk away from the noise, mind dashing from one terrible outcome to another. Would they try to force him to eat again, or did they have something worse in store? He didn't know. All he knew was to hold his breath and hope the Illagers couldn't see him in the shadows.  

     What he wasn't expecting..was for another prisoner to join him.

     A nearly limp body was tossed forth from the light and into the dark cell, this form immediately falling flat on their face; not even attempting to catch themself. The door was quickly shut on the new one, seeming to have not a care as to even catch one last look at them. Again. Darkness..

     Steve stared curiously at the body laying still on the floor, its schillouette barely outlined in the darkness. All he could tell from before was that it was similar in size and stature to the Illagers themselves, but also.. different.

     Suddenly, there was movement, and the human held his breath yet again. The form before him -- under very little light -- rose on their wobbily arms and legs, slowly processing the world around them. They began breathing a little heavier as they realized this room was nothing but darkness and cold stone. The form then hurried for the wall opposite to Steve, nearly tripping over their own arms several times. Steve wasn't sure if it was just him and his little sleep, but it appeared as if the light was warping around this form, specifically in front of them. Once having made harsh contact with the wall, the new prisoner sloppily spun themself around to sit against it. Steve gasped the moment he realized what had been creating that odd light...

     Two dim bulbs of light sparkled out from the darkness, vanishing and reappearing as if a flickering fire, only, the lights were a pure white. There was something about these two light sources as well.. they were..shaped like two eyes, even expressing emotion it seemed. Some emotion of worry or fear.

     A small shift, and a little sniff -- the other prisoner's attention was finally brought to something. The two flickering objects rotated as if indeed eyes, down towards the floor, where their dim light just barely illuminated an object on the floor. That same discarded piece of meat, accomplishing nothing but collecting dust now. A small growl rose from within the other prisoner, making them jump. The human looked on with near disgust brimming his face as the form of the other prisoner reached out for the brick one might call food, and actually took a bite of it. He stayed completely silent, however, not sure if this thing was prone to attack if frightened. The other prisoner went from merely chomping one bite, to shoving as much of it into their mouth as possible. Pretty soon there wasn't even a steak remaining. Luckily, the other prisoner appeared content with that, and began to relax, leaning against the wall, flickering lights narrowing to nearly close.

     Unfortunately for Steve, he was sitting in his corner uncomfortably, with one stone in particular pressing into his spine. Silently, the human attempted to readjust himself. Slowly, he rose ever-so-slightly from the floor with his arms, lifting his feet one after another to move aside as well. Only, his throbbing leg gave out before it could reach its destination, scraping the bottom of his warn, grey shoe across the floor. That was all it took to make a noise. A noise loud enough for the other to hear. Steve would have sworn the Nether's name had he not caught himself soon enough, his eyes widening, giving up the silence as he dropped himself to the floor. His cut stung and his leg throbbed, but still, he was ready to fight if he had to... At least mentally, he was.

     The other prisoner jumped, scurrying to their feet before falling again and hitting their head on the floor. Only their glowing eyes -- Steve assumed -- were visible in the room completely void of light.

     "Wh-who's-s there?" A voice shot from the form, sounding masculine, but not particularly deep or threatening. This didn't keep the human from raising his fists towards the stranger, preparing his unready legs to stand if he had to. Meanwhile the form's eyes squinted, brightening slightly as he scooted back up against his wall again. There was a pause. Both obviously feared the other, but at the same time neither were sure whether the other was faking or not. "H-hello?" The stranger's voice called out.

     "Why are you so scared? And what's up with your eyes?" Heart thumping, Steve decided he may as well question this new prisoner.

     "I- I- I- I- I don't know!. I- I- I... I'm cold." The prisoner said with a shiver. The human could visibly see the glowing eyes of his shaking, the forming pulling in his legs in to hug them. Steve had kind of already gotten used to the cold.

     "Are you some sort of fugitive then..? Some Illager with an agenda of their own?" The human decided to think through the possibilities.

     "..Illa- wha?" The human almost laughed at this other prisoner's response.

     "You're kidding, right?" But the only response he received was a blank stare. "...They're those monsters who captured me. And they turned my friend into a beast.. Surely you know what I'm talking about." The glowing eyes slowly rotated from side to side, signifying a head-shake.

     "...I just woke up."

     "Well, yeah, that happens when you are thrown through a door. You tend to wake up." Steve half chuckled.

     "No. I mean... I just, woke up." The other said. Steve squinted, trying to make out this person's face beyond his glowing eyes. None was seen. Not even an abnormally large nose.

     "Wait, just woke up, as in.. you don't remember anything before now..?" A hint of nostalgia rose up in the one asking, for his first ever memories also bubbled up along with a hint of sympathy. The glowing eyes rose and fell a couple times, signifying a slow nod. The human's jaw nearly dropped. Was it possible that this person came from the same place he had? "So.. you're, human, then..?" Steve's head tilted slightly, leaning forward a little as he did. The form's nearly impossible to pinpoint outline revealed a small shrug from him.

     "How should I know?" The other asked, following it up with a spine rattling shiver. "Man.. I'm freezing... A-a-are you cold?"

     "No." The human answered plainly. Completely ignoring the younger struggling on his own wasn't a comfortable decision for the human, exactly.. but he knew the other would adjust eventually. It wasn't really that cold.

     Another minute or so dragged on like an hour. Steve stared blankly forwards at the opposite corner. The other prisoner, meanwhile, squeezed himself in a tight ball, shaking every now and then. It was almost painful listening to the other's teeth chatter, to the point of annoying even. It usually helped Steve to think of building, crafting, farming, or hunting when in a tough position, but this new one likely had nothing to think about since apparently he had no memories of those things. So, finally, Steve decided to help the other's gears start turning.

     "...Uhh, so what's your name?" The human asked.

     "N-n-name?"

     "Yeah, like, what you are called." If the other couldn't answer, which he likely wouldn't, Steve already had a few suggestions of his own.

     "H-hero-b-brine." The other prisoner answered with chattering jaws. Steve was almost confused as to how he already knew his name. "A-at least that's what, those, things were chanting."

     "Wait. Things?. Chanting?"

     "Yeah.. It's kind of blurry, but they were grey.. I think."

     "The Illagers? Why were they chanting?"

     "I- I- I don't know, okay?!"

Pap!

     The form fell over onto his side, eyes shutting completely so he was nearly impossible to see. On the floor, he continued to shake, this time a little worse since more of him was exposed to the cold stone. Steve sighed. His head was once again filled with a million questions. Looking and listening to the other, Steve began to question why he was so cold. Surely he should have adjusted to it by then.

     "Hhhh..." The human touched his hand to his bruised forehead a brief moment, fighting with himself about what he should do. "...Can..? Can you come over here? You could probably warm up a little sitting next to me.." As little as he wanted his personal space intruded, it was better than watching the other suffer.

     "You're warm?" The concept alone seemed completely unnatural to the newer prisoner.

     "Heh-uh-yeah? I think so at least." Steve didn't exactly know how to respond. The younger scurried to his hands and knees again, crawling once again, this time not as clumsy as before. Steve could see nothing but the other's eyes and slight schillouette as he came forward, glowing white eyes failing to leave contact with his, adding an uneasy feeling by the second. "-Uh," Steve spoke up, tensing a little, making the other freeze in place, "c-can you please continue with your eyes down..please?" He didn't really feel like admitting why. There was just something intimidating about eyes, especially those eyes. The other kindly obliged, continuing forward with his head down.

     Finally, the other arrived, plopping down next to him. The moment their shoulders met, Steve couldn't help but realize how this stranger was actually taller than he was, though he sounded slightly younger. His skin was also frigid, immediately soaking up Steve's warmpth like a sponue. He could feel the other still shivering, however, even with the little extra body heat shared. Sitting side by side, the two prisoners sat again in stiff silence.

     "..Thanks." The other exhaled. Steve just nodded in return. His body kept itself in a tense, ready for action state. The human really had to hold his fists tightly, or else they might, without any given command, strike on their own. Keeping his own breath together was also a challenge. Oh..how he hated being so close to another living creature; especially one much more physically capable than himself. At least the other wasn't up against the shoulder that had been cut. Still, he couldn't help but start counting the seconds with the hopes that it would end shortly -- that,  magically the room would begin heating up so the newer prisoner could leave him.

     Steve's eyes suddenly widened further than he thought they could when the other prisoner in his drowsiness -- finally warming up -- tried leaning further against him for support.

     "Ah-ah! Too close there, Tiny." Steve roughly shouldered the newer prisoner away.

     "O-oh, sorry.." The other apologized, sitting straighter, now more awake. "So... what is your name?" He finally asked out of the blue. For some strange reason, Steve took a while to think of his answer.

     "...Steve...just...Steve..." He answered eventually. "And yours is, again?"

     "Hero..brine... Guess you can just call me Hero, so it'll be as short as yours, I guess."

     "Like a nickname?"

     "Uh, s-sure..."

     "Hmm, that sure is an interesting name:.. Herobrine."

.

.
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Eeeeeeeee! We has arrived! Finally passed that first paragraph I wrote as a draft (idea I wasn't even sure would become a book) so many months ago now! :D

Also, please, let me know your opinions on this new character. I sure hope I introduced him well enough.
And, if you have any theories about the story: please, feel free to share. ^v^

9/4/2020