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Etho rewrote the code over and over again. /givelife bdoubleo100. /bdoubleo100. Over and over. It refused to work. He was already dead. The words of disbelief from his companions were drowned out by the ringing in his ears. He was supposed to come back. They were supposed to be yellow together. Bdubs would run in here yelling about how he almost died again despite having been given another life. That was how it was. That was how it worked.
Cleo patted his arm. “I get it, I do. He was my friend too, but we have to keep moving.”
Ren looked up at the entrance of their tunnel. “Cleo is right. The reds could come for us any minute. Just because our numbers are greater doesn’t mean we would win a fight. Joel and Grian are too much for us right now. We need to regroup.”
Etho nodded and followed the others into the cave system. He vaguely heard them mention Pearl and Scott had a hideout somewhere. Or was it Ren? Someone did. “I lost Bdubs…”
Ren and Martyn glanced at each other but stayed silent. Maybe it was better to let him suffer alone. He wasn’t alone though. He was surrounded by three people who were still together since the beginning and two who had a very long history. He remembered 3rd life, what Ren and Martyn had. 3rd life was so different from now. It seemed like centuries ago he was sending a bomb to Bdubs and Cleo’s castle.
He didn’t even know where he had died. He had been with the reds, he had obviously killed Lizzie, but where? Did the reds bury him or leave him to rot. He didn’t know what it was like to be on your last life and he never wanted to find out. He would, he was sure, but the longer he put it off the better he felt. Was it cowardly? Absolutely. But at least Grian and the other reds didn’t know that. They thought he solo’d the wither for prime’s sake. They thought he was invincible and he would keep it that way. They wouldn’t know he would have ran if Bdubs wasn’t there. They would never know he was scared; that he had been this entire game.
The hideout was small but would do. It was late and they were tired. Tired of running and tired of this game. The sick part of him was excited for it to be over just so they could do it all again. He knew he would want to. He knew eventually Grian would bring it up, and maybe next time more friends would join. Maybe he would have to watch more of his friends die. And it would repeat again and again and again because after so many years of peace the call of violence was too sweet.
Now he knew the cost.
Scott made each of them beds and they mined into the walls. Just because they were the only ones left didn’t mean any of them trusted each other. He didn’t mean to make green sheets and didn’t even know where the green dye came from. But he sat the bed down in his empty room and leaned against the wall. There were no chests or snowmen or hidden barrels to keep him company. He had the stone walls and his thoughts.
There was no more reason to have soul speed on his boots. He couldn’t go back except to loot his own home. Imagine that? He would steal from the place he had built with his friends. They weren’t the best in the end.
He weighed the pros and cons of leaving for hours. He would be alone and it would be easier to roam the server. However, if the reds were prowling about he would be easy pickings. He could travel faster himself but having backup would help watch his back. Either way, he had to leave. He would come back when he found his Bdubs.
Etho watched the other green and yellow lives sleep in their hideout. He would go alone. It was safest that way. He lost the ones he worked well with, these people didn’t know him. They would only hold him back. It was easier that way. He would be back before they realized he had even left. Maybe Cleo would have been trustworthy enough to come with, but that wasn’t a risk he would take. They were working together out of necessity. They didn’t care about each other. They would kill one another the second someone got the curse.
He grabbed supplies from the chest and left the hideout. No one stirred. They didn’t even notice. The reds could sneak in and kill them all. He really should tell them to set up a lookout. Tomorrow, when he had laid Bdubs to rest. He would do everything he needed tomorrow. He didn’t have all the time in the world.
Etho trudged across the ground. He was tired and smelled of blood and dirt but this was more important. The twang of a skeletons’ bow rang out from the forest and sent him on high alert. He couldn’t get hit out here away from his allies. He jumped into a tree and shimmied to the top. It was safer up there anyways and he could easily cross the terrain without being seen. He ignored the mobs beneath him and scanned the land. Bdubs could be anywhere and he could easily miss him. Etho had to split his attention between staying alive and finding his dead husband.
He nearly missed Bdubs’s body. The moon barely illuminated his moss sweater but Etho would recognize it even in complete darkness. He jumped from the treetop and heard the hiss of a creeper. He turned his shield just in time for it to catch the explosion. He hoped the reds weren’t close by. He would be dead if they heard the blast.
He didn’t bother staying by the treeline, cover be damned. He sprinted across the clearing straight towards the break in the mountains. Bdubs had been so close. A few more steps and he would have been hidden from Grian. Etho was smart enough and has seen enough battles to know how it had gone down. If he had just made it-. No, this was Grian’s fault. It was Etho’s fault. They killed Bdubs. It was Grian who shot the arrow and Etho who hesitated on the command.
The only reason Etho knew Bdubs wasn’t sleeping was because he wasn’t smiling. His half lidded eyes and frown were covered by his hand. He always smiled when he was asleep because he loved it so much. Had he tried to catch himself as he fell? It would’ve been futile. The arrow in his back was shoved deep into his muscle and dried over with blood. Etho grabbed the arrow and watched flakes of red drift past his hand. The snap was loud, or maybe it wasn’t. Maybe the night was so still it echoed across the entire server. He tossed the arrow away in disgust.
Bdubs was always light, but it was nothing compared to now. Etho wasn’t even sure he was holding a body. He could have held a ghost for all he knew. He was in a way. There was no rough yelling, no mischievous look in his eye ready for a fight. He was dead. There was nothing but an empty shell.
Bdubs always loved mountains. He had built an entire mountain himself. Etho preferred caves. They were hidden and easy for enemies to get lost in. He had spent so long working on one in his own world not living in one felt wrong. But Bdubs loved the mountains, but there Etho would let him rest.
He dug a hole right in front of a spruce tree. How it hadn’t been cut or burned yet he didn’t know. Bdubs would like it here where it overlooked the forest and destroyed buildings. He could see their base if he looked hard enough. Yeah, Bdubs would like it here.
Etho sat in front of the empty grave, putting off the inevitable. He knew he would have to lay Bdubs down, but he didn’t want to. He wanted to keep doing the command until his hand cramped and he couldn’t move to type anymore. The sun was close to rising and he had a cave to get back to.
“Come on buddy.” Etho murmured against his hood. “You can go to sleep. It’s safe.”
The green sweater got caught against the root and twigs. Etho would have nothing left of Bdubs. It felt wrong to take the sweater, but losing every part of him was another level of pain. He moved Bdubs arms inside and slid it off, setting it to the side where it blended in with the grass. He looked different without it, fitting for being buried in the ground. He pretended Bdubs really was asleep, just with no smile.
Etho climbed out of the grave without looking in. He kept his eyes on the crumpled hoodie while kicking dirt in. He would have to look if he used a shovel. For his own sanity he chose not to do that. He only looked down when the sun began to peak over the horizon. It was obvious there was a grave, but even the red lives had enough decency to leave the dead to themselves.
Etho stepped around the grave and pulled the hoodie off the ground. He shoved it deep into his inventory where none of the others would be able to see it. He leaned against the tree, taking a last glance at the loose dirt where he knew a body lay. “I’ll see you soon Bdubs. Wait for me.”
The others were still in their dreams by the time he came back. He laid in bed and shut his eyes, tired of what the previous night wrought. He could hear the ghost of a heartbeat from nights past if he listened hard enough. The phantom sound tugged him to sleep for however long time would allow. He would wake up tomorrow to more bloodshed and death. For now he would sleep.