Chapter Text
It was a putrid landscape, the stuff of nightmares. Buildings were falling into decay, the foundations cracked by nature's never ending power.
The air was thick with death.
Remains of a civilization were everywhere, dead forges, overgrown farms, graves...
Aiden pushed past town, to the small house far down the faded path. The door of the house opened slowly. He was driven here, yet reluctant to do so as well.
The inside was rotted, walls pitted with mold. He somehow knew it already, but this was his home. How could it have come to such a condition?
Aiden grabbed the guest bedroom door, "Jesse?"
There was no answer.
It wasn't until Aiden looked inside that he knew there wouldn't be.
Death.
He backed out of the room with shaking hands, realizing that his own body was dying. His fingers were pale and taunt and a cracked wall mirror revealed a face stained with blackened blood- he was sick, he was infected, he was-
"Aiden!"
Aiden nearly fell off his horse as he jolted awake, Petra watching humored from her own mount.
A nightmare.
"What the hell?"
"You fell asleep," Petra answered, "I would have let you fall off your horse, but seeing as that might hurt and inevitably handicap you... I decided against it."
He just groaned, popping his back in discomfort.
"Are we almost there?"
Day had faded long ago into night and there was nothing now but a bright moon illuminating the landscape. Aiden pulled out his map, "When did I fall asleep?"
"Thirty minutes or so," she replied, "Where you dreaming? It sounded like you were."
"No..." He grumbled back, "We're close," He lowered his map, "See those towering rock pillars at the end of the prairie? The jungle is on the other side."
"You sure?"
"Positive. Why do you keep asking me that? That's got to be the fiftieth something time this trip."
Petra just mumbled something and kicked her horse faster.
The jungle was a black mass, a nightmare converted into a dark reality. Trees towered high and close together. Moonlight was swallowed whole only a few branches down. The base of the jungle was an impenetrable black, where strange creatures howled and screeched in the night. Dawn would be here soon, but the night would continue on in the depths of the jungle.
Aiden got off the horse.
"What are you doing?"
"Taking a nap."
"You're kidding?"
He threw down a bedroll.
"You're not kidding." Petra growled, "We are wasting precious time! We need to get in there now!"
"You've seen a Comic Orchid before right?"
"Well yeah. You're not the only one who's been to the botany garden back home you know."
Aiden pulled off a shoe, then another, "On the outside the flower looks plain and boring, it's the inside that really catches one's eye. The problem there, like Ivor said before, they like the dark. This means, they only bloom at night. If we go in there during the day -when they're closed - we're going to miss them. It won't help that the both of us are sleep deprived,"
Petra frowned. "You wanna go in there, during the night, with monsters."
"Got a better plan? We brought torches didn't we?"
Petra slid off her horse, "Fine, but the moment the sun starts to drop on that horizon, we are going in."
Ivor knocked gently on the door, "Jesse?"
"Hmm?"
"How are things?"
The brunet on the other side seemed pleased, "Better, I think your mooshrooms soup helped a lot. Lukas hasn't thrown up in awhile. I'm glad you found a cow Ivor."
"She wasn't very happy to be found I assure you," Ivor replied rubbing his ribs, an unfortunate mark from a very angry mooshroom cow. "How are you feeling Jesse."
"Good actually," Jessed answered, "How many days before we know I'm clear?"
"Well counting the day Lukas started to cough blood all over you, we need to wait at least a week before we know you're clean."
"Well, four more days to hang in there then."
Ivor hesitated.
Jesse noticed, "Ivor don't worry. Petra and Aiden will be back before you know it."
"If they don't kill each other,"
Jesse paused, "I think they'll work past it for the greater good of Lukas and the town." He sighed, "You should get some sleep Ivor, if you get sick we lose our chance of making a cure. You're the only one who knows how."
"I'm teaching Milo just in case, besides, it's morning Jesse."
"What?"
Ivor hummed, "You stayed up all night. You should be resting yourself."
"Alright alright," Jesse soothed, "I will..." Ivor heard the male huff, " I'm fine Ivor, stop fussing."
"I'll be out here if you need anything."
"Better than having you in here. Now get."
The elder scoffed, "Stay healthy Jesse."
"Can do. Shoo. "
With a few more mumbles under his breath, Ivor departed from the locked door. "Youth..." he huffed. "Snarky in the face of death."
On the other side of the thick wood, Jesse had slipped into the bathroom, careful not to wake Lukas. It had taken all night to get the blond to sleep after all.
He slid into the bathroom, resting on the cool bathroom floor, a stark contrast to the well heated bedroom. It felt good, soothing to his warm body, "Better hope Petra and Aiden decided to get alone eh Lukas?" he whispered. "They better be quick about it too."
The blonde didn't respond from beyond the bathroom door, not that he wanted him to anyway.
"We're running out of time," Jesse sighed, running tired fingers through unkempt hair. As he let his hand drop he looked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror...
He was met with a face of exhaustion, and the rash blooming along his throat.