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Arrow sat quietly in the same place they’ve been living for the past while. The days blended together, and he lost track of how long it had been since the world fell apart. When they first got trapped they had kept track of how many times the sun had risen, but as weeks passed and the sky got more polluted, it was rare to see the sun, and even harder for them to tell the days apart. He missed everyone. It had been so hard being stuck here, waiting for someone to save him.
His stomach growled, reminding him that it had been a while since he’d eaten. Not like he could do much about it. The cultists brought him food and water every once in a while, but it wasn’t anywhere near enough. Arrow would occasionally be brought food by Strago, but it was worse seeing someone he knew in this state than just another cultist. He hated seeing the blank expression on his face, the hope gone from his eyes. Arrow knew after the first few tries that getting through Strago would be unsuccessful. He’d tried to make conversation with him only to be ignored as the other cultists did to him. The only person that would probably be able to reach him was Relm, so he’d just given up trying.
They turned around to look at the stairs, hearing the sound of approaching footsteps. One of the cultists appeared from the staircase, holding a tray of what was likely their nourishment for the next few days. A small loaf of bread and a cup of water was all that was on the tray, hardly enough to satisfy the hunger Arrow was feeling. That was probably the cultists’ intention though. Keep him weak so he can’t escape.
The cultist slid the tray through the small opening beneath the cell door, walking away as quickly as they entered. The echoes of their footsteps soon faded, leaving Arrow in the deafening silence once more. He wasn’t sure how much longer he’d be able to last like this, nothing to look at except for the cell walls, no sound except for the repetitive chanting of the cultists in front of the tower. Maybe things would be better if they could see out the small window on the back wall, but he was too short.
He was much too exhausted, physically and mentally, to perform any magic that could possibly help him get out of here, or even help Strago. Even if he could, he wouldn’t be able to get anywhere. Hypothetically, if he were strong enough to escape the tower, there would be no way out. A large mountain range surrounded the building, making the only way in or out by airship, or by somehow scaling the mountains. As far as Arrow knew, the only airship in the world was destroyed during the cataclysm. Nobody was coming to save him.
The realization hit him like the blunt end of a sword. He was probably going to die here. As far as he knows everyone but him and Strago are dead, and he’s stuck living with the world in this horrific state for the rest of his life. Not like he would get to see anything beyond these four walls.
Arrow didn’t want to die. Not in a place like this at least. He knew that he was inevitably going to die at some point, but he never wanted it to be alone. He had hoped that Knicknack would at least be by his side, trying to cheer him up with her jokes until the end. But that was wishful thinking. He wasn’t even sure if she was still alive anymore. But he had to have hope. If anyone were to survive the apocalypse, Knicknack would find a way.
Arrow knew as soon as he felt his eyes welling up with tears that he needed to think of something else to distract from these thoughts. His thoughts instantly went to Knicknack, who he missed most of all. He thought of how expressive she was, her expressions almost seeming animated. How she’d always perform tricks when the group was down, how she wasn’t afraid to wear her heart on her sleeve, how she and Relm would always joke about the others, how she’d always make Sabin carry her when she was tired. Arrow remembered her more than anyone else who he had formerly travelled with, probably due to their close bond. But that also meant he missed her more than anyone else.
A strange loud whirring sound pulled Arrow from his thoughts. It sounded just like the airship that they travelled across the world on before it fell to ruins. His eyes widened in realization, and he tried desperately to jump up and see through the tiny window, but failed. As a last desperate attempt, he checked for loose rocks, and upon finding one, pulled it from its place and stood on it. He saw an airship descending in front of the tower, and he knew that all wasn’t lost.
His friends were here to save him! He grinned as Relm, Knicknack, and Sabin stepped out of the airship, Relm immediately running over to Strago. He couldn’t hear the conversation from where he was, but he knew that she must be trying to talk some sense into him. He smiled even wider as he saw Strago and Relm embrace each other, knowing that she’d managed to save him.
Just as Knicknack was about to enter the tower, Strago shook his head, saying something inaudible to Arrow. She seemed to hesitate for a moment but then started following the others back to the airship. Arrow’s smile quickly turned to one of fear. They were leaving? But he was still here, they haven’t saved him yet. Strago knew he was here so why were they coming?!
“WAIT!! I’M UP HERE, PLEASE!” he desperately called out, but he knew that nobody would hear. Tears began welling up in his eyes once more as the airship began whirring up again, preparing to take off.
He saw Knicknack on the deck of the ship and decided it would be worth a shot to try again. “KNICKNACK! PLEASE, HELP ME! TELL THEM I’M IN HERE! DON’T LEAVE ME HERE!” Arrow called out desperately, but soon he had to stop yelling due to a coughing fit.
As the airship slowly got higher in the air, he made eye contact with Knicknack. Her eyes widened in realization as she called out to him, but the whirring of the airship drowned her voice out. Arrow was crying now, streams of tears running down his face and staining his already disgustingly dirty clothes. He saw Knicknack run off to go tell someone, but he knew that she wasn’t going to make it in time. He was going to be left here alone. Again.
As the airship disappeared from view, he stepped off of the stone and sank down to the ground. He held his knees close and curled up into a ball, full-on sobs echoing across the empty tower halls. He had hope that they were going to save him. He thought that he would finally be free from his prison. But he was wrong. They wouldn’t be coming back anytime soon, would they. He didn’t know how long it would take until they returned, if they even did return. Since Knicknack was the only one who saw him, the others could think she was just seeing things. Which meant they might never come back.
Arrow grew tired quickly, worn out from all the crying. He soon fell asleep, longing for food to fill his stomach with, for the warmth of another beside him, for freedom . But he knew that wasn’t going to happen. Not for a long time.