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Things happened so quickly, even as they flashed back into the forefront of Joel’s mind, that he didn’t really have any time to react.
“Joel!” Jimmy grabbed onto him. Hands curled around his shoulders, yanking him close. He was held to Jimmy’s chest, they turned in midair as they dropped. His shoulder slammed into the pressure plate, and his heart dropped. There was an explosion. The blast had thrown him into the wall, but he—Jimmy had kept holding onto him. Kept trying to protect him, even though it was just—he should have let go.
Why didn’t Jimmy let go of him? Shaking, Joel opened his eyes slowly. Sand and dust fell around him, landing on his cheeks and nose. A low groan left his throat, and he tipped his head to the side.
Jimmy had let out a pained noise as they hit the wall. Something had cracked. Then, they dropped, and Jimmy had taken the brunt of the fall—
“Jimmy?” Joel cracked out, careful not to tip his head too far to the side. Slowly, slowly, he started to wiggle his toes, his feet, making sure his joints worked properly and that he wasn’t too hurt. Because he was hurt. Pain shot up from his left leg as soon as he moved his ankle, but he could feel more pain shooting up through his ankle to his knee, his hip, the bones in between aching and burning with pain. It wasn’t—it was bad, but not the worst he had felt. His own pain tolerance was to thank for that, some of his physiology, so he probably hadn’t broken his spine since he could feel things. He could move his limbs, he could—he was alive. That was what mattered.
After testing that his limbs actually worked, Joel slowly pushed himself to the side and rolled over. Bracing his arms under himself, he pushed up. Looked around. More sand and gravel dusted the air around them. Gritting his teeth, ignoring the dry taste of the desert on his lips, Joel looked around slowly.
Jimmy was lying a few feet from him, hands clenched around his middle and gasping painfully. His eyes were barely even open. When Joel started dragging himself over, Jimmy woke up a bit more. His eyes didn’t focus on Joel. No. Come on, come on, Jimmy. I need you to focus on me. Please. Reaching out with a shaky hand, Joel brushed his fingers against Jimmy’s hair. He brushed blond hair from Jimmy’s eyes. Slowly, Jimmy’s gaze crawled over the ceiling and landed on him. Mouth open, he panted raggedly.
“Jimmy.” Joel choked out, looking at him. He slowly drew his gaze over Jimmy’s body, at once wishing that he hadn’t. “Jimmy.”
Even though all Joel could currently see was his head, Jimmy was in bad shape.
Blood pooled beneath him, a long gash along the left side of his face that went into his hairline and wet his hair. The sand and grit that had showered down around them was caking his skin, his hair, everything about him, and pain twisted his expression after a second. Mouth falling open, he gasped weakly. His eyes closed, and Joel dragged himself a little bit further forward. Reaching, he found one of Jimmy’s hands, clutching it.
“It’s okay, Jimmy. You’re okay, I promise. Come on.” As he spoke, Jimmy squeezed his hand tightly, to the point where Joel could feel his fingers shifting out of the way. Gritting his teeth, he continued to stare at Jimmy’s face. Some of the dust clouds moved out of the way of the sunlight, settling down and letting Joel see the lower half of his body better.
He almost wished he couldn’t.
When they had fallen into the temple treasure shaft, they must have triggered the TNT on the way down after Joel hit the pressure plate, then they had been caught in the blast. Jimmy had taken most of the hit when he curled around Joel, had been thrown into the wall, but more concerningly—they hadn’t stopped falling at the shaft. They were below the temple, in a new set of caverns. Apparently, the cavern hadn’t been empty, or formed by the explosion itself.
Jimmy had been impaled on a stalagmite.
It was thin, maybe even blown apart by the explosion, and it wasn’t very long but it was sharp. Worse, it looked like Jimmy had fallen right on top of it, piercing him through the solar plexus. Since he was able to move his leg, considering how he kept trying to push against the ground, Joel guessed he at least hadn’t directly hit his spine in the fall.
Wheezing in a breath, Jimmy glanced at him in a panic. “J-Joel.”
“You’re okay, let’s—I’m going to try and call someone, okay? We can get some help?” He paused, looking up. His own blood spilled across the floor, sparkling and gold but none too bad. Especially compared to Jimmy, Joel was fine. Letting go of Joel, Jimmy whimpered and brought his hands to the stalagmite.
Wait. Maybe I can use my powers. Maybe I can lift us out of here? He glanced down at his free hand, then pushed himself up. His leg roared in pain like a struck monster. Taking a slow breath, Joel pushed himself up all the way, then focused. He wasn’t King of Stratos for nothing, he had powers. Strength. He should have something that could help him get out of this—or, more importantly, help Jimmy out of the damned place.
But he had nothing.
He could see swirls of green and gold magic wrapping around his arms, spreading across his skin like a tattoo and probably marking his face as well. Beside him, Jimmy let out another pained, whining groan. Releasing what little power he had managed to drag up, Joel turned to Jimmy.
I should heal him. I can use some of my power for that, can’t I? Reaching out, Joel sighed and rested his hand on Jimmy’s shoulder. Another whine left his friend, Jimmy kicked at the ground and gasped again with his eyes crushed closed and lips drawn into a grimace. Closing his eyes, Jimmy pushed some of his magic into Jimmy, trying to at least find what injuries Jimmy had.
Nothing.
He had nothing.
His powers weren’t working.
There must be something in the temple to stop my powers. Joel realized. Glancing up at the walls, then the treasure shaft, he could just see marks chiseled into the stone. A curse. Of course. More accurately, it was a damnation of any foreign magic that might reach the temple, and he could see where the glowing, opalescent enchantments wove their way into the stone underneath and around the temple.
Okay, we have to figure out another way to do this, then. Let’s think this over. Shifting, he glanced around, then back at Jimmy as there was another whine from him. Reaching out, he brushed his fingers through Jimmy’s hair. It was matted with blood already, and from the amount of blood there had to be coming just from Jimmy’s head and then the injury to his stomach…
Finding his communicator where it was in his upper tunic, Joel held it in one hand while leaving the other to rest on Jimmy’s arm. Still, Jimmy was gasping in pain, pushing against the ground with his feet and holding the stalagmite where it remained on his arm. However much Joel’s leg hurt, Jimmy was beyond that amount of pain.
Typing away on his communicator, Joel pulled up his contacts and at once searched for Lizzie on his list.
The screen was a little bit cracked, and his fingers were covered in blood and dust, but it was good enough to use and he was able to type using the buttons. Come on, Lizzie. Please pick up.
Please.
Thank the stars, she did pick up.
Her voice cut out a bit, but it was there. “Joel? What—going on?”
“Lizzie, I need you and some of the others to come pick me and Jimmy up. Especially Jimmy, he needs med-evac.” He began, hoping that she got the whole message. “I’m sending my coordinates to you. Please hurry, and have Shubble stay behind and prep the med bay. Bring False with you.”
“What? Wh—happened?” Lizzie demanded, frantic.
“Jimmy’s hurt. Bad. He needs help now, Lizzie.” Swallowing, Joel added, “Please. He needs help.”
“We’ll—out. On our—stay where you are.” Lizzie said.
With nothing else to do, Joel signed off, and he turned to Jimmy again. Shaking, Jimmy blinked languidly. Another low moan of pain left him. The sound tore at Joel’s chest. Reaching out, he brushed his fingers through Jimmy’s hair again. Doe-brown eyes drifted over to him, half-lidded. He shakily reached up to try and touch Joel’s face. His fingers were slick with his own blood. Reaching up, Joel cupped Jimmy’s hand, pressed it the rest of the way.
As he watched, Jimmy seemed to come around a little bit more. He sucked in a deep breath, and his fingers curled in Joel’s grip. “Joel—” His eyes wandered around. “You—okay?” There was a wheeze to his words, and a shudder shook his entire body.
“Worry about yourself right now, Jim.” Joel chuckled weakly, brushing his hair back from his face. There was still blood in it. Gently, carefully, Joel felt around Jimmy’s head again with his free hand. The other still held Jimmy’s. Closing his eyes, Jimmy sucked in another breath, trying to move again. “Hold on, hold on, Jim. You need to stay still, okay?”
“My—my ribs—” Grabbing at his side, Jimmy gasped in pain. His eyes flew open and darted to Joel, “What—”
“We fell. It’s okay, we’re fine.” Joel gently rubbed his cheek this time, trying to soothe him. “I promise you, we’re going to be fine. Lizzie’s on her way, she’s going to bring help.” Jimmy tried to lift his head, tried to look at the wound to his belly. Gritting his teeth, he gave up a moment later at the pull to his muscles.
“Joel—”
“I know, I know. I’m sorry, Jim, I’m so sorry.” He tried to soothe him again, carding his fingers through his hair. It didn’t quite work. Jimmy was now shaking in pain, one heel planted in the stone as he tried to pull away from the cause of it. The stalagmite wasn’t moving, he was trapped, and Joel could only watch. “It’s okay, you’re okay, I promise. I promise, Jimmy, just focus on me, keep your eyes on me.”
Jimmy stared at him for a little while. Gasping for breath, he groaned. Despite Joel’s panicked begging, Jimmy’s eyes slowly began to drift closed. Tear tracks made their way through the dirt and dust and sand covering his skin. In his grasp, Jimmy’s fingers loosened, and his hand almost fell from Joel’s. No, no, no no no, come on Joel, find something—
Joel glanced around, studying their surroundings for anything he could help Jimmy with. Nothing. There was nothing he could do, nowhere he could go, absolutely nothing for him to use.
Leaning forwards, he pulled Jimmy’s hand to his chest, a sob wracking him.
Another sob left him, shaking his shoulders. “Jimmy. Jimmy, come on. Please. You have to open your eyes.” He gasped, pulling his leg closer. Pain shot up from his toes to his hip. Gritting his teeth, he clutched Jimmy tighter. “Please, Jimmy. I’m begging you. Just wake up.”
Jimmy still lay limp against the floor. Cracking his eyes open, Joel looked down at him. His vision was blurring, pulled his leg closer. Whenever he moved it, pain shot through him. He sobbed again, gasping.
He couldn’t breathe.
He really couldn’t breathe.
Gasping, Joel glanced around again, trying to catch his breath. He couldn't. His ribs wouldn’t expand enough. There was a giant bruise on his side that wouldn’t let him inhale all the way. Shaking, he glanced around again. I can’t—this is my fault. I was the one who wanted to come down here.
Jimmy’s going to die.
He’s going to die because of me.
This is my fault, and now he’s dying, and both of us are stuck here and there’s no—he grabbed his chest with his free hand, squeezing his eyes shut. Please. I can’t—I think we’re both going to die. We’re both dead. No one’s going to find us.
We can’t—
I can’t—
I just—shaking, he let out a choked, wailing sound. Every time he opened his eyes, he found himself staring through blurred eyes. There was blood on his hands, on the ground around them. Wiping at his face meant letting go of Jimmy. Jimmy, who was lying on the dusty cavern floor in front of him. Who’d been impaled trying to save Joel.
It should have been him lying there. Jimmy should still be—he should be fine. He should be up and on his feet, running around and rambling to keep Joel awake instead of the other way around. Jimmy was good with people in a way that Joel could never be, relatable with gentle words and soft eyes and a safe presence that Joel’s thunder and lightning had never graced him with. And now he was going to be Jimmy’s death, this little cavern was going to be his friend’s deathplace, and it was all—Joel’s—fault.
Curling over Jimmy’s hand like that somehow might repay what he had done, Joel choked out, “I’m so sorry.”
When Joel opened his eyes, it was to gentle hands running over his head and neck.
Jolting, he opened his eyes. Lizzie was sitting beside him, concern splashed in her blue eyes. “Joel. Are you alright?” Frantic, he pushed himself up, looking for—
“Jimmy?” He spotted the bloodied stalagmite only a few feet away. It seemed so small now, almost impossibly so. More than that, it was empty. “No, no—where’s—”
“Hey.” Hands cupped his face, he was turned to look at Lizzie. “He’s been taken off-server. There’s only so much we could do here for him, so Pixl and Gem took him to a hospital server where he can be treated properly. He was still alive last I saw him, he’s in good hands. We need to get you out of here, though. Okay?”
Swallowing, Joel swallowed. Throwing her arms around his neck, Lizzie buried her face in the side of his neck. A moment later, he raised his bloodied hands to her body and hugged her back. Her tail coiled gently around his arm, and he closed his eyes and held her.
She didn’t say anything when he started sobbing again.
+++
Jimmy lay in the hospital bed, too small for Joel’s liking.
No one who was six foot something was meant to be laid out like that, eyes closed and an oxygen mask strapped to his face. The only comfort coming from that mask he wore was the fog of Jimmy’s breath, spreading across the plastic every so often in a steady rhythm. He had an IV in, multiple bags attached to it, and bandages wrapped up to his shoulders.
Sitting beside him, Joel shifted in his seat. His leg had been put in a cast, signed by all of their friends before he had even managed to get out of bed the first time. Well, all of their friends…except for Jimmy.
In the bed, Jimmy suddenly shifted and groaned, sucking in a slow breath. His face scrunched up, mouth drawing into a thin line. Shaking, he sucked in a sharp breath through the oxygen mask, turning his head to the side. Straightening up, Joel looked down at him and then grabbed his hand. “Jimmy?”
Jimmy twitched again. His eyes cracked open slightly, then all the way. He groaned softly. Eyes wandering around the room, they finally locked onto Joel. Relief flooded his face. “Joel.” His voice was rough, rather weak. His free hand went to the oxygen mask. “What…happened?”
“You got hurt. There was an explosion. Everything’s okay now.” Joel reassured. Much to his surprise, Jimmy tugged his hand.
With strength that Joel didn’t expect, Jimmy yanked him into a hug and buried his masked face into the crook of his neck and shoulder. “I’m glad…you’re okay.” He whispered between heavy, wheezy breaths.
Closing his eyes, Joel clung to him that much tighter.