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Twenty minutes in, Joel was not having a good time.
The world around him felt like it was spinning as he followed behind Gem. He trips over rocks, managing not to fall flat on his face. That would be embarrassing, but his tripping is already embarrassing enough, earning little giggles from Gem.
He licks his lips, mouth filled with a bit more spit than normal. He swallows it down, doing his best to keep his mouth shut as they walk. He was a bit worried that if he went to talk about anything, he'd lose his lunch.
The mountain they had chosen to go up was much bigger than it had seemed from the ground. Joel's legs burned, body shaking a bit, yet he keeps following behind Gem, who was so full of energy that it honestly scared Joel a bit. He didn't know where she had managed to get so much energy when he felt so exhausted.
Maybe she stole all his energy like some sort of demon. He could see that happening.
Gem stops suddenly, and Joel rams into her. Apologies slip past sluggish lips, and he feels his stomach flip at even the action of opening his mouth. He swallows again, trying to swallow away the nausea. He can't get sick, he has things to do, he has a game to win. He wishes he had refused to participate in this game, but nooo. Even though he knows his code hates these mods, he said yes to participating anyway for that slim little chance of winning.
He forces himself to focus on what was happening currently. Gem was back to walking, talking. She was a bit wobbly, not used to the way the mod changed them. But she wasn't sick like him, functioning nearly perfectly.
Joel's hands clench into fists, nails digging into his hands. He forces himself to continue walking, one foot in front of the other. He clenches his hands, picking at his fingers instead, trying to distract himself. He peels off flaking pieces of green nail polish, he'd need to ask Lizzie to repaint his nails soon, she loves doing that.
God how he wishes he could be home. Maybe on the couch, curled up with his wife, dog laying with them. They could be watching a movie, or she could be painting his nails, or they could be doing anything that wasn't as terrible as this was.
Gem is calling out to him, a big smile on her face. He had fallen behind, she was already at the top. Her voice is teasing, and she offers him a hand up, pleased she got up here before him.
Slight anger fills his chest, but he pushes it away. Why is he mad at her? There's no reason to. Just because the mods weren't affecting her that much doesn't mean he gets to be mad.
He takes her hand in his own exhausted one, letting her pull him the rest of the way up. He stumbles a bit, legs unsteady, and she stops him from falling off the ledge. Her expression twists into one of concern, and her mouth opens to ask a question before Joel interrupts her.
"We need iron" He mumbles, pushing himself away from her. He flashes her a smile, trying to seem normal, trying to gather up what he needs to play his normal cocky self.
She seems to push past her earlier concern, matching his smile. Together, they head towards a cave they see in the distance, Joel forcing himself to match her pace.
He wants nothing more than just to rest for a second. He feels wobbly, like he's about to fall. He can feel himself tilting forward as he walks, stumbling a bit. His hands are clammy, leaving the handle of his pickaxe damp as he tightens his grip on it. His stomach churns, angry.
He ignores all of this, and focuses on getting iron. He doesn't have time for weakness, he's in a death game.
The cave becomes filled with the noises of Joel and Gem mining, pickaxes hitting against the stone in almost a rhythmic way. Its cold up here, yet Joel feels covered in a thick layer of sweat, cold drips of it sliding down his back. He shivers, pausing for a few seconds.
He does his best to suck in a breath, it feels a bit harder than normal. He swallows down the saliva growing in his mouth, fumbling with his inventory to bring out his water bottle. He tilts his head back to drink it, closing his eyes for a few seconds.
As the torch light is hidden away by the closed eyelids, the throbbing in his head calms. He doesn't want to open his eyes again, feeling like he can breathe properly for the first time since they started this dumb game.
"Joel?"
He forces his eyes open again to glance at where Gem was. She stared at him, eyes squinted a bit. She looks concerned. He frowns, he hates that. He doesn't need anyone's pity, he's fine. Just needs to get over this.
"Yeah?" He decides to pretend like he doesn't know why she looks so concerned. Maybe it was something else she was concerned about, like maybe there was a zombie behind him.
(He glances behind him quickly at that thought. His head aches at the sudden movement, and he's filled with regret for doing that)
"You're acting a bit off. You feeling okay?" Who gave her the ability to sound so sweet and concerned? He missed the Gem who would bully him ruthlessly, just as teasing as he normally is.
"Yep. Doing great" He nods, doing his best to keep acting normal even though every movement of his head hurts.
Her expression doesn't change. He goes to turn away, and this is the moment his stomach decides to give up pretending.
He doubles over and gags. It burns his throat, and tears well up in his eyes as his lunch exits the same way it entered. He does his best to stop the crying with just the tears, yet a small sob slips past his lips, and Joel is pretty sure that that was the most pathetic thing he could ever do.
There is a hand on the small of his back, rubbing gentle circles in an attempt to comfort him. He hears the noise of something being picked up, and Gem offers him the water bottle that he had set down only a few seconds before. She looks awkward, wanting to help but not knowing how. He doesn't blame her, he would have been the same.
He spits out some of his saliva, trying to get the taste out of his mouth before he grabs the water bottle. He sips a bit of water, swirling it around in his mouth and then spitting it out to the side. He takes a proper drink of water then, shivering. He can practically feel the cold liquid dripping down his throat, it feels terrible.
The hand doesn't leave his back, offering a small bit of support as he straightens up. His head throbs, hands shaking a bit. He feels exhausted, he wants to go home.
She has her communicator up. She hasn't said what she's doing, but he has a good idea of what.
After a little bit, Gem speaks up. "C'mon, lets get you back to spawn. We're gonna take a break earlier today". He can't find it in himself to argue. He just wants to go home.
Joel knows the walk back to spawn will be quite long. He knows he'll get concerned looks, knows everyone will pity him. At this point though, he can deal with that later. He just wants to go home to his wife and get away from this terrible place with these terrible mods.