Chapter Text
It had been just over two weeks since Evbo had been captured. Two weeks of damp, gross, rocky walls, and non-stop respawning. Frankly, it sucked. It was stuffy, cramped, and overall icky. The guards came once or twice a day, with an iron sword in tow. They’d silt his throat or kill him in some other uncreative way, he’d wake up in his bed, and be dragged back to his cell to wait for the next.
Drip.
His ‘PVP Apartment,’ as he had decided to call it, (saying PVP jail cell made him feel sick), was a small, 3x3 room. He couldn’t pace properly, sit properly, or even sleep properly. If the guards even gave him time to sleep.
Drip. Drip. Ugh.
The days all seemed to blend together. Since there was no sky to count the sunrises and sunsets, everything had become… same-y. Evbo had been awake for maybe, like, 50 hours? He remembered sleeping a little while ago. Not like it mattered. He vaguely remembered what the man with the crown had said, the first day he was thrown in here. I promise, after a few times of dying and coming back, you’ll forget it’s even happening.
Was he forgetting? It still felt very real each time.
Maybe he should try forgetting.
Drip.
In an effort to do something just like that, he honed the ability to simply leave. Not the cell, of course, but… mentally.
He could stare at the stone wall so hard it would blur away, forming into shapes that looked vaguely like home, or people, or whatever he wanted it to. It was almost like painting. Except the painting vanished every time he focused his eyes, and maybe hours of progress could be erased whenever a guard would harshly open the door. Would it kill these guys to knock? Once, he had gotten a good ways into a blur of a sunset, when he was rudely interrupted by a guard with two people who wanted a new, shiny sword. He was maimed once, then hurried back to be maimed again–
Drip. Dr- Drip. Drip.
He had gotten a hang of the guards’ shifts, too. Two would escort a player in to kill him, then he’d respawn, and a different two would be there to pick up him. At least every 5 and a half hours, they would switch places, with a half-hour break for something. Helpful for an escape plan, once he knew Tabi was safe.
Drip.
Tabi was at the front of his mind when he wasn’t being stabbed. Was she okay? Is she safe? Are they torturing her? Had she already escaped, and left him here for dead? (That last one was unexpected, and totally not plausible. Ignore that.) The only reason he hadn’t really attempted to escape yet was because of, well, her. She was one of his two friends in PVP civilization. He couldn't let her die when he had the choice to stop it–
Drip, drip…
Ugh. Headache.
Evbo had heard that a bunch of the usual guards were sick. He would be getting a replacement soon, and instead of two guards near his room, it would be just one. An opportunity if he’d ever seen one. But… no. Tabi’s life was at risk. He was already kind of overwhelmed with being deprived of his basic needs and all, and—
Drip. Drip, drip, drip.
–and he swears, if that annoying water-dripping sound doesn’t stop soon, he’s digging himself out of here with a spoon. Tabi would understand.
Evbo was also starting to really, really, miss warm food. Sure the guards would technically ‘feed’ him, but it was usually just a carrot or rootbeet when he complained. What even happens if he dies from starvation? Would he respawn just as hungry, and die again? It’s not like his stomach just gets magically refilled each time he dies.
He would even settle for some raw chicken or beef. Anything but dusty old vegetables. They wouldn’t even have to cook it! Just toss him some flint and steel, and he’d do it himself.
Sometimes he’d hear the person guarding his door eating lunch. And smell it too. It differed between shifts, but the most common was mushroom and beef stew. Frankly, Evbo didn’t even like mushrooms! They were gross, and slimy, and too chewy for his liking–but man, did they smell delicious. The beef only heightened his want. It was by far his favorite out of all the available meats, and aside from the plentiful saturation it gave, it just tasted plain good.
Once, when the ache in his stomach couldn’t take it anymore, he ventured to ask.
“Hey–, psst, uhm… guard person!”
He heard the guard pause their loud slurping, accompanied by a moment of silence, then shuffling. The door to his cell slid open slightly.
“What?” They said in a bitter, weary voice.
“Could I… have a bite of that?”
The guard furrowed their brow, and glanced down at their soup. It was half-finished. They looked back up at Evbo with a curled lip.
“Why?”
“I’m… hungry?” He gave a pleading grin.
They scoffed at him. “I gave you food, like, two hours ago.”
Evbo frowned. Why did he even think they’d say yes?
“But–”
“I don’t even know why they let us give you food, to be honest. You don’t need it. You’ll be dead again soon anyway, yeah? There's no point.”
Evbo looked at him with an edge of desperation. It was true. Yes, it was true, he didn’t need it, per se. He just thought he did. His stomach wanted it.
The guard stepped back and started to close the door.
“But I–”
“Your next guest will be here in an hour. Just sleep it off, or something.” The stone door shut harshly, and Evbo was left in the dark again.
Evbo situated himself in the corner and held his stomach. He didn’t need it.
Once again, he fell asleep hungry.
He didn’t need it.
A loud grating noise woke him from his half-sleep. An oppressive light shone from the crack that had just opened in the door, and the shadow of a guard spilled out along with it.
Evbo had to stop himself from shrinking away from it. Ugh, pull yourself together, man. No big deal. Just another respawn.
He had been having some floor-time. It wasn’t very comfortable, but it was grounding to feel the cold stone beneath his hands, and sort of… zone out. Man, it would be awesome to have a video journal right now. Or anything to talk to, really, that wasn’t the wall. This was getting boring.
“Psst. Hey, Evbo!” He heard the silhouette say.
His vision slowly adjusted to the light, and it seemed his hearing was slowly adjusting to the sound. The cell, was so, so quiet.
“Are you in there?”
That voice… was so familiar. And not like any of his usual guards. Could it be?
“My guard friend?” Evbo mumbled out, and then a bit louder, “...Raymond? Is that you?”
“It is. I’m here to break you out.”
The door slid open a bit more, and Evbo saw his full face, sunglasses and all. The light spilled in even further, illuminating most of the cramped space. He had never been more thankful to see a guard in his life.
“Finally!” He cheered, scrambling up to a stand.
“...Well, sort of.”
Raymond checked behind his back, then hesitantly stepped in, and stared down at Evbo with wrinkled brows.
Evbo’s wide grin lessened. “What do you mean, sort of? Escaping is like, a one-and-done thing, right? Right?”
“This is a bit more complicated than a ‘one-and-done’ thing, dude.” The guard mimicked, hopping down to Evbo’s eye level. “You’re kind of really important to these guys. There is security everywhere. I didn’t even know we had this many guards.”
“Well, I am the chosen one, after all.”
Evbo could feel the eye-roll from behind the sunglasses. “Yeah, and so–your escape plan is a little bit more complicated than just walking out the front door.”
Evbo nodded and made a grunt of frustration. This sucks.
They sat in the silence of the cell for a moment. Raymond looked at him in sympathy.
Drip, drip.
This absolutely sucks. He should say that out loud.
“This sucks.”
Raymond moved his head in agreement. “It’ll put a hold on your progress, that’s for sure,” he remarked. “Can you stomach this cell for a little while longer?”
“Not cell– no, no, no.” Evbo jumped at the correction. “It's better to think of it as.. an apartment!”
The guard’s eyes widened in surprise, then a laugh bubbled up. He threw his arms up in defense. “Okay, okay, not cell,” he corrected, a bit freaked out.
“It’s all about the mindset.”
“Is that so?”
“It works! If I don’t think about stuff, it stops existing!’
“That's… not how it works. And also really sad, dude.”
“Nuh-uh.”
The guard raised an eyebrow in half-confusion, half-annoyance. “O-K, what if you’re tired? Or hungry? You can’t just not think about being hungry.”
“I absolutely can! I’m doing it right now!”
Evbos stomach grumbled. Raymond stared at him.
“...I can tough it out for a few more days.”
The guard eyed him carefully, then looked back at the door. He stood for another quick glance down both sides of the hallway. Spinning back to Evbo, he pulled a small bag out of his pocket.
It was plastic, see-through, and wrinkled. Inside were assorted rainbow shapes. They were dull and vibrant all at the same time, which Evbo didn’t think was possible, and looked almost like crystals. A shiny layer of sugar coated each one. He counted the colors: green, black, red, orange, yellow, and white. The bag was unopened. The guard reached for the jagged edges at the top and ripped a small hole, then tipped the bag, letting two or three fall into his hand.
Evbo pouted his lip, scooting closer. “What’re those?”
“Gumdrops,” and when Evbo showed no signs of recognition, he continued, “Leftovers. From the cafeteria,” He sat against the wall, and left space for Evbo to join him. “I always grab an extra bag after I’m done eating,” he explained, tossing one into his mouth.
Evbo planted himself on the ground next to Raymond and stared at the ones in his hand. They looked… strange. And like they would rot his teeth.
But he was really hungry.
“Do you want one?” Raymond prompted, holding out the two leftover in his hand.
Evbo squinted at him. Looking down at the candies, back up at him, then back down to the sweets.
“Are they good?”
“I like ‘em.”
“Hm.”
He scooped the two out of Raymond’s hand. One yellow, one orange. Which one should he try first? He was a bit more hesitant to take the orange one because orange usually meant lava, which was eugh. Could something be lava-flavored? There weren’t a lot of other orange things in PVP civilization. Actually–it was probably carrot-flavored. And Evbo wasn’t going to eat another carrot as long as he lived when he got out of here.
That only left the yellow one. Yellow like the sun. Like the gold level. He wondered if the sun had a flavor as well. It would probably taste pretty good, yeah?
Decided. Evbo hesitantly placed the yellow candy on his tongue. As soon as the sugar touched, the sweetness exploded in his mouth. He bit down in surprise, and that added to it. Another flavor, one that felt distinctly yellow, and it was delicious. He hummed in delight, and heard a little chuckle from beside him.
“You like?” The guard guessed.
Evbo felt that was very clear. He nodded.
Raymond tipped another one out of the bag. “That one’s lemon flavored. Objectively the tastiest, although most of the other guards like red. We only get a couple of boxes full of these a month, so there’s a bit of competition on which types are the best.”
“A couple boxes? Full of these?” Evbo gaped.
The guard mhm’d. “I always sneak a few extra packets. I’ve got a little stash of a bunch of stuff.”
Evbo mentally thanked himself for befriending a guard.
“This one’s my favorite flavor.”
Raymond handed him a darkly colored one, and Evbo raised an eyebrow. He took it hesitantly and sniffed it, wrinkling his nose. The guard laughed lightly and clarified, “It’s licorice-flavored.”
Ah, yes, licorice. He totally knows what that is. He placed it in his mouth and bit down.
Euw. That's not good. Eugh! Evbo made a face and had to stop himself from spitting it out.
“Blegh–oh my gosh, what is that?”
“Licorice?”
“It's gross, that’s what it is!” Evbo spat it into his hand as he heard Raymond snort. A small tissue was handed to him, and he bundled the scrap up and wiped his mouth.
He grabbed a few more from the bag in a handful and shoved them into his mouth, trying to get the taste out. “How can you even like that?”
Drip.
“The other ones are a little bit too sweet for me. Licorice has the perfect amount of bitterness in it too.”
Evbo stuck his tongue out.
Raymond tsk’d in place of a laugh. “Sweet tooth.”
Drip, drip.
“Yknow, that's actually the first sugary thing I think I’ve had, like, ever.”
The guard raised his eyebrows, then paused, and finished with a nod. “I guess that makes sense. Not a lot of variety on the wood sword level. I mean, what do PVP noobs need sugar for?”
Drip.
“..Yeah.” Evbo squinted at the guard, then down at his sword.
They were then lulled into a quiet conversation. Evbo was grateful for the human interaction that didn’t include being farmed. All things considered, the guard was a being a bit nicer than he usually was. He could hear the half-forced conversation, most of his words had a hint of sympathy, or maybe even pity.
Every so often he let out a small genuine laugh, and then Evbo would laugh along with him, and the rest of the world would take a back seat.
For a few hours, they sat there.
Maybe he should get kidnapped more often! The apartment wasn’t so bad when he really thought about it. If he really does forget the respawns are happening, and if Raymond kept coming back, he could get used to the food, the sleep, the silence–
–drip. Drip, drip–
“Oh my god,” Evbo threw his head into his hands and pulled at his hair. “If that stupid thing drips one more time, I’m gonna lose it.”
Raymond laughed a bit. “How long’s that been happening?”
“Since I got here–”
Drip.
“--erraaughhhh…”
His laugh grew louder, and he tilted his ear to the wall to listen. The sound grew more audible as he reached the south wall. He made a small noise of realization.
“I think it might be coming from the cell–sorry, apartment next door.” Raymond turned back to Evbo, who had been watching in curiosity. “I could probably fix it if it’s bothering you so much.”
Evbo could’ve cried. He wouldn’t have, but he could’ve. This guy had brought him sugar and a solution for the most annoying problem in his life right now (other than being farmed for his lives–but that, in this current moment, was no big deal). He popped another gumdrop into his mouth.
“That’d be nice.”
The shuffling and clanking of armor startled them both out of the mellow conversation. The guard tensed, and Evbo couldn't stop himself from shrinking back.
“We’re switching shifts.” He whispered quickly.
Raymond suddenly stood, tucking the candies in a half-hidden spot near the staircase. He hurriedly hopped up onto the lifted stair, adjusting his sunglasses and straightening up his posture. Professional. Evbos cheeks flushed ever-so-slightly.
“I’ll bring a different kind of sweet. Next time. See ya.”
And just like that, the guard was gone.
Different kind?
The door was left ajar as Raymond slipped out, and a different guard replaced him.
Next time?
He was left there for another few minutes. The new guard had allowed the door to stay open, letting the warm light leak through it. He eyed the candies hidden by the foot of the stairs.
He wanted another yellow one.
A full hour then passed since Raymond had left, and his cell was strangely quiet. His stomach gurgled.
Another iron sword was escorted into his room after a while. In the back of his mind, he recognized them. Someone who he’d seen at a marketplace, no doubt. She didn’t look all that sympathetic, so Evbo assumed this would be a painful, yet quick, death.
A sword was pointed at him and she said something. Evbo was too busy thinking to hear it. He had been repeating it in his mind since the guard had left.
Raymond had a plan. Evbo was gonna get out. And the next time he came, if not to release him, would be with a new sweet treat.
There was a white, hot pain in his chest. He fell to the floor. A pool of crimson red bubbled up around the wound, and the air smelled of heavy iron, yet his mouth still had the taste of sugar in it. His vision blurred, registering the small grin the woman held on her face.
He ignored that. One thing registered as he lay on the ground, a blade stabbed into his chest.
The dripping had stopped.
Evbo decided to start rationing the gumdrops that had been left in the bag. He had started with 20 remaining after Raymond had left them hidden by the stairs, and eaten 14 in the past 48 hours or so. He had thoughtfully picked around the licorice-flavored ones, which means he was left with 3. As delicious as they were, he should probably start portioning them out. A little late of a realization, yes, but a realization nonetheless. Just one a day, then. (He counted a day as about 4-5 respawns. Eugh.) There was no telling when the guard would be back, so… this was a fine compromise.
(…Raymond. Evbo hoped he was alright.)
The first day the guard was gone, Evbo picked out a bright red one from the bag. It was matte, slightly oddly shaped, and about the size of the tip of his thumb. The color reminded him of an apple, and the idea of fruit made his mouth water.
He placed it carefully in his mouth and bit in. It exploded in a burst of sweetness, and Evbo made a sound of satisfaction. Surprisingly, it was not apple-flavored. Something deep in his mind registered it as cherry, even though he had never seen, nor eaten a cherry ever. He chewed happily. He liked cherry.
(Evbo hoped the escape plan was going well. Tabi would like gumdrops, probably. Maybe he should save her some.)
The second day, the guard didn’t return again. He rustled with the bag carefully, mindful not to alert the people outside, and pulled out a green one. Green… green… uh? Maybe… grass-flavored? There weren’t many green things in PVP civilization. It didn’t matter. Green was his favorite color! He merrily tossed it in his mouth and chewed.
Oh! Oh? It was, what… spicy? Not quite burning spicy. More like one that bit at the back of his mouth like ice and burned the underside of his tongue. He pushed it around for a few more seconds. What was it? Something with an M. Milk… mild… mint…
Mint! It was minty, which was the last thing Evbo had been expecting. It wasn’t his favorite by all means, but still delicious nonetheless. He would’ve preferred something like lime. Which, he’d also never had before. What was a lime?
(What if they had failed? And nobody was coming for him? Was this the rest of his life?)
A third day rolled around with no sign of Raymond. Evbo decided to close his eyes and let fate decide what flavor he got today. He shoved his hand into the bag and rummaged around, and produced destiny’s pick.
Orange! He’d already had orange a few times, but Evbo decided he didn’t appreciate them enough, so this was his first real time having it. He squished it slightly with hesitance.
…This was his last one. Maybe he should only nibble half of this one, and leave the rest for tomorrow. He took a small bite, just a little over the middle, and tried to really taste the orange this time. With a small hum, he tilted his head to the ceiling. Hopefully, the guard would be back soon.
Hopefully.