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“Time’s running out… How much longer? Hang in there, Caleb244 and Ellernate.”
–Itrapped
After the events happened in May, the group of hackers decided to go their own ways and blame everything on Itrapped for the greed he carelessly handled, the ban of Ellernate and Caleb244, and the misuse of the admin panel leading everything up to this point.
It has been 3 years since the events of May Madness have occurred. Itrapped went out of his way in order to obtain the key, only to be met with trial and error whenever he attempted to make an approach to Chance, who had the key. Meanwhile, in the Banlands where Ellernate and Caleb244 are trapped, they don't really get along being in the same place. They would frequently fight over the smallest things, and it was impossible to cooperate together to the point it was frustrating for Doombringer to handle which led to them having shock collars whenever they misbehave, but even with all those fights, it ended up being forgotten, and the cycle repeats. There needs to be a change, or they will be on the same page.
One day, Ellernate was roaming around the Banlands, walking and pondering about what happened in May during the Robloxian's free time outside of the Banlands. He had been reminiscing all the times it had been for their friend group, how different things would have been if they had never been caught or if Itrapped was still with them; all those thoughts in his head were living inside him perpetually and impossible to forget. Caleb, whose eyes had been observing him the whole time, decides to interfere once again and approaches Ellernate when he gets closer.
“You have that look on your face again; how pathetic. What's the matter this time? ” Caleb244 spoke out; he has his own ways of how to comfort someone, which are poorly executed. He crosses his arms and looks at Ellernate with disgust and resentment, rolling his eyes at the inconvenient silence in the prison's environment.
Instead of the usual comeback Caleb244 expected, Ellernate was calm and quiet, which made Caleb244 agitated. Caleb opened his mouth, but his words were hindered when Ellernate voiced them.
“Will fighting ever get us anywhere? ”
Caleb244’s mouth agape for a second; he was confused at first, glaring down at Ellernate’s sudden comment sounding like a confrontation. His voice retorted out of spite and out of defense.
“You’re overthinking again; it gets to a point, and I don't want to hear it." Those words hold something deeper, something he does not want to take accountability for. Caleb hates getting confronted for something he's not aware of, so he tries to deescalate the conversation quickly before he freezes up when Ellernate adds further into his frustration.
“I know I'm overthinking again, but please, we can't keep living like this, Caleb. It's been 3 years! We have to work together if we want to get out of the Banlands; we have to communicate just like back then and—"
“Shut up.”
Caleb sharply cuts through his words; something was off. Ellernate immediately noticed the shift in Caleb's tone while his arms are wrapped around himself like a shield, his voice sounding more like a serious whisper that's unable to come out. It's like Caleb couldn't even talk anymore; all those critical statements he made towards Ellernate vanished. He looks tense; it's like the words are stuck in his throat, unable to speak up. He can't speak up.
Why is he like this?
He's okay with speaking to his other friends.
So why not him?
Despite their hardships, Ellernate pushes through, completely breaking Caleb’s unspoken boundaries.
“Why, what's wrong? Why should I stop talking? Come on, tell me, Caleb! ”
Ellernate desperately voices out his pleas only to be met with nothing; nothing but silence appeared. Caleb refused to talk to Ellernate, not knowing he's been trying his hardest to speak, yet nothing will ever come out of his mouth.
This refusal gets Ellernate enraged and mistakes his silence as stubborn behavior. He grabs Caleb’s wrists harshly in a grimace and a livid face, something Caleb’s sight will never forget. “Come on, Caleb! Why won't you talk to me?! The shouting made Caleb feel in distress, worse than he had ever felt; not even the incident in May was this bad. He refused to bring his gaze to Ellernate. In his eyes, Caleb was being stubborn, yet he completely neglected the tapping, lack of eye contact, and something else that rose up into Caleb's system. He felt trapped and unable to escape.
Suddenly…
The two of them felt a shocking pierce right on their necks, a shock collar installed for the Banlands’ prisoners; Caleb yelped out in pain, and the shock caused Ellernate to let go of Caleb from his firm grip. At that silent moment, only then did he realize he went too far again. Doombringer had been watching them amidst the quiet cells the whole time but only decided to interfere.
Ellernate's first thought was to immediately look after Caleb, considering he has a weaker body than Ellernate. He got up hurriedly on his feet and extended his arms to lend a helping hand but only to be met with Caleb slapping his hand away, refusing the offer of any assistance coming from Ellernate. Caleb244 was clearly withdrawn with the sudden encounter with Ellernate today; all he could do was whisper out,
“Don't talk to me; please leave me alone.”
“Please…”
"Please..."
“Please.”
Each "please" was getting quieter, but Ellernate stood there, motionlessly. The last thing he ever saw was Caleb's eyes avoiding him with tears and apprehension, clenching his chest to soothe his rising heart, cold sweat dripping down his face, and his breath running out every heave. All Ellernate could do was leave, but that was the most painful thing he'd ever do to his dearest, Caleb.