Chapter Text
Along the shore where cloud waves break, there he stands. A monotonous landscape filled with a plane of dry withered grass rustles quietly. The landscape is broken only by a rare shadow of a sickly tree, and somber colored rocks that point heavenward.
In the midst of a desolate empire that sings in a dead voice, he can only pray he hasn’t wholly lost himself, in the lost Carcosa.
You died!
Is what was displayed on Avery's screen. No, this can't be over, he won't let it be over. Did D3rlord3- no, Derek, seriously just push him off the ledge? Avery felt distress and panic rush over him, making him immediately click respawn in the hopes of being able to stop Derek from merging with the King. But when he clicked the button, nothing happened. He started spamming it, hoping it's a glitch, but once more, nothing seems to happen.
This could not be the end of it, Derek had been stuck in front of his screen for god knows how long, just for him to sacrifice his life to an eldritch being that was stuck in Minecraft. Geez, this whole scenario sounded like a bad dream.
With growing frustration, Avery knew he had to contact Derek through something else. He automatically searched Derek on Google, but how was he supposed to find him without his last name?
“Urgh think! He would figure out where I am immediately if he was me…”
He shook his head, now was not the time to compare himself to probably the smartest guy on Earth. He got the laptop from a storage locker that was 10 minutes away, so surely he must live nearby? Technically the information of the original owner is confidential, but surely Avery could think of some excuse to get it anyway.
But for that plan to work, he would have to wait for it to be daytime, and he didn't have the time for that.
He had to act fast. The grief mixed with lassitude made his eyes grow weary, which made him want to give up, something he often wanted to resort to whenever he couldn’t overcome a challenge.
But in this case, that wasn’t an option. He just couldn’t. Derek had warned him about the dangers that led ahead, and yet he neglected them. Derek sacrificed himself to save the world, finding him was the least he could do.
He tried to think back on his journey, the few conversations he got to have with Derek. What if he left some kind of hint? That seems like something he would do right? Avery opened the hours length of footage, 15 hours ouch.. that felt embarrassing.
He scrolled quickly through the video, trying to notice anything strange. He then reached the library part where he finally found Derek. He let out a shy smile, he was so charming and patient with him. He wonders how long he must have waited for him at the library… Then he noticed it.
1oKnSYbxE2tilcmJiGivRGxuQPX0owEZS
Oh yeah, he had completely forgotten about that, it was really odd at the time but maybe it was a clue he left specifically for Avery? It was probably some code, so naturally he googled: “what code has letters and numbers”. The result gave him multiple decoding websites. He tried putting it in a decoder, but nothing seemed to work, or at least have the decoded message make enough sense for it to feel like it worked.
“Great, of course this doesn't work, there's always gotta be something that doesn't work.”
So he resorted to what anyone would when they have run out of ideas.
Asking reddit.
He wrote the post and published it, in the hopes of someone responding soon. Now he had to wait. While he did, he checked out the settings to see if there were any traces of the previous owner, but to no avail. The constant adrenaline made him spam the refresh button at least 20 times. The rush of the possibility of him being close to actually saving him kept him going.
Then suddenly someone replied:
“This string of alphanumerics gives me the impression of a link rather than a code. It could be something attached to a website, but I would try using it as a google photos or drive link, since it seems too long for a youtube url, and too nonsensical to be used as something else.”
That might be it! Why didn’t he think of that? Well a link to a YouTube video would have made more sense but even then he didn’t consider that possibility. He hurried to his own google drive and copy and pasted the link over his own. It worked!
Avery was ecstatic, but immediately became uneasy upon seeing the title: “Goodbye”. This really was Derek. He clicked the link in anticipation, bracing himself for what the message might contain. Then he saw it, the letter. He read it carefully, knowing it was written by Derek himself to him.
“Please don’t think you failed, Avery. When you read this, don't think you let me down. You didn't. It's thanks to you, and all that you did, that millions live to see another day.”
Bullshit. Was he actually serious about this? He was willing to sacrifice himself and then go on to tell him that it’s thanks to him that everyone is alive? When Derek is the one who took the fall? How could someone so selfless even exist?
“Whatever you do at the crossroads. Keep moving forward.”
“Ahhhhahh….. Geez…” He couldn’t help but sigh with a sad smile on his face. This guy was seriously writing his final letter dedicated to a stranger. He was beyond moved, but knew he couldn’t soak it in too much, he still had a job to do.
Luckily for him, his YouTube name “dhutchins333” displayed his, most likely, last name. Perfect. He quickly went on Google to search “Derek Hutchins”, and found a Facebook page. It had no profile picture, but at least contained his business email.
Close, but not enough.
He went on to search for any of his relatives on the website, maybe that was a better idea, since Derek is probably unconscious right now. The thought made Avery's heart drop and start to sweat. He skimmed and scrolled through different pages and suddenly, he found someone named Ashleigh Hutchins.
Her phone number was on the profile, which made Avery run to his phone and type it out as fast as possible. He did it. He was about to call her. His heart was beating quicker now, but there was no time for hesitation. He clicked the button.
“Hello, who is this?”
“H-Hello! This is Avery, Derek's friend. I'm really worried about his condition since he uh suddenly collapsed when I was on a call with him…! I'm really, really worried and I don't know his address, could you please send help?”
“Oh god, seriously? If this is a prank, this will have consequences.”
“IT ISN'T!" Avery said, a bit louder than he wanted it to be.
“Alright, alright I'll go call for help immediately.”
“Thank you so much!”
Then she hung up.
Oh god, this was way scarier than he thought. Avery tried his best to not get choked up and not to stutter. His heart was beating rapidly from the adrenaline. He did it. He actually found him.
It was a bittersweet victory, but Avery was beyond happy for being able to do something, even if it took him a bit longer than he would have liked.
He just hopes that his efforts aren’t in vain, and that Derek's heart is still beating.