Chapter Text
-No, no, no, don't you fucking dare to pass out, okay? Stay with me. Don't you fucking...
Jeremy was out of breath, not an unusual occasion, carrying his own weight was a hard enough but the extra weight of the bleeding man slouched over his shoulder was proving a an almost impossible tasks.
Two steps, realize Arcade is almost sliding out of his back, stop, yank him back, repeat.
- I'll throw myself into the Pit before letting something happen to you.
He said almost in a whisper, half hoping his semi conscious companion had heard.
- We're almost there. I'm so sorry.
Why? Why are you sorry?
Arcade tried to say, but no word came but a weak mumble.
-Oh gods ..no...no, stay here, right here.
I’m not going anywhere.
Lies. Not that he knew, but he was going somewhere, the corners of his already blurred vision going dark, like branches of a three obscuring his visions. Arcade felt his body getting pushed down by the gravity until his back was on the ground.
- Bare with me i saw a person so this once so...yeah, just trust me.
What are you doing? You're going through my stuff? What do you have there. JEREMY ANSWE ME, ARE YOU DEAF?
Something shone in the dark night and he felt a sharp sting in his left arm. Great, a snakebite was the least thing he needed now.
-There it it’s, all set, you’re going to be fine,you’ll be fine. Just..hang on.
The moon was so full and so beautiful. It's light so bright he could still see the regret in Jeremy eyes while he looked down at him.
Arcade felt nothing beside the sting in his left arm, all he saw was the white blinding light and a blurred silhouette, a red string connecting both. But who was that person? Their name was on his mind seconds ago.
- Forgive me.
Arcade opened his eyes, pitch black. He placed his hands in front of his face. Nothing. Not even a silhouette. Sand or dirty crushed under his weight, look around was pointless, just the infinite started back at him, with no other option, he picked a direction and started walking, he was bound to find a way.
Minutes passed, maybe hours? He kept going
Calm down, keep it up, you'll find something.
Or someone will find you.
-You got what you were after, so pay up.
He stopped dead in his track, it was impossible to point where the voice came, at least now he could see a bit better, maybe his eyes was adjusting to the dark,at least he was able to see himself and a bit of the ground around. Just an old beat up dirt road.
-Time to cash out.
Slowly the moon came dancing from the horizon, revealing the dry and desolate landscape, but still no source of the voices it echoed in the air getting clearer the more he approached.
Or got farther away.
-Would you get over with it?
Arcade had a bad feeling, the string in his arm feeling like fire burning his veins, but it wasn’t pain. It was fear. A sense of urgency.
Don’t shoot.
Don’t shoot.
Don’t shoot.
-Maybe Khan’s kill people without looking 'em in the face, but I ain’t a fink, dig?
Okay, now it sounded like trouble, he reached for his plasma pistol, it wasn’t there. Great,just great. But there was another thing missing, but what? Or rather who?
The red string shone brighter,Arcade just noticed his left sleeved rolled up, the string starting just below his elbow and disappearing in the night. His chest tightened, his breath shortened, what was in the end of the string?
- You made your last delivery, kid. From where you’re kneeling it must seem like an 18 karat run of bad luck.
At the end if the string a small figure kneeled on a shallow hole, their back turned to him. The moon shone bright behind the gunman. And then everything came back, Arcade almost felt stupid. Stupid. Jeremy told this story so many times to every local who came asking now he was dreaming about it.
Don’t shoot
Don’t shoot
Don’t shoot
-Truth is...
Arcade approached,the shooter didn’t had a face, but now he knew why Jeremy said someone in pajamas shot him, it really looked like.Jeremy was shivering, fighting against his binds to no avail, and in a blink of eye, Arcade saw himself at the shallow grave, facing the tip of the gun.
No wait! Just take the damn ch-
-...the game was rigged from the start.
Bang.