The dark skeleton creature threw its black armoured arms up into the air, its jaw clicked and clacked but no voice was ever heard.

“With your [ ] we should be able to get out of here safely?” Jonas quivered, staring at the huge skeleton, his head tilted and wrinkled.

“Your character is freaky as hell!” Phil squeaked, getting closer, eyeing it up and down. Red beads of lights in its eye sockets locked on to Phil.

‘BHOOOM!’ A gale force wind slapped me in the face and knocked several of the others over, and a high-pitched ringing filled my ears. It was so fast, none of us saw how it happened, blood and flesh had exploded out in a spray, and where Phil once was, was the dark skeleton creature’s fist. My heart hammered in my chest, my vision shook but I still had the good sense to slowly withdraw behind an ice shard. The dark skeleton jaw clattered like it was laughing.

Peering out, I could see Julz slowly getting up. “W-why?” he sobbed. The dark skeleton creature approached him, hammering the ground with each step, until he towered over Julz, then magically disappeared his black steel gauntlets.

Julz shivered uncontrollably and tried to shuffle away, until the dark skeleton laid a bare boned finger on him, and he slumped to the ground, and there he remained unmoving. Clicker-clacker went the dark skeleton, before its glowing beady eyes turned to the rest.

“Run-run-run!!!” Jonas screamed.

The Death Emperor raised its hands, and clacketed something with its jaw. At first it didn’t seem like anything would happened, hundreds of skeletal arms burst from the ground and grasped everyone by the legs.

They all let out wild screams and try as they may they were held tight and escape was off the menu.

“Ahh, why Brenden? Why?” Jonas said grinding his teeth, as the skeleton arms clawed and tug at his flesh.

Stolen story; please report.

The demon-skeleton tilted its skull down, which made it look like it was smiling.

“Ahhhh!” the group screamed, their bodies tensing up as their flesh was rendered from their thighs. Jonas pulled a scroll from his satchel and unravelled it, “Chew on this!” he nodded at the scroll, a beam of high intensity fire and lava spewed out of the scroll at the Death Emperor, it went on for several seconds, until the intense heat of the spell was too much for Jonas, and he dropped the scroll ending the spell. The area was choked with heat and steam. “Jonas? Steph? Luke?” I whispered.

“Mark?!” Jonas said through gritted teeth.

“Oh gods, are you ok?” I sobbed. He wasn’t ok, half his body had wreathed in red, and his fingers were burnt off.

He caught were I was looking. “It’s ok, I don’t feel anything, I think it’s the shock, probably,” his voice melancholy, “Mark…. You need to use one of the teleport scrolls…” he said.

“Hey, is anybody there? Hello?” a quivering young girls voice called out.

“Whose voice is that?” Jonas asked, his eyes and head wavering.

“Oh-shit… it’s Catherine! I must have accidentally sent her the address.” I massaged my temples.

“Mark, behind you…” Jonas croaked out.

The steam cleared and revealed several bodies starting to move.

“Final Anima?!” Holy effing shit.

“Mark… you need… to go!” he grunted.

My face swelled, and my cheeks felt wet, “I c-can’t leave, there must be something around here we can use!” I yelled, searching the surrounding area. “You’ll… never find it… in time…” he forced the words out.

“M-M-Mark?! I-Is that you?” Catherine exclaimed, her majestic face and beautiful brown and wavy blonde hair appeared round the ice shard.

“C-Catherine?!” I rubbed the doubt out of my eyes.

“Where am I? Why is there so much blood?” she sobbed, her eyes welling up.

“I-I’m sorry, it was an accident…” knowing full well, that saying that would do little to console her. “Catherine this is important… we need to find as many potions and scrolls as we can, before Jonas…”

Jonas went quiet and then suddenly exploded into a million sparkles of light before all that was left was a floating golden diamond shaped crystal.

“J-Jonas! No! Jonas?!” I screamed, running over, the golden diamond disappeared when I brushed it, “Jonas?! Your mum sent me a message before I came here, she’s worried about you?!”

“W-why? Fantasy worlds are supposed to b-be fun. This isn’t fun!”

“Mark?” Catherine whispered, “Are they supposed to be doing that…?” her voice shook.

The chinking of armour came from where Catherine gestured as several previously dead player characters rose up.

“Ahhh!” we both screamed together, oh eff me dead! My insides wailed, not only was I going to die, but I would be instrumental to the death of my crush and the hottest person at my school.

We’re so dead… the scroll!

The zombies moaned loudly and the once dead characters staggered toward us.

Scroll.

[Would you like to use the scroll?]

The dead were close and their bones creaked as they reached out for us. “Mark?!” Catherine screamed. I reached out as far as could, “Catherine!!!” I shouted and thought the word ‘Yes’, before the world vanished from view.

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