Rick slowly eased his body towards the side, reaching his hand for the small axe resting on the cave's wall, grabbing it and slowly, oh so slowly, raising up on two feet. Shadows flickering upon his naked body, flickering like the wildest dancer. And as Rick slowly raised, back hunched forward, the thing raised its own back even further, its growl growing even louder, sounding like the rumble of a far off thunder.

Rick stood leaning forward with an axe in his hand, keeping still. The thing kept still too, its growl loud with intensity. Rick feeling his hands sweat, making the grip around his axe feel unsecure, gulping a clump of nervousness down into his pit of grumbling nerves. The thing stared daggers at Rick, staring with glowing red eyes, eyes like glowing hot metal.

The two still, the only thing moving being a fire between them, casting shadows upon the cave.

Rick shifted the grip around his axe, seeing the thing turning its head towards it and growling louder, but stayed still. Or not, it wasn’t staying perfectly still. No, Rick looked a little closer, leaning forward subconsciously, noticing the thing shivering. It growled even louder though as Rick leaned forward, taking its own step forward, eyes staring him down like monsters at night.

The two went still again, Rick doing his best statue impression, the thing doing its best thunder impression. The two staring at each other. Perfectly still. Louder than the screams of children in freight.

Until Bob waddled beyond the fire and towards the thing, doing so before Rick could notice or react. The thing, though, did react, turning with speed towards Bob, baring its fangs even further as Bob waddled closer. Rick open his mouth in vain, screaming soundlessly, taking an unconscious step forward, stopping upon almost stepping into the fire.

Bob grew closer to the thing, the thing took a step forward, Rick stared with opened eyes, growing larger with each step Bob took. And as the two grew even closer, Bob reached his hands up as if wanting a hug. But as he waddled within striking distance, the thing roared in defiance and jerked forward. With a flash of motion, the thing struck Bob with long claws, Bob flying backwards with a creaking of wood and two bounces from the wall, flying with such speed that Rick couldn’t follow. Next, came the sound of a whimper, sounding like a dog being struck by a hateful owner.

Rick ignored the sound, instead darting towards his prone friend lying still on the cave floor, dropping his axe in the process. One step, bending down on two knees and Rick was upon Bob. Falling down too fast, bruising his knees in the process, not important.

He reached forward, tenderly picking Bob up and turning him to see his face. Seeing the better half of his body torn apart, ruined to all smithereens. He lacked legs and his left arm, staring up at Rick with a blank expression.

Staring down at the broken Bob, Ricks emotion flared up like a million fireflies lighting up. He stared down at Bob, blinking a thousand times a second, trying to blink reality away. A reality he couldn’t blink away. Instead, he searched Bob, searching for his rune, realizing that it was missing.

He turned towards the wall Bob had hit, seeing sprinkles of chattered wood strewn about. Rick looked, then desperately shuffled towards the pieces. Among them, he searched like a man loosing their wedding ring on the important day. One hand looking, the other holding Bob like a baby against his chest. He searched the chunks of wood like in a fever dream, brushing most of everything away, brushing away pieces of Bob, searching for the one that could, would, save Bob.

Then he spotted it, the rune badly carved into a piece that Rick knew to be Bobs left hand. A piece that was shattered, but luckily, still had the rune unbroken. Rick reached for it faster than lighting, pushing it against the stump of Bob's body, pressing it firmly against it as if it would do anything. He pushed and stared desperately at Bobs face, looking for recognition, looking for a spark, searching his ugly but wonderful little face.

But nothing happened.

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Rick felt his emotions pushing against his thoughts, pushing to get the better part of him, pushing to make him fall into despair. Despair he forcefully held aloft, held aside as he couldn’t give up, not now, not with Bob.

Keeping the arm pressed against Bob, he closed his eyes, searching for the life within, seeing his sea stretching far, so far that he could see no end. He dipped into that sea, then forced as much of it up and away, away towards his hand holding Bob, forcing it into him.

The sea followed his command, a whirlpool of endless life circling down then up, up his arm and out his hand, looking like the biggest hurricane. Rick didn’t care, desperately clinging to hope, any hope, that he could save Bob.

He felt as the sea left his hand, flowing into Bob like the thirstiest giant. Wanting to give him even more, but feeling it stopping abruptly, the sea falling back down. Rick stared expectantly at Bob, searching his face for recognition, not seeing any.

Emotion threatened to overwhelm him again, his hold on reason weakening. His hold on reality slipping. He held Bobs broken arm harder against his body, and tried to force more life into him, life that just wouldn’t enter, stopped like trying to walk through a wall. Rick kept pressing and pressing, the sea pushing up unwillingly, not giving an inch to Rick, not gaining any ground to enter Bob.

Rick kept trying, trying and trying until his wall of emotions overtook his reason. Overtook and overwhelmed him, snapping his already fragile mind. Breaking it so he no longer saw the world in normal colour. He saw it in hues of red, distorted red that made the world blurry. A red that took him and whispered into his ear, whispered about the culprit to his dismay.

He turned towards the thing, towards the monster. Staring at it, seeing a blur of red lying down and staring back at him. Rick rose slowly, one hand on Bob, the other grabbing the axe. His vision red, blurry but firm. He stared at the lying monster, a single conclusion coming to mind, a thought so clear that it pushed aside all other emotions.

Kill

It felt so simple, so reassuring that Rick wondered why he’d never thought of this before. Why hadn’t he been this clear-headed as he faced other monsters? Why hadn’t he felt so assured when other bad things happened? So much hardship, so much despair, sadness and so forth could have been washed aside if he’d just realized this sooner.

A light washed aside his blurry red vision, light coming from somewhere on his chest. A light of the most tender green, like the endless green field of spring, like the green leaves of summer. It came like a tidal wave, pushing aside all red and covering everything in green.

Rick turned down, blinded by the green, so bright that the sun couldn’t match, but wasn’t hurtful, it was tender, soothing. He stared down at the green, searching it for an explanation. An explanation coming as the green subsided, subsided to reveal a blinking Bob.

Bob blinked, looking around, then stopping upon seeing Ricks face. Reaching both of his hands upwards, seeking a hug, his legs kicking like the happiest little child. Rick staring down befuddled, confused, amazed and unbearably happy. Relief like the floodgates of a dam.

He had no explanation for what he saw, and didn’t need one, grabbing a hold of Bob with a hard hug, hugging as if to never ever let go, turning around in circles as the excess emotions needed relief. Bob giggling soundlessly at the warm hug, hugging back, looking above his shoulder, spotting the monster on the ground.

Bobs smile faded at the sight, starting to struggle against Ricks hug, Rick not noticing. Bob struggling even further, managing to slip out of his grasp. Rick fumbling as he felt Bob slip from his hug, his elation turning to dread as he thought him having carelessly dropped Bob. He looked around for Bob, turning in circles quickly, stopping as he spotted the monster by the cave's entrance. Staring at it with newfound clarity.

It lied on its side, taking big and long breaths, its chest heaving up and down with its breathing. It stared up at Rick, baring its fangs, but was otherwise completely silent. Though, on its side turned up, it exposed a gaping wound, leaking blood and pus, probably the size of Ricks hand.

The monster lied still; its head turned towards Rick but lying flat on the ground, barely with enough energy to bare its fangs. Its red eyes blinking in Rick's direction.

Bob came within view of the monster, waddling yet again towards it, and yet again, Rick noticed too late. But unlike before, the monster only lifted its head high enough to turn towards Bob, baring its fangs further and gurgling out a pathetic excuse for a growl. Bob not caring, waddling and lifting his arms high, ready to hug the monster's face.

Rick dashed forward, axe at the ready, leaning down towards Bob. But Bob was faster, managing to take the last two steps towards the monster, grabbing its tired yaw in a tender hug, leaning his head toward its bared fangs. Rick stopped in the middle of his step as the green light yet again flashed bright from where Bob had just stood.

Covering his eyes from the unpainful green light, Rick waited for it to ebb aside, shock and confusion battling his happiness and relief.

The wait being mere seconds, but feeling endless. Then as it subsided, in its place there stood the monster, and Bob lying awfully still in front of it.