Paradise Lost (JSAB)

What are we?

I would use Warm Hugs in Court for this chapter but like there's no youtube video of it lol

???, ???? Hours

Pain.

It was like a bright white torch light shining in their face.

At first, Tetra thought they had died. The world was a bright white blurry mess, surrounded by hazy mist.

Eventually the world came back into focus and they looked around, questioning if this was a dream or not.

Right now it seemed they were currently lying on their back in a place unfamiliar to them, submerged to their ears in a cold, bitter and chilling (but thankfully shallow) river. They were in a small forest of some sort, surrounded by thick tree trunks that were much darker than they were supposed to be. If they were to guess, it was the blanket of leaves up above that broke their fall and ultimately the reason they're still alive right now.

...Speaking of which...

HOW ARE THEY NOT DEAD???

Groaning with every single fibre of their being on fire, Tetra sat back up, clutching their head. There were several twigs sticking out of their cyan head, and their clothes were torn and ruined, not to mention dripping wet and heavy. As they sat there, feeling their organs turn cold with anxiety, they heard a faint voice somewhere near them that sounded familiar.

"Quin?" They called out, trying to stand up, but failing miserably. The apparent burns they acquired during that fight seared and boiled at every single touch, making it just the more harder to move. Not to mention the bruises. Did they break something? They hoped they didn't break something. Thankfully the cold water soothed their burns ever so slightly, but the wind blew right through them and the temperature was freezing, even though it's spring. They weren't exactly concerned with the shallow river, as hydrophobic as they were. No harm from just a few inches of water. When inches turn into metres, and weak current turns into raging waves, however...

'T-Tetra?' Quin's voice called out a couple of metres away, voice hoarse and strained, sounding like he was on the brink of death. 'Tetra? Is that you? Are we dead?'

"Tree of Life, at this point I wish." Tetra mumbled as they finally managed to stand up, almost falling over as a wave of white hot stabbing fried their brain. After finding a nearby strong and sturdy branch to use as a walking stick, they stumbled in the direction of their brother's voice. But it was dark, much darker than it was supposed to be, a thick blanket of pure black ink clouding Tetra's vision. So they couldn't see where Quin was. Maybe they've already passed him and didn't even realise.

"Quin?" They called out, turning around and scanning their surroundings for any possibility as to where Quin was hidden.

'Uh, over here.' His voice came from below.

The cyan-haired teenager bowed their head and squinted into the darkness. There was a small decline in the earth beside them, a slope leading downhill into a pit. They squinted down at the valley that was blanketed with thick bushes. So thick that there was a massive depression in the middle of it in the shape of a person.

"Quin? What the hell?" Tetra immediately stepped back, trying to get a better look at the crater in the grasses. They scrambled down, the plants reaching past their waist, and helping Quin up. His body was heavy and limp, and the two of them moved very slowly back up the slope. When the ground was flat, Tetra slipped and the two of them collapsed to the forest floor, the collision causing painful groans and burns to flare up.