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Description
We didn't really know when it happened.
It's all in the past now, seems like a distant memory... One week ago the earth turned to dark, all electricity went out, buildings crumbled and plants died. And nobody... None of us... Know why.

Day 7 -

"Here... drink." Honeydew knocked me from my train of thought, holding a flask of water out in front of me. I shook my head, need sugar...
"Exza come on." The dwarf insisted. I looked down and stared at the floor, curled up in the corner as I had been all night, and planned to be all day.
"Don't make me get Xeph." The dwarf furrowed his eyebrows at me. I didn't speak, I didn't have the energy to. I could see the worried glances I was getting... Kept getting. I ignored them, and I ignored him. Xephos couldn't tell me what to do. If I drank that stuff I'd be sick, nothing more too it. I'd be more dehydrated than I was now.
Before I knew it there he was, knelt in front of me, clicking his fingers to make me focus back into reality. "Exza?"
His voice moulded me back into this world, and I took another look past the two of them, still seeing the worried faces of my friends. Lomadia and Nilesy sat in one corner, Mr owl nuzzling her shoulder. Martyn and Toby sat not too far from them, backs against the counters. Martyn's blonde hair was dirty and singed at the tips. His forest had burnt down... Zoeya sat with Rythian in the far corner, Teep with his big tail wrapped around them protectively. Ravs, Zylus, Benjii and Strippin weren't too far away either.
Sips and Sjin had ventured back to Sipsco to grab some supplies, Minty had stayed to help bandage up any wounds people had. Kim sat resting her tear stained head on Lalna's shoulder, staring at the floor and letting out a small whimper every so often.
Ridgedog lay in the corner closest to me, suppose spaceballs and the dwarf put him there so he could keep an eye on me.
Area 11 were yet to arive, thought they had said they wouldn't be long. Caff was with them as well as Lemon and they were all heading over by boat.
Hatfilms were in the corner to my left, attempting to keep each other light hearted, an abismal attempt...
Bebop, davechaos, panda, Will and Pyrion were still unheard from, and Turps was in the middle of chopping down some wood in the forest.
I myself? I sat inbetween the machinery, tucked away where I felt somewhat safer. But I could still notice them look at me. Watch me with worry plastered all over their faces.
"Exza?" Xephos repeated. I looked to him. "Exza, are you alright?" He looked me in the eyes and I didn't look away. I didn't do anything. "Honeydew says you won't drink?" His tone was caring... And God I hated him for that. I didn't know why, but I did.
I gave a tiny shrug and looked down at my hands, my bruised cut up hands. Minty had tried to bind them the night before, but I hadn't let her. I began moving my fingers around each other, something I'd picked up when feeling anxious, though I didn't know why.
"Exza, Xevphera is gonna come back with some sugar cane, will you drink then?" Xephos asked, manoeuvring himself so that he was sat as close as he could be to the small cubby hole I'd found myslef in. I looked back down, counting to 6 in my head.
"You should at least eat... Here, Ridgedog found a stash of sweets and stuff, you should eat some." He placed a small wooden box in front of me, not taking his eyes from me. I could feel them, burrowing beneath my skin. The once bright blue now a dull colour to see. All colour seemed that way now. Dull and abismal, dank even. Everything was dreary and drained of life, I found myself missing the things I tried to stop and take in... The bright green grass, the nice blue water... The tiny little butterflies that seemed to find their way to me that I would play with...
Such a childish way of thinking of things... Of doing things. And for what? So I could enjoy it while I could...? Until that day eventually came?
The sky was ripped of its colour, like the gods took an eraser to it, wiping away the blues and purples and whites, leaving the darker shades. A reflection of our deprivation, out loss of hope... My... Loss of hope.
I didn't know why I was like this... Why I couldn't find the strength to string words together in my head... How I couldn't even nod or smile... I used to smile too much... Xeph would always say I was hiding something, pretending so others wouldn't be sad. He said he'd admired that about me... And now look at him, sat next to me as we all hunch in the lowest floor of the Jaffa factory, wondering what to do... And I can't even crack a smile, make everyone feel better about the situation. I can't even jump around and tell them 'it's not all bad! Don't you see? It's an adventure! It's something new! I was getting bored anyway!' Like usual... But this wasn't like usual... I guess I always assumed I'd have plenty of time to do the things I planned... See the people I love... I never assumed this. That we would all be stuck together under one roof as the world crumbled beneath our feet, wound hopelessness and dread into our hearts as if we breathed it straight into our lungs, into our bodies.
What do you do in this situation...? I havnt slept in a week... I havnt ate, drank... I've hardly moved... And everyone is beginning to worry, way too much...
It's only me after all... I'll bounce back... Right?
This time I'm not so sure...
He breaks me from my thought, placing a pale boney hand on my shoulder and winding it round my back to give me a hug. He must see I need one... They all must. I burry my head into his shoulder, attempting as best I can to ignore the stares I'm getting from everyone as they look on in worry. Xephos winds his way into the little cubby hole and I curl up with him, thankful of the warmth he brings... I hadn't realised I was so cold...
Honeydew sighs and walks over to ridgedog, sitting down next to him and offering him the water I refused.
Xephos understands me... Somewhat. Sometimes more than I understand myself. At the moment he realises I can't eat... I can't do anything and I won't talk no matter how much they talk to me, no matter how much I want to... He knows I need sleep...
I feel his jacket get wrapped around my body, and I feel myself sink into him like a soft mattress, ignoring his skinny bones poking into me... It's better than the cold floor, he's so warm... I can tell he's closed his eyes, the light isn't there anymore. He knows he can get me to sleep. Well... It is getting late now...
One week... And I'm already at this stage... Is that what the others are worried about? That they can still talk and eat and function? And I seem to just be this empty shell...? A Barron, desolate wasteland like the world outside...?
I close my eyes, suddenly feeling how sore they had become. They burnt like the sun... One of the only colours left... A bright amber flame in the sky, dancing around itself like the waves of an ocean...
I may seem empty... But inside I feel like a poet...
The ashened rivers and the crumbled concrete... What had we dome to deserve this? Had we not been kind? Honourable?
Why was it now that the world we had faught so hard to defend... Was now as dark as the hearts of the enamies we've faced. The white of the Jaffa factory walls now singed with smoke lines, oily and black. The machines all stopped in the middle of their cycles, frozen in time... A reminder of the useless efforts we had made... And for what cause...? How was this living...? It was barely surviving...
I drifted to sleep in my best friends arms, hoping for a kind dream. A warm touch in this seemingly frozen world.
Why couldn't I just brush it off like everything else...? They needed me... Why couldn't I stand strong, put up the barriers I always held up, for the sake of my friends. Why couldn't I laugh and joke and cheer everyone up. Make the best out of a bad situation like I always attempted...?
Perhaps... I'd stayed strong for too long...? Perhaps it was time I focused on myself for once...

Exza x

Description
We didn't really know when it happened.
It's all in the past now, seems like a distant memory... One week ago the earth turned to dark, all electricity went out, buildings crumbled and plants died. And nobody... None of us... Know why.

Day 7 -

"Here... drink." Honeydew knocked me from my train of thought, holding a flask of water out in front of me. I shook my head, need sugar...
"Exza come on." The dwarf insisted. I looked down and stared at the floor, curled up in the corner as I had been all night, and planned to be all day.
"Don't make me get Xeph." The dwarf furrowed his eyebrows at me. I didn't speak, I didn't have the energy to. I could see the worried glances I was getting... Kept getting. I ignored them, and I ignored him. Xephos couldn't tell me what to do. If I drank that stuff I'd be sick, nothing more too it. I'd be more dehydrated than I was now.
Before I knew it there he was, knelt in front of me, clicking his fingers to make me focus back into reality. "Exza?"
His voice moulded me back into this world, and I took another look past the two of them, still seeing the worried faces of my friends. Lomadia and Nilesy sat in one corner, Mr owl nuzzling her shoulder. Martyn and Toby sat not too far from them, backs against the counters. Martyn's blonde hair was dirty and singed at the tips. His forest had burnt down... Zoeya sat with Rythian in the far corner, Teep with his big tail wrapped around them protectively. Ravs, Zylus, Benjii and Strippin weren't too far away either.
Sips and Sjin had ventured back to Sipsco to grab some supplies, Minty had stayed to help bandage up any wounds people had. Kim sat resting her tear stained head on Lalna's shoulder, staring at the floor and letting out a small whimper every so often.
Ridgedog lay in the corner closest to me, suppose spaceballs and the dwarf put him there so he could keep an eye on me.
Area 11 were yet to arive, thought they had said they wouldn't be long. Caff was with them as well as Lemon and they were all heading over by boat.
Hatfilms were in the corner to my left, attempting to keep each other light hearted, an abismal attempt...
Bebop, davechaos, panda, Will and Pyrion were still unheard from, and Turps was in the middle of chopping down some wood in the forest.
I myself? I sat inbetween the machinery, tucked away where I felt somewhat safer. But I could still notice them look at me. Watch me with worry plastered all over their faces.
"Exza?" Xephos repeated. I looked to him. "Exza, are you alright?" He looked me in the eyes and I didn't look away. I didn't do anything. "Honeydew says you won't drink?" His tone was caring... And God I hated him for that. I didn't know why, but I did.
I gave a tiny shrug and looked down at my hands, my bruised cut up hands. Minty had tried to bind them the night before, but I hadn't let her. I began moving my fingers around each other, something I'd picked up when feeling anxious, though I didn't know why.
"Exza, Xevphera is gonna come back with some sugar cane, will you drink then?" Xephos asked, manoeuvring himself so that he was sat as close as he could be to the small cubby hole I'd found myslef in. I looked back down, counting to 6 in my head.
"You should at least eat... Here, Ridgedog found a stash of sweets and stuff, you should eat some." He placed a small wooden box in front of me, not taking his eyes from me. I could feel them, burrowing beneath my skin. The once bright blue now a dull colour to see. All colour seemed that way now. Dull and abismal, dank even. Everything was dreary and drained of life, I found myself missing the things I tried to stop and take in... The bright green grass, the nice blue water... The tiny little butterflies that seemed to find their way to me that I would play with...
Such a childish way of thinking of things... Of doing things. And for what? So I could enjoy it while I could...? Until that day eventually came?
The sky was ripped of its colour, like the gods took an eraser to it, wiping away the blues and purples and whites, leaving the darker shades. A reflection of our deprivation, out loss of hope... My... Loss of hope.
I didn't know why I was like this... Why I couldn't find the strength to string words together in my head... How I couldn't even nod or smile... I used to smile too much... Xeph would always say I was hiding something, pretending so others wouldn't be sad. He said he'd admired that about me... And now look at him, sat next to me as we all hunch in the lowest floor of the Jaffa factory, wondering what to do... And I can't even crack a smile, make everyone feel better about the situation. I can't even jump around and tell them 'it's not all bad! Don't you see? It's an adventure! It's something new! I was getting bored anyway!' Like usual... But this wasn't like usual... I guess I always assumed I'd have plenty of time to do the things I planned... See the people I love... I never assumed this. That we would all be stuck together under one roof as the world crumbled beneath our feet, wound hopelessness and dread into our hearts as if we breathed it straight into our lungs, into our bodies.
What do you do in this situation...? I havnt slept in a week... I havnt ate, drank... I've hardly moved... And everyone is beginning to worry, way too much...
It's only me after all... I'll bounce back... Right?
This time I'm not so sure...
He breaks me from my thought, placing a pale boney hand on my shoulder and winding it round my back to give me a hug. He must see I need one... They all must. I burry my head into his shoulder, attempting as best I can to ignore the stares I'm getting from everyone as they look on in worry. Xephos winds his way into the little cubby hole and I curl up with him, thankful of the warmth he brings... I hadn't realised I was so cold...
Honeydew sighs and walks over to ridgedog, sitting down next to him and offering him the water I refused.
Xephos understands me... Somewhat. Sometimes more than I understand myself. At the moment he realises I can't eat... I can't do anything and I won't talk no matter how much they talk to me, no matter how much I want to... He knows I need sleep...
I feel his jacket get wrapped around my body, and I feel myself sink into him like a soft mattress, ignoring his skinny bones poking into me... It's better than the cold floor, he's so warm... I can tell he's closed his eyes, the light isn't there anymore. He knows he can get me to sleep. Well... It is getting late now...
One week... And I'm already at this stage... Is that what the others are worried about? That they can still talk and eat and function? And I seem to just be this empty shell...? A Barron, desolate wasteland like the world outside...?
I close my eyes, suddenly feeling how sore they had become. They burnt like the sun... One of the only colours left... A bright amber flame in the sky, dancing around itself like the waves of an ocean...
I may seem empty... But inside I feel like a poet...
The ashened rivers and the crumbled concrete... What had we dome to deserve this? Had we not been kind? Honourable?
Why was it now that the world we had faught so hard to defend... Was now as dark as the hearts of the enamies we've faced. The white of the Jaffa factory walls now singed with smoke lines, oily and black. The machines all stopped in the middle of their cycles, frozen in time... A reminder of the useless efforts we had made... And for what cause...? How was this living...? It was barely surviving...
I drifted to sleep in my best friends arms, hoping for a kind dream. A warm touch in this seemingly frozen world.
Why couldn't I just brush it off like everything else...? They needed me... Why couldn't I stand strong, put up the barriers I always held up, for the sake of my friends. Why couldn't I laugh and joke and cheer everyone up. Make the best out of a bad situation like I always attempted...?
Perhaps... I'd stayed strong for too long...? Perhaps it was time I focused on myself for once...

Exza x