A Hand-Woven Universe 38 38. Brother...

Elder Azelle merely breathed an unheard sigh as the sound of the doors locking resounded through the silent crowd. Everyone present had a chance to see their friends and families beforehand, so there was nothing to be said at this point. What is done, is done. What would be, would be. He rubbed his temples.

Trisha snuck a look at the elder's face, and for a moment she saw the exhaustion peek through. Even though he had enormous power and his attunement was at a higher level than anyone else, it came at the cost of age. He was also older than anyone else in Tapestry, and sometimes it showed.

She was not the only one to notice. Many of the elders who were familiar with him had seen through his exhaustion. They knew they should pick up more of the slack, to try and take the weight off of the elder's shoulders.

"Alright everyone. Please head home and rest well. We will stay here and stand guard should anything happen." The smaller elder spoke out letting his voice carry on a breeze that emanated from his being. "If something occurs, I will make sure to inform everyone at once. Hopefully it will only take a few days for them to break through the sickness surrounded by all the natural energy we have gathered."

The quiet and dazed crowd broke out of their own musings and heeded the elder's words. This was too unprecedented for them to make right or left of it. As such, they decided to simply listen and wait. Some people left right away, others straggled and cast worried glances towards the repurposed storehouse.

There were also several people who inquired if there was anything they could do. Most of these people were spouses whose partners were currently inside.

"Elders, I am strong and healthy. May I stay? I just want to be here when they are healthy enough to come out."

"It will be a few days at least. Why don't you go home? You can come back tomorrow, but there's no need for you to stay here with us." An elder responded gently.

He simply shook his head. "Elders, I want to be here."

The elders wouldn't go so far as to ban people from staying, so a number of individuals decided to set up nearby. Elder Azelle and Trisha both watched on silently.

Trisha felt her thoughts dwelling on her husband. She loved Tahmel dearly, and in her mind, she worked hard to keep the image of Tommy, and the picture of the thing which smiled at her, separated. She refused to think of her husband like that. It too was locked away in a fragmented portion of her mind.

Elder Azelle had wandering thoughts as he gazed upon his people which he was responsible for. For some reason, he could not help but think about Noone. He hoped from the bottom of his heart that Noone was safe.

…

Porose walked through the desolate streets of one of the residential areas which had a high incidence of sickness. He had not gone with the rest of the crowd to the warehouses, instead heading towards Trisha's home.

Ever since the plan was set to turn one of the warehouses into a medical bay, he had worked tirelessly to up his production. He didn't know when the doors would be opened after the sick entered, but he had given them enough soup to last at least a month.

If it took any longer than that… Porose didn't dare to think about what that would mean.

His footsteps echoed in the silent streets, going completely unnoticed. The sun stones that lined the ceiling of the cavern had begun to dim, signaling the dawn. Eventually he stood alone in front of Tommy's house.

He was very familiar with the place, as he had been over often at Trisha's invitation. Tommy and he were nigh inseparable no matter how much they teased each other.

He had avoided thinking about what Trisha had talked about. But now that he had a spare moment, he wanted to see Tahmel for himself. It wasn't that he didn't believe her, but he simply couldn't imagine it. Even after it being confirmed by an elder, he couldn't believe it. What sickness is there that could take away someone's mind like that?

He shook his head and let himself in through the front door. He had heard from Pride earlier that he was forced to tie Tobias up and locked him in the bedroom. Pride had warned him to be careful, seeming to know that he was going to want to see his lifelong friend.

The house lights were all off, and Porose felt a shiver in his spine. He simply grit his teeth and grunted, dispelling the feeling. The atmosphere in the house was truly dreadful. Almost like it knew what was going on but refused to say.

He slowly walked towards the back room. On his left there was an open door leading to the bathroom. He looked in, seeing a shattered bowl of water which had been thrown to the floor. When he thought back to what Trisha had said, it painted the already desolate atmosphere in a harsher light.

Eventually he came to a solid wooden door. Wood was a moderate rarity in Tapestry. They were capable of growing trees obviously, in well maintained environments. But the majority of resources went towards growing fruit-bearing trees and agriculture. Only a small portion was dedicated to things like furniture. The trees were all of the same type too. Iron woods.
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When he reached out to the door, he heard a muffled struggle on the other side. There was no voice, just the sound of rope and flesh fighting against each other. It had been completely silent up to the moment he had reached out. The chill up his spine returned, unnerving Porose greatly.

He set his sights forward and took a deep breath, opening the door in a single movement. Light flooded out from the room temporarily obscuring his vision. The muffled struggle continued, and eventually he set eyes on Tommy.

The first thing he noticed was Tahmel's eyes. As soon as his own eyes adjusted to the light, he could see Tommy staring at him. It was one of the most grotesque sights Porose had ever seen. There was nothing immediately noticeable that could be blamed, but it left him completely unnerved.

Tahmel was tied to the wall, bound by thick braided rope. Every muscle on his body was struggling against the rope, his shoulders and arms shifted every way they could to try and loosen them. Porose could see significant bruising around the shoulders, indications of his arms being dislocated through sheer force.

Despite all of his struggling though, no noise escaped from his mouth. Porose couldn't even hear breathing. Not just his mouth, but his head too was completely still.

Porose felt himself being stared at, down to his soul. The eyes and the face, everything about Tommy from the neck up was peaceful like a corpse. But his body, it moved and struggled. To Porose it looked like his body was moving completely unto itself.

Underneath the ropes, Tahmel's flesh was being worn raw. Porose continued to watch. His mind had stopped working a while ago, now he simply observed in horror – unable to take his eyes away.

There were two simultaneous sharp cracks. Porose quickly snapped to attention, forcing himself to breathe. His breath was a bit hurried, but otherwise steady.

"Tommy…" Porose stared at his former brother. Tahmel's arms had both cracked at the humerus forcing the rope to bite deeper in, further breaking the bone. He had struggled so hard that he broke his own bones, but there wasn't even a flinch of recognition in his face. It was as empty as it had been.

After several minutes, he finally stopped struggling and his body became motionless like his face. There was no smile as there had been with Trisha. Instead he had just gone completely still. If it weren't for the fact that it continued to stare at Porose, he would have thought that Tommy had died had finally...

Porose slowly backed away towards the door, staring at Tommy the whole time. Tommy's eyes simply tracked his movements. But other than that, there was nothing in his expression that Porose would equate with consciousness. Eventually, Porose closed the door tightly. His shoulders sagged and he let out a deep breath. His hand was still on the door knob keeping it shut, fearing Tahmel would suddenly break free from his bounds.

"Tahmel…" Porose pulled his hand away from the door, turning around and leaving the house. He walked with purpose but in his mind he felt lost. At this time people were beginning to return from the warehouse district. When they saw Porose walking past them they initially called out, however they quickly realized something was wrong.

Although he was walking steady, when they saw his face they were left in shock. Tears were streaming down his cheeks and his eyes were red.

His expression was stoic, but his eyes betrayed him.

Chapter end