Chapter 4: Conflict

Conflict brews between the group as the crew takes a mining trip.

As they got closer, Jack slowly realized that the shocked look on Michael's face had abruptly turned into one of disgust. Michael? Jack thought. 

        "Who's this?" Michael jabbed a stub towards Charlotte. 

        "She's-" Jack started.

        "Charlotte," she interrupted, speaking rather politely. Jack shrugged. "Uh, yeah." 

        "...Will she be staying with us?" Michael sneered as he gave her a once over. 

        "Not for long if ya talk to me like that. Only the night, I'd say," she said stiffly, narrowing her eyes. Jack stepped back a bit, his brain reminding him of how much worse this situation could get.

        "Only the night. We have enough people as it is," he shot a glare at Jack. "Hope you made the right choice." Then he disappeared into the door, slamming it as he went. Charlotte exhaled, glancing between Jack and Ami respectively, and silently went inside. 

        "What's up with Michael?" Ami blinked.

        "No idea. I - I didn't think he'd take it like this. I didn't think he was...you know."

        "Don't blame yourself too much," Ami patted him on the back. "Maybe it's just a rocky start. I'm sure they'll work things out."

---

        Jack was beginning to wonder if Ami was inherently wrong about most of her predictions. Throughout the day, Michael and Charlotte avoided each other to the point of absurdity, only ever glaring when they were in the same room. Jack recalled seeing Ami try and diffuse Michael's hotheadedness, but her efforts lead to nothing. He either retorted something rude at her or shoved her away. Jack had to step in a number of times to make sure things didn't get any worse. Michael would still brush him off, spending the remainder of the night alone in his bed. He seemed uncomfortable sleeping in the same room as them all. Jack was fairly certain that he wasn't the only one who lied awake.

        The next morning, all of the hot water poured out of the teapot. That is, Charlotte followed through on her plans to leave, but not without causing some tremors.

        "Don't get your knickers in a twist, honey, I'm leavin'!" She stomped around the house, filtering through chests, Michael hot at her heels. She tucked away a sword and various food supplies under her belt.

        "That doesn't mean you can just raid my supplies!" he thundered, nearly purple as a plum.

        "You think I have anything waiting for me out there?! I ain't got nothin' in those plains! It's only fair if I get a bit to start me off! You want me to die?" Michael hesitated before retorting back.

        "That's no reason to just take all this without asking!" His stubs shook, he gritted his teeth. Jack had never seen him like this before. Ami inched closer to him, the same concerned look in her eye. He rested a stub on her shoulder, giving her a nod. Rufus huddled beside them, whimpering. Another bellow from Charlotte interrupted them.

        "Oh, I'm sorry. Can I have this? Thanks! Now goodbye, Michael. You're such a gentleman." Charlotte faked a bow and erupted out of the door. Ami quickly left Jack's side, and Jack caught the faintest "I got this," before she jogged after her. He was left alone with Michael and Rufus. Michael fired up instantly.

        "Ugh! Can you believe her? People like her are just so rude, invasive - I can't stand it!" Michael paced around the room. 

        "You haven't even given her a chance." Jack clenched his fists, remembering Charlotte's hearty laugh, her big smile.

        "Why bother? She'd never learn -"

        "Learn what?" Jack snapped.

        "Oh, you wouldn't understand, Jack." Michael waved him away. 

        "Why?" Jack slammed his fist against the wall, causing Michael to jump. "This is no different than when Ami and I came here!" 

        "No different? You were unconscious, Ami was panicking, what would you have done? But she just struts here like she owns the place and takes it all for granted, takes this place - what they made - for granted! So, she lived in the caves for a while. She can stay there. Besides, if it weren't for me, you would all be dead." Michael fumed. Jack closed his mouth, instead advancing on Michael, coming nose-to-nose. "I'm going to go find Ami and Charlotte. I'd prefer to spend my time with someone civil. Once you're done being so spiteful you can join us." Jack turned on his heel, attached his sword to his belt and shut the door behind him, leaving Michael to his buzzing thoughts.

---

        It didn't prove to be overly difficult to find the two girls. Charlotte's voice was quite loud and Jack could recognize Ami's shrill giggles from miles away. As he walked, his mind slowly started to cool down. He didn't regret what he said - Michael needed to hear it. Jack could only hope that he took his words to heart. Jack climbed over a small hill and immediately froze like concrete. Ami cut herself off mid-sentence and looked at him with a smile. Charlotte was sitting on a large rock beside her, swarmed with rabbits, a wolf and tabby-like ocelot that nipped her feet playfully, and a few chickens that seemed to wander around aimlessly, their large eyes looking in opposite directions.

        "Whoa," Jack breathed.

        "Whoa what? This is nothing; animals always seem to like me." Charlotte buried her face into the fur of the rabbit that sat on her lap. The rabbit instantly squirmed under her jaw in an act of desperation and hopped away to its siblings. Charlotte rested her head on her stub with a faint smile.

        "I came to find you two again. I...I really think we should go back. If Michael's still, well, Michael, then I think we should start off on our own." Jack rubbed the back of his neck. "I'd like for you to stay with us."

Charlotte frowned. "I'm flattered, really. But going back to him after the way he treated me? He doesn't even know who I am and already turned me away." Jack stared at the ground. "I know," he said bitterly. "and it wasn't right. But...maybe sorting something out before we leave would be smart, or something."

        "Are you making this up?" Charlotte smirked.

        "Mostly. But you have to admit it sounded good, even if it was nonsense." Charlotte laughed at his words. She sighed, turning solemn. "Five more minutes. My animal therapy is almost over." She squished herself in between two wolves who looked rather mellow. Ami ushered Jack away, poking him in the stomach and shooting him a grin.

        "Don't tell anyone about this, okay?" Jack nodded and stumbled over some tree roots, shaking his head in wonderment. 

---

As the sun glared over the horizon, the trio found solace at the sight of the wooden house nestled in the valley. Charlotte was taking deep breaths, lagging behind the group.

        "I don't think I can do this," she paled. Ami backpedaled beside her. Charlotte looked at her, scratching her head. "What if he's worse?"

        "And what if he's better?" Ami smiled reassuringly. Charlotte stared at the ground, brow furrowed, and sighed.

        "You're real hard to argue with, you know," she grinned. They stood before the entrance, double wooden doors greeting them with rigid friendliness. Jack glanced back at the girls and gently opened the door. Michael was sitting on the floor by the table with Rufus, who was lying down with him. He seemed to have been there for a while.

        "Hey," he said, patting Rufus and rising.

        "Hey yourself," Charlotte breathed.  The air between them seemed to have relaxed slightly as the two struggled for words. Michael pushed up his glasses and took a step closer.

        "I'm...sorry," he managed after what felt like an hour of silence.

        "So am I," she conceded. Michael's brain seemed to stop working.

        "What?" he stated blankly.

        "I'm sorry, too," Charlotte repeated. "I shouldn't have yelled. Sometimes I can't help it, I guess." She chuckled scornfully.

        "What? No, no, no," Michael shook his head. "This was all on me. I was the one who just judged you and...hell, I was just an a*s."

        "You were," Charlotte failed to conceal a smile. Michael laughed and extended a stub. "Truce?" he offered. Charlotte smirked. "Truce - but no promises."

Ami tugged on Jack's sleeve. He looked at her and was at a loss for words; there were a great amount of tears in her eyes. He did what he could and gave her a reassuring pat on her quivering shoulders.

        Later, Jack, Ami, and Michael stood with mouths gaping and brains still trying to process what they were witnessing. Charlotte had a sturdy backpack on that was well-packed with various foods, a sword was strapped to her belt, and she faced the door with a steady stance.

        "You sure you want to go already?" Ami pouted.

        "I seem to do better on my own," Charlotte shrugged. "I'm sure I'll find you lot sooner rather than later anyway. Y'all seem to have a loud presence about yourselves." She glanced out the window and exhaled. "I should be off. Better make the most of daylight right?" She turned her toe towards the door.

        "Wait," Michael stopped her. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a dusty book that had seen its fair share of use. "Take it. It, er, might come in handy sometime, you know?" Charlotte raised an eyebrow.

        "Read it sometime," Michael continued. "I think you'll like it. That being said, I want to know what you think of it, so...don't get yourself killed."

Charlotte chortled. "I'll try my best. But, paper cuts can be tearable to deal with. No promises." She shut the door behind her, a last ringing chorus of "Goodbyes," following her.

---

        "I can't believe she just left like that." Jack scratched his head, sitting on top of a chest. Ami and him were in a room full of chests, grabbing various supplies. Ami popped out of a chest and handed him a wooden pickax with a small smile. "What's this for?" Jack gave her a confused expression. 

        "Well, it's the one you wood pick," she snickered. Jack rolled his eyes as Ami continued. "Charlotte's pretty tough; she can handle herself. I can't see her settling down anytime soon."

        "For once, I think you're right," Jack sighed. Michael entered the room, several pickaxes strapped to his back with a sword and shield to boot. He rubbed his hair and gave a brief smile before clearing his throat.

        "Alright. We should be nearly ready to go, then. Everyone got your - " he halted mid-sentence and looked at the pickax in Jack's hand, blinked in modest disbelief, shook his head and swiftly swapped it with an iron pickax. "As I was saying, everyone should be geared up by now, right?" He nodded in their directions respectively. "Good. With that said, our goal for today is to just collect some material, right? Right. Anything will be accepted. Coal, Iron, even Cobblestone. Just don't overdo it, I don't think the chests can fit much more Cobblestone..." 

        "Don't you have other chests you could put Cobblestone in?" Ami asked. 

        "It's not the same," Michael objected. "All of the Cobblestone is in that specific chest- if I mix Cobblestone and food that'll just be a bad time, right?" He pushed his glasses onto his face, as he had knocked them askew with his thrashing. "That still doesn't make any sense." Ami whispered loud enough for both Michael and Jack to hear. Michael shot her a thorny look at her and raised a cautious eyebrow.

        "I'll meet you downstairs," he growled with narrowed eyes before disappearing through the archway. Ami snickered and glanced at Jack. "What?" she giggled. He rolled his eyes and stood.

        "See you downstairs," he smirked.

---

        "Michael," Ami complained. "Are we there yet?" Jack heard Michael sigh for the upteenth time that hour. He threw a glance across his shoulder and said, "We get there when we get there, I told you already." Ami rolled her neck in desperation.

        "We've been walking for hours,"

        "Twenty minutes."

        "Feels like hours." Ami shrugged, cracking her back. Michael turned around and backpedaled. "Twenty minutes, at most." Ami speed-walked so that she was a foot away from him. "Hours," she argued. Jack sighed and gazed up to the sky, shielding the sun out of his eyes. 

        The banter went on for what could have been days until the trio came to an easily missable hole in the ground. Michael nearly fell into said hole, which constituted a snort from Ami's general direction. He adjusted his frame so he stood tall as he gestured to the itty bitty hole. "We've arrived," he stated with an air of simplicity. He grinned at the disbelieving faces of the two and looked down the hole. "Watch," he said before jumping into the hole without hesitation. A moment passed and Ami locked eyes with Jack.

        "D'ya think he's dead?" Jack gave her a look before strutting up to the hole himself. He glanced down to see Michael smirking. He glanced over his shoulder to Ami and shrugged before jumping into the hole himself. Ami made a noise of protest followed by a heavy sigh and soon came tumbling down the hole as well. She landed on her butt with a mighty "Oof!" and glared at Michael. He smiled and offered a hand, which Ami took.

        "You know," he started with a grin as he helped her to her feet. "There was a ladder. I just like taking the leap every now and again." Ami's expression turned sour as she groaned. "This way," Michael motioned as he lead the two into what was revealed to be a maze of corridors.

        The two hardly kept up, glancing down every little cramped hallway; each of them went farther than they could ever possibly hope to see. There were tens, even hundreds of them as they went along.

        "I've already mined all through here," Michael explained. "So we'll be going a little further in to see what we can find."

        "Michael," Ami looked pale. "How long have you been here?" He stiffened. "Why do you ask?" Ami hesitated before responding. "There's a lot of pathways here. How long did it take to mine them out all by yourself?"

        "...I wasn't always alone before you two came along. There was a lot of us, er, seven in total, if I remember correctly. The extra bodies helped get all this done miles before we would all wrinkle up." He smiled, but it didn't look like his normal one. Jack furrowed his brow.

        "Where did the others go?" He asked. Michael's pace slowed. He took a deep breath. "We ended up splitting ways - thought it would be best since arguments were happening more often than not. That was, oh, maybe a month before you kangaroos hopped into my lap. Hey, chins up! We still see each other once in a while, it's not so bad. Anyway, we should focus on mining. Now, I doubt either of you have ever done this before, so I'll start with the basics..." His words faded out in Jack's mind. Michael was sweating a lot as he fiddled with a bit of string in his hand. Jack made a mental note to ask a bit more about the matter when they were alone together.

        "So, I think you'll figure out mining easily enough." Michael continued, "Hit the stone with your pickax. Simple. If you see anything that isn't coal, stone, or iron make sure to use the Iron Pickax that you have, otherwise you won't get it. The material will break and be useless. Got it?" he scanned the two novices. "Ami, you have that section over there, Jack you're right beside her, and I'll be in the mine next to Jack's. Don't dig down if you can help it. We don't want any accidents. Just try and stick to straight ahead, alright? Okay, okay... Let's go." Michael nodded confidently, reassuring himself. Ami and Jack exchanged nervous expressions.

        "I'll be right beside you. Anything happens, just yell or break the wall. I'll be there." Jack smiled at her. He saw her shoulders relax as she nodded. "Okay," she beamed.

---

        Jack wandered through his section of the mine. It was a little cramped, but he could deal with it. He twirled the pickax in his hands momentarily, then lifted it and swung down on the stone in front of him. The block instantly broke into pieces, and Cobblestone was instantly sent to his inventory. He glanced behind him to see a long corridor stretching away from him. Had he really been in here for that long? His breathing heavy, Jack wiped his glistening forehead and prepared to swing again. 

        The minutes passed into hours, the amount of stone that had been destroyed had been determined as countless. Jack was now sweaty, tired, and eating a baked potato. He didn't know how long it had been since they had all started this, but to Jack it felt like an eternity. He could only imagine how Ami was fairing. He had already had a couple visits from her, where she was almost in tears, stuttering and shaken. He never took her to be so claustrophobic.

        Stone after stone had passed by him, and the only thing he had found that would be slightly useful was a small amount of coal. He felt defeated by the mine, but swore to himself he wouldn't stop until he found at least a speck of iron. It wouldn't seem right to come all this way and leave with lint in his pockets. Shoving the final remains of his potato in his mouth, Jack used his pickax to push himself to his feet, and stared cold-heartedly at the looming pile of stone in front of him. Would it ever end? He brought his pickax down hard once again, and a pit of darkness emerged below him. Jack gasped, pulling out a torch as quickly as he could. Was it just a stone out of place? He lowered the torch slowly, wobbling on his ankles. Jack clicked his tongue. It had to be deeper. He sighed deeply and decided to take a chance. 

He aimed steadily and with a grunt and threw the torch down into the depths of the abyss. It didn't land too  far - far enough that Jack could jump down without hurting himself. What was perplexing to him was that instead of more hypnotic stone what he found instead was a dusty railroad track that lead deeper into the unexplored cave. Cobwebs hung over every nook and cranny and Jack could have sworn he heard hissing noises in the distance. He chuckled to himself, the raw joy of discovery pumping madly through his veins. This had to be better than crummy old iron.

Author's Note

Tell me what you think!