Jesse's heart was beating wildly inside her chest. Her breaths came out in short, choppy gasps. Sweat glistened on her face, strands of her chestnut hair sticking to her forehead.

Glancing back over her shoulder, Jesse felt her heart rate accelerate at the shapes and figures all dotted throughout the grassy savanna hills. She swung forward again, digging her heels into the horse's sides and urging the mare on.

The young horse needed no telling twice, tossing her head as she accelerated her pace. Jesse wrapped her fingers through the horse's brown mane for an extra grip, struggling to keep her balance on the rocky terrain.

Suddenly the mare dug in her hooves, skidding to a stop. Grass and mud flew up from the ground, staining the already dirty fabric of Jesse's overalls. She shook her hair out of her eyes, looking up at the view in front of them.

Cliffs towered from above, blocking out the light from the setting sun and casting dark shadows over Jesse and her horse. It was a breathtaking sight. Moss crept across the damp stone walls, waterfalls gushing down into a large pool of water that was hidden in the shadows.

But as a beautiful as it was, it was a dead end.

Jesse's heart skipped a beat when she saw the flicker of two purple eyes in the dark, somewhere beyond the pool of water. Immediately she jerked her head away, tugging on the mare's left rein and urging her horse on.

The horse broke into a gallop, veering off to the left. Jesse stood up in the stirrups, leaning low over the horse's neck as the mare's stride increased dramatically. They practically flew across the grassy slopes, veering left and right to avoid the various mobs.

Jesse held her breath as she heard the familiar sizzle of a creeper. She looked back, seeing it explode only metres behind them.

"Faster, girl! Faster!" Jesse called, urging her horse on more.

The mare flattened her ears, putting in another burst of speed. Her bay and white coat was beginning to shine with sweat in light from the rising moon, her flanks heaving. Jesse knew the mare couldn't keep it up for much longer.

Suddenly Jesse sat back in the saddle, pulling hard on the reins. The mare came to skidding stop right at the edge of a steep drop, down into more open fields of the savanna below. Jesse's eyes swiftly scanned the scene below her, seeing monsters dotted about the place. Skeletons, zombies, creepers, spiders and even an enderman.

Breathlessly glancing back over her shoulder, Jesse felt her heart sink into her boots. There were way too many mobs gaining on them, turning back was no longer an option.

"I know you can do this." Jesse reassured the horse, adjusting her seat in the saddle so she sat securely. "Go!"

The mare responded, bolting forward. Jesse clung onto her mane for dear life as the horse soared down the grassy hill, veering to the sides as she tried to stick to the more even routes.

It felt like everything went into slow motion, a scream rising up Jesse's throat as the horse stumbled on a few loose rocks. Jesse was flung forward, barely clinging onto her horse's neck. She had lost one stirrup, and no longer had a grip on the reins. Her horse was continuing to gallop across the field, dodging mobs from all directions.

Squeezing her legs to her horse's flanks and relying on that grip to keep her seated, Jesse tried to heave herself upwards. She raised her head, eyes desperately scanning the surroundings. The sun had completely disappeared over the horizon by then, the sky a deep navy blue and the landscape bathed in the dim silvery light from the moon.

A shriek erupted from Jesse as pain suddenly seared through her right shoulder. She only barely managed to cling on with her left arm, her right rendered useless with an arrow impaled into her shoulder.

Jesse gritted her teeth, sweat trickling across her face. She was completely dangling off the side of her horse, her legs and one arm all that still supported her. Her stomach was making all kinds of twists and flips inside of her. Pain radiated from her right side, dark blood oozing from her shoulder and running across her arm.

But then Jesse became aware of a new sound, a second pair of hoof beats galloping alongside her. If she had the strength to, she would have lifted her head to try and see.

A hand grabbed Jesse by the sweat drenched turquoise fabric of her T-shirt, yanking her upwards and back into the saddle. Upright again, Jesse immediately managed to grabbed hold of her reins again, regaining control. Her gaze shot to the side, meeting those of her rescuer.

"You owe me, big time!" Petra called at her above the thundering of their horse's hooves. She gestured with one hand, pointing into the distance. "That way!"

Jesse didn't have the breath to respond, urging her horse on and following after Petra. The redhead's chestnut mount was just as breathless as Jesse's, if not more. His reddish brown coat was soaked with sweat, heaving large, heavy breaths.

Another violent throb of pain rippled through Jesse's shoulder, causing her to let out a pained grunt. Petra peered back, her eyes locking on the arrow that was still lodged in Jesse's shoulder.

"Hold on!" Jesse heard Petra call to her.

The warrior pulled lightly on her horse's reins, letting him fall into stride beside Jesse's horse. She kept her reins clutched in her right hand, leaning dangerously far over to the left. Jesse didn't have time to register what her friend was doing, before Petra's free hand grabbed the arrow, ripping it out of her shoulder.

There was no holding back an agonising scream of pain, as Jesse leaned forward on her horse, her weight momentarily resting on the mare's neck. Blood dripped from the wound on her arm.

Petra called out something breathlessly that sounded like it was meant to be an apology. She held up the arrow, it's blood-coated tip glimmering in the moonlight. Satisfied that the entire thing was out, Petra tossed the weapon aside and retook her grip on the reins.

Adrenaline was beginning to mask the pain, as Jesse sat up straight in the saddle again. Her face had considerably paled, but the amount of black dots dancing in her vision was decreasing. She glanced over her shoulder, fresh panic beginning to bubble inside her.

"Here!" She heard Petra call, as the redhead's horse veered off to right.

Jesse urged her own tired mare on, galloping after Petra down another slope and back into a dense, rocky canyon. The sound of rushing water began to drown out the thundering of their hoof beats as they galloped through the shadows.

They guided the horses into the first dip in the rocks that was large enough to fit them, perfectly hidden from view a few moments later. Both girl's breathless gasps echoed along the cave walls as they flung their legs over the saddles, landing on the stone ground. Jesse almost immediately bent over and threw up.

Petra collapsed against the cave wall, her jagged breathes only beginning to even out again. She fumbled with something in the dark, a torch flickering to life moments later.

"You okay?" She asked hoarsely.

"I've been better." Jesse responded breathlessly as she leaned against the wall as well, wiping her mouth on her sleeve. "You saved my ass out there." She looked over at Petra, managing a faint smile. "Thank you."

"You still owe me." Petra said with a vague chuckle, pushing herself off the wall. She grimaced, her one hand reaching up to hold her side.

"Are you okay?" Jesse asked her.

"I'm fine." Petra brushed her off. "I fell earlier, I wouldn't be surprised if I bruised a few ribs. How's that shoulder?"

"Bleeding's lessening." Jesse responded, flinching as she reached up to touch the raw wound. "I wanted to murder you back there, but thanks. I never would have been able to pull that thing out on my own."

"So, want to explain to me what exactly happened out there?" Petra asked, crossing her arms. "Where the hell were you?"

"I got distracted." Jesse admitted with a groan. "I sheared a few sheep, I had enough wool to come back with, but then I got distracted."

"By what?" Petra asked, holding out her arms in exasperation. She flinched, one hand immediately going back to her side.

"By what? Petra have you seen this place?" Jesse asked, gesturing around with her good arm. "It's absolutely breathtaking out here. I've never seen caves and rocks formations like these." Her shoulders slumped slightly. "Beautiful, but like a maze. I got lost."

Petra's face softened slightly. She took a step forward, reaching out to rest a hand on Jesse's uninjured shoulder. No words needed to be spoken, as both girls enveloped each other in a gentle hug. There were a few hisses and grunts of pain, but that didn't break the embrace.

"It's okay." Petra said, once they stepped back from each other again. She gave Jesse a confident smile. "Let's head deeper into this cave and bunker down for the night. Tomorrow we'll head back to our base."

Jesse nodded, turning back to her horse. She gave the exhausted mare a reassuring pat on her neck, before pulling the reins over her head so she could lead her easier. The horses slightly dragged their hooves on the stone ground as Jesse and Petra lead them deeper into the tunnel, until it lead out into a larger cave. Fortunately there were no mobs inside, and Petra quickly put the torch up so that none would spawn.

"Here girl." Jesse said, carefully undoing her horse's girth.

She took a deep breath, resting bother her hands on the saddle. How was she going to get it off, with her shoulder in the state that it was?

"I'll help you, if you help me." Petra said, coming up beside Jesse. "Together?"

Jesse managed a weak smile. "Together."

The two of them grunted painfully was they heaved the saddle off of the mare's sweaty back, dropping it in the corner of the cave. Jesse quickly removed the mare's bridle as well, giving her a rewarding kiss on the nose.

"I'll give you as many carrots as you want, once we get back to the base tomorrow, okay?" She promised the horse, earning a soft nicker in response.

"Sucks that we don't have anything on us, other than a bag of sheep wool and a pair of shears." Petra said as she began loosening her own horse's girth. "Think you'll hold up without any food until morning comes?"

"Believe me." Jesse said as she helped Petra heave the saddle off of the chestnut gelding. "Food is the last thing I want right now." She hesitated. "Water on the other hand..."

"We could make a run back to the waterfalls." Petra said, bending down and taking a leather canteen out of her saddle bag. "Want to do that now, or take a breather first?"

Jesse hesitated. Her shoulder was killing her, all she wanted to do at that moment was sit down. Or more accurately, lie down. But she was also desperate for a drink of water.

"Now. The horses need it too." She decided.

"Point taken." Petra responded, getting back up. Jesse saw her flinch, one hand once more going up to her side.

"Want me to go alone?" She asked.

"You're hurt too." Petra responded matter-of-factly, beginning to trudge back the way they came.

Jesse shrugged, following after Petra. They walked down the tunnel in silence, neither of them feeling up to starting a conversation. Outside, the various growls and moans of monsters still hung in the air. Jesse and Petra crept along the wall towards the nearest stream of water. Petra reached out with the canteen, holding it under the water for a few moments, before bringing it to her mouth and drinking thirstily. When she finished, she passed it to Jesse.

Water never tasted as heavenly, as it did to Jesse at that moment. She finished off almost everything that was left in the canteen, before handing it back to Petra who filled it back up.

"You know, I wonder how deep these caves go." Jesse said as the two of them began to walk back down the tunnel.

"Me too, there could be a lot of ore below us." Petra said, some more life flooding into her voice at the thought.

"Not just ore, but this could be a really good base too." Jesse thought out loud. "We were planning on staying around here for another few months to come, might as well move our stuff to here. A lot of fresh terrain to explore."

Petra hummed in agreement. "I do like the sound of that."

The horses pricked their ears when the two girls came walking back into the cave. Jesse held out the old coconut shell that they usually used for giving the horses water on the road. Both the horses stepped forward, trying to push their muzzles into it for a drink at the same time.

"You two did well today." Petra praised, giving her gelding a pat, before ambling over to the wall and sinking down against it.

When the horses finished drinking, Jesse sunk down beside her friend. She jolted in surprise, hearing a sudden tear of fabric beside her.

"Petra?" Jesse asked in surprise, seeing that her friend had torn off a strip of fabric from her blue T-shirt.

"Give me that arm." Petra said, gesturing to Jesse's shoulder.

She didn't give Jesse a chance to object, rolling up the shredded remains of her sleeve. Jesse bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut as some water from the canteen was was poured over the wound, rinsing off the dried blood. Petra wasn't the most gentle when it came to cleaning wounds, but she was thorough about it. Jesse let out a slow breath of relief when Petra finally wrapped her shoulder with the piece of fabric. It didn't really serve as a proper bandage, but it kept the wound covered and protected.

"Thanks." Jesse said shakily, flexing her sore arm.

"No problem. We'll wrap it properly when we get home tomorrow." Petra responded.

Jesse leaned back, resting her back against the wall and closing her eyes for a moment. She heard Petra grunt as she slumped down on the cold stone floor, using her bag as a pillow. Jesse frown slightly to herself.

"How did you fall?" She asked curiously. "You're the better rider out of the two of us, you must have been taken by surprise."

"Oh." Petra hesitated a moment. "My horse got spooked."

Jesse raised her eyebrows slightly. Petra did a convincing job of covering it up, but Jesse could hear the uncertainty in her voice.

"We've been friends for a little too long, Petra." She said, looking over at her friend. "I can tell when you're lying. What really happened?"

Petra began opening her mouth like she wanted to snap something back at Jesse. But then she groaned and leaned back, pulling her bandanna down over her eyes,

"Come on." Jesse prodded Petra. "It's just me, you know you can be honest around me."

"Point taken." Petra mumbled. She sighed, stiffly sitting up again. "Don't freak out, okay?"

Jesse just gave an uncertain nod. Petra hesitated a moment longer before she gave in and began to pull off the jacket she was wearing. Jesse felt herself pale slightly at the sight, her heart dropping at the amount of blood that stained Petra's shirt beneath.

"What happened?" Jesse asked, trying to suppress the urge to look away. Almost the entire left side of Petra's T-shirt below her arm, was stained with dry blood.

"I really did fall." Petra said, grimacing slightly. "But not off the horse."

It took Jesse a moment to understand what Petra was getting at. She slowly nodded her head.

"I wasn't the only one distracted by the canyon, was I?" She asked.

"Considering we both screwed up, I won't even try to come up with an excuse." Petra responded, cracking a faint smile. "Yeah. You know me, I see I good vantage point, I usually can't resist climbing to it. Didn't expect a piece of wood to give beneath my weight, and expected even less to land on part of it."

Jesse flinched at the description. "And I thought an arrow in my shoulder was bad."

Petra snorted lightly. "It looks worse than it is."

"You sure you're okay though?" Jesse asked.

"Yeah, wrapped it in a part of my saddle blanket." Petra responded, putting her jacket back on and once more hiding the dry stains. "I'll live."

Jesse smiled vaguely, relieved to pick up on the genuine tone in her friend's voice. It took some prodding to get Petra to be honest with her sometimes, but she was steadily growing more comfortable with it. After all, the two of them have been travelling together for almost a year at that point.

Jesse stifled a yawn, reaching over for her own bag to use as a pillow. Petra's bandanna was already pulled back down over her eyes, and her breathing pattern was steadily beginning to grow more rhythmical.

"Petra?" Jesse said softly as she rested her head down on her bag.

"Hmm?" Her friend responded sleepily.

"Maybe exploring new areas together would be a better move." Jesse said, smiling vaguely as she closed her eyes.

"I'm all for that." Jesse could almost hear the smile on Petra's face.

And despite everything that had happened, her own grin stayed on her face until she drifted off to sleep. She looked forward to see more of the canyon in the morning, with no monsters on her tail and Petra by her side.

Preferably in full daylight.

___

This was meant to be posted yesterday night, but wattpad was having none of it- and I edited it right after waking up this morning, so please excuse any sloppy editing XD

My first one shot of 2020 and it was written in 2019-
Yup an oldie, but a goodie. I don't know why I never posted it, but I was pretty happy with it!

I was actually playing minecraft the day I wrote this, and got lost in a savannah while shearing sheep late in the day- ended up getting very hyped as I rode my minecraft horse in the dark, avoiding mobs XD Maybe it's because I was wearing my Jesse skin, but I immediately thought of what she'd do in that situation and this was born.

There was a whole extra plot I considered of Petra actually hiding what she didn't realise was a fatal injury and completely collapsing much to an unsuspecting Jesse's horror, but I ended up scrapping that and going for a more happy type ending. Might do something with that idea in the future though!

All that aside I hope you guys enjoyed this one shot! See ya'll in the next one, whenever that may be!