The World of MINECRAFT (Being the First Volume of the Minecraft Trilogy)

Darkness Rises

The villagers hiked out of the forest. It was approaching midday. Eighteen of them now remained. Jack had taken the most damage. Bruises decorated his body, and a gash was displayed on his forehead. Steve had a broken wrist, two twisted ankles, a dislocated shoulder, and plenty of cuts. His pinky and ring finger were covered with a cloth bandage from his skim with the arrow, which had had some bacteria on the tip.

However, Lucas and the rest of them had relatively few wounds compared to them. Most of them had some minor stab wounds and were out of breath. The worst Lucas had suffered from was a nasty bruise on his arm.

"We can stop here and have some breakfast," said Steve. "We should have distanced ourselves from any scouts they can scrape together for a while."

As the men cooked some eggs and bacon over a fire, Steve ate a small hunk of sweet bread with honey on it. Lucas approached him.

"I don't think you've told us everything that happened," Lucas murmured.

"What do you mean?" asked Steve sincerely.

"Something happened after your fall," prodded Lucas.

Steve grew serious. "I haven't told anyone else yet," he cautioned. Lucas drew close, and Steve took the medallion out of his pocket. The jade green stone hung on an obsidian chain. Its center was darkened.

Lucas's mouth widened. "Is that-?"

"An ender pearl," confirmed Steve.

"How?" wondered Lucas.

"I met an enderman," Steve whispered. "He's been following us. He was onto us."

"Does the dragon know?" asked Lucas. "After all, I think we can safely agree that it exists now."

Steve shook his head. "I didn't give him a chance to report back."

Lucas whistled. "I guess we know that the dragon is assembling these monsters, then."

"Actually, and this may be a lie, but the enderman said that his master is not behind those monsters in the abandoned village."

"And if it didn't know what we were up to, then it wouldn't have put a price on our heads," realized Lucas.

"Meaning that while we're chasing one enemy, another one is chasing us," Steve concluded.

"Eggs are ready!" called Amos.

Steve replied, "We'll be there in a minute." He turned back to Lucas. "We need to find out what's really going on. Jack was right. Something is stirring, has been stirring, underneath the surface. A darkness is rising."

And so darkness rose.

The breeze suddenly picked up. Clouds gathered on the horizon. Thunder boomed and lightning flashed. The ground quivered in expectation. The villager's fire was blown out. Jack pulled himself to his feet.

"What's going on?" he shouted to Steve and Lucas.

"I have no idea!" Steve yelled back. The villagers slowly got up and turned toward the gathering clouds. They picked up their swords and other weapons. A noise like a deep horn echoed across the hills. Suddenly, there was a brilliant flash of light on the horizon. A shockwave hit the men. A beacon had shot up from the source of the phenomenon. Fire danced around the scene.

"What in Notch's name is that?" breathed Jack.

"Like I said, no idea," answered Steve, "but I think it's come for us."

~~~

The sinister building shook with effort as the blue light shot out of it. The clamor had woken the bat, who flew toward the source of the noise.

In the fireplace lay a black structure, its center glowing. Fire was all around it. There was no one in sight. It flew out of the chimney and looked down on the vile place. The two great wooden doors had opened, and an army marched out onto the bridge. The zombies weighed down with iron plating were not merely savage outcasts. These monsters had been bread to fight. Skeletons and creepers, also all heavily armored and armed. Then came a wave of cavalry. Skeletons rode menacing spiders and horses of bone, while zombies had pale green mounts.

The army of evil crossed over the lava moat and set out on their course. Their scouts had spotted the villagers' camp and reported the location. Now, with their leader amongst them, the monsters were ready to put a stop to the travelers.

~~~

Steve had drawn his diamond sword and prepared for whatever was approaching. "Be ready," he ordered. All of the men were now on their feet and wondering what they were getting ready for.

Lucas pulled an arrow out of his quiver. Jack stretched and unwrapped a bandage around his right forearm. Patrick, their medic, shot him a perturbed glance.

"What?" demanded Jack. "I can't have anything restricting my ax arm."

Everyone quieted as the area around them grew louder. And as if Minecraft had been angered, the forest erupted. Wave upon wave of armored monsters ran out of the trees, all with weapons drawn. They moved closer and closer as each line of soldiers appeared behind them. Soon, the eighteen villagers were completely encircled by hundreds of skeleton archers, zombie orcs, creeper soldiers and unearthly steeds.

All of them threateningly stared at the group of warriors. The villagers stood their ground and held their position. A few of their weapons trembled slightly, but for the most part, they showed no fear. Steve gazed into each and every cold pair of eyes in the front row.

"Do you have a leader?" he questioned. The ranks parted, and a voice replied, "Yes, they do." Steve almost would have described it as pleasant under different circumstances.

A skeleton, seemingly bearing a high rank (judging by its gold armor), rode out on a bone horse. Following him was the person Steve knew possessed the voice. Several men gasped at the sight of him.

He wore a ripped blue shirt and indigo pants made out of denim. His ratty brown hair looked like it hadn't been combed in years. He had a rough stubble around his mouth, and a sinister glowing red sword hung at his side, its crimson handle gripped in his hand.

But it was his eyes that drew the gasps. They were pure milky white, like those of a blind man. But they glowed. A white light shone from each one, like a pair of lanterns. He stepped forward and smiled at Steve.

"Are you looking for me?" he asked.

Steve could only whisper one word.

"Herobrine."