Second Chances

Chapter 8

The next day was Sunday, so Steve had to go back to work tomorrow. But today, he just planned to stay home and relax.

Today was a rather lovely day to do that, too. Rain poured outside and the sky was gray and overcast. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and lightning arced across the sky. Yeah, today wasn't a day to do anything.

Steve almost got out of bed, but he then remembered that he wasn't alone. Herobrine was still asleep and was cocooned in blankets. Steve made sure to carefully get out of bed so he wouldn't disturb him. Then Steve decided to make breakfast.

He pulled a pumpkin, an egg, and some sugar out of a chest and crafted it into a pumpkin pie. He munched on a slice of the pie and watched the rain from the window. It pattered on the windowsill and dripped from the roof of the house. A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, and the resulting thunder came not long after nearly shook the house.

...

Lightning flashed across the dark sky.

A pair of glowing white eyes watched Steve from the forest. Shivers crept up and down his spine.

"Daddy?" Jacob came outside and hugged his dad's leg, since he wasn't tall enough to hug much higher. "What are you doing out here?"

Steve hesitated. "N-nothing. Go inside, Jacob."

...

Steve shuddered involuntarily. He didn't really want to think about the past right now, but he clearly had no choice.

...

Rain started pattering on the window. Steve stared at his own reflection in his sword.

"Hey, baby," Alex hugged him from behind. "Whatcha doing?"

"Oh, nothing." Steve put the sword back in its sheath and put it back in its hiding spot. He didn't want Jacob to find it and hurt himself on it. "I saw something in the forest. It just unsettled me, that's all."

"It was probably just a zombie. The iron golem will keep it away, don't worry," Alex reassured him. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek then walked away. "Oh, by the way, Jacob refuses to get in bed until you tuck him in. Could you please do that so we can have some time alone together?" She grinned at him.

He nodded and glanced out the window one last time. The storm outside was slowly getting worse. Rain beat against the roof of the house and thunder boomed. He saw no sign of the unsettling eyes he saw earlier. Were they even eyes? Maybe they were just the moonlight reflecting off something. No, the storm clouds had obscured the moon by then.

Steve opened his son's bedroom door and saw Jacob bundled up in blankets and staring outside at the storm. The thunder rolled again, and he tightened the blankets around himself.

"Hey, bud. Are you okay?" Steve sat next to him.

"The storm is scary," Jacob said, leaning his head against Steve's side.

Steve looked out the window. The wind whipped the branches of a nearby tree. Steve put an arm around Jacob and looked back down at him. "It's okay, though. We're inside, where we're safe. The storm can't hurt us."

Jacob looked up at Steve, his large green eyes filled with fear. "But what if a monster gets in?"

"None of the monsters are able to get in here," Steve reassured him.

"Not even that one?" Jacob pointed out the window at a figure standing in the rain. The water on the window blurred their features, but Steve could clearly tell that the figure was humanoid. He would have dismissed it as a zombie if it wasn't for the fact that the figure's skin wasn't sickly green.

A cold shiver went through Steve. "Nope. Not even that one."

Steve looked down at Jacob, who seemed a lot more comfortable with his dad at his side than before. Steve then glanced back up at the window and noticed that the figure in the rain was gone. Yeah, that wasn't terrifying at all.

"Well, Jacob it's time for bed." Steve ordered. Jacob grabbed his favorite stuffed toy creeper and laid down on the bed.

"Goodnight, Daddy," Jacob whispered.

"Goodnight Jacob. I'll see you in the morning." Steve gave him a quick kiss on the forehead and blew out the lone torch that illuminated the room. He carefully shut the door behind him as he walked out of the bedroom.

...

Steve turned away from the rain-covered window with tears on his cheeks. If he had known what was going to happen to Jacob that night, Steve would have held him close and never let go of him. But, of course, he had no way of knowing what horror had been awaiting that family.

A groan came from Steve's bed, and Herobrine sat up slowly. Right away Steve could tell that something was wrong with him. His skin was pale, but his face was flushed red. He was shivering more than usual, even though there was no change in the house's temperature from normal.

"Good morning," Steve said with more venom in his voice than he probably should have.

Herobrine stood up and wrapped the blanket around his shoulders like an oversized cape. "Mister Steve... I don't feel very good..."

He then threw up all over the floor.