The Edge of MINECRAFT (Being the Second Volume of the Minecraft Trilogy)

Below Zero

It was really cold. Lucas snorted to himself. That was the understatement of the century.

His team had had to abandon the main road, instead moving to a sublet to set up camp. They had barely gotten their tents pitched underneath tree cover before the blizzard had set in.

Now, they were trapped in a world of white. The ground was a blanket of snow, devoid of any color. Meanwhile, the sky was full of flurries, making it impossible to see anything.

Lucas hugged his cloak tighter to his body. Now he was glad he had kept the thing. It covered him from head to toe and kept the snow and cold out. Because of this, he was the only one remotely fit to patrol the camp. Every one else was confined to their tents unless they absolutely had to go outside.

There was a fire burning under one tree, where the snow couldn't quite extinguish it, and several men were huddled around it. Jack was there, shivering and warming his hands. He and Jon had been spending a lot of time together. Lucas had seen them with maps and navigation tools out, taking note of landmarks and adding them to the map of the area they created.

Jon was nowhere to be see presently, though. Probably sleeping away under his five blankets, Lucas thought. Jon wasn't one for the cold.

Amos and William also sat around the fire. The youngest and oldest were animatedly discussing something, though the wind was too loud for Lucas to hear what.

Dakota was leaning in, holding something near the warmth of the flames. Lucas slid onto the same log and looked at him curiously.

"Wolfgang," Dakota replied to the unsaid question. He unwrapped his arms to reveal the pup he had rescued from Shadobrous. Lucas kept forgetting Dakota had the thing. Apparently, the two had bonded over the last several days. A guy like Dakota needed a dog. They'd be good friends.

A log collapsed into the fire, sending up a flurry of sparks. They were running out of fuel.

"I'm off to get some more firewood," Lucas announced.

"Anything out there'll be too damp," Amos pointed out.

"Something may be under a tree, like these," said Lucas.

"I'll come," added Jack. The two wrapped up in layers and set out into the cold.

"Wait up!" a third voice called. Lucas turned to see Alex, also prepared for the cold, coming near. She wore a heavy black coat over her blue parka. "Where are you guys going?"

Lucas had to shout over the howling wind, "We're going to get more wood!"

"Let me come too!" she shouted back. Lucas nodded, and she joined the two of them. Slowly, they made their way across the frozen field, the wall of wind and snow fighting against them. Lucas had to put a hand out to push back.

Finally, though, the three friends reached another grove of trees where the elements didn't penetrate as much. Jack plunked down onto a fallen log.

"Whew," he breathed. "It's bad out there. It may be days before we can move any further."

"All the more reason to stay warm," Lucas said.

"What about the monsters?" Alex wondered.

"We'll worry about them when we can," Lucas replied. "If it turns out we've lost them, then we wait for them to turn back. After all, they have to. Past the frozen wastes is just the northern sea, and there's nothing past that. Whatever they're up here for, they'll have to turn around eventually. If we're still on their trail, though, then we keep on following as best as we can."

Jack and Alex nodded, accepting this plan. Jack whipped out one of his axes and began to segment the log. Lucas was about to jump in and help when his attention was brought elsewhere.

"What was that?" inquired Alex. Lucas turned toward a small shrub.

"It came from over there," he answered. The two of them cautiously walked over to the underbrush and moved some branches aside when Lucas heard the strange high-pitched noise again. Moments later, he located the source.

A small grey tabby kitten lay shivering in the bush. It couldn't have been a week old. Lucas picked it up and wrapped some of the foods of his cloak around it.

"As, poor thing," Alex sighed. "How's he going to brave the cold?"

"I'll take him in," Lucas declared. "I don't think he'll be a negative influence on our camp, do you?"

Alex laughed, but then suddenly, the ice bank beneath her gave way, and she stumbled. Lucas caught her arm before she could fall.

"Thanks," she said, truly grateful. The fall was several feet. Lucas nodded a reply. The two of them, kitten in tow, walked back to Jack, who in just a few minutes had a large pile of wood.

"Whatcha got there?" the lumberjack asked.

"A knew friend," Lucas said, showing him the kitten. "I think I'll call him Paws."

"Is he gonna keep Mittens company?" Jack laughed. Mittens was Lucas's older cat back in Westlodge. She had been a faithful companion for several years. Jack continued, "Maybe Paws and Wolfgang can be friends. That would be an interesting social experiment."

Lucas chuckled as well. "I'm not sure interesting is the word you're looking for. Come on, let's get back to camp." With that, they hauled the firewood back to their camp. The men had put in the last two logs, so they were just in time. This new fuel would last them several days. In the best scenario, they'd be able to leave before they ran out.

Lucas made a space for Paws in his own tent. Using a shirt and an empty rations box, he constructed a small bed for his new companion. Over just a few hours, the hunter had bonded to the cat as he nursed it back to health.

That night, Lucas bid his friends at the fire good night and returned to his tent. He sealed the door just as the wind picked up. Even through the miniscule cracks in the fabric, the hanging lantern rocked back and forth. Lucas checked on Paws, who was fast asleep, and began to unroll his own blankets and sleeping equipment.

As he was settling in, there was a tap on his door. Lucas slowly peeled it open to see Alex standing outside in the cold.

"Alex?" he asked, surprised.

"Yep," she said, her voice muffled by the wind.

"Come on in," he said, pulling down the door. She walked in, her snow clothes now replaced by a loose black shirt with a small skirt to match.

"I just wanted to check on Paws," she admitted, peeking into his bed.

"He's doing fine," Lucas informed her. "I don't think he was out in the cold too long before we got him."

"That's good," Alex affirmed with a small nod. There was an awkward silence for a few minutes. Alex cleared her throat. "I, uh, also can because it's cold in my tent and, uh, a little lonely."

Lucas stood still for a few minutes before something clicked. "Oh, okay," he said. "I can make room." He added another blanket and spaced out the floor coverings, before extinguishing the lantern and crawling into the makeshift bed. Alex slid into the covers and leaned up against him. He could feel her heartbeat, and some of her hair rubbed against his face.

"Thanks," she whispered sleepily before sliding over and falling asleep a few feet away. She dozed off soon, though Lucas stayed awake a bit longer.

He breathed in deeply. At first, he hadn't beloved it, but as Lucas drifted off to sleep, he realized what he had been mentally denying for too long.

He was actually falling for Alex.