To Save Us All | Escaping Minecraft

Chapter Five: Shattered

(Lily's POV)

It was getting to me. 

I couldn't go on. I wasn't good enough for them. 

I wasn't a leader, I was only a kid. Nothing I could do would stop the prophecy. Prophecies are meant to be fulfilled against all odds. 

I hated to think that people would die. 

I couldn't stop them, my fighting skills weren't good. 

I wasn't good enough. 

Never enough. 

(Dream's POV)

She was breaking down. 

All the pressure was getting to her, we could all see it. She was getting less confident in herself, less fun or daring in our combat sessions. 

Each day, she hung her head lower, walked slower. We could see the cracks forming in her mind. Not to sound creepy or anything, but it was true. Painfully obvious at worst, still detectable at best. 

And I got that. People were going into the nether, risking their lives in that fiery dimension while we'd barred her from even going through the portal. She wanted to, so badly, but she was our leader. We couldn't lose her. 

But what if that was the problem all along? She was young. No one she knew well, no one to share her burden with. There were almost four hundred people in our group already, and people would join every few days; more people to take care of. Maybe we pressured her too much. 

I went up to her. "Lily, I'm sorry..." My voice trailed off. I took a breath and continued. "I'm sorry. I didn't see how much pressure we were putting on you, and how much we were restricting you from the nether..." 

At this point, she looked up. 

There was so much sadness in her eyes. They seemed darker than they were from the day she told us the prophecy. Darker, but still shining. 

With a start, I realized her eyes were brimming with tears. She was crying. "No," she said sadly. "It's not your fault. It's mine." 

This... this was much deeper than I thought. She blamed herself. She thought... I guess she thought she wasn't good enough. Wasn't strong enough. Wasn't a good leader. 

And that was probably the root of the problem. 

She had no one to lean on, to depend on. She needed a friend. Someone to work with. 

So I put out a call for someone new. 

Mojang, if you can see this and send someone in, or find someone already in the game that'll help her, please. Please do it.

(Lily's POV again)

I had to hold strong. 

At least, until I could get to the nether. The closest I could get to the portal was guarding it some nights, in case something happened to walk through. We were also there if the player was wounded and needed medical attention. 

I guessed today was my lucky day. I was guarding the portal with Kiing and another player. Suddenly, a swarm of players popped out of the portal. 

"Ghasts," one said breathlessly. They all had scratches and burns. We all rushed them to the medical area, staying for a while to make sure they were okay. "Did you find the fortress?" Kiing asked them eagerly. "It's been less than a week, Kiing," I replied. "I doubt it, and everything's a lot harder to navigate anyways." 

One of the players shook their head. "No fortress."

I nodded in understanding. I had to keep this up. 

"Why don't you two stay here," I suggested. I was trying to keep them away from the portal. Kiing shook his head, saying, "What if more people come out? What will you do then?" 

I waved it away. "I'll be fine." 

After a few minutes of debate, I set off back to the portal room. Alone. 

When I got there, the room was empty. No one had come back. 

I readied my tools and weapons. 

I took a deep breath, and stepped into the swirling vortex. 

(WC: 650 words) 

A bit of a shorter chapter this time... sorry. I was thinking up lots of Nether Lore for my newest book, but it's kinda silly. I'd appreciate it if you take a look, though. It only has two chapters but I'll take requests! Also, I gotta work on PJH soon. That's been put off for a while. 

It's just that my prophecy and a flipping TON of LoL videos had me going into fantasy mode–and now it's going in here. I dunno why, so don't ask. 

See you next update!

~Lily