Last Stand on the Ocean Shore Page 9

  Teleporting to the end of another long, straight passage, Herobrine came across a collection of bones lying on the tunnel floor; only his eyes could have picked them out of the darkness. It was likely some poor skeleton that didn’t make it back in time … some fool. As he continued on, he saw a few arrows scattered on the ground here and there.

  “Careless idiots,” he said to the darkness.

  Ahead, Herobrine could see a faint red glow … he was there. Teleporting to the feeble burgundy light, he materialized at the end of a long, straight tunnel. He could see redstone torches placed on the roughhewn walls every dozen blocks or so, causing them to cast a circle of rosy light that filled a small section of the tunnel. On either side of the lit sections, dark stretches spanned half a dozen blocks until the next circle of light was reached. The pattern of torch-lit tunnel followed by darkness stretched off into the distance as far as Herobrine’s glowing eyes could see. Sparkling white fountains were interspersed among the redstone torches. A nearly constant flow of glittering white HP flowed from the fountains, the tiny glowing sparks throwing splashes of light on the stone walls.

  Connected to this tunnel were perpendicular passages, each with its own torches and HP fountains. They intersected in the dark sections so that the adjacent passages were not visible unless you were standing directly in the shadowy section.

  Skeletons filled the passage, their pale white bodies clustered around the white twinkling HP fountains, drinking in the life-preserving sparks of HP. This was the skeletons’ joy … and curse. They fed off these HP fountains every day, but it kept them shackled to these underground passages, for they could not last long away from skeleton-town.

  Gathering his crafting powers, Herobrine allowed his eyes to flare brilliantly white, lighting the entire length of the tunnel and those that intersected as well. Knowing the layout of skeleton-towns well, he teleported to the gathering chamber that sat at the center of the crisscrossing tunnel system. He materialized at the far end of the large circular chamber. It had a low ceiling, only five or six blocks high, but it spanned fifty blocks across, its wide expanse making the roof seem even lower by comparison. Shimmering white HP fountains dotted the perimeter of the chamber, casting their faint glow throughout the room.

  “Come, my children,” Herobrine said in a loud voice that echoed through all the tunnels. “We have much to discuss.”

  Slowly, the skeletons trickled into the chamber, but not fast enough to suit him.

  “COME…NOW!” he screamed, his booming voice thundering through the passageways.

  The skeletons scurried faster, the sound of their clattering bones echoing off the stone walls. Herobrine motioned for a half-dozen of the creatures to come closer, his eyes glowing dangerously bright. They moved forward, a look of fear on their bony faces, for they knew they had no choice. When they were close enough, he drew his sword and cut through their HP, bringing them to the brink of destruction. Gathering the barely connected bones together, he knelt and started to craft. As he worked, his hands glowed a sickly, pale yellow, giving them an infected and diseased look. The insipid glow lit his face, giving the dark shadow-crafter a washed-out look that almost matched the color of the skeletons, his red woodcutter’s smock now a faded dirty orange.

  As he crafted, the skeleton bones slowly merged together, forming an unrecognizable shape of twisted parts and jagged edges. Herobrine’s hands glowed brighter as he pulled two large bones together, forming the spine. Adding curved parts, he crafted ribs that arced around the spine like the ancient buttresses of some medieval cathedral. Gradually, the monstrous shape morphed into a blocky torso, then thick muscular arms and legs sprouted out, then at last, a terrifying skeletal head appeared. When he finished, the new creation dragged itself to the ­sparkling HP fountain that glowed nearby. As the life-giving embers melted into the white bones, the creature slowly stood. It was a head taller than the rest of the skeletons in the room, its arms thicker and stronger. As more HP flowed into the bony monster, it stood even taller. And when its HP was full, the creature’s eyes started to glow a deep red that made all the other skeletons step back.

  Herobrine placed a block on the ground, stood on it, and addressed the skeleton-town.

  “Behold, my latest creation, the king of the skeletons. He will command you in the Last Battle and finally bring the race of skeletons back to the surface of Minecraft.”

  The skeletons in the room started to murmur at the sound of this promise.

  “I know how long you have suffered in these passageways, forced to stay close to your precious HP fountains,” Herobrine said in a softer voice, forcing the creatures to draw nearer. “That was your punishment after the first great zombie invasion. The skeleton race chose to help their monster neighbors in their just cause to overthrow the NPCs, but the inhabitants of the Overworld punished you for your dedication to your green brothers. Now you live in squalor in these dark caves, unable to go to the surface during the day.”

  The skeletons started to grumble, some of them issuing curses toward the vile NPCs.

  “But you will again live under the blue sky of daylight,” he said in a loud, clear voice.

  “The sky … the sky … the sky,” the monsters chanted, their ancestral memory yearning to stand under the clear blue dome of the digital heavens once again.

  “You have been punished for far too long, and it is now time for you to take back what is yours.” Herobrine pointed to the skeleton king. “Your commander will lead you and the skeletons from across all the servers in the Last Battle that will finally exterminate the NPCs from Minecraft!”

  The skeletons cheered, their hoarse shouts echoing off the chamber walls. Many held their bows high over their heads, shaking their pale white fists at the NPCs that lived far above them.

  Herobrine held his hands over his head to calm the rabble, then continued.

  “But before we begin, there are some tasks you must all complete. First and foremost, you must collect as much leather as possible. Spare nothing in this task, not even your lives. Everything depends on leather.” He then turned to the skeleton king. “Second, your king will collect all the skeletons and have them ready when I call. You must be prepared when I signal for the Last Battle; any delay will be dealt with severely.”

  “But, master, how will I be able to travel to the other skeleton-towns without burning under the cursed sun?” the skeleton king asked. “They are too far away for me to walk to them.”

  Herobrine’s eyes flared bright for just a moment, then he disappeared. In a second, he reappeared with a skeleton horse at his side.

  “You will wear a helmet specially designed by me,” Herobrine said, “and ride this skeleton horse.”

  He reached into his inventory and dumped some items onto the ground. Pieces of armor from his many victims clattered to the ground: gold, iron, and leather all mixed together in a heap. Herobrine picked up a gold helmet and held it high in the air. Gathering his crafting powers, he made the golden helm glow in his hands, becoming brighter and brighter until the skeletons had to look away. When the intense light faded, the skeletons looked back to the Maker. A cheer rang out as Herobrine placed the helmet on the skeleton king’s bare head. Instead of a normal, square helmet, it now became a collection of golden bones intricately woven together into a king’s crown.

  “Your golden crown of bones will protect you from the burning rays of the sun, and your skeleton horse will let you travel quickly from skeleton-town to skeleton-town,” Herobrine said, his eyes glowing bright and evilly. “You will strike fear into our enemy’s hearts when they see you on your mighty steed, wearing your crown of golden bones. No one will dare defy you!”

  The skeletons cheered as their king looked down on them, the golden bones reflecting the sparks from the HP fountains.

  Herobrine then turned and stepped toward the wall. He pulled out a diamond pickaxe and dug a three-block-wide by four-block-high rectangle into the wall. After putting his tool back in his
inventory, he pressed his glowing hands against the stone wall. Slowly, a shimmering light formed within the recession. It started out as a faint glow, but grew in strength, gradually pushing back the light from the HP fountains. When Herobrine stepped back, all in the chamber could see a sparkling undulating portal filling the rectangle, the shining surface pulsing as if alive. The new teleportation portal lit the gathering chamber with a flickering pale yellow glow.

  Herobrine smiled as he stepped away from the newly created portal. He felt weak, his crafting powers taxed to the limit, but it had been important, and he knew that the skeleton king would need these portals to gather his troops.

  Herobrine faced the skeletons. “This portal will take you to the other skeleton-towns,” he explained. “I have just modified the code of all skeleton-towns using my shadow-crafting abilities so that one of these portals is present in each.”

  The skeletons cheered loudly.

  “When I signal, these portals will bring all of you to the Last Battle,” Herobrine yelled, then drew his diamond sword and held it high over his head. “And when we meet our enemies in the Last Battle, we will vanquish them and take back the Overworld.”

  The skeletons were cheering nearly out of control.

  “Now, go to the surface and collect the leather!”

  The skeletons surged out of the gathering chamber and headed through the twisting tunnels to the surface. As the bony creatures moved out, the skeleton king moved to Herobrine’s side, a bony hand holding onto the horse’s rope lead.

  “Master, I have one question,” the skeleton king said.

  Herobrine could see that there was fear in those red eyes, fear of the Maker … good.

  “What is it?”

  “What am I to be called?” the tall skeleton asked.

  Herobrine looked at the creature and considered for a moment, then drew on what he’d gleaned from listening to the delicious information on the user’s Internet.

  “I shall call you Reaper,” Herobrine said in a slow, booming voice. “You shall be my second horseman.”

  Reaper nodded his glowing skull of a head, then mounted his skeleton horse and guided it toward the portal.

  “Prepare your troops, Reaper, but remember … failure will not be tolerated. Is that understood?”

  “Of course, Master.”

  “Then go and gather your troops.”

  Reaper led his horse through the pale yellow portal and disappeared. Once Herobrine was completely alone, he cackled a wicked laugh that resonated into the very fabric of Minecraft.

  “Soon, Gameknight999, you will meet my four horsemen, and then we’ll see how clever you are.”

  He let out a short, harsh laugh that stabbed at the music of Minecraft, then disappeared, his glowing, hate-filled eyes the last things to fade away.

  CHAPTER 12

  THE REUNION

  Gameknight999 woke with a start, his heart pounding, his breathing heavy. Sitting up quickly, he scrutinized his surroundings to see if anything was wrong. The sky sparkled with a thousand brilliant stars as the moon’s square face slowly moved overhead. He could see sentries patrolling the newly constructed wall that ringed the village, their armor clinking softly as they walked along the parapet. Archers stood atop the many towers that had been built across the village, their prickly weapons ready to pour steel-tipped rain down upon any monsters that approached. Everything seemed fine.

  So, what jolted me awake?

  At that moment when he crossed over from being asleep to being awake, it felt as if something evil had been making an eerie growling or howling noise in his ears. But the strange thing was that the sound came from inside his head. It was an evil, cackling sound—some kind of terrible beast laughing and growling at the same time—but the noise had come through the music that played in the background, through the very fabric of Minecraft … but how was that possible?

  Standing, Gameknight drew his diamond sword and walked to the stairs that led to the top of the barricade. Climbing the rocky steps, he stood on the wall and gazed out into the desert. There was nothing out there in the dark midnight landscape … just cactus and sand.

  It still didn’t feel right.

  Running along the wall, he did a lap around the perimeter of the village, the NPCs on guard duty looking at him as if he were crazy. Everything seemed calm, but he knew that it wasn’t right. What he’d felt through the music of Minecraft meant something … he just wasn’t sure what.

  “HUNTER … WHERE’S HUNTER?!” Gameknight yelled.

  “She’s asleep in the blacksmith’s house,” one of the villagers said.

  “Get her up … NOW!” Gameknight999 commanded. “And get Stitcher as well. I need them both.”

  Three NPCs ran off to find the sisters, happy to be away from the agitated User-that-is-not-a-user.

  Suddenly, Stonecutter was at his side; the NPC’s gray smock was almost invisible in the darkness of the desert night.

  “What’s happening?” Stonecutter asked.

  “I don’t know, but something doesn’t feel right.” Gameknight walked a few steps away from the stocky NPC then came back, pacing back and forth. “Maybe I’m just going crazy, but I think there’s something out there in the darkness.”

  “Maybe you should trust your instincts,” Stonecutter said. “My brother, Saddler, used to have a special instinct for the weather. Nobody believed him except for me. You see, he could tell when it was about to rain, but, more importantly, he could tell when there would be lightning. When we were kids …” he stopped for a minute to laugh at some image in his head, a smile growing across his square face, his stone-gray eyes bright with the happy memory, then continued.

  “When we were kids, he used to steal an iron sword when he felt a lightning storm coming. We’d go out into the fields and stick the sword in the ground, then back up and watch. The lightning used to hit the sword and make it glow bright orange, showering the area with sparks.” He laughed again, then closed his eyes to enjoy the moment in his mind.

  Slowly, he opened his eyes again, still filled with joy. “The first time, he ran out to the field to pull the sword out of the ground after it stopped glowing, but it was still hot. It burned his right hand when he pulled up on the hilt. He then dropped the sword on his right foot and burned that as well.” He stopped to smile, then laughed again. “He had to hop all the way back to the village, but by that time, everyone had come out to see the lightning. All the NPCs saw him coming back and started to hop as we entered the village, making fun of him. Oh … we laughed for a day … well, except for Saddler. After that day, everyone called him Lefty for a while … he hated it. Even as adults, we used to do the sword thing every time a storm came near. It was one of our favorite things to do … I guess not anymore.”

  Stonecutter became silent as he looked out into the darkness. The joyful look in his gray eyes faded, leaving behind cold stone pupils filled with sadness and regret.

  “He was in the village that day … when the monsters came.”

  The stocky NPC took a few steps away from the User-that-is-not-a-user and stared out into the darkness, his entire body tense.

  He carries such a burden, Gameknight thought.

  Just then, Hunter ran up the steps and stood before the User-that-is-not-a-user, her younger sister at her side.

  “I hear you’re causing some kind of fuss and felt it necessary to wake me from my glorious dream,” Hunter said. “Believe it or not, I was dreaming about destroying monsters.”

  “That’s shocking,” Stitcher said with a smile as she rubbed her tired eyes. “Now what’s going on, Gameknight?”

  “I’m not sure,” he answered.

  “That’s great!” Hunter replied. “Thanks for waking us up.”

  “Something’s going on,” Gameknight continued. “Herobrine is up to something, I can feel it, but it’s too dark out there in the desert to see anything. I need you two to go up to the watchtower and shoot your arrows all around the village.
With the Flame enchantment on your bows, your arrows will give us some light. Now, GO!”

  Hunter rolled her eyes at Gameknight999, then spun around quickly so that her crimson locks splashed across his face. Laughing, she ran down the steps and toward the watchtower.

  “Come, Stitcher … let’s light up the desert,” Hunter yelled over her shoulder as she ran.

  The younger sister stepped up to Gameknight999, gave him a smile, then spun around and splashed him with her long red curls as well, laughing as she followed her older sibling.

  “What’s going on?” said a voice behind Gameknight.

  Turning, Gameknight found his sister staring up at him, her sleepy eyes still filled with fatigue.

  “I don’t know,” Gameknight answered. “Hunter and Stitcher are going to shoot some arrows out in the desert so that we can see what’s out there.”

  “What do you need me to do?”

  Gameknight could tell that she was anxious to help.

  “Go up into the watchtower and be a lookout,” he explained. “I need your eyes to tell us what’s out there.”

  “Got it,” she said as she smiled, then turned and splashed him with her blue locks.

  “I hate that!” he exclaimed.

  Monet laughed.

  Gameknight smiled as he watched her streak to the sandstone tower. In seconds, Monet and the sisters appeared at the top, their iridescent bows shimmering in the darkness, lighting the tower with a blue glow. Hunter and Stitcher drew back their arrows and fired. Instantly, the tips of the arrows erupted with magical fire as they streaked through the darkness like two tiny meteors coming down from the heavens. When they landed, the arrows impaled themselves into the pale yellow sand but continued to burn, casting a circle of light.

  Slowly, the sisters fired more arrows into the darkness, Hunter to the left, and Stitcher to the right. They painted a burning arc of light along one side of the village. Gameknight stood on the wall and peered into the lit desert, looking for Herobrine and his monsters of destruction, but all he saw was brown scrub brush and green cacti, the only inhabitants in this dry wasteland.