by Mark Mulle
Adventures Through the Over World, Book One: The Creeping Transformation
Copyright 2015 Mark Mulle
Author’s Note
This short story is for your reading pleasure. The characters in this "Minecraft Adventure Series" such as Steve, Endermen or Herobrine...etc are based on the Minecraft Game coming from Minecraft ®/TM & © 2009-2013 Mojang / Notch
Other Books in the Adventures Through the Over World Trilogy
Book Two: Steven and the Island of Bones
Book Three: The Zoo in Jericho City
Table of Contents
The Creeping Transformation
About the Author
Other Books by the Author
The Creeping Transformation
The sun shined brightly through the windows of Steve’s house. Even so, he didn’t want to wake up. He was quite comfy in his bed. He was wrapped up in his blankets like a burrito. It was extremely warm and comfortable.
But then he heard heavy breathing and saw a walking mass of fur come running towards him. His dog – Shelby – was bolting towards him. His tail was wagging and his tongue was hanging out as he huffed with excitement.
Shelby’s tongue was wet as he licked Steve’s face with glee. He was either hungry or wanted to play. It was probably both, now that Steve thought about it.
“Alright, alright! Shelby, hold on.” Steve said with a laugh. He pushed Shelby aside and wiped his face off with the blanket. He uncurled himself from the blanket burrito and rolled out of bed. Shelby took up a pouncing stance, waiting for Steve to make any sudden movements.
“Hey now, you want your food right?” Steve asked.
Shelby seemed to understand the word “food” and ran out of the bedroom. Satisfied, Steve stretched out his arms and let out a yawn. He then sauntered over to the kitchen where he pulled out some food. He chopped up veggies and some leftover meat and shoved it into a bowl for Shelby.
The dog dug in happily while Steve prepared his own breakfast. He cracked a few eggs in a pan and fried them up. When they were ready he sat down at the table and ate breakfast with his dog.
He and Shelby had been pals nearly all their lives. Steve was young when he and his family had found Shelby. He was a puppy back then, but his coat was still as golden as ever. Ever since they’d found each other they’d been at each other’s side. Even when Steve moved out of the family home and went off on his own, Shelby came with him.
Once Shelby finished his food it was time to play. Whether Steve was done or not it didn’t matter. Shelby considered himself the king of the house, which meant his wants were law. Steve didn’t usually mind because he loved playing with Shelby.
They went out into the backyard and played fetch for a little bit. Steve would throw the ball and even before it landed Shelby was waiting for it. He was faster than the ball nine times out of ten. He’d run to the end of the yard, grab it, and bring it back. Occasionally he’d play a bit of tug of war with Steve involving the ball. That was when Steve was able to get a sense of how Shelby was doing. If he was feeling good, he’d tug really hard on the ball and put up quite a fight. If he was feeling down or a little sick then he’d give up pretty easily.
Today was a good day though and Shelby was more than willing to put up a fight for the ball. Steve grabbed it with an iron grip and tried to shake it out of Shelby’s mouth. He growled back and tugged harder against Steve.
“Come on, Shelby!” Steve said with a laugh. He finally got the ball away from him and threw it farther into the yard.
After their playtime was over it was time for lunch. For Shelby that meant the same meal of meats and veggies, not that Shelby ever complained. He loved everything he ate. For Steve this meant something a little more balanced. With a little bread, a little fruit, and some cheese for flavor, cooking was one of Steve’s favorite hobbies.
After lunch came hunting time. It was important that they keep up food stocks. So every day – for at least an hour or two – Shelby and Steve would go out hunting, and most of the time they’d hunt sheep or wolves. Steve preferred the sheep because their meat was tenderer than a wolf’s and less dangerous too.
With the sun bright and the wind cool, they found themselves leaving the village borders. The two were much loved by their neighbors and the other villagers. They waved as they passed by and exchanged hellos and so on. Some of them would even give snacks to Shelby as they walked on by.
They left the village and headed into the forest. The borders weren’t far from the forest, so Steve came armed with a sword just in case of anything. Things were pretty safe inside the forest, but occasionally the wolves would travel in packs and that did get a little dangerous. For most part, Shelby was all Steve needed for protection.
The leaves crunched underfoot. Shelby ran ahead of Steve and started sniffing around.
“Find anything, boy?” Steve asked eagerly.
Shelby looked up and started to wag his tail. Steve smiled and joined his friend up ahead. Shelby waited for Steve and then took off again. That meant that Shelby had gotten the scent of something.
Steve did his best to keep up, but Shelby was running with increasing speed. Steve had never seen him get like this before. He wondered if it was something new.
“Hang in there buddy!” Steve called. “I can’t keep up with ya!”
Finally Shelby slowed down. He didn’t stop moving though. Instead he stuck his nose onto the ground and began sniffing around.
“What did you find?” Steve asked. Some days he wished that Shelby could talk. Other times he knew that if Shelby could talk, he’d never shut up. He was always active.
Shelby picked his nose up and barked. This confused Steve. “What is it boy?” He asked. This was strange behavior indeed. He had no idea what was going on. “Is it wolves?” Steve didn’t know why he was asking. Shelby wouldn’t say anything back to him.
He sighed and resigned himself to following Shelby’s trail. Shelby kept his nose low to the ground. His long ears flopped over his head. Occasionally he’d have to stop and shake his head so his ears would move out of his way.
Steve realized that this had to be something new. Shelby enjoyed sniffing the ground, but he’d never kept it there for so long. This was something he’d never smelled before. Steve wondered what it could be. It’d been so long since they had something new in the forest. He just hoped it wasn’t dangerous. He decided to hold his sword a little closer to him.
The further they walked, the more fearful Steve was becoming. They were moving into territory that Steve had rarely been to. He noted that on the way they’d hardly seen any other animals. It was normal that the wolves would be in hiding except when they were hunting, but even smaller creatures like the squirrels were gone. It was eerily quiet.
Shelby’s steps had slowed and he was no longer sniffing the ground. Steve was finally able to come up beside him and heard that he was whining.
“What’s wrong?” Steve asked, petting his head. Shelby let out his tongue and began panting.
“What do you smell? What’s got you all stressed out?” Steve asked as he looked around them.
The area of the forest they’d wound up in was fairly close to the mountains. It was much further from the village than Steve had ever been. He didn’t like it.
“Come on,” He said, gripping his sword tighter. “Let’s go home.”
Then Shelby started barking. It was just one or two at first, but it sped up. He’d seen something and whatever it was, he didn’t like.
“Shelby! Come!
” Steve called. He was a few feet away from the dog at this point. Shelby wouldn’t budge.
Steve had half a mind to come over there and drag him, but it wouldn’t work. Shelby could be stubborn when he wanted to be. The only way to get him to move would be to find out what was getting him all riled up and fixing it.
Steve sighed. He really didn’t like this area but he wasn’t going to leave Shelby here alone either. He walked back to Shelby and petted his head again. “Okay Shelby. You win. Let’s see what’s got you all crazy.”
Steve moved towards the mountain carefully. He held his sword so tight he thought he might hurt his hand. There was something near the mountain face or in it, he wasn’t sure. Whatever it was, it was different enough to attract Shelby’s attention and hold it.
Then some thin and black lashed out at Steve. He yelped and jumped back. Shelby started
