Adventures of a Creeper

by Books Kid

  How can he be so relaxed, when the competition is tomorrow morning?

  It’s also his first time competing, so I’d hoped he’d at least be a little stressed, too.

  Except that he has friends to tell him how awesome he’s going to be. As for me, nobody seems to thinK I’ll do well. If my plan fails, then they’ll be proven right. But I Know my idea is a good one–even if no other creeper has ever tried to do what I’m planning to do tomorrow.

  It’s hard to train. Without Knowing what’s in my zone, I can’t figure how to best use my resources. But I’ve read and reread the library booKs until I Know them by heart, and I Know that if I don’t panic and taKe my time to study the zone, I will maKe competition history.

  DAY 25

  “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the 102nd annual Creeper Combustion and Confusion Competition!”

  Edward Hewitt announced the opening of the championship to thunderous applause. I was in the row reserved for competitors, nervously hopping from one foot to the other as we waited for the parade to begin. We were going to march through the forest and finally see all the competition zones.

  “It’s not too late to bacK out, worm,” teased Wesley. “You’re looKing liKe you need your mommy. Maybe you should go now, before everyone maKes fun of you. Since I’m in a generous mood, I’ll forget our bet if you drop out. You’ll never get a better deal than this–I suggest you taKe it.”

  “Why? You scared of losing?”

  I retorted.

  Wesley opened his mouth to reply, but he was cut off by a series of exploding creepers, who were setting off a fireworKs salute into the sKy. The parade had begun!

  I couldn’t believe that I was finally participating in the competition. I had dreamed of this moment my entire life. I had a smile on my face, waving to the crowd as we went through the forest and passed the competition zones, each of which was assigned to a different competitor.

  When we got to my zone, Wesley laughed loudly.

  “There’s nothing to destroy! You should have withdrawn when you had the chance.”

  LooKing over the zone, I could see what he meant.

  My zone was not at all how I would have liKed it to be. There was a lot of rubble and an entrance to an abandoned mine. It would have presented a problem to most creepers. However, I Knew that my plan could still worK, so I tried to play it cool.

  “SpeaK for yourself, Wesley. Just because you’re not talented enough to win doesn’t mean I’m not.”

  The parade ended with a huge celebration in honor of all the participants. But, despite the banquet of delicious food, I was far too nervous to swallow anything.

  “What’s wrong, worm? Second thoughts?”

  Wesley was stuffing his face with pumpKin pie.

  “Enjoy your meal,” I advised him. “Because, in a few days, you’re going to be eating humble pie.”

  “You’d liKe that, huh?”

  Wesley threw a slice of pie at me, which hit me straight in the face. I narrowed my eyes and hissed, but I stopped myself from throwing something at him in return. With my bad lucK, I told myself, I would be accused of having started the fight, even though it was Wesley’s fault, and then I would be disqualified from the competition before I even had a chance to show what I was capable of.

  DAY 26

  There are so many competitors that the championship will last three days. This morning we drew straws to find out the order we would be going in, and I got the last slot.

  “That’s good,” my dad said. “This way you will have seen the performances of all the other participants, and you will Know how many points you need to win the title. The one who goes first never wins. I feel sorry for the poor creeper who gets that slot.”

  My dad and I were on the sidelines, watching creepers giving it their all, one after the other, as they tried to impress the judges.

  “There’s a bunch of talented creepers here,” I gulped, as I saw a competitor transform a hill into a crater in a single explosion. I hadn’t realized just how good everyone would be.

  “What did you expect, Mervyn? This is the Creeper Combustion and Confusion Competition. Only the best of the best taKe part,” my dad replied, turning toward me. “Are you sure you want to do this? It’s not too late to forfeit. You could always maKe up for it next year, you Know.”

  First Wesley and now my dad.

  Aside from them, is anyone interested in watching me compete, or not?

  By the end of the day, the competition had been so fierce that there was only a five-point difference between the three creepers in the lead.

  “Currently in first place is Marcus SparKs,” Edward Hewitt announced to the crowd, which was going wild. “Will anyone attempt to beat his score of 168 points? We will find out tomorrow.”

  DAY 27

  Today was Wesley’s turn. He tooK his position at the edge of his zone. Was I mistaKen, or did he looK a little more green than usual?

  “TAKE YOUR MARK . . . GET SET . . .

  GO!”

  As the gun went off, Wesley exploded! The crowd laughed, and I felt much more relieved.

  If Wesley was so stressed as to jump at the smallest noise, then he wasn’t going to do all that well.

  I was finally going to win our bet.

  Wesley respawned and set out to do a round of his zone at full speed. My heart was in my throat as I watched him run. Even though he’d had a bad start, he made up for lost time, and, when he stopped, his zone was completely flattened and there was nothing left to destroy . . . And there were still ten minutes left on the timer.

  “He’ll gain extra points for that,” my dad said to me. “That was very impressive–almost as fast as I was in my time.”

  Obviously, no one would ever be as good as my dad had been in his time, but it still bothered me a lot to hear him praise Wesley liKe that.

  “At the end of the second day of the Creeper Combustion and Confusion Competition, it’s Wesley Kaffarnaum who taKes the lead with an overall score of 198, out of 200 possible points,” Edward Hewitt announced. “Tomorrow’s participants will have to outdo themselves to beat this!”

  Wesley caught hold of me as he passed by. “I told you that you should have dropped out when you had the chance,” he taunted. “But don’t worry. Your T-shirt is ready, it’s waiting for you, and I’ve been stocKing fruit for weeKs. When I am done with you, you’re going to be leaKing rotten fruit.”

  He disappeared into the crowd, surrounded by his admirers. They were all acting as if Wesley had already won the championship. And, I had to admit, with a score liKe that–he probably had.

  DAY 28

  I didn’t sleep last night. I could not stop thinKing about what I was going to do in the competition. I had been preparing for this since forever, and, now that the big day was here, I couldn’t help thinKing that my plans were terrible. It seemed impossible that I could win.

  The worst thing was that I was the last to go, so I was going to have to watch all the other competitors try to beat Wesley’s score–and fail. Some of them had been doing this competition for years and had mastered their technique perfectly.

  If creepers chock-full of talent couldn’t beat Wesley, what chance did I have?

  “And now, here is our final competitor,” Edward Hewitt announced. “Please welcome to the arena the son of Big Raymundo–Mervyn Miles!”

  The crowd cheered and applauded. I froze in fear. Why did he have to remind everyone who my dad was? Now I was going to looK even more liKe an idiot when I messed up.

  “Go ahead, Mervyn. TaKe your marK.” My dad pushed me halfway, and then I finally remembered how to use my legs. I positioned myself at the entrance to the mine. It was darK and not very inviting in there.

  I looKed around me, searching for a sign that could help me in my quest for destruction. Unfortunately, the zone held nothing special outside of the gaping hole that led into the mine. In fact, I was even at a disadvantage compared to the other creepers. There w
as nothing here except trees and rocKs, scattered in the worst possible way. The mine was my only hope.

  “TAKE YOUR MARK . . . GET SET . . .

  GO!”

  At the sound of the gun, I threw myself into the mine. The spectators murmured in surprise. Usually, when a creeper encounters a mine in his zone, he blows up the entrance to blocK it. This is worth a lot of points.

  Except, I was more ambitious than that. I Knew exactly what I was looKing for, but I wasn’t sure I would find it in time. We hadn’t been allowed to explore our zones in detail before the start of the competition, but I hoped to get my hands on the things I needed before my allotted time ran out.

  I plunged deeper and deeper into the mine.

  “Come on, come on, where are you?”

  It was useless. The things I needed weren’t here. I Knew my chances of coming across the remains of TNT were very small.

  BUT CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW BIG THE EXPLOSION WOULD BE, IF I BLEW MYSELF UP ON A PILE OF TNT?

  But I also hoped to find a little bit of redstone or some diamonds.

  This mine had been abandoned for one very good reason, though. Everything that could be useful had already been carried out. It was impossible for me to win; but at least I could get bacK some points by destroying some trees.

  I was going to give up and leave the mine—when I realized that the answer was right there under my very nose. All the booKs I read mentioned what could be crafted out of the most basic things. But I had been so preoccupied with wanting to create something exceptional that I had missed the most obvious thing:

  BLOCKS OF STONE!

  I calculated the best place to explode and got into position.

  BOoM !

  I was ejected out of the mineshaft, flying through the air liKe a fireworK. I saw the other creepers watching me with their mouths hanging open.

  When I landed, I started to run in every direction to gather the blocKs.

  No creeper in the history of the Creeper Combustion and Confusion Competition had ever built anything, and the usually noisy crowd watched in complete silence as I built a stone castle

  Once my castle was finished, I glanced at the timer. I didn’t have a lot of time left to put the rest of my plan into action, so I didn’t waste a single second to stop and admire my handiworK. I rushed inside the castle.

  I stood upright in the very center, ready to explode. I wasn’t going to maKe an ordinary explosion.

  I HAD BIG PLANS FOR MY CASTLE.

  I started to spin around and around to gather energy, more and more–and then I released the biggest explosion of my entire life.

  BOoM ! BANG ! BOoM !

  My castle was demolished into a million pieces. BlocKs of stone flew through the sKy, then shattered on the ground to create a magnificent stone garden. I picKed one flower that bloomed next to me and I placed it on top of a stone blocK, just before the final whistle blew.

  I turned to face the audience. Silence.

  That was not the reaction I was expecting.

  Then, suddenly, the crowd started to clap and to cheer.

  “Bravo, Mervyn!”

  “Well played, Mervyn!”

  “You’re the best, Mervyn!”

  I blushed and turned toward the judges, waiting for them to announce my score.

  “And Mervyn Miles’ score is . . . 197 points out of 200. The winner of this year’s Creeper Combustion and Confusion Competition is Wesley Kaffarnaum!”

  My heart dropped. Wesley won? After all my efforts, Wesley beat me anyway?

  “Bad lucK, worm,” sneered Wesley, shoving me out of the way as he went to get his crown.

  Mr. Bing, who had been one of the judges, came over to me.

  “I’m so sorry, Mervyn,” he said. “I tried to convince the other judges that you should be the winner, but one of them tooK off points because you had crafted something. He said that if you had indeed pulverized a castle, then that would have been groundbreaKing for the championship. But you built a castle and then left behind a garden–that’s what he penalized you for. Still, you should be proud of yourself. You did very well.”

  “But not well enough,” murmured my dad, who was standing behind me.

  I have to admit he was right.

  DAY 29

  “i AM A BIG LOSER.”

  Feeling defeated, I looKed at the words written across my T-shirt.

  Why had I made that dumb bet? As if it weren’t enough that I would have to endure Wesley for the whole year while he crowed about his victory. Now I had to walK through the entire forest in this T-shirt so everyone could maKe fun of me.

  Sighing, I slipped on the T-shirt and set out to looK for Wesley. My dad caught up with me while I was walKing.

  “What are you doing in that ridiculous T-shirt? TaKe it off at once!”

  “I can’t,” I replied. “I made a bet with Wesley. He won the competition, so I have to wear this.”

  “What are you talKing about? Haven’t you heard?”

  “Heard what?”

  “Wesley cheated! He went inside the zone before the competition so he could figure out how best to use the space to create the biggest possible explosions. He’s been disqualified. That means you won, Mervyn! You won!”

  I couldn’t believe it.

  I ripped off the T-shirt and followed my dad to where the judges had gathered.

  “Mervyn!” Mr. Bing smiled. “I have the pleasure of declaring you the winner of this year’s Creeper Combustion and Confusion Competition.”

  “How? I mean, I don’t understand. How did Wesley cheat?”

  “He disguised himself as a worKer to gain access to his zone so he could thinK about the best ways to destroy it. I must admit I had my doubts when I saw his performance. Wesley had always been good in practice, but not that good. You were the one who always had an inventive streaK–the gift of looKing at things in an original way.”

  “But how did he get caught? He must have been roaming in the zone for weeKs. Why did it taKe so long to uncover this?”

  “Wesley’s worst enemy is Wesley himself,” Mr. Bing explained. “He would have gotten away with it, if he hadn’t said anything. He would still be champion–but he could not hold his tongue. One of the judges heard him boasting to his friends. He was telling them he had figured out how, by exploding in the right place, he could easily destroy half of his zone–but then he very nearly ruined everything by blowing up in the wrong place. He explained to his friends that, had he not managed to examine his zone before the competition, he never would have found that right place, and that the other creepers were pretty foolish not to have done the same thing.”

  “WHOA! I never thought Wesley would do this.”

  “Do what? Cheat, or tell everybody that he had cheated?”

  Mr. Bing and I both smiled hugely.

  “Both.”

  “In any case, he did do both. And now the best creeper wins. Come on. Everyone is waiting for you to get on the podium.

  “It’s time you receive the prize you deserve. “That castle was incredible, you Know. It’s almost a shame you had to destroy it. Maybe one day you can show me how you did it.”

  “I would liKe that very much.”

  Mr. Bing led me to the podium where Edward Hewitt and the other judges were waiting for me. When Edward placed the winner’s crown on my head, I thought I would explode with joy. But the surprises weren’t over.

  “Now that we have the opportunity to looK at the scores in detail, you should also Know that you have joined your father on the list of record-breaKers,” said Edward. “You received more points than any competitor in the history of the championship.”

  My dad climbed up on the podium to pat me on the shoulder.

  “Well done, my boy. I’m proud of you.”

  I never thought I would hear him say those words. I was the happiest of creepers.

  DAY 30

  There is nothing better in the world than winning the Creeper Combustion and Confusion Compe
tition. WalKing through the forest, I felt as if I were walKing on air!

  Every time I met someone, I had to stop, say hello, and sign an autograph–it tooK me an hour to get to school instead of the usual five minutes.

  When I walKed through the school doors, Mr. Bluebottle, the principal, was waiting to congratulate me.

  “Mervyn,” he said, smiling. “Our big winner. I decree that everyone gets the day off today to celebrate your victory.”

  All the students cheered:

  “Hip, hip, hurray for Mervyn!”

  I looKed at all the happy, smiling faces surrounding me–but there was one missing.

  “Where’s Wesley?” I asKed.

  Mr. Bluebottle looKed out at the crowd with a distracted smile. “He’s not here. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was so ashamed of being caught cheating that he left the forest completely.”

  I was a little disappointed that Wesley hadn’t stucK around to honor his end of our bet, but I couldn’t blame him. If I were ever caught cheating, I, too, would want to run somewhere far away. And if he was gone for good–well, even better. I wouldn’t have to put up with being called “worm” anymore.

  At any rate, I didn’t have time to worry about Wesley because the other creepers had raised me on their shoulders and were carrying me around the schoolyard, chanting, “Mervyn! Mervyn! Mervyn!” They were even talKing about building a statue of me and putting it in the center of the yard, so everyone would have a reminder of my magnificent castle.

  I was the most popular creeper in school. I couldn’t Keep myself from smiling. If they thinK what I’d done was awesome–wait until they see what I have planned for next year!

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Books Kid is convinced that behind every Minecraft character there is a story.

  Early in 2015, he began writing his stories about Minecraft and publishing them as Ebooks on Amazon. He writes books to promote reading among kids, using the language of Minecraft that he and other fans of the game love. He has now penned more than forty stories, which have made it onto the list of the top 100 most-downloaded children’s books.