“Wait up,” a familiar voice called out.
Julia turned around and saw Emma sprinting toward her. “Aren’t you going to work on perfecting your fighting skills?”
“I heard what you said about being scared when you encounter a hostile mob. I was worried about you,” Emma said. “What if Hallie is dangerous? How will you defend yourself?”
“I’m not sure,” Julia said.
Emma and Julia walked toward the forest. Suddenly they heard a loud explosion.
“What was that?” Emma cried.
Julia turned and saw smoke. “I don’t know, but we have to find out.”
Chapter 3
EXPLOSIONS
Two students sprinted past Julia and Emma. Julia called out to them, “What happened?”
“Somebody blew up the main hall,” the student hollered.
“What? Are you serious?” Julia didn’t need to hear a response. She saw the rubble through the thick smoke that coated the campus. “Why would somebody do that?”
“I have no idea.” Emma was equally perplexed.
“We have to find Mia.” Julia looked for Mia in the crowd of students that filled the lawn outside the remnants of the main hall.
“I hope she wasn’t in a lab in the main hall,” Emma said.
“Since nobody spent the night here, everyone is going to respawn in their hometown and will have to TP here,” Julia said.
“Wow,” Emma said. “I never thought of that, but look.” Emma pointed to three people who TPed in front of them. “You’re right.”
Julia and Emma heard Mia call out their names, and they ran toward their friend.
“Are you okay?” Emma asked.
“It was awful. I escaped but so many people were destroyed in the explosion.” Mia tried to catch her breath.
“You’re lucky you got out,” Julia said.
“I have to tell you about something strange that happened right before the explosion.” Mia spoke slowly, but was interrupted when Lucy called out to the crowd.
Lucy clutched a megaphone and said, “Everyone, there’s an emergency assembly. Go into the auditorium.”
Emma was apprehensive about entering the auditorium; she worried that it would be the next building to explode. She reluctantly entered the building. The students gathered in the auditorium, waiting to hear Lucy speak. Lucy walked up to the podium and addressed the group. “Today, we had a horrible occurrence on our campus. This was an incredibly difficult first day at MInecrafters Academy.”
A student called out, “Do you know who blew up the Main Hall?”
Lucy shook her head. “I wish I had more answers. We are currently investigating the explosion. We have no idea if it was intentional or accidental. I know that many students were working in the Main Hall, preparing for tomorrow’s tryouts for the Minecraft Academic Olympics. We aren’t sure if one of them accidentally blew up the Main Hall.”
Julia hoped that it was all an accident, as she scanned the auditorium for Hallie, who had been missing for most of the day.
Lucy continued. “There will be a dinner on the great lawn shortly. We will also gather a group of students who will work on redesigning and constructing the Main Hall.”
Julia wanted to be a part of this team of students, but she also didn’t want to be distracted as she prepared for the tryouts.
Lucy said, “The Minecraft Academic Olympic tryouts will continue tomorrow. Everything is back to normal.”
As she spoke, four green creepers silently lurked behind her. The students didn’t have time to warn the headmistress, because before she could utter another word, the creepers ignited and Lucy disappeared.
“Lucy!” Henry and Max called out and bolted out of the auditorium.
The crowd of students were shocked. They awkwardly made their way to the great lawn for the introductory dinner. Julia could hear students questioning if the dinner was still happening. As they exited the building, the great lawn was set up for a feast.
Julia asked Mia, “What happened when you were in the Main Hall? What was the strange story you wanted to tell us?”
Mia replied, “Your roommate, Hallie, was in the Main Hall. She was working beside me at another brewing stand. She kept looking over at me. I thought she wanted to talk to me, but every time I said something she seemed annoyed. She brewed a potion, placed it in her inventory, and sprinted out of the Main Hall. I thought that was strange. But what was even weirder was the minute she bolted out of the room, the Main Hall exploded.”
“Do you really think she had something to do with the explosion?” Emma asked.
“I’m not sure, but I think we should tell Lucy. It might be a coincidence, but I think it’s odd that she ran out of the lab seconds before the building exploded, don’t you?”
Julia and Emma agreed that it was strange behavior, but they also knew it didn’t mean Hallie blew up the Main Hall. However, everyone thought they should alert Lucy to Hallie’s suspicious behavior.
The trio walked into the building where the faculty was housed and walked up the stairs to Lucy’s room. Henry and Max stood by her door. Henry asked them, “If you’ve come to check on Lucy, she’s fine.”
Max said, “This has been some day, right?”
“Lucy will be at the dinner soon,” Henry said. “She is just resting. We’ll let her know that you came to visit.”
They could hear Lucy’s voice, “Who are you talking to?” she asked Henry and Max.
Lucy walked out of the room, and Julia wanted to rush over to her and tell her all about her suspicious roommate, but she didn’t. Instead she took a rather loud deep breath when she saw Hallie walk out of Lucy’s room.
Chapter 4
THE FEAST
“Are you heading to the feast?” Lucy asked.
“Yes,” Julia replied, as she stared at Hallie.
“Great, let’s all go down together. Carla worked very hard putting this evening together and I want to make sure it goes well,” Lucy said.
Emma, Mia, and Julia followed Lucy, Max, Henry, and Hallie to the feast. When they were out of earshot, Julia said to her friends, “What is happening?”
“Maybe we were wrong about Hallie,” Emma said. “Maybe she’s a good guy.”
“I’m not sure about that,” Julia said. “I wonder if they’re all bad.”
“That sounds mad,” ia said. “I think we shouldn’t make up stories. Let’s just enjoy the feast and then spend the rest of the evening practicing for the tryouts. I think it would be totally fun if we all got to participate together.”
They all agreed they would try their best to get into the Academic Olympics, and would stop focusing on Hallie and if she was a part of a sinister plan.
Carla had plates of chicken, cake, and apples. Julia was excited to eat chicken. She never ate meat in the snowy biome. Emma was thrilled when she saw they had imported Mooshroom Stew.
“Mooshroom Stew is my favorite,” she exclaimed, “I was only on Mushroom Island once, and I had such a fantastic time.”
The trio feasted as they introduced themselves to other students at the Academy. Julia was impressed with a student named Brad, who was one the best builders in the Overworld. She knew it would be a challenge to beat him in the tryout. Brad showed her pictures of all of the buildings he’d constructed in the Overworld.
“This one is amazing!” Julia said as she stared at a picture of a skyscraper. “It must be over one hundred floors.”
“One hundred and one,” Brad confirmed.
Julia almost choked on her chicken. “That’s impressive.” Julia started to worry that she might not make it into the Academic Olympics. When she was in the snowy biome, it was easy for her to think that she was the best builder in the Overworld because there wasn’t any competition. But here she was, face to face with some of the most skilled students in the Overworld. Julia excused herself. She wanted to be alone.
Mia noticed Julia standing away from the crowd near a large tree. “What’s
the matter, Julia?”
“I don’t think I’m going to try out for the competition,” Julia confessed.
“What? Why?” Mia was shocked.
“I just met someone who is a much better builder. I don’t think I have a chance of getting into Olympics, so why should I bother trying out?” Julia felt defeated, even though the competition hadn’t even begun.
“You have to try out. Emma and I want to travel to the Academic Olympics with you.”
“How are you so confident that you will get in?” asked Julia.
“I’m not, but I’m going to try my hardest and let the teachers decide. You should do the same,” Mia said.
Julia knew she was right. Dusk was setting in and Lucy grabbed the megaphone, alerting everyone that they should head back to the dorms. “We have an early day tomorrow. First thing on the agenda are the tryouts.”
As Julia walked back to the room, she saw Hallie sprint off toward the wooded area. She looked for Emma and Mia, but didn’t see them, and was too afraid to follow Hallie on her own. Julia finally reached her room and crawled into bed. She looked over at Hallie’s empty bed. In the morning, when she woke up, the bed was still empty and Julia wondered if Hallie had ever slept there.
Chapter 5
THE TRYOUTS
Julia looked out the window. Crowds of students stood in front of the building that housed the auditorium, and Julia realized people were already lining up for the tryouts. She spotted Emma and Mia walking across the lawn in the direction of the large line, and sprinted out of the dorms and toward her friends.
“Emma! Mia!” Julia called out.
“Julia,” Mia smiled. “You’re going to try out.”
Julia looked at the line and saw Brad. “Yes, I realize that I have as good a chance as any other builder on this campus.”
Emma looked up at the sky. “Did you feel that?”
Mia brushed a raindrop from her face. “Yes, it’s raining.”
“Look over there.” Julia stood frozen in terror as two skeletons spawned inches from them.
Emma grabbed her bow and arrow, and with perfect aim, she struck both of the skeletons and destroyed them.
“Good job. Go pick up the bone and arrow they dropped,” Mia said.
As Emma rushed to retrieve the dropped rewards, five more skeletons spawned, and Emma used her skills to defeat the new bony beasts that threatened them.
“Do you think this is a part of the competition?” Julia asked.
“I bet you’re right,” Mia said. “I could see this being a part of our tryouts.”
Rain pounded down on the campus, and as it pooled on the soggy grass, Julia tried not to slip as she raced into the building to avoid a skeleton attack. As she sprinted into the auditorium, four skeletons aimed their arrows at her and she shrieked.
Julia froze. She didn’t know what to do.
“Grab your bow and arrow,” a voice called from behind.
Julia turned to see who spoke to her, as she moved her head, two arrows struck Julia, weakening her.
“Take this potion,” the voice said. As she grabbed the potion, she realized it was Brad who was helping her. He was her main competition in the tryout, and here he was, selflessly saving her life.
Brad annihilated the skeletons as Julia drank the potion of healing. “Thanks.”
“You can fight skeletons, too. You just have to put on some armor and use your bow and arrow.”
Julia put on gold armor and clutched her bow and arrow, as Brad yelled, “Over there. I see more over there!”
She stared at the skeletons, took a deep breath, and aimed the bow at the bony beasts, striking one and destroying it.
“See? You can do it,” Brad said.
Julia destroyed the second skeleton and felt more confident with her skills as a fighter.
“Do you think this is a part of the tryout?” Julia asked.
Brad replied, “If that’s the case. I’m not helping you anymore. You’re my biggest competition. I almost didn’t show up today because of you.”
“Really? I felt the same way,” Julia said.
“Well, if this is the competition, let the best person win.” Brad smiled.
A horde of skeletons stormed the auditorium. They chased Lucy, who pleaded for them to help her. Julia and Brad unleashed a barrage of arrows.
Julia hollered, “I don’t think this is the competition.”
Julia and Brad destroyed a few skeletons, but the remainder disappeared as the sun came out.
“Thank you, guys,” Lucy commended Julia and Brad. “You did a fine job destroying the skeletons.”
Carla rushed into the auditorium. “Lucy, are you okay?”
Lucy replied calmly, “Yes, everything is fine. I guess it was an unexpected shower. We must go on with the tryouts. Please call everyone in and we will begin.”
Julia looked over at Brad. She was standing inches from her competition, but she looked over at him and smiled. “Good luck.”
“You too,” he replied.
“Since you’re the first people here, you can start,” Lucy told Brad and Julia.
“We’re both builders,” Julia said.
“I know.” Lucy smiled. “Just show me your best designs.”
Julia pulled out a picture of her igloo and Brad showed Lucy the skyscraper. Lucy looked at each picture and paused. “Very good. I’ll keep these. Thank you.”
Julia saw Emma and Mia standing by the entrance, waiting to try out.
“I’ll wait for you guys,” Julia told her friends, but she was distracted when she saw Hallie walking across the campus. Julia followed her on the same path she had taken the day before. Julia walked into the wooded area, but turned around when someone called out her name.
Chapter 6
SPIDERS AND SILVERFISH
“Julia!”
Julia turned to see Emma and Mia sprint toward her. “How was your tryout?”
“I think it went well,” Emma said.
“Mine too,” Mia said.
“What are you doing?” Emma asked.
Julia put her finger over her lips to signify that they should keep their voices down and replied in a whisper, “Hallie’s here. I bet she’s in the cave.”
“Let’s find her,” Mia said.
“Are you sure?” Emma seemed worried.
“Why not?” Mia questioned.
“I just worry that we’ll get ourselves into a mess we weren’t supposed to be involved with,” Emma confessed.
“We have to help Minecrafters Academy,” Julia reminded her. “We can’t let Hallie get away with ruining the school.”
“Slow down,” Emma said. “We don’t even know if Hallie is involved with anything.”
“We have to stop talking and get into that cave. We could have lost her by now,” Mia said as she disappeared into the thick leaves. Emma and Julia followed closely behind her.
Emma said, “Over here. The entrance is right here.”
“Shhh!” Julia called out. “We don’t want her to know we’re here.”
Mia pulled a torch from her inventory, and Emma said, “Good idea, I’ll get a torch too.”
The trio each placed a torch on the wall of the dimly lit cave. As the light shined, Emma shrieked.
“What’s the matter?” Mia asked.
“Look down!” Emma pointed to the ground. The dirt floor was covered in silverfish. A few of the pesky insects crawled toward Julia, biting her.
“What are these?” Julia asked.
“Silverfish.” Emma was shocked. “Have you never seen them?”
“Take this potion.” Mia handed Julia a vial. “Drink it. You don’t want to be weakened by the silverfish. They don’t cause too much damage, but since there are so many of them here, they can be quite powerful.”
Mia and Julia marveled when Emma grabbed a diamond sword from her inventory. Mia asked, “Is that an enchanted sword?’
“Yes,” Emma replied while striking the sword against a s
ea of silverfish. “Help me. We have to stop these silverfish and find Hallie.”
Julia and Mia plucked gold swords out of their inventory and joined Emma in the battle against the insidious insects. Julia heard a noise in the distance and looked up to see Hallie sprinting down the cave’s dark hall.
“I see Hallie,” Julia told the others. “We have to follow her.”
Emma struck the remaining silverfish and sprinted behind Julia and Mia as they followed Hallie deeper into the dark cave.
“Watch out!” Mia cried as a pair of red eyes peered at them.
“I’ve got this,” Emma said quite confidently as she swung her sword at the cave spider, destroying it with one hit.
“She’s gone too far. We’ve lost her,” Julia wailed as they walked down the hall.
“Maybe she’s behind this door?” Mia stood in front of a wooden door.
“What do you think is behind it?” Julia asked.
“There’s only one way to find out.” Emma opened the door, and the trio entered a large room with a chest and a torch.
“It’s a stronghold,” Mia said.
Julia could see feet walking down the spiral staircase and said in a hushed whisper, “She’s here.”
“Should we open the chest?” Mia asked.
“No. We have to follow Hallie, and she’s probably looted it anyway,” Julia said.
The trio walked toward the spiral staircase. Before they reached the stairs, Mia grabbed her arm, letting out a piercing sound.
“Skeletons!” Emma adjusted her armor as she traded in her diamond sword for a bow and arrow.
Julia and Mia also aimed their arrows at the skeletons, but the minute they destroyed a skeleton, another seemed to spawn.
“She’s getting away,” Julia cried as she hit another skeleton and reached for the bone it dropped.
“We can’t worry about Hallie. We have to stay alive.” Mia tried to catch her breath. She was sprinting around the stronghold, attacking the skeletons.
“There are just a few left. We’ve got this,” Emma said. Her arrows weakened the skeletons, and soon they were all destroyed.
Julia raced down the stairs. She didn’t want to waste any time. She had to find Hallie.
Attack on Minecrafters Academy Page 2
