Trapped In the Temple

by Winter Morgan

  “Stop!” Erin screamed.

  “What are you doing?” asked Anna. “We had a plan.”

  The shouting must have alerted the minions that something was brewing in the prison, and they opened the hatch and walked down the seemingly never-ending ladder until they stood outside the prison gate.

  “What’s going on here?” asked one of the men.

  “Nothing,” said Anna. “We were just having a disagreement on who gets what from the chest. We’re all very hungry, and we each want certain foods.”

  “Okay,” the minion said. “Just keep it down.”

  The two minions climbed up the ladder, and when the grate was closed, the gang began to whisper.

  The king said, “We have to be very quiet down here. I only have a few minutes before I am destroyed due to my health bar, and I want to be able to respawn in the desert temple. I will try to find out where Hal is hiding all of his resources.”

  Andrew, who was minutes away from being destroyed, agreed this was the best plan. When he was destroyed, he’d search for the Hal’s loot.

  “We have to come up with a plan after we are destroyed,” said Edison. “We can’t fight Hal if we separate. We aren’t strong enough. We need to stick together to battle him.”

  “Yes,” said Anna. “Should we find a place to meet after we respawn?”

  “Let’s meet in Farmer’s Bay,” said Edison. “It’s on the shore, so we have access to the underwater world. Also we have friends there who can help us.”

  “That’s a great idea,” said the king, but the second he uttered those words, his health bar diminished, and he was destroyed.

  “Dad!” Princess Hannah screamed.

  “Don’t scream,” Andrew whispered. “You don’t want Hal’s bullies to come down here and attack us.”

  Princess Hannah was upset. Despite being in the dungeon prison, she was happy to be finally reunited with her father, and now he was gone. However, she knew he’d respawn in their home, and he’d be able to help them find Hal’s loot. As tears filled her eyes, she watched her mother and then her brother disappear. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and her stomach rumbled. She was incredibly hungry. She eyed the chest again and reached for an apple.

  “You can’t eat an apple,” Peyton said. “Your health bar is so low. If you just hold out for a little while longer, you will be destroyed.”

  She had a very low health bar, but she couldn’t wait any longer. She needed an apple. Her stomach was empty. She was in pain. Also, when she respawned she wouldn’t have any food. Princess Hannah could envision how juicy the apple would taste and how it would fill her painfully empty stomach. “I’m sorry,” she said as she grabbed the apple and opened her mouth to take a bite. “I can’t starve myself. I am so hungry. I can’t even—”

  Princess Hannah’s health bar emptied as she spoke. Edison said, “Wow, I hope she’s okay when she respawns. She was starving.”

  Billy reminded him, “The entire Overworld will starve if we don’t stop Hal. Also, if he starves us and puts the universe on hardcore mode, we will never respawn.”

  “We have to stop him,” said Andrew.

  Sounds of footsteps were heard in the distance.

  “What is that?” asked Edison.

  Billy looked up and said in a hushed voice, “I think they are coming down here.”

  “Now we’re in trouble,” Edison sighed.

  “What are we going to do?” asked Peyton.

  “He’s going to see they’re missing, and he’ll punish us. What happens if he puts us on hardcore mode?” Erin questioned as her voice shook.

  The gang could hear the minions remove the gate from the sandy desert ground and climb down the ladder. The minions arrived in front of the prison cell and screamed, “What?”

  “We can explain,” said Edison.

  “You better!” said one of Hal’s minions.

  Billy and the gang looked at Edison, eager to see what he’d say and how he’d “explain” what had happened. None of them had any clue how they’d describe how a bunch of the prisoners had gone missing.

  Edison said, “You gave us the food too late. They were starving. Their health bars were very low, and Princess Hannah was destroyed before she could even take a bite out of the apple. If you treated them better, they would have lasted a lot longer.”

  Anna knew her health bar was about to go empty, and she reached for a cookie. She opened her mouth to take a bite, and she disappeared.

  “Oh no!” cried one of the minions. “Hal’s going to kill us.”

  It was at that moment Edison came up with a master plan.

  13

  FOOL OR FRIEND

  “You guys better eat this food,” ordered the minions. “You can’t let your health bars get that low.”

  Edison picked up a cookie and ate it. “Of course, we want to remain strong. We wouldn’t want to get you in trouble.”

  “Who said we were in trouble?” one of the minions shouted.

  “You seemed very upset when you saw Princess Hannah and her family were missing,” said Edison.

  “Yes,” a minion replied, and it didn’t matter which one because they both seemed to think alike.

  The other one added, “Our job was to make sure you guys were still down here, and we wanted to do a good job.”

  Edison smiled. “I think you’re doing a good job. This cookie tastes very good.”

  “Thank you,” a minion replied.

  “What are your names?” asked Andrew.

  He understood Edison’s plan. He was trying to befriend the minions in hopes that they would turn against Hal.

  One of the minions replied, “Ron.”

  The other said, “Don.”

  “Well, Ron and Don,” said Peyton, “it’s nice to meet you. I’m Peyton, and these are my friends.” She introduced Ron and Don to Erin, Billy, Andrew, and Edison.

  “I know who you guys are,” said Don.

  “I’m sure you do. I just thought it was nice to have a formal introduction,” explained Peyton.

  “Just eat your food,” said Ron.

  She picked up a piece of cake and ate it. “This is the best piece of cake I’ve ever eaten. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” said Don.

  Ron watched Peyton eat the cake and said, “You guys had the food for a while. Why did it take you so long to eat it? If the others had eaten earlier, they might have survived down here.”

  “We were trying to divide it, and everyone wanted the same food. While we were figuring it out people’s health bars grew lower, and before they could eat, they were destroyed,” explained Billy.

  Ron nodded. “I wonder if you did that on purpose?”

  “Why would anyone do something like that on purpose?” asked Erin.

  “You guys want to trick us,” said Don.

  “Trick you? You were the ones who bothered us. We were just living our simple lives in the Overworld when Hal came and ruined everything. I think it’s funny that you are trying to make us the bad guys when you are the ones who are trying to trick everyone,” Edison’s voice grew louder as he spoke.

  Ron asked if he would lower his voice. “I don’t want Hal coming down here right now.”

  “Why? Are you worried you’ll get in trouble?” asked Billy.

  “I told you, we aren’t in trouble, you’re the ones who are in trouble,” said Don.

  “No,” explained Erin. “The Overworld is in trouble, and you’re the ones who are responsible for its impending destruction.”

  “Us?” questioned Ron.

  “Yes. You’re working with a man who has stolen from everyone. He took all of our resources from our inventory,” said Erin.

  “He also trapped us in a jail,” added Peyton. “Does that sound like someone who is nice?”

  “Hal isn’t trying to be nice.” Don laughed. “Now eat something or your health bar will get smaller.”

  Peyton picked up a cookie and took a bite. “Why do you w
ork with Hal? He’s so bad.”

  “And he’s very destructive,” said Erin.

  “Hal is a genius,” replied Ron.

  Don explained, “He has a great plan for the Overworld. He’s going to—”

  Hal interrupted Don, as Hal rushed down the ladder and screamed at him, “You aren’t supposed to tell anyone about my plan.”

  “I’m sorry. I wasn’t going to go into any details. I promise,” said Don.

  Hal looked in the prison. “There are people missing!”

  “I know,” Ron said. “I can explain.”

  “You better,” said Hal.

  “You didn’t give them enough food. By the time they could eat, they were destroyed,” said Ron.

  “That’s impossible. They were deliberately not eating in order to be destroyed. They want to spawn in their homes so they could help defeat me. Well, it’s not going to work. Don and Ron, you better go find the others and bring them back here. I will deal with the ones that were left behind,” Hal said.

  Ron and Don sprinted up the ladder as Hal glared at the guys in the jail. “You are going to pay for this.”

  14

  IN THE CHEST

  Edison didn’t know how they were going to get out of the jail. He had no plans, and he stared at Hal.

  “What are you going to do to us?” asked Billy.

  “You think you’re so smart and you can defeat me, but you can’t. I will find your friends, and they will be back here with you. Now I want to see you guys eat until your health bars are full. You are not getting out of here,” hollered Hal.

  The gang gorged themselves on the food in the chest. They ate apples, bread, cookies, and cake.

  “I’m full,” said Peyton.

  “Your health bar isn’t full yet. You have to keep eating,” ordered Hal.

  As Edison bit into an apple, he could see two skeletons spawn in the dimly lit dungeon. They stood behind Hal and pointed their arrows at him. He tried not to stare. He didn’t want Hal to turn around and battle the bony beasts. Instead, Edison dropped the apple on the floor.

  “What are you doing?” screamed Hal. “You have to eat that apple.”

  Hal was so distracted by Edison’s antics that he barely noticed when two arrows pierced his unarmored skin. He didn’t notice until his back radiated with pain and he screamed in agony. His hearts were diminishing, and his health bar was very low. He turned around to battle the bony beasts as two more spawned in the dungeon.

  He pulled his armor from his inventory, but it was too late. Hal had lost too many hearts and was destroyed. The skeletons spotted the gang behind the bars and started shooting arrows at them.

  “Put food in your inventories,” Edison told his friends. They had to respawn with food to regain their health.

  Normally when he saw skeletons, he either hid or got ready to battle, but now he was going to let the arrows pierce his body until he was destroyed. Instinctively he ducked when he saw the arrows fly toward him, but he knew this was a way out and made himself stand tall. At first, he winced when the first arrow ripped into his weak unarmored body, but then he thought about being released from this desert dungeon.

  “Ouch!” Peyton cried as she was destroyed.

  Erin covered her eyes when her friend was destroyed. Andrew did the same.

  The pain of being destroyed never felt as good as it did at that moment. Edison knew that once enough arrows hit him, he’d respawn in the swamp house. He also knew that Hal would come looking for them in the swamp house, and they’d have to make their escape quickly. He looked over at Billy, who was struck by numerous arrows, but still hadn’t been destroyed.

  Edison remembered the final arrow hitting his arm and waking up in a bed in the swamp house. Billy stared at him as he opened his eyes.

  “I thought Peyton and Erin were destroyed before us,” said Billy.

  “They were,” confirmed Edison.

  “But they’re not here,” Billy pointed to the beds.

  “I thought you were still in the dungeon,” said Edison. “You were there when I was destroyed.”

  “We must have been destroyed at the same time,” said Billy.

  “Maybe Erin and Peyton left for Farmer’s Bay. That’s where we supposed to meet,” suggested Edison, “and we have to get out of here. This is the first place Hal is going to look for us.”

  The duo sprinted from the house as Edison peered up at the sky. It was dusk, and the full moon was becoming visible in the evening. Edison and Billy picked up the pace because they didn’t want to be attacked by a witch. Their inventories contained only food, not any other resources, which left them incredibly vulnerable to hostile mobs.

  The trip to Farmer’s Bay was long, and Billy expressed concern about traveling at night.

  “We might not make it to Farmer’s Bay since it’s night time. I worry that we will be destroyed by hostile mobs. Maybe we should try and TP there,” said Billy.

  Edison spotted an opening in a cave. “I know this sounds nutty, but should we try and mine?”

  “How?” asked Billy. “We don’t have a pickaxe. Should we dig into the ground with our hands?”

  Edison knew the idea wasn’t well conceived, but he had no idea how else they would get their hands on minerals to trade for or craft a new armor.

  The sky grew darker, creating an environment ripe for hostile mobs. Two skeletons spawned in the distance. They clutched their bows and aimed arrows at Edison and Billy.

  “What are we going to do?” Billy brushed his hair from his face. “We’re doomed.”

  Edison ordered, “Go into the cave!”

  “But what about spiders?” asked Billy.

  Edison didn’t listen to a response. He was already deep in the cave. He tried to ignore the pair of red eyes glaring at him from the corner. Billy rushed into the cave and spotted the spider. “I told you this was a bad idea.”

  Edison sprinted deeper into the cave, trying to move farther from the spider when he tripped on a chest.

  “Ouch!” His leg was skinned, and he’d ripped his gray shirt.

  “Are you okay?” Billy called out as he sprinted toward his injured friend.

  “Oh my!” exclaimed Edison.

  “What happened?” asked Billy, but he didn’t need a response. In the dark cave, he could make out the outline of a chest. “Is that a chest?” he asked.

  Edison wished he had a torch. He needed light to properly inspect the floor of the cave, but even without a torch he could see three chests in front of him. He leaned down and opened one of the chests. Edison gasped when he saw the chest teeming with diamonds.

  Edison grabbed the diamonds by the handful and placed them in his inventory as Billy opened the second chest, which was filled with emeralds. “You take the diamonds, and I’ll grab the emeralds,” said Billy.

  “We have to open the third chest,” said Edison.

  Edison looked down the dark, narrow hallway in the cave. “I see more chests and a door.”

  “Do you think it’s a stronghold?” asked Billy.

  “I don’t know, but we have to craft armor and swords out of these diamonds before we start exploring,” said Edison.

  Billy opened the next chest, which was filled with potions of Water Breathing. Edison opened the chest that was a few feet away from the original three chests, and it also contained potions of Water Breathing.

  “We’re going to need those for everyone,” said Billy as he sprinted toward Edison and filled his inventory with the potions.

  “These potions are going to come in very handy,” said Edison.

  “But we still need a crafting table,” said Billy. “This is all meaningless if we can’t craft armor and a diamond sword. We need something to defend ourselves.”

  “True,” Edison agreed, “but this is better than nothing. We have to take all of these bottles.” Edison placed the final bottle of potion of Water Breathing in his inventory.

  “Great.” Billy looked at his inventory fil
led with emeralds and potions. Although they still needed a crafting table, they had scored some pretty good loot.

  “We have to watch out for hostile mobs,” warned Edison. “This cave is very dark, and it’s the type of place where they spawn. Also, we have no idea what might spawn in the stronghold and make their way here.”

  Billy looked at the ground, inspecting the area for silverfish, but he didn’t see any slimy bugs.

  “I wonder if there are any more chests,” said Billy as he looked at the ground in the cave while trying to avoid an attack from a cave spider. He searched for more chests in the dark cave and finally exclaimed, “I found more!”

  “This is our lucky day,” said Edison.

  “It is!” a voice called out from the cave’s entrance.

  15

  GHOST TOWN

  Again, Edison instinctively went to reach for his sword, but it wasn’t there. He had no way to defend himself against the person who entered the cave.

  “Who’s there?” Billy bravely called out.

  There was no response. They could hear the rush of footsteps as the person rushed toward them.

  Billy and Edison bolted deeper into the cave to avoid the seemingly unavoidable attack. Edison reached for the door to the stronghold when the voice called out again.

  “Where are you going?”

  Edison recognized the sound of the voice. He sprinted back toward the chests, where he saw Andrew dressed in his denim jacket.

  “I see you found my fortune.” Andrew pointed to the chests. “Normally I’d be furious with someone who stole from me, but given the current circumstances, I’m glad you guys were the first to find this stuff. I wasn’t even sure it would still be here.”

  “We found diamonds and emeralds,” said Edison.

  “We need a crafting table,” said Billy.

  “I know,” said Andrew. “If we had one, we could replenish our inventories.”

  “Where can we find one?” asked Edison.

  “Forest Haven, the town that I lived in, wasn’t far from here. If we return there, we can use the crafting table in my house. I left it there,” said Andrew.