The next lightning bolt struck Georgia’s boat.
“Georgia!” Sarah cried.
There was no reply. Georgia had vanished.
13
DESERT BATTLE
The rain stopped and Simon called out, “I see land!”
“Where did Georgia go?” Tears filled Sarah’s eyes. She didn’t care about reaching land; she just wanted to find Georgia.
“She probably got zapped back to the real world. That happens when people are struck by lightning,” Simon replied.
“Then I want to be struck by lightning, too!” Sarah sniffled.
Lily sighed. “I wish it was that easy. We’ve tried. Georgia was just incredibly lucky.”
“We’ll find our way back home. Don’t worry,” Simon reassured Sarah as they docked their boats on the shore.
Sarah nodded sadly, and she and Lily followed Simon as he placed his boat against a dock and hopped onto the beach.
“Are you going to be okay, Sarah?” Lily asked.
Sarah nodded. “I’m going to miss Georgia, though.”
Lily patted Sarah comfortingly on the back. “Of course. But I still have hope that we’ll find a way to get off the server, and you’ll be able to see Georgia again then.”
Sarah squared her shoulders and nodded again, more firmly this time. “Okay,” she said. “So, which way do we go?”
Simon studied the map. “We just have to travel through this grassy biome, and then we’ll reach the desert.”
Sarah paused, squinting at the horizon. “I think I see the desert in the distance.”
“You’re right!” Lily was excited, but she was also secretly nervous about battling the powerful griefers. She couldn’t stop thinking about how they hadn’t taken any damage, no matter how powerful her attacks had been.
“Let’s pick up the pace a little,” Simon called to them.
The three friends ran as fast at they could through the grassy biome toward the sandy desert.
When they reached the flat desert biome, dotted with cacti, Simon looked around. “I don’t see a desert temple.”
“We know it’s here. We’ll find it,” Lily said hopefully.
“Ouch!” Sarah grabbed her arm. “I was just struck by an arrow.”
Lily scanned the area for signs of a griefer. It was too light for skeletons to be spawning. “I don’t see anybody.”
Suddenly, a barrage of arrows flew through the desert sky. Lily dodged a couple, but several more pierced her skin, and she lost a few hearts.
“I see them!” Simon called out.
“Where?” Lily grabbed her sword.
“By the sand dune!” Simon sprinted toward the griefers.
Lily spotted Matthew standing in front of the griefer army. She screamed, “You! You left me alone with the Ender Dragon, and now you’re attacking us? I thought you were our friend.”
Matthew barked orders at his soldiers. “Put your bows down. I need to talk to these people.” He held his diamond sword at the ready and walked over to Sarah. “Who are you?”
Sarah flinched and stammered, “S-Sarah.”
“So you made it,” Matthew said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lily demanded.
“Never mind,” Matthew said. “It doesn’t matter. I’m here to capture all of you and place you in the prison with your friends.”
“You can’t capture us,” Lily hollered.
“You’re outnumbered,” Matthew said, pointing to his large army of griefers, “and you can’t go back home because Mr. Anarchy has summoned a never-ending storm over Lisimi Village. I’m sure your villager friends Juan, Fred, and Emily have been turned into zombie villagers by now. You’ll have nobody to help you when you go back there. So you have no choice but to be my prisoner.”
Simon leapt at Matthew, and his diamond sword ripped into Matthew’s arm. “Never! We will never be your prisoner.”
“And we don’t believe Mr. Anarchy is doing that,” Lily added. “He’s changed—unlike you.”
“Are you sure about that?” Michael asked. “What if Otto and Emma promised him a real way home instead of just more of your failed attempts? That’s how they convinced me to join them and to help them kidnap Mr. Anarchy the first time. It was only a matter of time before they convinced him, too.” Matthew picked a potion of harming from his inventory and splashed it on Simon, leaving him with only two hearts. “Mr. Anarchy and I finally have what you could never give us: hope that we’ll be able to go home. We just have to prove to Otto and Emma that we’re worthy—by destroying your village.”
Lily’s head was spinning as she considered everything Matthew was saying. What if he was telling the truth? If they were destroyed, would they respawn in a village full of zombies? As Matthew raised his sword again, moving closer to Simon, she was suddenly terrified for her friend, and she cried out, “Stop!”
“Are you ready to surrender?” Matthew asked.
“Yes,” she replied.
“No, we’re not,” Simon said angrily.
Sarah agreed with Lily. “We have no other choice, Simon.”
Simon was exhausted. He had lost too many hearts and he needed to restore his energy. He looked down, sighing, and uttered the words, “We surrender.”
“I couldn’t hear you.” Matthew smirked. “What did you say?”
“You heard me,” Simon said, annoyance creeping into his voice.
“You’re my prisoners,” Matthew announced, and he ordered the griefers to escort them to the desert temple.
Lily, Simon, and Sarah followed Matthew in silence. Lily didn’t like being helpless and was losing hope as they reached the temple. But her energy lifted when they neared the temple’s entrance and saw Michael, Peter, Robin, Warren, and Ilana. Her friends were locked in battle with Mr. Anarchy.
Matthew charged into the heart of the battle, hollering, “What’s going on here?”
“Help!” Mr. Anarchy could barely speak.
“Where are Otto and Emma?” Matthew demanded.
Lily handed Simon a potion of strength, and he quickly gulped the powerful brew down and rushed at Matthew. Simon slammed his diamond sword into Matthew’s back.
“Hey!” Matthew turned around.
Lily and Sarah also struck Matthew, and he lost another two hearts.
“Help!” Matthew called out to the griefer soldiers who stood by and watched.
“No,” one of the griefer soldiers called back. “This is your battle.”
Lily looked at the griefer solider. “Help us!” she cried.
“Gladly,” another griefer solider replied.
“No!” Matthew screamed.
Matthew only had one heart left, and his army had betrayed him. But Lily called off the attack. “We don’t want to destroy him,” she said. “We have no idea where he’ll respawn.” She looked at Matthew. “Isn’t this ironic? Now you’re our prisoner.”
“No, he’s not!” a voice cried out. Everyone whirled around to see Otto standing with Emma on a portal to the Nether. “Mr. Anarchy! Matthew! Come here!”
Lily, Simon and Sarah shot arrows at Matthew and Mr. Anarchy, but they dodged them, using their last bit of energy to sprint to the portal. The griefers ignited it and disappeared into a sea of purple mist.
14
NEVER SAY NETHER
“We can’t let them escape!” Michael called out.
“Let’s build a Nether portal,” suggested Peter.
Lily crafted a portal to the Nether and the gang hopped aboard. After she ignited the portal and purple mist rose around the group, Lily introduced them to Sarah. Sarah nodded a nervous hello just as they arrived in the hostile world.
Sarah shook as she stepped off the portal, and Lily looked over at her. “I think the Nether was trickiest place to acclimate to, and it’s a lot more challenging than the Overworld. But stick with me, and I’ll help you through it.”
“Thanks,” Sarah replied, and she walked next to Lily.
; Simon was pleased to be reunited with his old friends. He moved to walk next to Michael and asked, “Do you have any idea where the griefers might be hiding?”
“No,” Michael said. “We were trapped in that prison until right before you showed up, when we staged an uprising. I didn’t manage to overhear any of their plans.”
Ilana added, “I don’t think they had a plan for the Nether. I think they just needed a quick escape. I’m sure we’ll find them.”
“I can’t believe Matthew is a griefer,” Lily said. She still couldn’t believe that he had abandoned her to fight the Ender Dragon alone.
“I know! And Mr. Anarchy, too,” Simon added. “I really thought his change of heart was for real this time.”
“Watch out!” Ilana warned. “Ghasts!”
A group of ghasts flew through the Nether sky, spitting fireballs in their direction.
Sarah was the first to battle the fiery mob, using her fist to punch the ghasts’ fireballs back at them, destroying two immediately.
They dropped rare ghast tears. Ilana noticed and hurried to pick them up. “These are very useful for brewing the potion for regeneration,” she clarified. “I’m an alchemist.”
“That’s good to know,” Sarah said with a smile.
Michael threw a snowball at a blaze and hit it. “Bulls-eye!” he called out.
“You guys, I see the griefers!” Simon called, distracting them from their battle. He pointed toward a far-off Nether fortress, where four distant figures were running for shelter.
Though too busy to turn and see the griefers disappearing into the fortress, the gang hurried to finish their fight. When the final ghast and blaze were destroyed, they ran to the majestic Nether fortress.
“We know you’re in here!” Simon called. “There’s no escape.”
There was no response.
“Are you sure they went in here?” asked Ilana.
“Yes,” Simon said, annoyed. “I saw them run inside.”
The gang carefully inspected the rooms. Sarah let out a cry of surprise when she almost walked into the lava room.
Lily heard Sarah’s cry from the room next door, and was about to check on her when she heard Simon screaming for help. She turned and sprinted toward the sounds of his cries.
“Help!” Simon wailed. As he came into view, Lily saw Mr. Anarchy pointing a diamond sword at Simon’s chest.
“Where are the others?” Lily questioned, aiming her bow at Mr. Anarchy.
“We have them!” Michael called out, walking out of the darkness down the hall.
Lily released her arrow, and as Mr. Anarchy shielded himself, Simon made his escape and raced to Lily. Lily leapt at Mr. Anarchy and struck him with her diamond sword. He was down to one heart.
Simon and Lily cornered Mr. Anarchy. Lily shouted, “You’re our prisoner now.”
From close to the fortress’s entrance, Peter called out, “We have Otto and Emma.”
“And I have Matthew,” Sarah said, having snuck up behind Lily and aimed her bow and arrow at the griefer.
Lily, Simon, and Sarah walked Mr. Anarchy and Matthew over to the other griefers.
“You have to stop causing problems in the Overworld and zapping new people like Sarah onto the server,” Lily said.
“Don’t blame me,” Mr. Anarchy said. “I haven’t trapped any new players on the server since you captured me.”
“I don’t believe you,” Sarah said. She was getting more confident after several successful battles. “Who zapped me onto this server? Who lied to me and said I was going to be part of a building competition?”
Nobody replied.
“It doesn’t matter,” Warren said. “All four of these griefers are done.”
“I hope you’ll enjoy living in a never-ending storm,” Simon said. “Since you started the storm in Lisimi Village, and that’s where we’re taking you to be held captive.”
The gang was ready to craft a portal and take the criminals to their village when three blazes flew into the Nether fortress. One of them shot a fireball at the group, and it struck Mr. Anarchy, destroying him.“Mr. Anarchy!” Lily cried out.
Simon struck a blaze with a snowball and destroyed it. Sarah obliterated the final blaze with an arrow.
“We have to go back to the Overworld now,” Michael ordered them. “We have to find Mr. Anarchy.”
15
THE SEARCH FOR MR. ANARCHY
“We can’t take the other griefers with us while we search for Mr. Anarchy,” Simon said. “Lily, Sarah, and I will hunt for Mr. Anarchy. You guys should escort Matthew, Otto, and Emma back to Lisimi Village. We’ll come back as soon as we can to help battle the mobs created by the storm.”
Michael said, “I know the desert. I think I should go with you guys.”
Ilana nodded. “That’s a good plan. Don’t worry about us—we’ll take care of these sinister griefers.”
They crafted a portal and everyone hopped aboard. Lily held a sword against Matthew’s chest as they made their way back to the Overworld. They emerged in the heart of Lisimi Village. It was still raining.
Juan the Butcher raced over to them.
Lily asked, “Where are Emily and Fred? Were they turned into zombie villagers?”
“No. They are hiding in my shop,” replied Juan.
Lily was relieved and was happy to be back in Lisimi Village, but she couldn’t stay, even just to visit her bungalow. She wished everyone well and left with Sarah, Michael, and Simon on their journey to the sandy biome.
Michael looked back as they exited Lisimi Village. He watched Ilana, Peter, and Warren march Matthew, Otto, and Emma off to the town’s bedrock prison. Michael remarked, “I’m glad they’ll be in prison and now we won’t have to deal with their antics. If we can just get the storm over Lisimi Village to stop, we can focus on making our way back home.”
Lily added, “Maybe we’ll finally be able to finish our treasure hunt with Peter.”
Michael smiled. “That seems like a good idea.”
“If we want to get to the desert faster, I saw some rails we could use,” Lily said. She also knew a spot where they could find minecarts.
Once they were in the minecarts, they sped to the desert. Lily jumped out of the cart and walked into the desert temple. “I don’t see Mr. Anarchy.”
Michael led them to a room at the back of the temple.“This is where he was staying, so this should be where he respawned. I guess he left the desert right away.”
Just then, they heard a footstep in the hallway behind them.
“Who’s there?” Simon called.
A man wearing jeans and a blue shirt walked down the hall. “I was one of the soldiers who guarded this temple,” he said. “But everybody has left.”
“Where did they go?” questioned Lily.
“Once you followed our leaders to the Nether, everyone left the desert. Nobody wanted to be here.”
Sarah asked, “Did you see Mr. Anarchy respawn here?”
“Yes,” he admitted. “He also changed skins. When I knew him, he wore an all-blue suit. Once he respawned, he changed his skin to black pants and a green shirt.”
Lily was about to ask the soldier another question when an arrow pierced her arm.
“Mr. Anarchy!” Sarah cried.
Lily spun around to face her attacker. Mr. Anarchy was dressed in the skin that the soldier had described. He shot another arrow. Lily sprinted toward him and splashed a potion of harming on him. Her friends joined her, and almost immediately, they had surrounded and subdued their enemy.
“Stop!” Mr. Anarchy cried out.
“We are taking you back to Lisimi Village,” Michael hollered.
“Never!” he screamed and splashed a potion of invisibility on himself.
“Where did he go?” Lily said, dismayed.
The soldier said, “He can’t have gone very far. I know that he is running low on resources, and without our army, he has no help.”
“We have to find him now,”
Simon said. He wanted to see Mr. Anarchy in the bedrock prison in Lisimi Village once again.
The soldier added, “He really wants to get back to the real world. At first, when Otto and Emma kidnapped him, he resisted. But when even Matthew told him that they could send him home, he started doing whatever they asked. He must still be hoping they’ll help him.”
Sarah searched the area around the desert temple. She knew the sooner they captured Mr. Anarchy, the closer she would be to getting home. Sarah called out, “I think I see him!” and charged at the master griefer.
“I see him, too!” Simon replied, and he followed Sarah toward Mr. Anarchy.
But Sarah had already made the capture. She was standing next to Mr. Anarchy with her diamond sword pointed toward his chest. “Game over, Mr. Anarchy,” she said triumphantly.
16
IT CAN’T BE THE END
“I wouldn’t say the game is over,” Mr. Anarchy said, looking at the group of friends who had him surrounded. “I’d say it has paused.”
“We’re going to make sure you don’t go back to your old tricks,” Simon said, holding his sword against Mr. Anarchy’s back.
Mr. Anarchy was cornered. There was no escape.
Mr. Anarchy stared at the lone soldier, hoping he would help him escape, but the soldier approached them and offered no help.“I’d never help you,” he said.
“Are you going to stay here by yourself?” Lily asked the lone soldier. “Would you like to come back to Lisimi Village with us?”
“I just want to focus on trying to get back home. I don’t want to settle into a village,” the soldier replied.
“We are working on getting home, too,” Lily told the soldier.
“Really?”
“Yes. Come with us,” added Simon.
“Okay,” the soldier said. “I’m George, and I’d love to come back with you guys and work on ways to get back home.”
With George’s help, the friends escorted Mr. Anarchy to the minecarts and traveled back to Lisimi Village.
Though rain still poured down on the village and the townspeople were still battling mobs, the friends were met by cheers when they returned with Mr. Anarchy. They hurried to the bedrock prison and opened the door, then marched Mr. Anarchy inside.
Terror on a Treasure Hunt Page 5
