Henry was shocked and asked, “What?”
“Keep it,” Steve said. “You’re going to help me battle the zombies.”
“Seriously, dude?” Henry couldn’t believe Steve.
“Look, I know it’s your instinct to destroy and steal from people, but I believe you can become a better person. I saw you help us so much when we were searching for the diamonds. I can’t believe you were doing that all to steal from me. I mean, that just doesn’t make sense. You worked too hard and cared too much.”
Henry looked at Steve as Lucy handed the sword back.
“Thank you,” Henry said. “I think you’re right. I just saw all the diamonds, and I wanted to take them all.”
Dusk was approaching. “We need to save the villagers,” Steve said as he looked out the window. “Henry, are you going to suit up and join the battle, or are you on your own?”
“I’m one of you guys,” Henry said with a smile. They couldn’t fight each other, they had to fight zombies.
16
ZOMBIE SHOWDOWN
THE SUN BEGAN TO SET AS THE GROUP SUITED UP in armor, packed their diamond swords, and left for the village. Rufus ran behind them, eyeing the landscape for creepers and Endermen. Steve felt his heart beating fast. Despite all of his adventures, he was nervous to see what had happened to the village. Maybe it was too late to save Eliot the blacksmith. Was Avery the librarian still hiding in the library, or was she a zombie, too? And would the Enchanted Golden Apples save them? All of these thoughts were swirling in Steve’s head as he approached the once-peaceful village.
The village was empty. The Iron Golem still lay torn apart on the street. Steve and his friends walked through the village looking for any signs of life. He led them to Eliot’s blacksmith shop, but it was empty. Where were the villagers hiding? Steve looked under the counter and in the corner of the shop, but he couldn’t find anyone. Rufus began to bark and run. A creeper approached but left when it saw the wolf.
“I hear something,” Steve said as he walked toward the library.
The group followed Steve into the library. The shelves were broken and books were ripped apart. Many of the books Steve loved to read were on the floor of the library. He went to pick up his favorite book on farming when he saw Avery the librarian hiding behind a shelf.
“Avery!” Steve exclaimed. He was excited to see her. “Are you okay?”
“It’s night,” she said in a scared whisper. “This is when they come back.”
“Where is everyone?” he asked.
“They’re hiding at farmer John’s house.” She stood up.
“Where are the zombies?” Steve asked.
“They’ll be back. The one with the armor is impossible. He has a helmet, so he can attack during the day, too. The village has been hiding since you left.” She looked at Steve, and he could see the hope in her eyes. She wanted him to save the village, and Steve knew this was his moment. He also knew he couldn’t do it without his friends.
“These are my friends,” he said, and he introduced Avery to Henry, Lucy, and Max. “They are going to help me save this village and defeat these evil zombies.”
“Thank you,” she said, and Henry almost let out a tear as he realized the joy of helping others.
Suddenly, a green-eyed zombie appeared from behind a bookshelf. “Oh no!” Avery cried out.
Henry jumped toward the zombie and destroyed it with a single blow from his newly minted diamond sword.
“See, it is super awesome and powerful!” Henry said and smiled. He hoped the diamond sword would make the zombie battle quick and easy.
Outside the library, the streets filled with zombies. Steve couldn’t believe the amount of zombies that walked toward them.
“Maybe this won’t be as easy as I thought,” Henry said. He stared at his diamond sword.
“If we work together, we have a chance at winning,” said Lucy.
“This is my biggest challenge ever, and I’m ready for it,” said Max. He ran toward the zombies and knocked out a bunch with the powerful sword.
Steve knew he would have never been able to defeat these zombies alone, and the only chance he had was with the help of his new friends. Steve’s emotions overwhelmed him. He looked out at the zombies and realized many were zombie villagers. He recognized a bunch of them, but one face stuck out from the crowd. It was Eliot the blacksmith!
“Eliot!” Steve called out, but Eliot didn’t even blink. He had no idea who Steve was. To Eliot, Steve was an enemy and needed to be defeated. Eliot leapt toward Steve. He had to give Eliot the Enchanted Golden Apple, but he also had to defeat the zombies that made their way into the library.
“Hide, Avery!” Steve yelled as the gang fearlessly ran toward the zombies and struck them with their diamond swords.
Eliot the blacksmith walked toward Steve with green eyes that showed that Eliot was ready to attack his friend.
“Eliot! It’s me!” Steve pleaded with his friend, but it was useless.
Henry ran toward to Eliot and was ready to attack him. “Stop!” Steve screamed. “He’s my friend. Get an Enchanted Golden Apple and a potion of weakness. We need to bring him back to life!”
“Here!” Henry threw a Golden Apple and a potion, and Steve gave both to Eliot. Within a few minutes, Eliot’s eye’s lost their green color, and he was a normal villager.
“Thank you!” Eliot said happily. “You guys saved me!”
However, there wasn’t time for happy reunions. The town was still crawling with zombies, and the group had a job to do.
“You need to hide, Eliot,” Steve demanded. “Go with Avery and hide under the shelves at the library.”
Eliot ran into the library to take shelter.
“Got one!” Lucy screamed as she knocked a zombie to the ground.
“It seems like no matter how many we destroy, there are still more zombies. Where are they spawning?” asked an exhausted Max.
Zombies’ growling could be heard throughout the village.
“I think they keep calling for back up,” Steve said. “We just need to fight them all. If we could survive The End, we can do this!”
Steve’s diamond sword was as powerful as he imagined. He was happy that it could destroy so many zombies so quickly.
Henry came up behind Steve, and the duo downed a group of zombies. “See how much better we are as a team?” Steve asked as he looked at Henry.
“You’re right,” Henry said as he used his sword to destroy two zombies.
As Steve made his way through the town, it seemed like there were more zombies on the ground than walking through the streets.
Then it appeared in front of the team of four. It stood outside Eliot’s blacksmith shop. It was the armored zombie.
“That’s it!” Steve said and pointed. The group had to come up with a plan.
“We have diamond swords! We can get it!” Max ran toward the zombie. Max struck the zombie in its leg with the sword. The zombie was destroyed, which left Max with the armor.
“You did it!” Steve shouted gleefully.
“No,” said Max, “we did it!”
“It doesn’t matter! This means the battle is almost over! We destroyed the most powerful zombie!” Steve yelled. He was thrilled.
“You can take the armor,” Max said as he gave it to Steve.
“Thanks!” Steve replied, then he grabbed the armor and put it on.
Henry and Lucy fought off zombies as Rufus searched the streets for creepers.
When the last zombie had been destroyed, Steve walked the streets to make sure it was really emptied of the bloodthirsty, green-eyed beasts. When he had checked the last corner of his favorite village, he declared a victory.
“We need to make a new Iron Golem,” Steve said as he used his iron to craft a new Golem for the town.
“What happened to the old Golem?” Henry asked.
“A griefer destroyed it to harvest it for iron,” Steve told him.
“Griefers can
be really bad,” Henry said.
As Henry stood thinking about griefers, Eliot, John, and Avery came racing toward Steve.
“You saved our village!” said John the farmer.
“You’re my hero!” Eliot the blacksmith said and smiled.
“You saved the day!” Avery called out.
“Thanks. I’m just happy you guys are safe, and now we can rebuild the village. And don’t thank me. Thank my friends. I couldn’t have done it without them,” Steve replied.
Henry watched as all the villagers began to congratulate the others. He stood hidden behind a tree. He wasn’t sure what to do. He had never done anything nice for anyone, and this feeling was strange to him. Steve walked over to Henry.
“See how important it is to help others?” Steve asked. “We could rob the villagers of their wares, but it’s much better to help them.”
“I feel so strange. I’ve never felt this way before,” Henry admitted.
“That’s what it feels like to be good,” Steve said. “You should join us and let the villagers thank you. You earned it, my friend.”
The two walked to the center of the village, where the mood was festive and the villagers emerged from their homes. They didn’t have to hide anymore.
“We’re going to throw a party on my wheat farm!” Steve announced to the villagers. “I want everyone to come celebrate the destruction of the evil zombies and talk about the plans to secure the village from further attacks.”
“We’ve already constructed a new Iron Golem,” Lucy announced as she placed the pumpkin head on the Golem.
“And we should all rejoice in this victory. It wasn’t an easy battle, but it was for a good cause,” Henry said, and the crowd cheered. He had never felt so happy in his life. Steve was right, helping others felt great.
The team led everyone to the wheat farm. They were ready to have a party! Rufus barked as the sun rose.
17
THE PARTY
STEVE HAD NEVER HAD SO MANY PEOPLE IN HIS home, and he was shocked at how much he loved having friends over. The villagers filled his living room. After days of hiding, they were happy to be free of the zombie attack and were thrilled to be in Steve’s living room. Most had never been to a party.
Steve handed out red party hats, and the group put them on. Steve placed a table in the living room and filled it with cookies and other goodies. He offered the villagers and his new friends the treats.
Lucy put one of the CDs in the new diamond jukebox, and the villagers began to move about.
“Look at my emeralds,” Eliot said as he pointed to the bricks that were lined with emeralds in Steve’s house.
“Those are my emeralds,” Steve said and smiled. “I traded them.”
“That’s right,” Eliot replied as he also smiled. “You need to come back to my shop and trade again.”
“How’s your shop?” Steve asked.
“It’s almost back to normal. The village is going to take a while to get back to the way it used to be, but thanks to you, we will be able to have a village again.”
“And you’re not a zombie,” Steve said with a smile. “That was quite a zombie battle today.”
“You saved the day!” Avery the librarian came over and told Steve.
“No, my friends and I saved the day,” Steve said as he brought Henry, Max, and Lucy over to the center of the living room. The villagers stood around them. “These are my best friends, and together we can tackle anything!”
Steve really believed he and his friends could do anything. He thought about telling the villagers about their battle with the Ender Dragon, but he didn’t want to brag. But it was a story he still couldn’t believe, and he wanted to share it with others.
“We were so glad to help you,” Henry told the villagers, “but we don’t need any thanks. Just seeing how happy and safe you are in the village makes us all happy.”
“I love searching for treasure and battling hostile mobs, but until I met Steve, I never realized how important it is to help others,” Lucy added as she stood next to Henry.
“You guys taught me so much. I can’t imagine that I taught you anything, except what it’s like to be afraid of things,” Steve told his friends.
“No, you taught us a lot. And we saw you change. You’re not so scared anymore,” Lucy told Steve.
“You’re right! I’m not,” Steve said. He was extremely happy. Normally, he’d be afraid to have so many people in his house, but now he rejoiced.
Max walked over to the diamond jukebox.
“I’m glad we saved a diamond to make this jukebox,” Lucy said, joining Max.
“I just want to dance!” Max said, and he made the music louder. The group listened to the CDs.
Henry, Lucy, and Max danced as Steve walked over to Eliot to relax.
“I can’t wait to just walk into the village and trade my emeralds and coal,” Steve told Eliot.
“But you must have so many stories to tell. You and your friends had so many adventures. How can you stick around here? Don’t you want to go exploring?” asked Eliot.
“Yes, Steve,” Henry said as he walked over. “Don’t you want to treasure hunt with us?”
Avery the librarian joined the group, and Steve pointed to her and said, “I can read about adventures in the books I get from Avery’s library.”
“I bet the books I have aren’t that exciting,” said Avery.
“But you got to live it,” Eliot the blacksmith told Steve. “That’s so incredible.”
Steve heard barking and excused himself to check on Rufus. He looked at Rufus, tame and playing with Snuggles. This was where he wanted to be. Yes, treasure hunting was fun and now he wasn’t scared, but he liked the idea of being a farmer and building on his wheat farm. While others loved to trek to unfamiliar places, he was excited to sleep in his wool bed. Steve walked back into the party.
“Anybody want carrots?” He asked, offering the goodies to the gang.
“You are so generous,” Henry said as he ate the carrots.
“I worked hard and have a lot to share,” Steve told him.
The mood at the party was jovial, and the villagers seemed to have no worries. Life was back to normal for Steve.
“Let’s play some games,” Avery announced, and the gang and the villagers had races through the wheat farm.
“Beat you!” Max exclaimed and smiled as he raced Steve across the green landscape of Steve’s farm.
This was the best—and only—party Steve ever held. But the day was almost over, and like all good parties, it had to come to an end.
18
I HATE GOODBYES
THE MOON APPEARED IN THE SKY. THE VILLAGERS made their way back to their homes since it was getting dark. They had a long day ahead of them tomorrow as they cleaned up their village from the zombie war. As the villagers thanked Steve and left, Steve sat in his home with his friends.
“I used to be afraid to be out of my bed at night,” Steve told the group. “And I never had a visitor at my house.”
“You could have fooled me. You threw the best party,” Henry told him.
Steve stared at the moon. It was so bright; it stood out in the starry skies.
“What are you staring at? Are you afraid the Ender Dragon is coming after you?” Lucy joked.
“I’m looking at the moon,” Steve said quite seriously. “I think I want to explore the moon. Are you guys in?”
“Funny, you were afraid to get out of your bed earlier this week, and now you want to travel to the moon?” Max asked. He was happy to see his friend become fearless.
“Well, would you guys want to join me?” Steve repeated his request.
“I think that sounds fun!” said Lucy.
“I have to figure out how we could get there first, then we can explore space. It will take a while though. Do you guys want to stay here and help me work on it?” Steve asked the group. Steve wanted a period of rest when he could just build on his farm and trade with his vi
llager friends. Plus, he didn’t want to stay on the moon forever, he just wanted to take a trip and then return to his life on the wheat farm.
“Truthfully, I think we want to go treasure hunting,” Henry said. “We aren’t good at sticking around one place. We like to see everything. We’re not only treasure hunters, we’re also thrill seekers.”
“We miss searching for treasures,” Lucy told Steve. “I mean, we loved helping you, but that’s not where our heart is. We love to find new stuff and use everything in our inventory.”
“Yeah, we’re not hoarders,” joked Henry.
“Hey! Hoarders have a lot of useful stuff. If I didn’t have milk, you’d still be in a cave sick from a spider bite,” Steve said, defending himself.
“I was just joking, but you’re right—you are very prepared,” Henry said as he smiled.
“I learned a lot from this adventure. I learned it’s important to save, but it’s also important to share,” said Steve.
“I’m going to miss you, Steve,” said Lucy.
“But we have to go, because I haven’t blown anything up in days,” sighed Henry. “I miss the thrill of finding those four treasure chests and making my escape from the temple with the loot in my hand. That’s the best feeling in the world.”
“I know what you mean,” agreed Max.
“Yes, that’s what we love doing. And I want to go back to the snow biome and play. I love exploring!” Lucy said as she looked up at the sky. “But the moon seems like a fantastic place to travel.”
Henry sat next to Steve, stared at him, and said, “Steve, you taught me how to be good and why I shouldn’t be a griefer. I owe you my life for that.”
“I know. I understand,” Steve said. He knew his friends had different goals, and he couldn’t stop them from doing what they loved. They had helped him save his village, and he would always be grateful for their help.
“I’m so glad we met you,” Lucy said. She looked at Steve and smiled.
“I’m going to miss all of you,” said Steve.
“Why don’t you come with us?” asked Henry.
“I’d love to, but I really want to help the villagers rebuild,” Steve replied.
The Quest for the Diamond Sword Page 7
