The Case of the Creepers

by Winter Morgan

  Bounce, bounce, bounce. The sound of slimes was heard behind them. With the witch in front of them and a crop of slimes moving closer, they were cornered.

  “If only I had potions,” said Edison.

  “You can’t think about that now.” Billy was upset. They had to focus on survival and not dwell on their weaknesses.

  As they shot arrows at the witch, they listened to the sounds of the bouncing and knew the slimes were inches away. Edison shot an arrow that pierced the witch’s chest, and she was destroyed.

  With renewed energy from their victory, they turned and sliced into the slimes, ripping the bouncy beasts into pieces and carefully destroying all of the smaller slimes that bounced on the ground.

  “We have to finish this house. The mobs have seemed to return to normal. It was much easier when they didn’t exist,” said Billy.

  “Maybe it was easier to get treasure, but look what it did to the Overworld—people were starving,” said Edison as he quickly placed a window and a door on the house they swiftly constructed on the shore of the swampy lake. They used the light from the full moon and a couple of torches to see in the dark night.

  “I know what it did to the Overworld, but it really made treasure hunting fun,” said Billy as he walked into the house and crafted two beds.

  Edison climbed into his bed and pulled the covers over himself. He wished Billy a good night, and closed his eyes. He wished that when he opened them, the Overworld would continue to be back to normal. As he drifted off to bed, he dreamed about a creeper. He hoped he wouldn’t see them only in dreams and he’d finally be able to see one in the Overworld. Once he spotted a creeper, he would know everything was okay.

  12

  IN THE JUNGLE TEMPLE

  The sun shone through the small window and woke Edison and Billy. Billy fed Lucky. Edison looked out the window and said, “It looks like everything is still okay. Lucky is here, so we have passive mobs, and the swamp looks like the swamp.”

  “That’s good,” said Billy. “We’re not far from the jungle temple. After we get the treasure from the jungle temple”—he paused as he studied the map—“it looks like we go to the desert, the ocean biome, and then to End City.”

  “Already? We’re almost at End City? I thought that would be the last place we go.” Edison wasn’t looking forward to a visit to the End.

  “The treasure hunt is almost over,” Billy reminded him. “It’s only a week long.”

  The duo set out with Lucky, and after passing through a meadow, they were in the middle of the jungle. The biome was thick with leaves, and Edison stopped to pick a melon growing. He bit into the watery melon. “Have a melon, they’re amazing.”

  Billy picked one and ate it. His mouth was full when he spoke. “I don’t want to waste any time. I want to find the treasure.”

  Edison pulled a few more melons from the ground. “We should take these in case something happens again. We should have extra food on hand. I know you want to rush to the treasure, but we have to make sure we’re prepared.”

  “True,” Billy said and filled his inventory with melons. “But we really have to get going now.”

  They looked up at the light sky as they made their way through the dense landscape. Billy pointed to a jungle temple behind some leaves.

  “Great,” Edison exclaimed, but he stopped when he heard voices. “Do you hear that?”

  Billy listened. The duo could hear a high-pitched, squeaky voice. Billy said, “It sounds like Herman,” and then added, “Listen, Edison, I don’t want to battle them. I just want to get the treasure.”

  “Billy, I’m not sure we are going to be able to get the treasure that easily,” said Edison.

  As they darted into the jungle temple, they saw Sally standing by the entranceway with a red parrot perched on her shoulder.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” asked Sally.

  “This is the next stop on our map,” said Billy.

  “You can’t attack us again. If you do, I promise I will TP to Verdant Valley and tell William that you are causing problems on the treasure hunt,” said Edison.

  “Am I attacking you?” asked Sally.

  “You guys have to calm down,” said Herman.

  Billy walked toward the door of the jungle temple, but Sally blocked it. Billy exclaimed, “What are you doing? I want to enter the temple.”

  “Why? I already looted it,” said Sally softly as she looked at the bird.

  “You can’t stop me from looking in the temple,” said Billy.

  “Why should you waste your time? Go to the next location listed on the map. You lost this temple,” she told him.

  “I’m going to report you for stopping us from entering the temple,” declared Edison.

  “Tattletale,” Sally said, and she moved out of the way. Billy and Edison entered the jungle temple and raced to the bottom floor.

  “The trapdoor is still closed. She wasn’t telling the truth,” said Billy.

  “That isn’t too surprising, but I don’t understand why she let us in here. Or why she didn’t loot the treasure. She is just standing out front with a tame parrot. That doesn’t sound like the Sally that I’ve seen,” said Edison.

  Billy didn’t want to talk about Sally. He was carefully solving the puzzle and unearthing the treasure without unleashing the arrows that were often launched when he removed the treasure from a jungle temple. “I did it!” Billy exclaimed when he finally got the treasure.

  He opened the first chest. “Saddles,” Billy called out as Edison put them in his inventory. The second chest had diamonds, and the final chest had bones.

  When all of the treasure was placed in Edison’s inventory, Billy said, “We have to get out here, I don’t trust Sally.”

  They zipped toward the exit. As they took their first steps outside the door, they heard a familiar voice with a heavy French accent demanding, “Give me all of your treasure.”

  Billy pulled out his sword and waved it at Marie. “No way!”

  Edison followed Billy and grabbed his sword and leaped at Pierre.

  “You better give us what you just took from the jungle temple,” Marie rubbed her sword against Edison’s unarmored arm, scratching him.

  “I am going to report you,” declared Edison.

  “Why are you doing this? The hunt is almost over. Why are you ruining it for all of us?” Billy asked them.

  They were all stunned when Sally emerged from a leafy path with the red parrot still perched on her shoulder. “Marie, leave them alone. And let the best player win.”

  13

  DESERT DISCOVERIES

  “Why did Sally defend us?” asked Edison as they reached the desert.

  “I don’t know. I can’t figure it out. There is definitely something going on, but we’ll solve all of this when the contest is over.” Billy wanted to get to the desert and the ocean biome, then head to the End, which would complete his weeklong journey.

  Edison hoped they’d be able to finish the treasure hunt without any more incidents that had the potential to destroy the Overworld. He was still upset that he hadn’t seen a creeper in days. He believed that once he saw a creeper, he’d know everything was okay.

  “Okay, I hope we get to finish the hunt,” said Edison.

  “Stop saying things like that.” Billy was annoyed. “We have to remain positive.”

  The sandy desert was in sight, and Billy picked up his pace, tearing through the arid biome with Lucky tailing him. A calm lake ran through the hot biome, and Edison felt his body temperature rise. His face was drenched with sweat, and he asked his friend to slow down. “It’s too hot to run,” he pleaded.

  “We have to run. I think I see a desert temple.” He pointed to a sandstone structure beyond a cluster of sugar cane growing by the water.

  Edison saw the palatial desert temple. The massive temple looked like a pyramid, and the orange pattern engraved on the side of the temple’s towers awed him. The impressive structure, loca
ted on the sand, seemed even larger in the barren landscape. Billy was far ahead of him, and Edison tried to catch his breath as he loped behind Billy and Lucky. Billy raced into the temple in search of treasure. He was deep within the temple when Edison walked through the door.

  “Billy,” he called out, but there was no response. Edison searched for the dog, but as he searched through each room, the temple was empty. His voice was louder. “Billy!”

  “Who are you looking for?” someone asked him.

  Edison turned and saw Spencer and Aaron. They were smiling. “The treasure hunt is over,” Spencer announced.

  “Where is Billy?” Edison demanded.

  “You’ll be with him soon enough,” Aaron said.

  “This is against the rules. You can’t attack another player,” said Edison.

  “Rules.” Spencer laughed. “Nobody ever wins by playing by the rules.”

  “That’s not true,” said Edison. He swung his diamond sword at Spencer.

  “See?” Spencer smirked as he spoke. “Even you’re breaking the rules. You’re attacking me when I don’t even have my sword out. I can report you.”

  “You have taken my friend. This is self-defense,” explained Edison, and he pointed his diamond sword at Spencer.

  “Help!” Billy called out. His voice was faint, but Edison recognized it.

  “Tell me what you’ve done to Billy,” Edison screamed.

  “We’ll take you to him,” Spencer said as he walked down a hall in the airy desert temple and into the main room. The blue wool block in the center of the room was broken, and Edison knew that meant the treasure had been found. Spencer led Edison through the block and into the treasure room. The chests were emptied, but there was a pressure plate that had yet to be activated. If the plate was broken, TNT would explode, and they would be destroyed.

  Marie and Pierre were holding their swords against Billy and threatening to activate the TNT.

  “You’re all working together?” asked Edison.

  “Maybe,” Marie replied, “We’ve already claimed this treasure, and we want you to leave the desert. Of course, not having treasure from the desert means that you’ll probably lose the competition, but that’s your problem.”

  Billy didn’t want to get caught in a battle with these players, and he told Edison that they should follow their directions and leave.

  Edison wanted to report these corrupt players, but he wasn’t going to announce his plans. He agreed to leave the biome with Billy, and they made their way out of the desert temple.

  As they walked toward the shore, where they would ingest a potion of Water Breathing and search for treasure in an ocean monument, Billy said, “There is too much corruption in this treasure hunt. I knew the hunt wasn’t going to be easy, but I didn’t think the players would gang up on us. I feel like everyone is working together and we are the odd men out.”

  “We wouldn’t want to be a part of their team. They’re cheaters,” said Edison.

  Billy knew Edison was correct, but he also felt excluded from the treasure hunt. It seemed like everyone had a plan that he didn’t know about. Everybody except Sally. He wasn’t sure where Sally fit in to all of this, but he was going to figure it out.

  As they stood on the shores of the ocean and took out their bottles of potion, before they swallowed their first gulp, they heard someone call out, “Stop!”

  14

  THE CASE OF THE CREEPERS

  “Sally,” said Billy.

  “And Herman,” added Edison.

  “We have to tell you something.” Sally raced toward them.

  Both Billy and Edison were suspicious of their motives. Billy demanded, “Tell us now. We don’t have time to mess around.”

  “We just passed a cave that was carved into the side of a mountain that isn’t far from here. In the cave, we saw a room filled with command blocks. We waited to see if the person who was using them would show up, but they didn’t,” she confessed.

  “Show us where it is,” said Billy. As these words fell from his lips, he wanted to suck them back in, but he couldn’t. He realized this might be a trap, and he had fallen for it.

  “I’m so glad you want to see it. I’m going to tell William about it,” said Sally. “I’ve been watching Marie and Spencer and their assistants, but I haven’t traced either of them back to the command blocks. I am at a loss.”

  “Why are you asking us for help?” Edison questioned. He was suspicious of Sally and took out his diamond sword.

  “You’re not going to hit me with the sword?” asked Sally.

  “Yes,” Herman added in his squeaky high-pitched voice. “Sally is innocent.”

  Edison wasn’t going to bring up Sally’s behavior earlier in the competition when she tried to attack them. He just said, “It’s getting dark, and I am worried that hostile mobs will spawn. It’s always good to be prepared.”

  When they reached the cave, Lucky vanished. Billy called out for his dog, but it was gone. “I bet someone is using the command blocks now.”

  As they entered the cave, the group was flooded with arrows. They couldn’t see who shot them, but the only thing Edison remembered from the attack was the pain, and then he woke up in his bed.

  He awoke, but Puddles wasn’t by his bedside. He could hear somebody at his door.

  “Edison?” Billy called out. “Are you there?”

  “Yes.” Edison got up from bed, but he was still groggy. He picked a slice of bread from his inventory and chewed. It still hurt to chew. Billy walked into the bedroom and Edison said, “I’m sorry, I guess we lost.”

  “Guess so,” Billy said. “I thought it was a trick, but I just wanted to believe Sally, and I wanted to see who was using the command blocks.”

  “Let’s talk to William and tell him what happened,” said Edison.

  “Did you see who attacked us?” asked Billy.

  “No,” Edison replied. “The instant I walked into the cave, I was hit with arrows, and I couldn’t see anything.”

  “But I’m sure Sally was behind this. She was trapping us so she could have somebody attack us,” said Billy.

  “We aren’t certain of that,” Edison reminded him. “We can’t get her in trouble. She might have been trying to help the treasure hunt.”

  “I am sure she’s the one who is destroying the treasure hunt, and I am going to tell William.” Billy was infuriated that they were even discussing this. They should have been meeting with William to have Sally removed from the competition. He wanted them to have her deactivate her command blocks and be punished.

  “We can’t place blame on her. We have no proof,” explained Edison.

  Billy was about to speak when Sally and Herman rushed through the door. Sally announced, “We have to meet with William.”

  “Sally, what are you doing here?” asked Billy.

  “Herman and I were destroyed by the people behind the command blocks, and since I have a history of causing trouble, I wanted you guys to come with me when I meet with William.”

  Herman said, “Sally is innocent.”

  “I never said she wasn’t,” said Edison. “We will go with you.”

  As they left Edison’s bungalow and were about to head to Verdant Valley, they stopped when they saw that the path in Farmer’s Bay was cluttered with creepers. The green explosive mob marched through the streets. Billy and Edison called to their friend Peyton, but it was too late. A group of creepers ignited themselves, and Peyton was destroyed.

  Billy looked at Edison. “You said the world would be okay if we just saw a creeper. What do you think now?”

  Edison’s mouth was agape as creepers crammed into each other as they went down the path beside the Farmer’s Bay farm. “If they all explode at once, can they destroy a house?” asked Edison.

  “I don’t know,” Sally replied.

  “And I don’t want to find out,” added Herman.

  The green creepers silently traveled down the path, and the gang was afraid to
use their diamond swords for fear that they would set off an enormous explosion.

  “I’ve never seen that many creepers,” said Edison. “I wish Puddles was here, because creepers are afraid of ocelots.”

  “Passive mobs must still be gone,” said Billy, “but I don’t think Puddles would be strong enough to scare off all of the creepers.”

  “We have to go back to the mountain and see who is manipulating these command blocks,” said Sally.

  “How are we going to get there?” asked Billy. “How can we get past the creepers?”

  Sally looked out at the green monsters that were creeping toward them. “I think we should TP to William in Verdant Valley.”

  Edison thought this was a great idea. He also wanted to find his friend Anna because she was always helpful when solving a case, and they needed to figure out who was behind this creeper attack.

  “Okay,” said Billy. “Let’s TP.”

  As they collectively TPed to Verdant Valley, they spawned in the center of the castle, but it was empty.

  “William,” Sally called out.

  “The castle seems empty.” Billy darted throughout the castle searching through all of the rooms. “The committee isn’t here.”

  “Why aren’t there any people here?” asked Herman.

  “The Overworld is in a worse state than we thought,” said Sally.

  “We should go find Anna,” suggested Edison. “She might know what happened.”

  As they raced out the door of the castle, a loud explosion shook the castle floor. From the windows, they could see smoke fill the streets of Verdant Valley, and they looked out to see every inch of Verdant Valley covered in creepers.

  “Creepers are everywhere,” said Billy.

  “We have to find Anna,” Edison repeated.

  “How?” asked Sally.

  “We can’t leave her in this creeper-invaded world,” said Edison.

  “We have to protect ourselves,” said Herman.