The Great Zombie Invasion

by Mark Cheverton

  “And what’s the deal with Fencer?” Gameknight asked. “Why does he distrust me so much? You’d think that I did something personal to him or his family.”

  “Fencer has had a difficult time,” Smithy explained. “You see … Librarian was his father. Fencer and his younger brother, Farmer, were supposed to look out for their dad. He was getting old and was having some difficulties, so Fencer and Farmer took turns taking care of him. When one was working, the other would be helping him with the library. On the day that Librarian was caught by those monsters, Fencer was supposed to be with him, but he’d accidentally fallen asleep early that night. So he thinks it was his fault that his father was killed.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Gameknight said. “We can’t be everywhere … all the time. Some things happen that are just out of our control.”

  “Maybe you need to tell Fencer that.”

  “What does his brother say about it?” the User-that-is-not-a-user asked.

  “Well, that’s another issue.” Smithy put a hand on Gameknight’s shoulder and guided him away from the other villagers, obviously to make sure no one heard their conversation.

  Gameknight turned and could see some of the NPCs glaring at him, Fencer at the center of the crowd. He smiled, then turned back to Smithy.

  “What issue?” he asked.

  “When Herobrine came into our village that first time, he had a group of monsters with him,” Smithy explained. “When the monsters attacked, Farmer was the first to fall. He was never much of a fighter, but he tried his best. Fencer tried to get to him, but a pair of zombies attacked him. They relentlessly attacked Farmer, tearing at his HP until he fell to the ground. He died in Fencer’s arms. I was fighting with Herobrine so I couldn’t help, but I saw Farmer say something to Fencer, just before he disappeared.”

  “What did he say?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. To be honest, I never had the heart to ask.”

  Gameknight pondered this information. Maybe Fencer wasn’t a bad guy; he was just troubled and sad. Certainly that’s no excuse to mistreat others, but he could remember how sad and worried he had been when his friend Herder had been captured by the zombies.

  I probably wasn’t a lot of fun to be around back then either, he thought.

  “Gameknight, Gameknight … come see what we built!”

  It was Weaver, followed by the other kids in the village.

  The User-that-is-not-a-user turned and faced the youths.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “We put the finishing touches on that round room, just like you told us,” Weaver said. “Come see, it looks awesome.”

  Some chuckles trickled through the village. To the east, Gameknight could see a faint red line beginning to glow along the eastern horizon. Morning was slowly coming. Gameknight turned toward the laughter and found a group of NPCs watching him as the kids gathered around him. Fencer was at the center of the group, looking around with a mischievous smile. He pressed up on his nose as if he were trying to make it smaller, then laughed again.

  “Gameknight, come see the meeting room we built,” Weaver insisted.

  Smithy cast him a smile. “It seems you have made some friends in the village … more than just me.”

  “It seems that way indeed,” Gameknight replied.

  The red line was glowing brighter. Some of the stars to the east were beginning to melt into the brightening sky. Gameknight knew he didn’t have much time. It was the second sunrise since he’d come into the server, and likely the Digitizer would turn back on soon. He had to hurry. Turning, he faced the young villagers.

  “OK, Weaver, show me what you built. After you show me the meeting room, we can start talking about the minecart network you’re going to build.”

  I hope I have time.

  “Minecart network?” Weaver asked, as they took off sprinting in the direction of the tall cobblestone watchtower that loomed high over the village.

  CHAPTER 13

  FIRE AND ASH

  The creepers slowly drifted into the clearing, inexorably drawn there by Oxus’s call. As they gathered, Herobrine could see there was something different about them, as if some kind of intelligence had been awakened inside their square green heads. He knew it had to be part of crafting the creeper king. When he modified those monsters to create Oxus, he modified all creepers just a little, giving them a small bit of his intelligence and hatred of the NPCs.

  “You, creeper,” Herobrine growled at one of the monsters.

  He pointed at the beast with a stubby finger. The mottled green creature approached and stood before Herobrine.

  “Go to that tree over there,” the Maker commanded.

  The creeper turned and scurried to a thick oak tree that stood at the edge of the clearing. When it reached its destination, the monster turned and stared back at Herobrine with dark eyes.

  “Now detonate,” Herobrine said in a loud, commanding voice. “I command you to destroy that tree!”

  The creeper just stood there staring back at him, a look of innocent confusion on the creature’s face.

  “You are useless,” he growled.

  “I do not understand,” the green monster said in a hissing voice.

  Herobrine glanced up and found the creeper has begun to glow as it spoke, but was now dimming back to its original hue as it fell silent again.

  “What did you say?” he asked.

  “I do not understand,” the creeper said, again glowing bright and then dimming. “We do not know how to detonate.”

  “Just make yourself blow up!” Herobrine roared, but the monster just stared back at the Maker with child-like confusion on its square face.

  “You idiotic creepers need something to make you … effective,” the dark shadow-crafter said, “and I know just what is needed.”

  Closing his eyes for a moment, he stretched out his viral powers and felt through the fabric of Minecraft. There was a specific place he was looking for deep underground, a place where lava and water met. He searched through many tunnels and caves with his mind, sifting through empty darkness … and then he found it!

  At the speed of thought, Herobrine teleported to the place.

  When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing on a narrow ledge between a flowing stream of cool water and a bubbling lake of lava. Where the two met lay a dark plane of obsidian; the purple flecks in the shadowy blocks reflected the orange light of the molten stone and made the blocks sparkle.

  Herobrine smiled.

  “There is easily enough here for what I need,” he said to the empty cavern.

  Kneeling to the dark ground, Herobrine closed his eyes and reached out with his artificial-intelligence capabilities. His hands began to glow a sickly yellow as he concentrated on his powers. The insipid light began to creep up his arms like some kind of pale sickness.

  When it reached his elbows, the shadow-crafter plunged his hands into the obsidian, causing the dark block to shatter and fall into his inventory. He moved to the next block and did the same, smashing it with his magical powers. Cube after cube fell to his glowing hands as he moved across the black and purple plane. He stopped when he had ten blocks of obsidian in his inventory.

  Fatigued by the strain, he stood on shaky legs, then teleported back to the basin where he had left the foolish creepers. When he materialized, Herobrine saw more of the mottled green creatures entering the basin; Oxus’s call was still doing its job.

  Pulling out the obsidian, he quickly made a large, standing ring out of the purple cubes, then lit the interior with his dark powers. Instantly, an undulating lavender sheet of energy formed within the rectangle of shadowy blocks, its surface sparkling with the same colors as the obsidian. With a smile, he stepped into the portal.

  Instantly, he appeared within a sweltering landscape of rusty reds and brilliant yellows. Glowing cubes clung to the rocky ceiling as the red ground stretched out in all directions. It was a lifeless subterranean world without any animals
or monsters … just heat.

  In the distance, Herobrine could see what he came for, the Great Lava Ocean. He could feel its call from the Overworld, and now that he was here, he marveled at its magnificence. Closing his eyes, the shadow-crafter teleported to the banks of the molten stone. The heat coming off the boiling lava was intense … and wonderful. Clouds of ash rose up into the air as smoke drifted on the thermal currents, blocking out many of the glowstone cubes that dotted the ceilings.

  Gathering his dark shadow-crafting powers again, Herobrine stared down at his hands. The insipid glow formed around his fingers, then spread up to his hands and wrists. He knew he would need every ounce of his power for what he had planned. Drawing on his artificial intelligence code, he gathered more, glowing brighter and brighter. As his powers grew, he felt like he was becoming charged with electricity. Sparks began leaping off his body and crackling in the air, a signal that that he was finally ready.

  With lightning speed, he plunged his hands into the molten stone. The heat did not hurt his arms, nor did it burn the sleeves of his black smock, for he was completely encased in the sickly yellow glow of his shadow-crafting powers.

  Drawing the lava together, he formed long sticks. He then shaped some of the sticks into a small cube, then connected the cube and sticks together with living flame. When he was done, he lifted the creation out of the lava and drove his powers into the creature, bringing it to life. A cough of flame and ash came from the glowing creature as its internal flame flickered for just an instant, then burned bright. The monster drew in a wheezing breath, then exhaled more ash. Its dark eyes slowly opened, then darted about as it came to terms with the fact that it was suddenly alive.

  “Behold, the first blaze of Minecraft,” Herobrine said.

  The monster of flame glanced about, confused, unsure of its surroundings. But before the blaze could move, Herobrine shoved the creature back into the lava ocean.

  “Bring forth your brothers,” the dark shadow-crafter commanded.

  His hands glowed with magical power as he plunged them back into the lava ocean. The glow spread from his hands and flowed out into the bubbling stone, creating an undulating sheet of magic that stretched out in all directions. Satisfied, Herobrine withdrew his hands and shook the molten stone off, then stepped back from the edge of the boiling mass. Slowly, forms began to float out of the Great Lava Ocean and drift through the smoky air. First one … then two … then twenty of the glowing creatures emerged from the boiling stone, the glowing blaze rods that made up their body each spinning around a central core of flame. Their heads sat atop the living fire, glancing left and right, looking for threats.

  “There are no enemies here, my children,” Herobrine said. “But come forward and let me take you to the Overworld. There’s an entire village of NPCs just waiting to meet you … and be destroyed.”

  The blazes wheezed, their mechanical-sounding breaths filling the air as they grew excited.

  “This way,” Herobrine said, then teleported to an outcropping of Nether crystal. “Come, fly to me, my friends.”

  The glowing creatures spun their blaze rods faster, causing them to float higher into the air. They drifted up to the Maker, their dark eyes filled with excitement at the prospect of destroying an entire village. As they neared, Herobrine teleported again, moving closer to the portal that would take them back to the Overworld. He did this again and again until he led his new creations to the sparkling purple gateway.

  “Follow me through the portal,” Herobrine said, then stepped into the shimmering field.

  Instantly, his vision became a wavering lavender mess, the image of a netherrack cliff undulating back and forth. But quickly it was replaced with the curving images of oak trees. Striding forward, Herobrine moved out of the portal and stepped aside, waiting for his new pets. One at a time, the blazes floated out of the magical doorway and moved into the clearing. The other monsters moved back, unsure what these creatures of flame would do.

  “Be at ease, for these new monsters are friends,” Herobrine said in a loud and clear voice. “They are here to help the creepers fulfill their destiny.”

  Gradually, all the blazes came through the portal. Herobrine counted twenty-four of them in total. If he needed more, he could just return to the nether and make more, he thought.

  One of the blazes moved to Herobrine’s side. It was the first one he created.

  “Maker, what do you want of us?” the creature of smoke and flame wheezed.

  “You are to light the fuse,” Herobrine said in a low voice.

  The Maker pointed to the creeper who hadn’t understood his command to detonate, then gestured to the oak tree. The monster seemed to understand the command, and he scurried to the side of the oak tree, his tiny pig-like feet a blur.

  Herobrine smiled, then nodded his head toward the blaze.

  “Light the creeper,” the Maker commanded.

  The blaze did not hesitate. A fireball formed between its spinning blaze rods, then shot toward the creeper like a flaming bullet. It struck the mottled green and black creature in the chest, instantly starting its ignition process. A hissing sound filled the forest as the monster began to glow bright and swell. The creeper seemed confused, not sure what to do, but in a few seconds it no longer mattered. The monster exploded, destroying the tree and carving a crater in the ground around it three blocks deep.

  “Now that’s what I like!” Herobrine yelled.

  The blaze beamed with pride at his accomplishment, then cast his fiery gaze on the other creepers. The child-like creatures stared up at Herobrine with innocent eyes, oblivious to their fate.

  “I think it is time to pay the village another visit,” Herobrine said. “But this time, it will be a special visit, with just a few of you. We will see how proud these villagers are of their newly constructed walls after they meet my creepers and blazes. And when you are done with them, I will have another little surprise in store for those fools.”

  He then chuckled, the maniacal laugh echoing through the forest and making the trees want to bend and lean away from the evil sound.

  CHAPTER 14

  CREEPERS AND BLAZES

  Gameknight admired the amount of work the diggers had been able to do in such a short time. The crafting chamber looked like it had the first time he’d met Crafter, minus the minecart tracks—that was next. Weaver and some of the other young NPCs stood near him, all of them gobbling up his praise as if it were candy.

  “The circular room above looks fantastic,” Gameknight said. “And these steps down to the floor of the crafting chamber are spectacular.”

  Weaver and the others beamed.

  The kids had put in a wide set of steps at the opening to the cavern. They sloped downward, following the wall of the massive cave, and curved down to the center of the floor. Crafting benches dotted the chamber, with chests placed along the walls. Each chest had a sign on it, signifying what was stored within: arrows for one, iron swords for another, leather armor and bows in another. Gameknight had convinced Smithy that they should begin crafting the tools of war, and everyone not on guard duty was either in the chamber, crafting, or in the mines looking for iron and coal and diamond.

  Closing his eyes for a moment, Gameknight listened to all the activity. It sounded just like Crafter’s chamber, with the constant clatter of tools creating a continuously clanking buzz that was, for some reason, comforting. For the first time, Gameknight999 felt as if he were home.

  “What should we work on next?” Weaver asked. “The tunnels for the minecarts?”

  “Exactly,” the User-that-is-not-a-user replied. “We need a tunnel that heads straight to the closest village. Use all the iron not being used to make swords for the minecart tracks. In no time, you’ll have a network that will connect all the villages together. After that we can—”

  “Everyone, come to the surface … quick!” an NPC suddenly shouted from the top of the curving stairs.

  Gameknight glanced up at t
he villager, but the NPC had already turned and left, the iron door slowly closing behind him.

  “Come on,” Gameknight said to the kids.

  He dashed up the steps, then burst through the iron doors. In seconds, he had shot through the round meeting chamber and was heading down the long tunnel. At the end of the dark passage, Gameknight could see a single torch illuminating a ladder that disappeared upward into a vertical shaft.

  When he reached the ladder, he began to climb. The User-that-is-not-a-user could hear the sounds of villagers below him, all of them climbing as fast as they could. As he moved, rung after rung, Gameknight thought about all the times he’d followed this path in the old Minecraft … well, the future Minecraft. He missed those days. Gameknight had felt like a member of a community there, but here, in this time, he still felt like an outsider. Would it ever feel different?

  He snapped out of his self-pity when he reached the top of the ladder. The vertical passage opened into the cobblestone watchtower, emerging from the far corner in the floor. Gameknight streaked across the room and burst through the door, racing across the courtyard and climbing the steps that led to the top of the fortified wall.

  Surveying their surroundings, Gameknight found the sun rising over the eastern horizon. A rich orange glow stretched across the skyline as the sun marched its way up into the sky, the sparkling night sky slowly dissolving into a deep blue.

  “Nice of you to finally make it,” Fencer said, an accusatory tone in his voice.

  “I was down in the crafting chamber, helping to—”

  “Whatever,” Fencer interrupted. “Just be quiet and look.”

  Out in the dark forest, a strange flickering glow moved between the trees. It seemed like the light of a fire, but no flames were visible climbing up any of the trees. Instead, it was as if the fire was walking through the forest, like it was out for an evening stroll.

  “How can fire move through the forest like that?” Smithy asked aloud. “Is this another of Herobrine’s tricks?”

  Villagers blurted out their theories, but none of them made any sense. As they argued, Gameknight sighed. He knew exactly what it was.