The Great Zombie Invasion

by Mark Cheverton

  “Archers, to the top of the walls, and fire upon the monsters in the desert,” Smithy ordered. “Swordsmen, keep the spiders back.”

  The army divided into two pieces, which was never a good idea in battle. But they had no choice. The zombies were scratching at the blocks of dirt and wood and stone that made up their defensive wall, and some of the blocks were beginning to show cracks. If they didn’t push the monsters back, they would eventually break through, and then it would be all over for the villagers.

  Gameknight ran to the top of the fortified wall, scooping up a bow and stack of arrows off the ground, the remnants of a fallen villager. He bolted to Smithy’s side and fired down at the monsters, shooting the zombies at point-blank range. Their howls of anger and pain filled the passage.

  Pushing through the snarling zombies was a small group of creepers.

  “Smithy, shoot the creepers,” Gameknight said. “Fire three quick shots, then go to the next target.”

  He fired a trio of arrows, then moved on, the blacksmith doing the same. Their arrows were like a barbed wave, crashing on the mottled green creatures. They fell one after another.

  “If those creepers had reached the walls, we would have been in trouble,” Gameknight said.

  Smithy turned to the User-that-is-not-a-user and nodded, worry filling his eyes.

  “Don’t worry, we can do this,” Gameknight said as he fired down upon a zombie, then shot three arrows at a skeleton.

  “But look at all the monsters,” Smithy said. “What can villagers do against such reckless hate?”

  “We can fight, and we can keep fighting,” Gameknight said. “If we give up, then we guarantee the outcome, but if we keep trying, then there is still hope.”

  “Hope … yes, hope,” Smithy said. “We must have hope.”

  He turned and looked down at his warriors. They were battling one on one with spiders as zombies scratched at their barricade with razor-sharp claws. The archers poured their arrows down upon the monsters, but the pointed shafts were not doing enough damage.

  “We must stop the spiders!” Smithy yelled. “Archers, train your arrows on the spiders. Our backs must be safe.”

  “I’ll go down there and help,” Gameknight said.

  He clasped Smithy’s arm, then ran down the steps and leapt onto the back of a spider, just as an arrow struck it.

  “Destroy the spiders!” Smithy yelled. “You can do it! FOR MINECRAFT!”

  The villagers below cheered, knowing that Smithy had faith in them. They attacked with newfound courage. Villagers pushed the fuzzy monsters back, tearing into their bulbous bodies with their blades. All attention was fixed on the battle with the spiders, and the zombies outside the walls were momentarily ignored.

  Suddenly, arrows streaked down from the walls of the pass. Gameknight glanced up and saw spider jockeys, skeletons riding on the backs of the spiders. The pale monsters were firing their arrows down upon the villagers while their spidery mounts slowly scaled the steep walls. Arrows fell all around him as the jockeys approached. Gameknight moved to the left and right, making himself hard to hit. But then he noticed the arrows were no longer heading toward him. Instead, they were all aimed at the top of the fortified wall … at Smithy. The monsters were trying to take out their leader!

  Gameknight sprinted toward Smithy, but the blacksmith was oblivious of his danger. He was about to yell and warn their leader, but suddenly a storm of arrows fell upon Smithy, slicing into his armor and piercing his body. He fell from the stone wall and landed on the ground, flashing red as he took severe damage.

  In the commotion, no one noticed other than Gameknight and Fencer. Both rushed to the blacksmith’s side. Kneeling, the User-that-is-not-a-user carefully lifted Smithy’s head and cradled it on his lap.

  “Smithy, are you OK?” Gameknight asked, but he knew the answer just by looking at his friend.

  Reaching up, the blacksmith pulled off his metal helmet and held it against his chest.

  “I think this is … is my last battle,” Smithy said, struggling for breath.

  “You can’t die,” Fencer said. “I wish it were me, not you. We need a leader or we’re done. Without you, we don’t stand a chance.”

  Smithy looked up at Fencer, then brought his steel-blue eyes to Gameknight999. Slowly, he extended his helmet to the User-that-is-not-a-user. Gameknight took the helmet, confused. The blacksmith then reached down and unbuckled his belt. He held it out to the user, his blacksmith’s hammer dangling from the end.

  “You,” Smithy said, then was raked with a series of coughs.

  “What?” Gameknight asked.

  “Continue the fight,” the dying blacksmith rasped. “They will follow you, if you are true to—”

  And then he disappeared, the items in his inventory falling to the ground.

  Gameknight couldn’t believe it … Smithy was gone. How could this be? He reached up and wiped away tears from his eyes, then stared up at Fencer. The NPC was also weeping, not just for Smithy, but also for all the NPCs that would likely be destroyed. He looked hopeless.

  Gameknight stared at the helmet and hammer in his hands. They were Smithy’s, his sign of rank … no, a sign of the respect he had for everyone and the esteem all the villagers held for their leader. The User-that-is-not-a-user thought about all the stories he’d heard from Crafter and Digger and Hunter. He didn’t understand.

  There were countless things the famous blacksmith still had to do … he couldn’t be dead. If he died now, how would his legacy and stories of his bravery and courage be passed down through the generations of Minecraft? How would Crafter have ever told him about Smithy Two-Swords?

  And then he realized what Smithy meant.

  “He wanted you to lead,” Fencer said. “As insane as that is, it was his dying wish.”

  “What?” Gameknight said, confused. “I can’t lead them. They need Smithy, not me.”

  “You don’t get it, do you?” Fencer said, exasperated. “Users are so dense sometimes. Of course you can’t lead them; only Smithy can lead them.”

  “What are you talking about then?” Gameknight asked.

  With a frustrated growl, Fencer took the helmet from Gameknight’s hands, then put it on his square head. He then reached down and grabbed Smithy’s dark brown, leather armor and shoved it into the User-that-is-not-a-user’s hands.

  “I can’t … pretend to be him,” Gameknight whispered.

  “If you don’t, then we’ll all be destroyed,” Fencer said. “Look around you. All these villagers need Smithy, and if you don’t do it, then we’re done.”

  Gameknight sighed. He knew Fencer was right, but everything about this felt wrong. Impersonating someone else. Taking all their fame and accomplishments … it felt like a lie, but what choice did he have?

  “My brother died just like this … in my arms,” Fencer said. “But just before he went, Farmer said something to me that I never understood … until now.”

  “What did he say?” Gameknight asked, his voice almost a whisper.

  “He said, ‘Don’t be filled with hate. Instead, know when to put aside anger and distrust, and do what must be done for the good of others. Only by helping others can we ever be complete.’ And then he disappeared, forever.” Fencer stared into Gameknight’s eyes. “It’s time for me to put aside my anger and distrust, and for you to do what must be done, for everyone’s sake. No one will know about this lie other than you and me. But if we don’t do this, than everyone around us will perish.”

  Gameknight glanced around at the villagers struggling with spiders or shooting at zombies or dodging skeleton arrows. There was pain and suffering all around, and he could see the doubt and sadness on everyone’s faces. If they lost their will to fight, then it was over. He had to do this whether he liked it or not.

  The User-that-is-not-a-user sighed as he removed his red leather armor and replaced it with Smithy’s dark brown. With a flick of his wrist, he wrapped the belt around his waist and buckl
ed it. The hammer felt heavy on his hip, heavy with responsibility.

  Slowly he stood and looked at Fencer.

  “You and I are the only ones that know what happened here,” Fencer said. “Look around, everyone is fighting, no one is watching. You must become Smithy and continue the fight.”

  “It seems wrong,” Gameknight said.

  But he knew he had no choice.

  “OK, let’s do this,” the User-that-is-not-a-user finally agreed. “Hand me Smithy’s sword, I have a little trick to show everyone.”

  Fencer reached down and picked up the blacksmith’s sword. Confusion covered his face.

  “I know,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said, “I already have a sword, just give it to me.”

  Fencer handed Gameknight the sword as he moved his other to his left hand. He reached out and took it in his right. And finally, with two swords in his hands, Gameknight999 felt at home.

  He glanced over his shoulder. Most of the spiders had been destroyed, but the monsters had done their job, delaying the NPCs so they could not escape. Now the full weight of Herobrine’s army was crashing down upon their fortified wall. Blocks were cracking everywhere as the monsters pounded on the stone, and the defenders’ arrows were too few to slow them.

  A rage built up within Gameknight999. He was like a volcano of anger about to erupt.

  Herobrine has done this so many times, and he is doing it again! he thought. No more … no more!

  “NO MORE!” Gameknight screamed in a gravely voice, trying to sound commanding and strong like Smithy.

  The NPCs stared down at him, shocked. The ferocity of his voice actually caused the monsters to cease their attack for a moment. Many villagers began to whisper to each other as they noticed the two swords he was wielding.

  “If we don’t stop these monsters, here and now, they will destroy every villager and NPC all throughout Minecraft,” Gameknight said. “It is time they are exterminated, here and now.”

  “We must retreat,” someone yelled.

  “NO!” Gameknight snapped. “I refuse to retreat.”

  He reached down with a sword and scratched a line in the ground.

  “The line must be drawn, here!” the User-that-is-not-a-user shouted. “We will step back no farther. The people behind us have put their lives in our hands, and we will not let them down. Everyone has a right to live their lives, and those that seek to destroy others must be stopped. We will not retreat. It is time to attack.”

  He glared at all the warriors that stood around him. The nosepiece of the helmet hid his small nose and obscured his vision a little, but Gameknight didn’t care. He was fully lost to his battle fury and wanted nothing more than to stop the monsters on the other side of that barricade.

  “Open the wall,” Gameknight said.

  Some of the NPCs were surprised when they heard his words.

  “I said OPEN THE WALLS!” Gameknight screamed at the top of his lungs. “SMITHY OF THE TWO SWORDS IS READY TO ATTACK!”

  A cheer rose up from the NPCs the like of which had never been heard before. It made the monsters take a step back, unsure what was happening.

  Fencer ran to the wall and broke two blocks of stone with a pickaxe, then stepped back. Gameknight stared at the opening for a moment, then charged forward, yelling as loud as he could.

  “FOR MINECRAFT!”

  CHAPTER 26

  TWO-SWORD PASS

  Gameknight charged through the opening in the wall, yelling at the top of his lungs.

  “FOR MINECRAFT!” he screamed.

  Then he heard Fencer directly behind him, yelling as well. The two warriors stopped on the other side of the fortified wall and stood before the massive army of monsters. For a moment, Gameknight wondered if the army would attack. Instead, they took a step back as the blocks to the wall shattered and the rest of the NPC army poured through the defenses.

  They smashed into the monsters, swords slashing and arrows piercing. The archers on the platforms fired as fast as they could while the warriors pushed forward.

  An angry, guttural roar sounded from the back of the monster army. The zombie king shoved through his warriors and charged toward the battle line. Gameknight saw him coming and ran toward the hulking monster.

  “So the blacksmith decided to come out and show some courage,” Vo-Lok growled. “Surprising.”

  “We have a few more surprises in store for you, still,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said with a smile.

  The zombie appeared confused, but before he could say anything, Gameknight attacked. He slashed at the monster with his iron swords, crashing into the creature’s golden armor. The zombie swung his massive broadsword at his attacker, but Gameknight ducked and slashed at the monster’s legs. Spinning as he stood, he sliced at the monster’s side while blocking Vo-Lok’s golden blade. He scored hit after hit on the monster, slowly chipping away at the golden armor. The zombie king followed with a mighty swing, the golden sword aimed at his head. Gameknight ducked just in time, the blade landing a glancing blow against his iron helmet. If he hadn’t had that helmet, it might have been bad. Instead, the blow caused the helmet to ring like a gong.

  Gameknight stepped back for a moment and shook his head. Around him, the battle raged with an intensity never before seen in Minecraft. Villagers and monsters were locked in deadly combat. Swords slashed at zombies and zombie claws slashed at leather armor, both finding soft flesh.

  Suddenly, another cheer rang out off to the right. It was joined by a cheer from the main force. The other half of the army had arrived and was attacking the monster army’s flank. Zombies and skeletons moved off the front line to face this new threat.

  The NPCs had used ladders to scale the mountain range and had come down behind the monster horde. Now they were attacking the violent horde from the side, and the zombie king actually seemed worried.

  “Everyone forward,” Gameknight said. “Smithy of the Two Swords needs some zombie flesh!”

  The villagers laughed as they attacked with renewed strength, pushing the monsters back while at the same time the other half of their forces were carving their way in from the right flank.

  Suddenly, a huge group of creepers charged forward, hoping to detonate themselves amid the NPCs.

  “Attack the creepers, don’t let them detonate,” Gameknight said.

  The blazes began launching their fireballs at the creepers, but Weaver dashed forward and threw a bucket of water amid the creepers. He darted away before the monsters could be ignited. The water quelled the flames from the blazes, leaving the mottled green creatures helpless under the blades of the NPCs. They fell in a wave of iron blades and flint-tipped arrows, leaving behind piles of gunpowder and glowing balls of XP. Vo-Lok saw this, then glanced to the newly arrived force. A flicker of fear covered his hideous scarred face for just an instant. He took a few steps back to consider his tactics.

  “Weaver, good work with the water,” Gameknight said as he surveyed the scene. “Now get the gunpowder and bring it to me. I think we’ll be needing it.”

  “But that stuff is useless,” the young boy said.

  “Trust me,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said with a knowing smile.

  Weaver shrugged, then ran and retrieved the powder.

  The villagers then turned their attention back to the main force of monsters. They pushed forward until they linked up with the NPCs on the flank, driving the monsters into the desert.

  “Retreat!” Vo-Lok yelled, his voice booming across the desert. “Monsters, retreat!”

  The zombies, skeletons, and spiders fell back, running away from the NPCs.

  “We did it!” one of the NPCs yelled. “We took the pass and defeated the monster army!”

  “We’ll call this Two-Sword Pass,” said another as other villagers nodded in agreement.

  “We aren’t done yet,” Gameknight said. “We must pursue that monster army and destroy it, or they will be back again.” He scanned the sea of celebrating faces until he fou
nd the one he needed. “Fencer, is there anyone that knows this desert well?”

  “Umm …” Fencer said.

  “We have someone,” Woodcutter, the leader from the savannah village, said. “Mapper, where’s Mapper?”

  “Here,” said a scratchy voice.

  An aged villager pushed through the crowd until he stood before the leader. He had short black and gray hair and wore a gray smock with a white stripe. In one hand was a piece of paper, and in another was a quill. Gameknight could see he was already drawing a map depicting the battle that had just occurred.

  “Do you know the Great Northern Desert?” the User-that-is-not-a-user asked.

  “Of course,” the NPC replied. “I’ve mapped it many times.”

  “Is there a place where we can drive the monsters to and trap them?”

  “Yes, there is a line of steep hills that form a curved shape,” Mapper replied. “If we drive them into those hills, they can be trapped there.”

  “Perfect, that’s what we’re going to do,” Gameknight said in a loud voice. “Everyone takes directions from Mapper here. We are going to herd us some monsters.”

  CHAPTER 27

  CHASE THROUGH THE DESERT

  “Hurry,” Gameknight said to the villagers. “I want to drive the monsters to those hills in the desert before sunset. Tonight is going to be really dark; it’ll be a new moon and we won’t be able to see very well. They could escape in the darkness and just disappear into the desert. We must catch them before nightfall.”

  “Then let’s go,” Woodcutter said.

  “Come on, everyone,” Gameknight said.

  “Smithy!” someone shouted, then banged their sword against their armored chest. The rest of the warriors repeated the gesture.

  Gameknight smiled, but he felt a tinge of guilt. If the villagers ever learn I’m not Smithy, they will be crushed, the User-that-is-not-a-user thought. Now he understood what the creeper king meant when they had snuck into the creeper hive to get gunpowder. It felt so long ago, and yet it was still in the distant future.

  The creeper king had said that he’d expose Gameknight’s secret if he ever returned to the creeper hive. Now his comment made sense. Oxus, the king of the creepers knew he had taken Smithy’s place somehow … time travel was a little perplexing sometimes.