The Endermen Invasion

by Winter Morgan

  “I can’t see you, Max,” said Lucy.

  Max took out shears from his inventory and started to cut the leaves, making a path for the group. They followed Max toward the temple.

  The jungle temple was made of mossy cobblestone and the gang marveled as they entered the three-story building.

  “Watch out for traps,” Henry warned them.

  They kept their eyes out for any traps or hostile mobs that could be lurking in the temple.

  “Treasure is usually on the bottom floor,” Lucy pointed out. She led the group.

  “Watch out!” Kyra screamed as Lucy almost stepped on a trap door.

  “Thanks, Kyra!” said Lucy.

  The group walked slowly, watching each step down the stairs to the treasure.

  “You can’t just take the treasure,” Max told the group. “You have to solve the puzzle first.”

  The room that held the treasure chest had three levers that connected to sticky pistons.

  “Which lever should we push?” asked Steve.

  Click! Clang! Sounds of creaking bones came from the hall.

  “Oh no!” Kyra exclaimed. “There are skeletons.”

  “Does anybody have a torch?” asked Max.

  “No, we’re going to have to fight them. Nobody is going to stop me from getting this treasure,” Henry told them.

  Henry took out his bow and arrow, and Max grabbed his diamond sword. A skeleton crept past the door, and Max leapt toward it with his sword out. As Max struck the skeleton, Henry shot an arrow with his bow and they defeated the hostile mob in this manner.

  The group gathered by the treasure chest. “Are there any clues on how to solve this puzzle?” asked Kyra as she stared at the levers.

  Steve was afraid of choosing a lever to pull. What if he chose the wrong lever and it set off a TNT explosion? They’d all be destroyed. Steve was annoyed that they found the temple; he wanted to be farther along on their trip to the contest. Treasure hunting wasn’t a part of the plan. He had a contest to prepare for. But right now he stood in front of three levers, and if he pulled the correct one, he would be rewarded with countless treasures. But, if chose the wrong one, he’d be destroyed.

  Kyra accidentally stepped on the tripwire in the middle of the room and two arrows shot through the air. The gang narrowly avoided being hit by the arrows.

  “Is everyone okay?” Steve asked once the arrows stopped flying at them.

  “I’m sorry,” apologized Kyra.

  “It’s okay. It’s hard to avoid the tripwire. We’re treasure hunters, so we’ve been through this a bunch of times,” Henry told her.

  “Which lever should we pull?” asked Steve.

  Henry took out his pickaxe. “We don’t need to pull any levers.” With a wallop Henry banged his pickaxe against the wall. “We can break down the wall and get to the treasure chest.”

  “Or we can just pull this lever.” Lucy confidently pulled the middle lever; the chest emerged from the hole in the ground.

  Kyra was impressed. “How did you do that?”

  “Instinct,” said Lucy. She carefully opened the chest to reveal a box filled with gold, emeralds, enchanted books, and . . .

  “Yuck!” Max said. There was rotten flesh in the chest.

  “At least there are treasures in the chest. Let’s just avoid the rotten flesh,” said Henry.

  The group divided their fortune.

  “We can use these emeralds to trade with Eliot the blacksmith when we get back home,” remarked Steve.

  “These enchanted books will come in handy when we need to enchant a sword,” said Kyra.

  “Shhh!” Lucy hissed. “Do you hear something?”

  There were voices coming from above. Somebody else was in the temple, and the gang had to make their escape before they were forced to battle them for their treasure.

  “How can we get out of here?” asked Kyra.

  “We can make a hole in the wall and get out through there,” suggested Max. He took out his pickaxe and started to break down the wall. The others began to join him. They heard footsteps growing closer.

  They tried to get to the other side of the wall, but it was too late. A man in a black helmet stood at the door; he pointed a bow and arrow at them.

  “I’m the master treasure hunter. Hand over the treasure,” shouted the helmeted man.

  “Never!” Henry screamed and grabbed his gold sword.

  Steve took out his diamond sword and tried to reason with the man. “Don’t try to fight us. There are five of us—you’ll never win.”

  “Who said I was alone?” replied the man in the helmet.

  4

  ALMOST THERE

  They didn’t know if this stranger in the black helmet was bluffing, and they weren’t going to wait around to find out. Steve charged at the man with his diamond sword and stopped him from shooting any of his friends with a bow and arrow.

  Four men armed with swords and wearing black helmets emerged from the hall.

  “Get them!” Lucy screamed at her friends.

  Steve tried to strike the helmeted man, but he sprinted away. Steve caught up to him and held the sword near the man’s chest.

  “We don’t want to fight,” Steve told him. “Let us leave with the treasure.”

  “Never!” the man replied. One of the man’s friends lunged at Steve with a gold sword.

  Max used his bow and arrow to stop the man with the gold sword.

  Clang! The room was filled with the sounds of a sword battle. Henry fought another helmeted man with a gold sword. Lucy took out her bow and arrow and shot an arrow at the man Henry was battling. It struck the man and destroyed him.

  “Whoa!” exclaimed Henry. “That was close! I could have been killed by your arrow Lucy.”

  “But you weren’t,” Lucy replied as she rushed to help Max and Kyra battle the other sinister hunters.

  It was a challenging battle. His enemy was smart and fast, easily missing Steve’s strikes. The fight was using a lot of Steve’s energy bar, and he needed help.

  “I’m so strong I can fight you without a weapon,” the evil man in the helmet declared to Steve. “And I’m going to get that treasure. You’ll never get out of here alive.”

  “Yes we will!” Steve took a deep breath, and with all his might he hit the treasure hunter with his beloved diamond sword and defeated the man.

  “Help us!” Henry called as he and Max battled another treasure hunter. But the treasure hunter was distracted by his leader’s demise and Henry was able to destroy the robber.

  There were two men left now. One took out a bow and arrow.

  “I have a plan!” Lucy told the group. “Sprint to the hole in the wall!”

  The gang dashed toward the wall as the two men followed closely behind. When Lucy saw her friends were making their way to the other side of the wall, she quickly ran to the levers and pulled one and ran as fast as she could.

  Boom! TNT exploded and the entire room was destroyed.

  “Lucy,” Max called out through the smoke. “Are you okay? Did you make it?”

  “Yes, I’m here,” she replied.

  The group made their way through the ashes and climbed up to the first floor of the temple.

  “We need to get out of here!” Max told the group as they tried to find an exit.

  “I hear more voices,” said Kyra.

  “This place is overrun with treasure hunters,” exclaimed Henry.

  Hurrying through the first floor, Steve spotted another treasure hunter with a green helmet.

  The treasure hunter took out a bow and arrow.

  “Stop!” Steve shouted, “There’s no treasure here and no reason to fight us. The treasure was blown up by TNT. And we have nothing for you to steal.”

  “You’re an awful treasure hunter. Anybody would know how to solve the puzzle and get the treasure,” the green helmeted treasure hunter remarked as he grabbed his sword and lunged toward Steve.

  “Okay, we’re bad,�
� replied Steve as he shielded himself from the impact of the sword and struck the treasure hunter, destroying him.

  The gang found the exit and headed toward it.

  Kyra was shocked. “Wow, Steve, you lied!”

  Henry was impressed. “And dude, you destroyed him!”

  “I didn’t want to fight him,” explained Steve.

  “I know, but that isn’t like you at all,” said Kyra.

  “Sometimes you have to fight to defend yourself and tell a white lie in order to get out of a bad situation,” said Steve, defensively.

  “Well, now I don’t know if I should trust you, my friend,” Henry joked.

  The group couldn’t tease Steve about his white lie anymore; a green-eyed wild ocelot was charging toward them and distracted them.

  “Does anybody have fish?” asked Steve.

  Lucy grabbed some fish from her inventory, offering it to the wild spotted ocelot. It ate the fish, and its fur turned black with white paws.

  “Aw,” Lucy said as the ocelot ate the fish, “it’s tame now. I finally have a pet.”

  “Treasure hunters can’t have pets,” Henry reminded her. “We live a life on the road.”

  “Should we take it with us and bring it home to Snuggles?” suggested Steve.

  The group didn’t know what to do with the tame ocelot.

  “I’m going to name it,” Lucy said as the ocelot purred. “I’m naming it Jasmine.”

  Steve knew Lucy had grown fond of that cat. And he also knew that if they didn’t get to the water soon, they’d miss the contest. “Lucy, let’s take it with us. And I’ll keep it on the farm.”

  As the group walked toward the water with their new pet, Max looked at the map. “I think the quickest way to get to the water is by burning down a section of the jungle. It will take us forever to make it through these trees, but if we burn down some trees, we’ll have a flat patch to walk on.”

  The group agreed, so Steve crafted flint and steel to make fire. They watched the green trees turn red as fire spread through the jungle until there was a path toward the water.

  Steve looked out at the vibrant blue water. He couldn’t see an island in the distance; it looked as if it went on forever.

  “Are you sure this is the right way, Max?” asked Steve. He was nervous they’d get on a boat and be stuck at sea.

  “Yes,” said Max reassuringly, “we just need some boats.”

  Kyra began to craft boats for each of her friends.

  “I want a pirate ship,” requested Max.

  “I want a cruise ship,” Lucy called out.

  “We don’t have time for Kyra to make anything that fancy,” Steve reminded the group.

  “Don’t worry guys, I have a bunch of great ideas. You’ll get the boats you want.”

  Kyra worked hard on the boats while Lucy hunted for chickens and cooked for the group before they set off on their journey at sea.

  Kyra came over to get a piece of chicken. “I want Max to see his boat,” she said.

  It was a small wooden pirate ship.

  Max tried to talk like a pirate. “Ahoy, matey!” he said. “Thanks, Kyra! I love it!”

  Kyra made a small cruise ship for Lucy and matching sailboats for Henry and Steve. She had a small rowboat for herself.

  Kyra was excited. “I used command blocks so the boats can move. Let’s take a voyage on the high seas!”

  “Next stop, Mushroom Island!” announced Lucy. She said goodbye to Jasmine, knowing that the ocelot would teleport once she got to Mushroom Island and that they would be reunited.

  Steve looked out at the water from his sailboat. “It’s so beautiful here,” he said.

  Boom! A loud noise instantly disrupted their tranquil voyage.

  “Did you hear that?” asked Henry.

  “It’s thunder!” Steve shouted. He grasped the mast tightly as water flooded the floor of his boat.

  “Hold on!” yelled Kyra.

  But that was easier said than done when sailing on stormy seas.

  5

  GETTING TO MUSHROOM ISLAND

  Rain and seawater flooded the boats.

  “We’re going to sink!” Lucy called out in terror.

  “Don’t worry, we’re going to be okay if we just hold on.” Kyra knew her boats were well constructed and could withstand a fierce storm.

  Lightning flashed across the sky. Steve was scared. “I don’t want to be struck.”

  “Nobody does!” Kyra replied. “Just hold tight. It will pass. I can see the sun.”

  Steve and the gang didn’t believe Kyra. And Steve wasn’t sure Kyra even believed herself. But they held on as their boats were battered by the storm and their bodies were showered with rain.

  Steve was cold and wet. He wished he were already on Mushroom Island and building his dream house for the contest. As Steve was almost thrown off his boat, he distracted himself with thoughts of the home he would build. It would be extremely waterproof and would be a place where you’d love to take shelter in a storm. His home would be a place everybody would love. He’d make large windows to show off the stunning ocean views from Mushroom Island. Of course, first he had to get there. And as another lightning bolt lit up the night sky, he wondered if he’d ever make it.

  “Oh no! The lightning stuck my command block,” said Lucy. “My boat isn’t working.”

  “Jump aboard my boat,” said Henry as he navigated his sailboat toward Lucy’s little cruise ship.

  Lucy almost fell into the water as she carefully hopped onto Henry’s boat, but Henry held out his hand to steady her. “Thanks, Henry,” she said.

  Finally the rain stopped, the water became calm, and there wasn’t any thunder or lightning to distract them.

  “I told you I saw sun,” said Kyra.

  “I feel bad that the cruise ship was damaged,” Lucy said to Kyra.

  “It’s only a boat. You’re my friend. You’re a lot more important. I can always craft another boat, but I can’t make another you,” replied Kyra

  The sun was strong as the group sailed toward Mushroom Island.

  Steve was both excited and nervous. “I can’t believe we’re almost there!”

  “Do you have an idea of what you’re going to build?” asked Max.

  “Yes, I hope the judges like it,” said Steve anxiously.

  “They will,” said Henry reassuringly.

  “I think that storm took away a lot of my energy,” said Steve. “I need to eat before we get to Mushroom Island or I won’t be able to make a good house.”

  “We should fish!” said Kyra. “When it rains, it creates a lot of fish. Let’s do it now.”

  “I’ve never fished before,” confessed Steve. “I have no idea how to do it. I never crafted a fishing rod.”

  Kyra loved being at sea and had fished many times. “I’ll help you,” she said.

  With Kyra’s help, the group crafted rods and waited for the fish to bite. Within seconds, Steve had a fish on his rod.

  “Get it quick!” said Kyra. “If not, it will jump off.”

  “I got one too!” Lucy shouted and reeled the fish in.

  “I got salmon!” Max told them. “Yummy!”

  “I just reeled in a clownfish!” Henry boasted.

  “I didn’t get a fish,” said Kyra.

  “That’s too bad,” said Henry.

  “Don’t feel bad for me.” Kyra revealed what she had caught on her fishing rod. It was treasure.

  “You found treasure!” Lucy beamed.

  Kyra showed them. “Yes, an enchanted book.”

  “Lucky!” said Lucy.

  “Look!” said Steve. “I can make out the tip of Mushroom Island.”

  Keeping their boats very close together, the group sailed slowly toward the island. They stood at the edge of their boats and looked out at the island in the distance.

  “I can see other boats docked there,” remarked Kyra.

  Steve knew those boats were for the other contestants. He was nervous
to meet them, but there was no turning back. Their boats were on course to arrive at the island in a short while. Soon he’d be docking next to a group of people who were also expert builders.

  The seas remained calm but Steve wasn’t. He surveyed the island. They were getting closer, and his stomach felt like there were butterflies flying around in it. This was his first contest. He’d never been invited to participate in anything before. Steve took a deep breath and felt the sun on his face; he told himself that he’d do the best job he could and wouldn’t be distracted by the judges or the other contestants.

  “We’re almost there!” Lucy called out. The shore was visible.

  Max pointed at something in the distance. “Look at those large red mushrooms! You can see them from all the way over here.”

  “Wow. They’re so cool!” said Steve. He used to be scared of new things and seldom left his wheat farm, but now he was looking at mushrooms that were taller than him growing on the lush landscape of the island.

  They were just a few feet from the dock. Kyra’s boat was the first in their line of ships. “Let me dock and I’ll help you guys,” said Kyra.

  Kyra hopped onto the dock. “The boats will be fine here.”

  “What nice boats. They’re certainly unique,” a woman dressed in purple told Kyra.

  “Thanks!” replied Kyra.

  “Are you a contestant in the building competition?” asked the woman in purple.

  “No, I’m here for my friend Steve. Are you in the competition?” asked Kyra.

  “My name is Lexie. I’m a judge.”

  Steve, Max, Lucy, and Henry walked onto the dock.

  “Steve, this is Lexie. She’s one of the judges for the contest.”

  Steve was nervous. He didn’t want to do anything wrong; he wanted the judges to like him. “Nice to meet you, Lexie.”

  “I can’t wait to see what you build, Steve,” said Lexie. “And Kyra, these boats are so fantastic. I might hire you to build one for my trip home.”

  They were on land, the storm was over, and it seemed as if everything was going to be okay.

  Vroom! Steve turned around to see a fast boat approaching the dock. Bang! It crashed into Steve’s rowboat.

  “You hit my boat!” Steve called out.

  A guy dressed in blue got out of the boat. “My name is Joshua. I’m just here to help my friend Caleb. Sorry about your boat.” Although he apologized, Steve felt like Joshua didn’t actually care about what he had done.