“Hey girl!” I cried out. I couldn’t believe that she’d made it, and that she’d managed to find her way back to me. I wanted to throw my arms around her, but a witch darting into my line of sight pulled my attention back to the battle.
Esme and Anton looked back. Howl took on the same witch I was attacking, and together we killed it. There were only two more, and Esme and Anton were taking care of those.
“I’d high-five you if you had hands, or we could even touch hands, but this’ll have to do,” I told Howl, giving her a bone. “How’d you make it out, girl?”
She licked herself.
“Well okay then.”
Esme and Anton came back over, putting their swords away, and breathing heavily, as if it was real muscle work they were doing, and not just thinking about moving. But I got it. It was mostly the adrenaline that had us out of breath in here.
“You okay?” I asked tentatively.
“Yeah. Sorry about that, guys,” Esme said sheepishly. “I thought I’d gotten over most of this stuff.”
“Let’s just get out of here,” Anton said, “before they all respawn and we have to start over again.”
Esme and Anton knew that they had to swing around to the right of the swamp to get back to the desert stronghold. I followed along with Lonnie on the rope, and Howl beside me. Esme kept looking back, and then getting close to Anton, clearly saying things. I tried not to let it bother me. But it did. I was tired of feeling like the outsider.
“Hey, Esme?” I called out.
“What?” she asked, already sounding annoyed.
“So, like, should we talk about your spiders or something?” I said in my most nonchalant voice. “Like, if you talked through your problems with us, we won’t get mobbed as much?”
At this, I gestured to Lonnie and Anton.
“Oh, that’s rich, coming from you,” she scoffed.
“Es, be nice.” Anton had paused as well, and looked back and forth from me to Esme. I had the feeling that if he could have gotten his avatar to smirk, he would have. “I agree with Bianca. Just air it out already. It’s only going to get worse.”
Esme made a stabbing motion at Anton. “I’d like to air out my fist in your face.”
“For what it’s worth, you’re like a really great fighter,” I said. “I don’t think you have anything to be insecure about.”
That stopped Esme in her tracks.
“Um, thanks?” she asked, suspiciously, as if she wasn’t entirely sure I hadn’t meant it as an insult.
After a long silence, Esme sighed.
“Fine. I was just living my life,” she began. “Playing baseball, complaining about my siblings, and checking the bullies who messed with my squad. And then one day I started feeling sick, and I just wasn’t getting better, and then there was a blur of doctors, and my parents’ faces looked sadder and sadder. I would have to stay in the hospital for a day, or two days, or three. And then I would miss a whole week of school. Next thing I knew, I was practically living in a hospital, wishing my siblings were around to complain about or there was homework to distract me, or even a squad to stick up for.”
She sighed.
“I mean, I knew the chemo was always going to make my hair fall out. I’m not a dummy, I’ve seen all the pictures,” she began. “I just didn’t think it’d happen so slowly. Like clumps at a time.”
She paused as if she were struggling with her next words.
“It’s worse this way, you know? I’d rather just wake up with a bald head and have it over with.”
“Have you thought about getting a wig?” Anton suggested.
“Like an old lady?” Esme sounded unsure.
“It could be a cool color, like purple,” I said. “Imagine rocking purple hair in the ward. It’d just be like a Minecraft skin but in real life.”
“I guess I’ve never thought about it that way,” Esme said. “That’s kind of cool.”
I nodded, glad to be of help for once instead of a drag on the team.
“Speaking of looking cool, I need new armor,” Anton said. “Let’s go.”
He turned back to the path, and continued to his base. As soon as we got there, he started fiddling with the traps he had lining the path, and grunting again like he was in pain.
“You can make them again,” Esme said soothingly. “You like that anyway.”
We went into the house, and Esme got busy crafting arrows with all the sticks the witches had dropped. Esme and Anton were whispering with each other again.
“I really hate it when you two do that,” I said. “It’s irritating. If you’re thinking something, why not share it with everyone who’s here?”
“Meaning you,” Anton said.
“And Lonnie,” I said, as I deposited him into a corner of the room. Howl took up a position next to him.
“Right, Lonnie, who could turn on us at any second if it weren’t for that rope,” Anton said.
“Paranoid, much?”
“Paranoia is Anton’s M.O.,” Esme interjected. “Total paranoia.” She jerked her chin toward the traps outside of the house. “Who else does stuff like that?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “Sometimes it’s fun to set traps and demolish your friends’ stuff.”
Anton nodded enthusiastically.
Esme huffed. “No, that’s not it. Some kid had checked him on the court and it made him a little paranoid.”
Anton tilted his head. “First of all, no, I am not paranoid. Second of all, that was an illegal check and that kid should have gotten thrown out and the entire team disqualified for the whole season. They always play dirty. And third of all, that’s why I don’t trust anybody. Because nobody’s worth trusting.” He glared at Esme.
I whistled to cut the tension. “Sounds like somebody else needs to talk to the group.”
“He never wants to talk about this stuff,” Esme said. “That’s why he built all those traps, to deal with the mobs he spawns.”
“Can you not talk about me as if I’m not right here in front of both of your faces?” he shouted.
“Well, technically, neither of us are near each other,” I said.
Anton aimed his avatar’s face directly at me. If this was a different game and he had some kind of laser-beam eyes, I would be toast.
“We’re together virtually,” he said. “There isn’t anything wrong with me outside other than I need to rest up.”
Esme guffawed and Anton jerked away quickly. Clearly there was more to the story. I waited.
“He’s not fine out in real life,” Esme said. “He’s hiding out in here, so of course he’s thrilled to stay inside the game for as long as he can.”
“Hiding from what?” I asked.
“His parents. He doesn’t want to face them and tell them that he’s not interested in basketball anymore.”
“That’s just an added bonus,” he said. “I’m not hiding out.”
“And!” Esme continued, her voice pitching lower as she gossiped with me: “He’s also hiding from his girlfriend, who he’s sure is going to break up with him the moment he’s better.”
“Really?” I asked, amused.
“Really,” Esme said.
“Quit it, you two,” Anton said.
“Look, we’re all hiding out in one way or another,” I said. “Basketball, nausea, broken bones, whatever it is. We might as well just play through it all in here. All four of us will play through to the End.” I nodded firmly and moved next to Lonnie.
Esme turned slightly toward Anton, but seemed to catch herself before she looked him fully in the face. “I don’t think there’s anything we can do for him,” Esme said. “He’s been a lump in that corner since we got here.”
“He’s just going to slow us down,” Anton said.
“It’s better
to leave him here. He’ll be safe in the house, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Esme said. “And there’s a lot we have to do before we get to the End anyway. We can come back and get him.”
“Listen, I owe Lonnie,” I said. “He’s always been there for me, even when we were little kids. I can’t leave him behind now. That’s not how we do.”
Esme stepped forward. “Okay, I get it. But you have to be responsible for him the entire time. Okay?”
“Okay,” I said, glad to finally have convinced them to let Lonnie tag along.
“All right, if we’re going to play this thing, let’s play.”
“What’s the plan?” Esme asked.
I thought back to what Lonnie had been designing all those days before the accident. He was trying to make it to the End in five steps. If we started building his traps, maybe Lonnie would recognize them.
“We know what we need to do,” I said, trying to recall the designs. “We need to mine the supplies to make a run through the Nether, and then we need to make an end portal, go through, and kill the ender dragon. That’s it.”
“Okay, easier said than done,” Esme said. “We are low on supplies, we’re going to be dragging around a player who will need our protection, and who will be slowing us down at every moment.”
“The first part of the plan is we’re not splitting up,” Anton said. “I think we also need to get supplies for a group exit portal in everyone’s inventory.”
“We probably have enough blocks to make a basic portal, right?” Esme said.
“Right, but we should have extra materials on hand. We’ll also need diamonds to make weapons and armor,” Anton said. “But as long as we’ve been playing, I haven’t found many diamonds.”
“There are diamonds back at the hill,” I said. “We should start there. We’ll also need a diamond pickaxe for the Nether run.”
“Right, the Nether run,” Anton repeated, as if he still wasn’t convinced of my idea.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Esme said. “Before we go, let’s make all the weapons we can.”
“And get our health and food points back up to full,” Anton added.
“Right, smart ideas,” I said.
Esme smiled. “I know you’re not much for planning, but see? It’s not so bad.”
Ugh. She was so irritating.
The light in the game had gone dim by the time we left Anton’s to go hunt for diamonds. Once again, Howl stayed at my heels as I pulled Lonnie along, and Anton and Esme took the lead. Our goals were clear: collect materials for two portals, one for the Nether and another for the exit out of the game. I knew which one I wanted to complete first.
As we crossed into the desert biome, a line of endermen appeared on the dunes, ominously dotting the horizon ahead of us. Endermen are usually neutral mobs. They only attack when you stare at them. But this group seemed to be gunning for us, arms outstretched in attack mode.
“You know what they say about best-laid plans,” Esme said, sighing. She unsheathed her sword and got in a defense position.
“We need endermen pearls, anyway,” I said, following suit. “Might as well start now.”
I pushed Lonnie behind the three of us as the mob started coming slowly toward us. Instead of waiting, we stepped toward them as well. The wolf stuck close to Lonnie, following behind.
I picked up speed, gripped my weapon, and ran to face the closest enderman. It came straight at me with no hesitation. I swung my sword, just missing it, and giving it enough time to reach me. My health points took a big hit when it landed a blow. So big, I almost thought I could feel the life draining out of me. The enderman pounded me with its fists. I put my arms up, unable to do anything else, and watched through my blocky hands as my health points dipped lower and lower. I tried to get away, but I couldn’t escape. Howl ran over to help and took a hit from the enderman. She fell over, just like she had inside the caves. I worried that this was it for my wolf pal, but she thankfully stood back up after a few moments.
I heard a victorious whoop and watched as Esme finished off one of the endermen. Anton had also beaten his opponent, and I felt momentary shame that I couldn’t take mine on alone. Anton ran over to help me, and delivered a couple of blows, distracting the enderman long enough that I could pull out a shield. No sooner did I have it up than the enderman turned back to me and started hitting again. This time I used the shield to cover myself, and swiped at it whenever I saw an opening. But it just kept on coming, relentless, and fear started to trickle into my veins. Anton attacked again from one side, delivering an impressive hit while Esme pulled out her bow and got it from the other. Finally, the last enderman dissolved to nothing.
Howl and I stared at each other from opposite sides of the dissipated enderman.
“I’ve never seen endermen behave like that,” Anton said. “Bianca…”
“I’ve never seen anything like any of this,” I said, cutting him off. “Attack bunny, remember?”
“Right. Attack bunny,” Anton said.
“We’ve got work to do. Come on,” I said, walking away before he could push the subject. We continued toward the hill, but when we got to the top it was clear the landscape had reset. The hole I had made was gone, and I couldn’t figure out exactly where it was I’d come out. We also didn’t want to get too close to the swamp full of witches, no matter how many supplies we could get from them. We moved a little bit away from each other, mining separately to widen the search area. I dug down until I came to a giant spider that scrambled out of the hole I’d just made. I screamed for help. Both Howl and Esme came to my aid. Esme jumped on top of the spider and aimed an arrow at its head, as I whacked it with a sword. The wolf attacked one of the spider’s legs. The spider fell back into the hole and we tumbled after it. A few more hits later, the spider died under Esme’s feet as she landed in front of me and Howl. We were inside the hill, in a tunnel, and we were surrounded again.
At least this time, it was a smaller mob than we’d met so far.
Anton jumped in to join us, bringing Lonnie with him. He pulled a couple of the spiders away as Esme and I faced the brunt of the attack, but in moments the spiders were gone, and we’d collected webs. I was going to leave the spider eyes behind, but Esme took them up.
“I’m collecting them,” Esme said in response to my quizzical look. “Spiders show up when I get upset, so I’m keeping these to remind myself not to let everything get me down.”
“You know,” I began. “You’ve been through a lot. It’s okay to be upset about that.”
“Yeah, it is okay to be upset,” Anton added. He cocked his head at me. “Bianca, maybe with the endermen…”
“I’m not spawning the endermen,” I said sharply, although I felt some doubt starting to creep in. “We…we need to get going.” I walked away, picking at the blocks of the floor, feeling Esme’s and Anton’s silence pressing in on me. After a moment, they caught up.
We continued to dig until we hit the mother lode. Diamonds. Each of us mined and gathered.
I was loading up my inventory when I thought I heard the faint sound of barking from a cave up ahead. “What’s that?”
“More wolves?” Esme asked. She looked at my companion. “Seems like a weird place for them.”
“Girl?” I said to the wolf. “Are those your friends?”
Howl whined.
“Does that mean yes?” Esme asked. “Are they wolves, or”—Esme and I looked at each other, excitement on our faces as we shouted—“wolf pups!”
I ran ahead, putting up torches as I moved in the direction of the wolf pups. The tunnel widened and we turned into a larger cavern with black and red walls and a litter of three wolf pups bounding around one another in the middle of it.
“Smart dogs!” Anton said. “They found us some obsidian!”
“This should be enough
to make the exit portal,” said Esme.
“Or the nether portal,” I reminded everyone.
The pups moved to Howl, jumping and yelping.
Anton and Esme set to work mining as I bribed the pups with a few bones.
One of the pups snarled at Lonnie. “Good pooch,” I said soothingly. “Nice doggie.” Lonnie turned to me, and for a moment my heart stopped. I wondered if Lonnie would respond. But after a few seconds he hadn’t moved, or made a sound, or even acknowledged that I was there.
“Let’s go,” I said to everyone.
Anton stopped mining and held out his fist, which I guessed was supposed to be a thumbs-up. I showed him mine, too. “We can go topside and build our exit—”
“Not so fast,” Esme said. She swung a torch around the cave, and we all looked up. Above us were endermen lining the walls of the cave.
“Again?” Anton said. “Don’t look at them. Maybe they’ll leave us alone this time!”
I regretted not having crafted myself a bow and arrows, instead relying on the old faithfuls of axe and sword, because it meant I’d have to let them get close enough to hit—which meant they could hit me, too. I pulled out an iron sword and waited, hoping Anton was right, and ignoring the thought that maybe I had created the mobs. After a few seconds, though, I couldn’t resist and peeked up at the endermen, accidentally making eye contact.
They rained down on us like black hail. Anton growled and charged at one toward the back of the cave, while Esme fired arrow after arrow into the crowd of them. I hacked my way through at one side, away from Esme’s arrows and Anton’s flailing. The endermen were huge, their presence as suffocating as the darkness in the cave had felt. It was almost as if any one of them could blanket my entire body and absorb me into them at a moment’s notice. Then I took a hit. I instinctively moved back and away, but stumbled into another enderman behind me. I got hit again, so hard, my avatar spun around and I felt dizzy and nauseated. My health points were low. The bar was vibrating over my head once again. I wanted to shout to Esme and Anton for help, but they were in no position to do so. Another blow. I turned to face the enderman, slicing through its body with my sword, and then pivoted immediately to strike the one at my back. I screamed as I slashed. Howl and the pups helped with the attack, and then both the endermen were gone. I picked up the experience points and turned to attack another, taking hit after hit until it, too, dissipated, and I collected the ender pearl it left behind.
The Crash: An Official Minecraft Novel Page 8
