The dragon stopped grooming and looked down at me before leaping from the pillar and landing on the ground in front of me in a cloud of dust. I strode toward it without hesitating. For just a second, its purple eyes looked almost piteous. Memories of my friends swirled in my mind. I saw Anton chattering away happily while looking over A.J.’s traps. There was Esme giving me a small nod of acknowledgment. And finally I thought of Lonnie, laughing and gesticulating wildly as he explained the next perfectly planned-out adventure we were going on, his gray eyes full and happy.
“Well?” I asked the dragon. “Isn’t this what you’ve been waiting for?”
The dragon tilted its head and peered at me as I spread my arms wide.
Maybe the dragon was so sure that I was easy prey that it simply stopped trying. Hubris, that’s what it’s called. I got all the way up to its body, positioning myself before it as if a willing offering. The dragon lowered its head, the better to look at me, or sniff me, or slowly swallow me, I wasn’t certain. I’d never had to face down a dragon of my own making before. The diagonal white scar across its face gleamed a garish green tint in the light of the end world. It seemed deep and, like the scar on the enderman, there wasn’t anything behind it.
I knew what it meant, that nothingness. It was inside me. It was how I felt, my guilt and anger manifested.
I took a few more steps until I was close enough to touch the dragon. It didn’t try to kill me, or even move away from me. It was waiting. It was waiting for me to choose.
My sword gleamed in the light. I shook my head, then thrust up with my entire body. The sword slipped into the dragon’s belly with little resistance. I left the sword embedded there and staggered away from it, waiting to see whatever was going to happen next.
The dragon’s purple eyes dulled, and it let out a single roar before it slumped to its side in a heap. A lump formed in my throat as I watched the monster draw a final breath. I felt the shuddering weight of it, simultaneously heavy and insubstantial, and I stifled a sob when it finally exhaled. The dragon burst into beams of purple light, blinding me for a moment. When I was able to see again, the dragon had gone. In its place, an exit portal appeared. It loomed in front of me, beckoning, and I didn’t hesitate.
It was time to go through. Lonnie may not have made it, but I had. Everything he’d taught me and everything we had done together was going to be lost if I didn’t go through that portal and live my life out in the real world, where I belonged.
As I moved toward the exit, another memory of Lonnie flashed into my mind. I heard the playground swings in motion, the screws at the top squeaking as the two of us pumped hard and fast trying to get the feeling that we were flying. Lonnie turned to me and smiled. I reached my hand out to catch his fingers.
I squared my shoulders and stepped through the portal, ready to face reality.
The screen of the VR goggles retracted from around my face. The lights were exceptionally bright. I couldn’t see anything at first through that glare. It was like waking up after a very long sleep. I squeezed my eyes shut. Sounds rushed around me, barely distinguishable, but it all sounded vaguely like talking and beeping. I could, however, smell antiseptic. And beneath me, I could feel the crisp thinness of a sheet. Something was moving. Maybe it was me. I tried to lift my hand, to feel where I was, and I came up against the hard, plastic rail of a hospital bed.
“She’s up. Isn’t she? She’s up!” a voice said that I didn’t recognize.
I squinted and the moving stopped. I heard someone say, “On three,” then two voices counting in unison, and then I moved again, up and over, and onto another set of crisp sheets and a slightly more cushioned surface.
There was the feeling of someone fussing over me, gently pulling and tugging my sheets, but I could feel the heat of them as they worked, and then the coldness that rushed in as soon as they moved away.
Then the colors came, still blurred, but slowly forming into recognizable shapes. There were three bodies standing at the foot of my bed. I blinked, trying to get them into focus, trying to figure out who they were. The one in the middle was exceptionally tall. The other two were shorter. I kept blinking and slowly they all came into view, still blurry, but clear enough for me to tell one from the other. One long, thin boy with dark, sunken eyes stared back at me between two others: a small bald girl with a round face in a purple bathrobe with flowers on it, and the sweet, curious face of A.J., my hospital neighbor.
“She’s alive,” the girl said. Then she reached down and patted my foot. “Looks like you stuck to the plan.”
“Esme?” I asked.
“Yeah, who did you think?”
“Anton,” I said to the tall boy. He produced a thumbs-up.
I smiled at both of them. Then I looked at A.J.
“Boy, do I have some questions for you,” I began. “Starting with, why did you think this was a good idea to throw me into a game like this?”
“Because it helped me.” He shrugged, his answer just that simple. “How do you think I survived living in this hospital all this time? Besides, I like making friends and building things in the game.”
“You’ll have to show me how to get some of those redstone circuits right,” Anton said admiringly. “Your fortress is amazing.”
“Thanks,” A.J. said sheepishly.
“Wait, but what about all those mobs and monsters that my brain conjured up?” I asked. “Didn’t you know I’d make those? I wasn’t ready for them.”
“You weren’t ready for what was out here,” A.J. said. He leaned in a little. “When you asked me about your friend, I already knew what had happened. I’d heard your mom and dad talking. They knew they were going to have to tell you, but they also knew you weren’t going to handle the news too well. So, I just figured…” He trailed off.
“That you’d help out by giving me a little more time?” I suggested.
“Well, that, and I thought Minecraft would help you process,” he said finally.
“For a little kid, you’re really very smart,” I said. I turned my attention to Esme and Anton. “Do you all know this?”
Esme chimed in, “The mobs always come up, even when we think we’re doing better. Figuring your emotions out is kind of an ongoing thing.”
“But luckily for us, A.J. has coded lots of mods to keep everything manageable so we’re not always getting locked out,” Anton said, slapping the younger kid on the back. A.J. beamed a little.
“Though, I have to admit, that scarred ender dragon was tough,” Esme added.
“Seriously!” Anton said. “I’m sorry it took us out before it was over. I know we promised that we would stick with you until the very end.”
I smiled a little. “It’s okay. I knew it was my mob to face. And besides, you’re both here now.”
Anton and Esme looked at each other. “Yeah, we had to scramble to get to your room to see what was going to happen next,” Anton said. “We still weren’t sure you were going to get out.”
“You all are quite the little support group,” Dr. Nay said as she poked her head in. My mother came in behind the doctor and moved to my side, gently taking my hand.
“How are you feeling?” my mother asked.
“I know about Lonnie,” I said, my voice real quiet. Hearing the words come out of my mouth felt strange. I had done so much work to come to grips with this fact. But it was still so hard to say out loud.
My mother bowed her head and her eyes got watery. Dr. Nay said quietly, “Come on, kids, let’s give them some space.”
“No, I—I want them to stay.”
Dr. Nay gave a small nod and backed out of the room. Esme moved around to my other side, and Anton rested a hand on the foot of my bed.
Salty tears cascaded from the corners of my eyes, streaming into my braids. I opened my mouth to ask more questions, but only racking
sobs came out. I wanted to cover my face, but I couldn’t move. I could only look at the blurring ceiling and weep.
My mother tried to dab at my tears but I’d already soaked through the tissue. Anton moved to her side, handing her more.
“I miss him,” I cried, my body shaking.
“There will be questions that have to be answered,” my mother said gently. “Not right now. When you’re ready.”
I nodded. “I know.”
Esme grabbed my hand and gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze. The warmth of her palm felt solid and real. It was like when we stood on the edge of the end portal, willing ourselves to go through it together as a team, only better because this was real.
I looked at the new friends crowded around my bed. They’d never replace Lonnie, but they had helped me fight off a relentless enderman, narrowly escape the Nether, and slay a dragon. Our friendship was built by going through a trial by digital fire. I knew there was no plan, no amount of prep work, and no processing mess that they’d back away from. Whatever happened next, they would help me power through.
Despite everything else, that was the best feeling of all.
For Adam, Elliot, Avery, and Lindsay
ALSO BY TRACEY BAPTISTE
The Jumbies
Rise of the Jumbies
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
TRACEY BAPTISTE is the author of several works of fiction and nonfiction for children, including the Jumbies series and The Totally Gross History of Ancient Egypt. Baptiste volunteers with We Need Diverse Books, The Brown Bookshelf, and I, Too Arts Collective. She teaches in Lesley University’s creative writing MFA program and runs the editorial company Fairy Godauthor.
traceybaptiste.com
Facebook.com/traceybaptistewrites
Twitter: @TraceyBaptiste
Instagram: @traceybaptistewrites
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The Crash: An Official Minecraft Novel Page 22
