Herobrine's War

by Mark Cheverton

  “We’re making good time,” the Oracle said. She’d been keeping to Gameknight’s side throughout the evening, with her light-crafters always nearby.

  “I see the village!” one of the scouts said, right on cue.

  It was one of Baker’s villagers. They’d been sent up ahead and told to climb one of the birch trees to look for their destination. Gameknight sprinted forward and found a tall one. Placing blocks of dirt under his feet, he built steps that would give him access to the treetops. Once he was on the leafy canopy, he looked in the direction the scout pointed … south.

  In the distance, he could just barely see structures peeking through the haze of Minecraft. The next biome was savanna, just as predicted, and the village was there waiting for them. If he squinted his eyes and blocked the sunlight from hitting his face, he could just barely make the edges of wooden buildings, but everything else was too far away to see.

  “I see it, too,” Gameknight exclaimed. “Let’s head south and get to that village.”

  But as the User-that-is-not-a-user climbed down from the trees, a chill spread over his body. The faint moaning of zombies could be heard in the direction of the village. And then came the chuckles of Endermen, causing tiny square goose bumps to form on the User-that-is-not-a-user’s arms and neck.

  Quickly, he ran back up to the treetops, then gasped in shock at what he saw. Monsters were appearing between his army and the savanna village, Endermen teleporting them into position, disappearing in a cloud of purple mist, only to reappear again with more snarling creatures in tow. As he watched, hundreds of monsters materialized, then stood next to each other—zombies, skeletons, and Endermen forming a lethal picket fence, blocking the villagers from the salvation of the village.

  Cold beads of sweat formed on his brow as every nerve felt electrified with fear. Gameknight stared in disbelief at the assembly of monsters. Slowly, he descended from the treetops. By now, everyone in the army could hear the monsters in the distance.

  “What is it?” Carver asked.

  “Monsters,” Gameknight replied.

  “You think?” Baker added sarcastically.

  “They’ve blocked us off from the savanna village,” Gameknight explained, shaking his head. “If we head south, it would mean a direct battle with them. And with their numbers, I don’t think we can win that conflict.”

  “Maybe we can go back and sneak around them?” Weaver suggested.

  Just as Gameknight was about to answer, a clicking sound percolated through the forest from behind them. It was as if a million crickets were out there amongst the trees, chirping away with their angry song. He could tell from the volume that the monsters weren’t close, but there were a lot of them, and they were probably coming fast.

  Everyone heard the spiders and turned to face Gameknight999, expecting their leader, Smithy, to say or do something that would make everything okay. But he had nothing to say; there were two armies closing in on them and they were totally exposed, with no village walls to hide behind.

  To make matters much, much worse, feline cries then drifted in from the north.

  “Ghasts,” Gameknight moaned. “What next … the ender dragon?”

  “There’s a dragon?!” Weaver exclaimed, his eyes wide with fear.

  “No, there’s no dragon. Just lots of monsters,” the User-that-is-not-a-user quickly replied.

  Another ghast screeched from the north. Anxious eyes glanced in the direction of the sound; none of them wanted to face the ghasts again, especially out in the open.

  “It seems our choice has been made for us,” Gameknight said. “The only direction we can go is west.”

  “Then let’s get moving,” Carver said in a loud, commanding voice. “Archers to the outside of the formation, elderly to the center. If anyone needs help running, let someone know and you’ll be carried. LET’S GO!”

  The army, buoyed by Carver’s confidence, started running to the west. They emerged from the birch forest and began making their way across the savanna, the hot, dry air like a furnace. But this time, no one complained; desert air, no matter how uncomfortable it was, was always preferred to claws and fangs.

  Acacia trees, each bent and twisted into a different shape, dotted the landscape. They were the only things visible around them, but as they ran over the large rolling hills, Gameknight became nervous.

  We’re easy to see on the hilltops, he thought. We need to be more careful.

  Motioning to the big NPC, he had Carver lead the army around the hills instead of over, in hopes that the monsters would lose track of where they were.

  But suddenly, spoiling their plans, a group of six spiders jumped out from a hole in the ground nearby, their black bodies scurrying rapidly over the savanna hill. They charged at the villagers, mandibles clicking together wildly, their eyes glowing bright red. Without thinking, Gameknight did the only thing he could think to do: drew his two swords and attacked.

  Sprinting to the lead spider, he leapt high into the air, then landed right on top of the beast, smashing it with his swords. The monster squealed in pain and tried to knock him off, but Gameknight kept attacking until the spider disappeared with a pop.

  There were only five of them left. Turning to the next one, he slashed at it as he ran past, then shot through their formation and attacked from the rear. By now, Carver and the other swordsmen had formed a line of armor and were pushing forward. The spider claws scratched at the metallic plating, causing damage, but as they focused on the warriors before them, Gameknight attacked from the rear. He slashed and poked with his swords, tearing at their HP as he sped by. Not bothering to stand and fight them one at a time, the User-that-is-not-a-user ran by and did small amounts of damage with each pass, just like in his dad’s favorite game, Wing Commander. Hit and run, that’s what he did, zipping past the fuzzy monsters with his swords spinning like two razor-sharp tornados. By the time the monsters reached Carver and his warriors, they had little HP left and were quickly destroyed.

  “SMITHY!” the warriors chanted as he stepped through the battlefield, glowing balls of XP flowing into his feet.

  Many of the NPCs had stopped during the attack. Those from Baker’s village were shocked at the ferocity of Gameknight’s fighting, not to mention the whole two-sword thing.

  “They should have known not to mess with Smithy of the Two-swords,” Weaver said, pride filling his voice.

  Wilbur oinked as more villagers cheered, their shouts drowning out the clicking of the massive spider army still moving through the forest.

  “SMITHY!” they shouted again.

  “That doesn’t matter right now,” Gameknight said. “We can’t stop … we have to keep going. That horde of spiders back there will not be so easily overcome.”

  The army kept running. It was Gameknight’s plan that they’d go far enough to the west that they could swing around the monster army and sneak into the village. But to do that, they had to move faster than Herobrine expected them to. And for that to happen … they had to run!

  Suddenly, an Enderman appeared behind the army with two skeletons in his arms. The dark creature dropped his cargo, then disappeared and quickly reappeared with more of the pale, bony monsters. The skeletons instantly began firing at the villagers, their arrows streaking through the air and bouncing off armored bodies, but some pointed shafts found flesh.

  Archers quickly formed a line at the rear of the army and returned fire. At the same time, Carver and a group of warriors moved around a hill and surprised them from behind. Carver’s shining iron axe carved through the monsters, cleaving multiple skeletons with a single swing. In seconds, the bony monsters were destroyed.

  “I don’t like this,” Gameknight said.

  “Why?” Weaver asked.

  “These small attacks aren’t meant to do any damage. They’re just to keep pushing us to the west,” Gameknight said.

  “But we won every battle,” Baker said. “Those monsters didn’t have a chance.”

&nb
sp; “That’s just it,” Gameknight replied. “They never had a chance. Those skeletons and spiders were completely outnumbered and they knew it, but they attacked anyway.”

  “The skeletons didn’t seem so excited about that battle,” Carver said as he returned to the army with his squad of swordsmen and swordswomen. “They kept looking to the south when we attacked. It was as if they were expecting reinforcements, which obviously never came.”

  “You see, Herobrine is sacrificing these creatures to keep us going west,” the User-that-is-not-a-user grumbled. “The questions is: why?”

  “I’m not sure we have much choice,” Weaver said, pointing to the south.

  Gameknight turned to look. The line of monsters still stood just on the horizon, their bodies forming a multicolored row along the savanna. The sun was now high in the sky and beat relentlessly down upon the land, making the hate-filled creatures easy to see.

  “Behind us!” someone shouted.

  Gameknight turned to the east. Fuzzy black spiders were over a distant hill, flowing over the acacia trees as if they were twigs in a raging river. More spiders appeared to the north; not as many as those to the east, but there was no way the villagers could head for the smaller group without the larger one catching them.

  “It seems we have no choice,” Baker said, her bright-blue eyes filled with worry. “Herobrine seems insistent we continue to the west.”

  “I think you’re right,” Gameknight replied. “If we’re gonna be pushed to the west no matter what, let’s see if we can get there before their trap is ready. Now, what we need is speed. COME ON EVERYONE!”

  The warriors beat their swords on their chests as they began to sprint to the west, the sun now at its zenith. Dashing across the savanna, the army took the two monster armies by surprise and quickly left them far behind. Gameknight led them around hills and in shallow ravines whenever possible, keeping their position hidden from their pursuers. It was a hard run with the hot savanna desert sun beating down upon them, but fortunately, clouds were slowly moving in from the east. They all knew the blazing yellow square overhead would soon be blocked and they’d get at least a small amount of relief from the sweltering temperature. After ten minutes of running, Gameknight slowed to a walk and looked back along their path. No monsters were visible anywhere … perfect.

  “Since we can’t see them, they can’t see us,” Gameknight said.

  More clouds moved in, dropping the temperature even more. Many of the villagers seemed relieved when the cool air finally hit their sweaty bodies, and some smiled for the first time since leaving the birch forest.

  Gameknight looked around, thinking this part of the savanna they found themselves in looked strangely familiar. Something about the terrain reminded him of Herder, his friend from the future, as well as Cobbler, the young boy whose village had been taken by the zombie king. It seemed so long ago when that had occurred, yet it also wouldn’t happen for another hundred years… strange. Then he realized what it was: the savanna village to the south was the one Cobbler had taken them to, only he couldn’t remember why. There was a river just on the other side of the next hill, and … something else, he couldn’t quite recall.

  “We need to do what Herobrine doesn’t expect,” Gameknight said as he focused back to the task in front of him. He glanced at Baker and Carver, who were now running side-by-side. “We’re going to start veering to the north, in hopes of attacking that small group of spiders.”

  The two leaders smiled and nodded their blocky heads.

  But just as they started to move northward, a hideous catlike yowl filled the air. Gameknight glanced around, looking to see if it came from behind. The sound was heard again, but this time there was an evil baby-like cry on top of the feline howl.

  The noise wasn’t coming from behind or from the north or south. It was coming from straight overhead. Directly above them, a massive cluster of ghasts descended from strange-looking clouds. They each had a hateful, evil look to them, their innocent baby-like faces completely erased and replaced with terrifying expressions out of some kind of nightmare.

  “OINK, OINK!” Wilbur squealed as the monsters began forming fireballs beneath their tentacles.

  “GHASTS!” Weaver yelled as he scooped up the pig and ran.

  As Gameknight stared up at the monsters, he saw three massive fireballs heading straight for him. Fear pulsed through every nerve in his body and overwhelmed his mind. As he watched the flaming balls of death descend down upon him, all he could do was stand there and wait for his doom.

  CHAPTER 16

  WATERFALLS

  Time seemed to slow as the fireballs streaked toward Gameknight, the burning spheres growing larger and larger as they approached. Icicles of fear jabbed at him from all sides. His feet seemed frozen and unable to move. He was doomed.

  Suddenly, the image of Crafter and Hunter and Stitcher and all his other friends from present-day Minecraft popped into his head. They were looking at him with confidence and hope, as if they knew he could solve any problem he faced. His friends knew he’d never let them down. And at that moment, the fear that permeated every fiber in his body evaporated and was replaced with rage.

  “NO!” the User-that-is-not-a-user screamed.

  He drew his diamond sword in a single fluid motion and struck the first fireball. It deflected to the side and smashed into a distant acacia tree. Pulling his iron sword from his inventory, he struck the second ball with his left, knocking it away, then hitting the third fireball with his diamond blade. The last burning sphere of death ricocheted off his weapon and shot straight back at one of the ghasts. It blasted the monster in the face, causing it to flash red. A shrill, sorrowful scream escaped the lips of the floating beast just as it tilted over sideways, then disappeared with a pop, its HP consumed.

  The villagers cheered, but were quickly silenced when more attacks began from above.

  “Everyone, run for the river!” Gameknight shouted.

  “River … what river?” Carver shouted.

  “Just follow me.”

  Gameknight sprinted across the savanna, heading for the water that would likely save them. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw villagers trying to shoot at the ghasts, but as soon as they stopped to take aim, a barrage of fireballs rained down upon them; none of the lone archers survived the attacks.

  “DON’T STOP … KEEP RUNNING!” Gameknight screamed.

  Another archer turned and fired at a ghast. The giant floating gas bag just rose high into the air, making the shot impossible to make, then fired its own burning projectiles at the villager. Some NPCs were smart and dodged the attack, but most of the warriors that stopped to fight were consumed in flames.

  As he ran, Gameknight thought he heard laughter coming from the south. It was the monsters … they were laughing at what was happening to the villagers. Endermen were chuckling their high-pitched, screechy laugh, joined by the clattering of skeleton bones and moaning zombies. It added a surreal soundtrack to the horror that was taking place around them as they ran for their lives.

  Suddenly, the ground fell away and Gameknight tumbled down a grassy slope, then splashed into a river just as a fireball flew overhead. He’d made it.

  Then, right behind him, more villagers were diving into the water and ducking down under the surface, trying to escape the barrage of attacks from the monstrous creatures. Weaver jumped into the water next to him, Wilbur held in the boy’s hands. Gameknight saw a fireball sizzling toward them. Reaching out, he pushed Weaver under the water as he dove for safety. The burning sphere smashed into the river and crashed into Gameknight999. The water extinguished the flames from the attack, but he still took projectile damage. Pain erupted through his body as his HP dropped and he flashed red.

  Rising to the surface, he grabbed a quick breath of air and glanced around. Many of the villagers were in the water, some looking badly wounded, but at least they were still alive. He glanced to the edge of the river and saw that items lay strewn along
the banks, marking where NPCs had perished before reaching safety.

  Turning, he looked upstream. There was a faint rumbling that triggered a distant memory. And then it surfaced; he was remembering something from the future, from the present-day Minecraft where he’d come from. He knew now that the river they were standing in led to a set of waterfalls. Behind the falls was a cave; they’d be safe there.

  “Come on every …” Gameknight started to shout, but was suddenly shoved underwater by Carver’s big hand.

  Another fireball crashed into the river, narrowly missing Gameknight999, but striking Carver in the shoulder. He grunted underwater as the big NPC flashed red, taking damage.

  Swimming to the surface, he found Wilbur bobbing alongside him. He reached out and grabbed the little pig, holding him close.

  “EVERYONE, GO UPSTREAM TO THE WATER-FALL!” Gameknight shouted. “Everyone, follow me.”

  He swam to the bank of the river. Cautiously, the User-that-is-not-a-user climbed out of the water and ran along the bank, staying crouched and making himself as small a target as possible.

  Wilbur oinked.

  “INCOMING!” someone shouted.

  Gameknight leapt into the water and dunked under the surface just as a fireball smashed into the river. He could see the distorted image of a villager standing on the riverbank. He flashed bright for just a second, then disappeared, his HP scorched to nothing almost instantly; another one lost.

  More fireballs sliced into the river, cutting through the water until they crashed against the bottom. When the attack seemed to dissipate, the User-that-is-not-a-user swam to the surface. He checked the sky for attacking monsters, then crawled up onto the riverbank and sprinted, the other NPCs following. Ahead he could hear what sounded like thunder. A mist began to fill the air as he moved farther upriver.