by Greyson Mann
Mina nodded. “Let’s keep it that way. We have the Nether wart. It’s time to go home.”
Home. The word warmed Will from the inside, like mushroom stew. But when he glanced back toward the portal, he instantly broke out in a cold sweat.
The black obsidian frame stood tall and strong, right where they’d left it.
But inside?
The purple flames were gone.
CHAPTER 9
“What happened to the flame?” Mina cried, jumping to her feet.
The fear in her voice sent a chill down Will’s spine. No flame meant the Nether portal wouldn’t work. No Nether portal meant they couldn’t go home. Were they stuck here in the Nether?
“It was the ghast fight,” Seth said. “A fireball hit the portal. I watched the flames go out. I didn’t know what to do!”
Mina shook her head. “There’s nothing you could have done,” she said. “When a ghast disables a portal, that’s it—it’s all over.” She began to pace nervously, as if the friction of her feet on the Nether rack could light the spark again.
“We need flint and steel,” Will said out loud. Then he remembered something. They did have flint and steel. At least, Seth did—wonderful, plan-ahead, pack-what-you-need Seth!
Seth realized it, too. He slid the flint and steel from his pocket and held them out as if they were precious emeralds.
Mina ran toward him and pulled him into a hug. Will joined her, wrapping his arms around his big brother and squeezing tight.
Score one for Seth, he thought happily.
“Careful!” Seth said, laughing and pulling away. “You’re going to make me drop them.”
“Don’t light anything just yet,” Mina said. “Let’s make sure we pack up everything we need.”
As Will watched Mina pack up her Nether wart, blaze rods, ghast tears, and glowstone, he could barely stand the wait. Packing to go home was a lot easier than packing to go to the Nether. He had lost his weapons—his bow and arrow and his sword. But he wasn’t even tempted to go back to the fortress to look for them.
I have everything I need right here, he thought, staring at Mina and Seth.
Finally it was time to light the portal. This time, Will let Seth show him how to use the flint and steel. He struck the C-shaped piece of steel against the flint stone again and again, but nothing happened.
“Think of the way you struck that ghast with your bare hand,” Seth reminded him.
That did the trick. With one more strike, the flint started to smoke in Will’s hand.
He held it toward the Nether portal opening, which exploded into a swirling purple mass.
“Wait!” Seth said.
“What now?” Will asked.
“Don’t we need to drink that orange stuff first?”
“Potion of fire resistance?” Mina asked. “No, I don’t think we’re going to land in a pit of lava when we step back into the Overworld.” She grinned.
“That’s what the other potion was!” Will said. “We couldn’t remember—when you were sick. We were pretty worthless without you, Mina.”
“You kept me alive,” she said solemnly. “So I must have taught you guys something.” She winked and then stepped through the purple flame.
Seth hurried up onto the obsidian, as if he were afraid of being left behind.
“Do you want to go next?” Will asked.
Seth nodded, grinned, and disappeared in a poof of purple.
So that left Will alone in the Nether. He took one last look at the lava-streaked walls and the seemingly bottomless pit of fire. When he heard a snort coming from the other side of the brick wall, he froze, wondering if he’d imagined it.
Then the zombie pigman stepped into view.
Will reached for his sword. Drawing a weapon was as natural to him as breathing.
But then he remembered: He didn’t have a weapon.
Mina had told him that the pigmen were passive mobs. Was she right about that? If Will left this monster alone, would he leave Will alone, too?
He held his breath as the zombie pigman walked toward the portal, snorting and squealing.
Then Will couldn’t hold out any longer. He turned away and dove through the purple flames after his friends.
The air on the other side of the portal felt cool and dark. Night was falling on the hill above Little Oak. Will tumbled into the grass and inhaled deeply. The wet earth smelled like home.
He pushed himself to his feet, searching the hillside for Seth and Mina. There they were!
Mina was gesturing wildly at something behind Will.
Seth just stared.
At what? wondered Will. He whirled around to face the portal.
Something was walking across the wet grass. A man? A zombie?
No.
It was the zombie pigman.
CHAPTER 10
“Did he come through the portal?” cried Will, rushing to join Seth and Mina.
“Maybe,” said Mina. “Or he spawned beside it. I heard that could happen.”
Will was surprised to see Seth reach for his sword. “Don’t hurt it!” Will shouted, holding up his hands like stop signs.
“But … we can’t just leave it out here,” said Seth. “Can you throw a potion at it, Mina?”
She shrugged. “I don’t have any more potions of weakness. Can you build a trap or something?”
Seth scratched his head. “But what would I do with him once I trapped him?”
Will watched the pigman wander off toward the hills. “No potions or traps,” he said. “I think we should just let this guy live—or at least explore the Overworld the way we explored the Nether. He’ll probably run into a hostile mob before morning anyway.”
Mina widened her eyes. “Listen to you now,” she said. “All right, we’ll let it live. But let’s disable the portal.”
While Seth chipped away at the obsidian frame, Mina took another look at the potion ingredients she had gathered in the Nether.
“Did you get a lot of Nether wart?” asked Will.
Mina blew out a breath. “Not a lot. I guess our harvest was interrupted, right?”
Will shivered, remembering the battle with the wither skeleton. “Does that mean you have to go back to the Nether?” He almost hated to ask.
Mina shook her head. “Not anytime soon, anyway.”
Will sighed. “The way I feel right now, never might be too soon.”
“Never say never,” Seth said, slinging his pickaxe over his shoulder as he joined them. “Or should I say, never say Nether?”
Will laughed out loud. But by the look on Seth’s face, he could tell that his brother had already moved past the joke and was working on a new idea.
“Hey, maybe we can plant some of that Nether wart in my garden,” Seth said to Mina. “I could build a wall around it to keep it safe.”
Mina looked doubtful. “We could try,” she said.
Will chimed right in. “You should let Seth help you,” he said. “His ideas usually work—you know that. And he’s a really good gardener.”
“I’ll plant the Nether wart and build the garden wall if you brew the potions,” Seth said. “Deal?” He held out his hand toward Mina.
Instead of shaking it, Mina held out her hand palm down. “I’ll brew the potions if Will fights my mobs for me. Deal?” She grinned at Will.
Will put his hand on hers. And this time, he let Seth put his hand on top.
We all have different talents, Will thought with a smile. But together, we make a great team.
“Deal,” he and Seth said, at exactly the same time.
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