The Phantom Virus

by Mark Cheverton

  “What is that mountain?” Gameknight asked, jabbing at the map with his finger.

  Crafter looked at the map, then turned and pointed to the huge mountain that was just visible on the horizon.

  “You mean that?” Crafter asked.

  Gameknight nodded his head.

  “That’s Olympus Mons, the largest mountain in Minecraft,” Crafter said.

  Gameknight stared off into the distance. He knew it was part of an extreme hills biome, and that there would be countless tunnels and caves under that mighty peak. That was where they would find Herobrine’s timer.

  “All of Herobrine’s attacks point right to that gigantic mountain,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said. “And that flagrant symbol of his ego is just the kind of place he’d choose to hide such an evil mechanism.”

  He turned from the mountain and looked at all the survivors around him, then glanced at the destroyed village behind them. Tears streamed down numerous faces as feelings of grief still ravaged many of the NPCs. Gameknight felt tears welling up in his own eyes again, and for the first time, did not try to hold them back.

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t save your village,” he said, his voice cracking with emotion. “I was too late in stopping Herobrine, and I allowed him to set up these terrible command block attacks. It’s my fault all this destruction happened, and I wouldn’t blame any of you for hating me.”

  Gameknight waited for some reply, but only received silence.

  He sighed.

  “If I just stay here and feel sorry for myself, then I know what will happen. If I do nothing, then I guarantee the outcome. If I just give up and hide, I know all of the villages will meet the same fate as your own.”

  He felt someone move next to him. Turning, he found Hunter at his side, her enchanted bow in her hand. She gave him a nod, then turned and glared at the rest of the villagers.

  “Herobrine led us here, to this village, so that we would witness what happened and cower in despair. Well, I’m not gonna do that.” Gameknight’s voice became louder. “He probably has hundreds of monsters in the tunnels under that mountain, but I don’t care. I bet that’s where his timer is located, in a cave somewhere. I’m going there to destroy it. I’m tired of waiting for something to happen, and then reacting and trying to limit the damage. We’re just dancing to Herobrine’s tune, and I’m tired of that. No more villages will suffer the terror that occurred here today.”

  Stitcher and Herder moved to his other side, the pack of wolves crowding around him.

  “I can’t do it alone,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said, “nor with just a handful of people.” He paused for a moment and looked at the NPCs, staring into as many tear-soaked eyes as he could find. “You’ve all lost so much, and it’s not fair for me to ask you for more … so I’m asking for all of the villages still in danger. Who among you will help me to stop this disaster from happening all over Minecraft?”

  Looking at the faces that surrounded him, Gameknight saw the tears had stopped flowing. The red eyes that had once been filled with grief were now filled with anger. One of the wolves growled softly for a moment as it stared up at Olympus Mons. The desert became eerily quiet. The gentle breeze that flowed from east to west caused the few dried shrubs nearby to move, creating a gentle rustling sound that seemed like thunder in Gameknight’s ears.

  And then a strong voice sounded across the sandy landscape.

  “I will accompany you,” Butch said as he stepped forward. The big NPC cast his gaze across the surviving NPCs, then turned back to Gameknight999.

  All of the other villagers took a step closer, their strength crowding around the User-that-is-not-a-user.

  “All of us will accompany you,” Butch added, his voice echoing across the empty desert. “We will stop Herobrine’s revenge and laugh in the faces of his minions.”

  The NPCs cheered, the anger at the destruction of their village carved deep in angry scowls across their brows. They patted Gameknight on the back as spare weapons and armor were distributed. Butch took charge, sending villagers out to collect horses and livestock that were ambling about near the smoking cobblestone tomb. He organized them into squads, then assigned some NPCs to cavalry and others to the ranks of archers. In minutes, the confused group of villagers had been transformed into an army, ready for vengeance.

  “Nice speech,” Crafter said as he moved behind the User-that-is-not-a-user. “But you’re still wrong about it being your fault.”

  “That doesn’t really matter right now, does it?” Gameknight said.

  “No, it doesn’t,” his friend replied as he collected the map and crafting bench.

  Turning to the mountain, Gameknight stared up at the massive pile of stone and granite. He could feel Herobrine’s malicious touch under that mountain, and knew that the fate of Minecraft would soon be decided in its dark tunnels and caves. Looking around, the weight of responsibility for all these lives around him, and for all villagers everywhere, was like a leaden cloak slowly crushing him.

  But he refused to yield. Gameknight refused to play this deadly game on Herobrine’s terms. That terrible virus left his mark on Minecraft, and now, today, it was time for the User-that-is-not-a-user to erase that mark … forever.

  CHAPTER 18

  TO OLYMPUS MONS

  They moved by day and hid at night as the army of NPCs moved across the landscape toward the massive mountain. Every horse held two riders, and still, people had to walk. Slowing his horse, Gameknight leapt off and handed the reins to a carver that had been on his feet for a while, giving the NPC a bit of a rest. Many of the mounted warriors were doing the same, rotating between walking and riding. They all knew that everyone needed to be rested when it came time to fight.

  “I wonder how this mountain got its name,” Crafter said as it loomed in front of them.

  Gameknight looked to his right and found his young friend walking next to him, having handed his horse off to a cobbler and a baker.

  “I don’t know,” Gameknight answered. “But the strange thing is, I know that name, Olympus Mons. I remember from my science teacher, Ms. Northrop. She was all into the planets, especially Mars.”

  “Mars? Planets?” Crafter asked.

  “I’ll explain later,” Gameknight said. “But the thing is, Olympus Mons is a mountain on the planet Mars. I remember her saying it was three to four times higher than the highest mountain on earth, something like fifteen miles high.”

  “Miles? Earth?”

  “Yeah … some other things I’ll add to the list,” he replied. “But anyway, it’s the tallest thing anywhere known to people in the physical world.”

  “So it seems to be named appropriately,” Crafter said.

  “True, but how did a thing in Minecraft get named after a thing in the physical world?” Gameknight asked.

  Crafter shrugged.

  They walked in silence until they came to the end of the biome, a flowered forest awaiting them. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they left the heat of the desert and moved into the temperate climate of the forest. A cool breeze blew from east to west, carrying with it the fragrant smell of flowers. The mixture of sweet aromas enveloped the party as they brushed past yellow dandelions, deep red poppies, sky-blue orchids, and tall lavender lilacs, all standing out against the lush green grass of the forest floor. Every color one could imagine was represented in these flowery fields. As they climbed a small hill and looked down upon the forest floor, the colors reminded Gameknight of a million rainbow sprinkles atop scoops of emerald green ice cream. It was fantastic.

  But it wasn’t long before something felt wrong.

  Drawing his diamond sword, Gameknight glanced around, surveying the landscape. All he could see were flowers and grass and trees, and, of course, the towering form of Olympus Mons, growing larger with every step.

  “Gameknight, what’s wrong?” Crafter asked.

  The User-that-is-not-a-user swiveled his head from left to right, then turned around and wal
ked backward, checking behind the army.

  “Ahh … what?”

  “I said, what’s wrong?” Crafter asked again.

  “I don’t know,” he answered. “Something just doesn’t feel right.”

  “Maybe all these flowers have made you nervous?” Stitcher said with a smile. “They do look pretty terrifying.”

  “No, that’s not it,” Gameknight replied, not really listening. “Herder … where’s Herder?”

  “Here,” replied a squeaky voice off to the right.

  “Herder, send your wolves out,” Gameknight ordered as he drew closer. “Have them patrol our perimeter.”

  “But I don’t see anything nearby,” the boy complained.

  “Exactly. There are no animals nearby, only us,” Gameknight replied. “Send them out.”

  The lanky boy nodded, then knelt next to the pack leader. He whispered something Gameknight could not hear, then stood and gave him a wide smile. The largest wolf, the alpha male, gave a strange series of barks, then silently ran off into the forest, each of the other wolves in the pack heading off in a different direction. In seconds, the furry white animals disappeared amid the multicolored landscape.

  Gameknight gave a sigh of relief, but still felt uneasy. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something sparkling with an iridescent purple glow. Turning, he found Hunter had her bow out, an arrow notched. She, too, was scanning the forest, her eyes narrowed and a scowl carved into her square face. Gameknight moved to her side.

  “You feel it too?” the User-that-is-not-a-user asked.

  She nodded, her bright red curls bouncing like crimson springs.

  “What do you think it is?” he asked.

  “I don’t know … but I don’t like it,” she replied.

  “Yeah, I’m with you,” Gameknight replied. Scanning the group, he found Digger and ran to his side. “Digger, something’s going on.”

  “What is it?” the big NPC replied, pulling his huge pickaxe out from his inventory.

  “I don’t know,” he replied, “but we need to be ready. Send out the scouts. Everyone else runs.”

  “Got it,” Digger replied, then started shouting out orders.

  “What’s going on?” a voice asked from behind.

  Gameknight turned and found Butch behind him, his shiny iron chestplate reflecting the colors of the flowers, making him appear to be wearing some kind of magical rainbow armor.

  “I don’t know what it is, but something just feels wrong,” he said as he started to pick up his pace. “You should go watch the left side of our formation.”

  The NPC nodded and veered off to the left.

  “Crafter, you watch the right side!” Gameknight shouted. “Hunter, Stitcher: I want you two up front. I’ll watch the rear.”

  He slowed to allow the army to move past him. He scanned the landscape, looking for anything strange. Glancing upward, he could see the sun was beginning to approach the horizon. They didn’t have long until sunset arrived, and he wanted to be someplace defensible when that happened.

  Ahead, Gameknight could see Olympus Mons was getting even closer. The end of the flower forest biome was now visible. The gray hue of the extreme hills biome that came next looked pale compared to the colorful forest, the endless gray making his eyes beg for color. They would likely make it to the foot of the mountain by nightfall; maybe there would be a place to camp there.

  And then he heard it: the breaking of a branch high up in the forest canopy. Glancing up at the trees, he scanned the branches and leaves for monsters. But the oak trees were thick, with branches that overlapped enough to completely block out the leafy rooftop. Gameknight searched the ground for anyone that might have stepped on a stick or fallen branch, but the forest floor was clear of debris. The sound had definitely come from up there.

  I don’t like this, Gameknight thought. Not at all.

  A howl echoed through the forest from behind.

  “Monsters!” Gameknight yelled. “Everyone run for the mountain!”

  The wolf howled again, then growled and barked as if it were in a battle for its life. The furry creature yelped once, then fell silent.

  This isn’t good.

  As he ran, a clicking sound came from the treetops. At first, it sounded as if it were just a single spider, but he knew they would never be that lucky.

  “Faster … run faster!” the User-that-is-not-a-user yelled.

  The clicking sounds from the trees increased as more spiders joined the percussive symphony.

  The NPCs ran as fast as their legs could carry them, each of them knowing this was a race for their lives. Mounted horsemen peeled away from the main army and moved back with Gameknight999, ready to slow the army that stalked them overhead. Hunter rode up to him with a riderless horse. Holding the reins out, she gave the horse to her friend. In a smooth, practiced motion, Gameknight leapt up into the saddle and urged the animal forward.

  “Hunter, get your bow out,” Gameknight yelled.

  “What am I shooting at?” she asked.

  “You’ll know,” he replied with a smile.

  Moving forward, Gameknight darted back and forth through the forest. As he neared a tree, he put a block of wood against the trunk, then a cube of TNT above it. The other warriors saw what he was doing and helped out, placing the blocks of wood so that Gameknight could focus solely on the explosives.

  “Wait until the clicking gets near,” Gameknight said, but his voice was lost in the sound of an explosion.

  Fire erupted behind them as the first block of TNT detonated. The top of the tree simply disappeared in an enormous fireball, allowing the clear blue sky to shine through.

  The clicking sounds became more agitated, but Gameknight tried to ignore the sound of the approaching spiders. He need to focus all his attention on getting as many blocks of TNT in place as he could while the army ran for Olympus Mons.

  A flaming arrow streaked through the air and found another red-and-white striped cube. Another blast of flame enveloped the treetop, tearing a gaping wound in the leafy canopy. Through the smoke, Gameknight could see blazing red eyes peering at him … lots of them.

  Now the clicking sounded like a cricket storm as more spiders joined in on the pursuit. Some of the spiders fell through the openings in the treetops and ran after the fleeing NPCs. Mounted warriors rode out to meet those spiders, quickly dispatching them before their numbers could increase.

  Another arrow shot through the air, finding its target. Gameknight glanced at Hunter as the TNT exploded. She flashed him a satisfied grin, then notched and fired another arrow.

  More spiders were falling through to the ground. Their numbers were increasing quickly, making it hard for the small group of cavalry to deal with them. Gameknight glanced back and saw one NPC fall from his saddle as a spider’s claw hit his leg. The warrior landed hard, flashing red, but other cavalry rode to his aid, pushing back the attacking monsters so that the wounded villager could get back on his horse.

  “Cavalry, stay close to the rest of the army!” Gameknight yelled. “We can’t separate our forces.”

  He knew getting broken up into small groups in battle was risky. A wise commander could pick you off more easily that way, one at a time, making it possible for a smaller army to defeat a larger force. History was replete with examples of this, and Gameknight had heard many of the stories from his social studies teacher.

  “Everyone, hurry!” Gameknight yelled. “Head for the mountain.”

  Ahead, he could see the end of the forest and the beginning of the extreme hills biome. Looming high over them was the massive mountain, the sides steep but climbable. Unfortunately, that meant that the spiders could follow as well, but Gameknight knew they would have an easier time fighting an enemy they could see, rather than one that could hide in the trees and drop behind their lines.

  The NPCs quickly climbed up the face of Olympus Mons, leaving the forest behind. Gameknight sped ahead of the main force, climbing the slope faster tha
n those on foot. When he was high enough, he turned and looked back at the forest.

  He gasped. There were at least a hundred spiders across the treetops, their dark, fuzzy bodies blotting out the green leaves, giving the trees a diseased look. As if on cue, the monsters all turned their multiple red eyes toward Gameknight999. The fury in their stares was terrifying.

  How are we going to fight that many spiders? Gameknight thought.

  “Everyone, run as fast as you can!” the User-that-is-not-a-user yelled.

  Seeing their prey begin to escape, the spiders descended from the treetops, lowering themselves on long strands of silk. It looked to Gameknight like some kind of deadly black rain as they emerged through the leaves.

  Kicking his horse into a sprint, he shot down the mountain’s face and skidded to a stop at the rear of their army. He turned the horse toward the approaching mob, drawing his iron sword with his left hand and his diamond blade with his right. His mount gave off a nervous whinny as the monsters clicked with evil excitement.

  Then, out of nowhere, a dozen wolves moved to his side, their growls drowning out the sound of the clicking monsters. This drew eight hundred eyes to Gameknight999, all of them blazing with hatred.

  “I don’t know how I’m going to stop this many,” Gameknight muttered to himself, “but I refuse to let Herobrine and his monsters have their way.” He then raised his voice so that it rang across the stony mountain, filled with confidence. “You aren’t getting past me, spiders. FOR MINECRAFT!”

  The warrior and wolves all charged forward.

  CHAPTER 19

  SPIDERS

  The spiders stopped their advance at the sight of the single warrior and enraged wolves charging toward them. Gameknight could hear many of them clicking their sharp mandibles together in anticipation of the one-sided massacre that was about to happen.

  “FIRE!” came a voice from behind him.

  Gameknight recognized it as Hunter’s voice. On cue, arrows streaked down from the mountainside, tearing into the spider ranks and making the fuzzy monsters flash red as they took damage.