Carnival of Doom, Book 1: The Angry Ghost

by Mark Mulle

  Chapter Two

  There was something in the cage - a person, with edges that glowed, making him appear slightly transparent. But that wasn't the scariest thing about him. No, the fact that the ghost had no eyes made Steve pause. They were just empty, glowing white sockets on his face with his mouth twisted in a sneer.

  "He looks just like you. Minus the whole no-eye thing." Sarah said to him.

  She was right. Herobrine looked a lot like Steve, so much that it made the whole thing even creepier. Herobrine looked angry and Steve suddenly had a sinking feel in his stomach that he couldn't explain.

  "We cannot tell you where we found Herobrine! No, that has to remain a secret. But his ghostly wrath is unmatched!" The host was saying, oblivious to the feeling in the air that seemed to be growing.

  In fact, everyone but Steve seemed to be oblivious to the energy that was coming off of Herobrine. He didn't seem calm or thrilled to be there - no, his rage was vibrating the cage. Steve wasn't convinced that the cage was going to actually hold him.

  "Sarah," Steve whispered over the host talking, "Sarah, we have to go."

  She glanced at him, "What?"

  "We have to go." He said urgently.

  She looked at him closely and then nodded, "Okay."

  Together, they turned to try to make their way out of the crowd. But their spot, which had been so great to see the stage from, was farthest from the exit. They tried to squeeze their way through the crowd while people murmured and complained to them. Steve looked up to see if he could spot Herobrine through the crowd. Even though he didn't have eyes, it felt as if Herobrine was looking at him. Then he opened his mouth and let out a screech that was so loud Steve covered his ears.

  That was when the cage burst.

  Herobrine flew from the cage, floating above them, still screeching. Panic spread out across the crowd like blaze powder and everyone began to run as quickly as they could to get away. Herobrine stopped screeching and raised one hand. The stage behind him began to fall apart, the wooden planks flying through the air. Sarah ducked as one narrowly missed her. The crowd was pressing all around Steve and he grabbed his sister's hand as they tried to make their way through.

  "Fire!" Someone screamed and Steve looked up to see the other side of the carnival had gone up in flames.

  The crowd surged forward and Steve found himself losing his grip on Sarah's hand. The fire blazed quickly - too quickly to be a normal fire. Herobrine had vanished and now it was just the fire and the stage falling apart near them. Steve looked behind him and watched Sarah scream his name before the crowd separated them.

  "Sarah!" Steve yelled but he couldn't fight his way against the crowd.

  He finally broke through the bottleneck the crowd had formed at the entrance to the main event to be out where the creatures were in their cages. Over the din of the crowd and fire, Steve could hear the latches starting to unlock on the cages, letting the animals free.

  Not good, Steve thought, as the creatures broke free of their cages. Out came magma cubes and zombie pig men, as well as wither skeletons and spiders. The fire kept burning down the rest of the carnival as people tried to flee into the village. Steve tried to spot Sarah through the crowd but couldn't find her. He tripped and landed down on the ground and managed to crawl out of the way of the crowd. His hands touched something cold. He looked down to see an iron sword. Maybe a prop that had been knocked out into the open. Steve didn't know but he counted it as good luck.

  He picked up the sword in time because suddenly a skeleton was bearing down on him, raising its bow up. Steve rolled forward and jabbed his sword upwards, taking the skeleton down swiftly. The air was thick with smoke and was making Steve's eyes water. Glancing at the cage he was next to, he found a grip in it and scaled it quickly. Once on top of the cage, he looked down to try to see if he could find Sarah.

  All he found, however, was pure chaos. A creeper exploded somewhere off to the left of him, the explosion rattling the cage. People were running out of the carnival, heading back into the village. The fire was burning faster - the entire right side of the carnival was on fire, the smoke thick and heavy. Steve ducked at the last second to dodge an arrow from a wither skeleton. He didn't see Sarah. The cage suddenly rattled violently and Steve found himself falling backward. He fell onto the ground with a grunt. A wither skeleton stood over him - it had somehow found a sword as well. It swooped down on Steve but he managed to swing his sword up with seconds to spare. He rolled away quickly and got to his feet. The wither skeleton was much taller than Steve. He had never been so close to one before. It had Steve cornered against two cages. It lifted up its sword, bearing down on Steve. Steve closed his eyes, hoping Sarah had gotten away...

  "Stop."

  The voice came out of nowhere. Silence filled Steve's ears. Slowly, he cracked one eye open. Everything around him was frozen, as if he had stepped into a picture.

  "Let this one go."

  Now the wither skeleton moved. It lowered its sword, looking at Steve before turning around and lumbering around the corner out of sight. Steve felt his own sword slide out of his hand. His palms were sweaty from fear and heat from the fire. Everything was still until out of the frozen smoke came the ghost - Herobrine. He glided over to Steve slowly, his empty eye sockets shining brightly. Herobrine stopped right in front of Steve, who was shaking slightly in fear.

  "What are you?" Steve managed to say.

  "I'm going to let you escape from here," Herobrine said, ignoring Steve, his voice smooth as silk, "Do you know why?"

  Steve shook his head, "No."

  "You look just like him...." Herobrine mumbled.

  "My sister. My sister - I can't find her." He said, hoping Herobrine would help him.

  But Herobrine leaned closer, "Your sister is of no concern to me. You are though. I'll be watching you. I saw you. In the cage they had thought would hold me. When I saw you, I knew you were descended from him. We'll meet again."

  Steve blinked and suddenly Herobrine was gone. Everything came back to life, as if a giant play button had been hit. Steve was alone - the wither skeleton had truly left. He picked up his sword again and then took off into the fray, to try to find Sarah. But the sword was unneeded. As if they were all following Herobrine's command, the creatures paid Steve no attention at all. They glided past him as if he wasn't there. There was a large explosion as the stage went up in flames. Steve circled around the burning carnival. Almost everyone had fled the area and now the creatures were heading into the village. Not wanting to, but knowing he had to, Steve decided he would have to head back home and make sure his parents were okay.