Broken?
Destroyed?
Po had to do something!
He crossed the grass in a hurry. Then he wrapped his arms around the Evoker King’s stony surface. Maybe if he squeezed tightly enough, he could hold him together.
Maybe not.
There was a great flash of light and a sound like breaking pottery. Po flew backward—wings and all—and crashed into his friends. They tumbled to the ground in a heap.
When Po lifted his head off the ground, the air was thick with curls of smoke and something bright and colorful, flickering and flitting. Butterflies? There weren’t supposed to be butterflies in Minecraft, but Po could swear he saw them fluttering through the smoke.
Maybe he just had butterflies on the brain.
He strained his eyes. Just barely, he could see something else moving in the smoke. Something much bigger than a butterfly…
“Is…is that you, E.K.?” he asked.
There was no answer except a low growl.
“That sure didn’t sound like him,” said Morgan.
Po still couldn’t make out many details through the smoke and dust. Was that…a wing? A huge rocky fist? A pig snout?
Something was very, very wrong here.
Po started laying down a row of blocks. Stone, dirt, brick—anything and everything he had in his inventory.
“Wall. Now!” he shouted.
Harper quickly joined him. They didn’t stop until there was a low wall between them and…whatever was out there.
“What did you see?” asked Morgan. Po just hushed him.
They all waited in silence for a long minute. They heard grunting and growling and a series of wet snorts. Then they heard flapping wings and trudging feet. All the sounds began to get farther away. Finally, there was silence. Po waited another minute before he poked his head above the wall.
There was nothing there. Just a crater where the Evoker King had once stood.
“What in the world was that?!” Jodi cried, leaving the safety of the wall to peer into the crater.
“That shouldn’t have been possible,” said Harper. “I got the enchantment right…I know I did.”
“Maybe someone else should take this thing,” Theo said, setting down the glowing pickaxe. “I feel sick.”
“I don’t understand what happened,” Po said. He looked around. “Did the Evoker King just explode? Is he…gone? Forever?”
“Maybe not,” said Jodi. “Look over here. Footprints!”
Po saw what she meant. There was a line of little squares leading away from the crater, across the grass, and into the nearby forest. Those squares looked like small, blocky footsteps.
Morgan seemed suspicious. “Since when are there footprints in Minecraft?”
“Well, I can explain that one, at least,” Theo said. He snuck a guilty look at Morgan. “It’s a mod.”
“Doc made a footprint mod?” said Po. “Why haven’t we noticed it before now?”
“It’s not one of Doc’s,” Theo said. “It’s one of mine.”
Morgan frowned. “I thought I told you not to add any new mods,” he said.
“But I did this before you said that,” Theo said quickly. “And this mod is harmless. And helpful!” He smiled. “I did it for Ash. This way, if we ever leave our Shack without her, she can just follow our footprints to find us.”
“Sure,” said Morgan. “But what else might follow our footprints? What if this mod leads monsters right to us?”
Theo’s smile evaporated. “I don’t think that will happen.”
“You don’t think so,” said Morgan. “But that’s the point. You aren’t sure. You’re being reckless!”
“Morgan,” said Jodi. “Don’t be mean.”
“I’m not being mean!” Morgan argued. “Unlike Theo, I’m being a team player. When you’re on a team, you talk about this stuff before you do it.” He turned to face Theo. “Okay, Theo? You can’t just do whatever you want to do, because it affects us all.”
Theo looked like he wanted to shrink away into nothing. The blocky shoulders of his avatar drooped. “Sorry, Morgan,” he said. “I’ll be more careful in the future.”
That seemed good enough for Morgan. He let the conversation end there.
But Po couldn’t help wondering about something. Theo had said, “It’s one of mine.”
One of them?
Did that mean Theo had installed more mods?
Was their game of Minecraft about to get even stranger?
Harper led the way into the forest. She let the footprints guide her.
“Evoker King?” cried Jodi, creeping along behind her. “Are you out here, Evoker King?”
“Man, that name is a mouthful,” said Po. “When we find him, we should really suggest something a little easier. Like Bob!”
“I don’t think we should be shouting anything right now,” said Morgan. “It’s dark under these trees. Something dangerous could spawn here.”
“We might be following something dangerous,” Harper added. “If these are the Evoker King’s tracks…if he survived whatever happened back there…why would he have come this way? Why avoid us?”
“Yeah. Hope for the best,” Theo said. He pulled a splash potion from his inventory. “But be prepared for anything.”
Harper certainly hoped they would find the Evoker King. He was an AI so advanced that he had emotions—and he loved Minecraft as much as Harper and her friends did! Her mind reeled thinking about how much they could learn from him, if only they got the chance.
As they walked on, Harper noticed something strange. A block of wood was missing from a nearby tree’s trunk. A minute later, she saw the missing block of wood on the ground ahead. Based on the footprints, whoever they were following had moved that block of wood.
And now she saw similar signs all along the path: A block of dirt missing from the ground. A block of spruce wood stuck onto an oak tree. The signs appeared completely random.
While she wondered about that, Harper spotted a butterfly flitting between the trees. It took her a moment to realize—there were no butterflies in Minecraft.
She looked back at where it had been. There was nothing there.
Maybe Po was right. Maybe she needed to get her eyes checked.
The trees parted, revealing a clearing in the forest. Clouds had moved in to cover the square sun, making the light dim, but Harper could see a figure standing on the far side of the clearing. It was tall and blocky, and it seemed to be stacking blocks.
“I think that’s him,” Jodi said.
“It looks like him,” Harper agreed. She felt a rush of hope, and cried out, “Evoker King! Hello? Over here!”
The figure paused at the sound of her voice. It turned to look at them.
“That’s not the Evoker King,” said Morgan. “That’s an enderman. Harper, don’t look!”
Too late. Harper turned her head, but the enderman had seen her staring.
And endermen hated to be stared at.
The mob emitted a low, terrifying shriek. Harper risked taking another look—but it was gone.
“It’s teleporting!” she said, and as soon as the warning left her mouth, the enderman appeared right in the middle of their group! With a wave of its long arm, it sent Harper stumbling backward. Then it swung at the others. Jodi and Morgan were both hit.
“Oh no, you don’t!” said Po, and he readied his weapon. If it weren’t such a serious moment, Harper would have laughed at the sight of a butterfly armed with a sword. Funny or not, Po’s attack was useless. The enderman teleported away again, and Po’s sword swept through empty air.
“It’s fast,” said Po.
“Unusually fast,” said Morgan. Then the enderman appeared right behind him, striking him again before blinking away.
“Ow!” said Morgan. He looked around the clearing, frantic. “I don’t think I can take many more hits like that one.”
“Everyone, clump up!” said Harper. “Put your backs together so it can’t sneak behind us.”
“No, we should go on the offensive!” said Theo. “I’ve fought plenty of endermen before.”
Po and Morgan joined Harper. They drew their weapons and stood back to back. Fighting mobs was not Jodi’s preferred way of experiencing Minecraft, but she knew a good idea when she heard it. She quickly joined them in the defensive circle.
Theo, however, stood alone.
“Don’t be careless,” said Po.
“Theo,” Jodi hissed to get his attention.
“Get over here,” said Harper.
Thunder rumbled overhead. Suddenly, the enderman reappeared right in front of Harper. She slashed with her sword, and its eyes flashed—
And her sword disappeared.
“What was that?” she said, shocked. “Did it just teleport my sword away?”
“Don’t worry,” said Theo. “I’ve got the enderman in my sights!”
Theo lobbed his splash potion at the mob, which quickly blinked away—and the splash potion splattered all over Harper and her friends.
“Watch it, Theo!” said Morgan.
Morgan was in bad shape. Harper worried that he must be very low on health. “I think we need to retreat so Morgan has a chance to heal.”
“You guys go,” said Theo. “I’ll cover you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Harper. “It’s too dangerous.”
Just then, thunder rumbled once more, and it began to rain. From somewhere nearby, the enderman shrieked as if in pain. Harper whirled around in a circle, but the hostile mob was nowhere to be found.
“They hate the rain,” said Morgan. He grimaced. “I don’t think it’s coming back. We got lucky, and just in time. My hearts are low.”
“Drink this,” Harper said, and she handed Morgan a healing potion.
“That was a disaster,” said Po. “That thing almost handed us our blocky butts.”
“We had it under control,” said Theo. “It was just an enderman!”
Harper wasn’t so sure about either of Theo’s points. It hadn’t felt like they’d had things under control. In fact, with Ash gone and Theo here, it felt like their teamwork just wasn’t clicking like it had before.
As for it being “just an enderman”…Harper couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something different about the mob they’d just fought. It was a little too fast. A little too strong.
And its eyes had glowed red with rage and hate…and intelligence. Those eyes would haunt her dreams that night.
Those red eyes haunted Morgan, too.
Morgan was known throughout Woodsword Middle School as a walking encyclopedia of Minecraft—especially Survival Mode. He knew which mobs could be tamed. He knew the exact elevations to find specific gems. He knew strategies for fighting every hostile mob…and he knew that the enderman they had fought was not normal.
On their walk to school the next day, he told Jodi all about it. “Endermen are supposed to have purple eyes,” he said. “That thing’s eyes were red. And I’ve never heard of any mob being able to disarm a player like it did Harper. We never did find her sword….”
Jodi nodded along as he spoke. She looked lost in thought.
Morgan continued, “It wasn’t like any enderman I’ve seen. It was like some kind of…Endermonster.”
“I’m more worried about the Evoker King,” said Jodi. “Did the Endermonster destroy him? And what were those icky mobs we saw in the smoke? There was definitely more than one, right?”
“I’ll bet it’s Theo’s fault,” Morgan grumbled.
“Morgan!” said Jodi. “Be nice.”
“What? You heard him,” said Morgan, waving his arms in the air. “He’s been installing mods behind our backs. And he was a total mess during the Endermonster fight. It’s like he’s never even heard of teamwork before!”
Jodi frowned at him. “Maybe he’d be better at teamwork if you treated him like part of the team.”
“You think it’s my fault?” Morgan asked. “You can’t blame me for his mistakes.”
Jodi shook her head. “I’m not blaming you. I’m just pointing out that you aren’t always very welcoming to new people. Remember when Ash moved here? You didn’t want to include her in anything. But when you started being nice, she became one of your best friends.”
“Well, that’s the whole problem,” said Morgan. “Theo is no Ash.”
“Just promise me you’ll make an effort,” said Jodi. “Be a little more welcoming. Please?”
Morgan crossed his arms. “Yeah. Okay. Fine,” he said. “I’ll make an effort.”
* * *
Morgan knew he wouldn’t have a chance to talk to Theo until lunch. He hoped for an easy, quiet morning in the meantime.
But homeroom got off to a weird start. “Pop quiz time,” said Ms. Minerva. “Everyone ready?”
The students shared a confused look. Finally, Morgan raised his hand. “Um, Ms. Minerva?” he said. “This is homeroom. We don’t actually have quizzes or grades in homeroom, right?”
Ms. Minerva straightened her glasses. They were smudged, and her hair was in disarray. “Oh, yes,” she said. “What was I thinking? You’re right, Mulligan.”
Mulligan? Now Morgan was really worried. “Uh, my name is—”
Morgan was interrupted by the squeal of the loudspeaker coming to life. “Today’s morning announcement is as follows,” said a voice. It wasn’t the usual robotic voice of the school’s announcement AI. This voice sounded human—but weird. Like someone was trying to disguise their voice. “The faculty lounge’s exquisite combo coffee maker and weather prediction device is out of order. Do not expect repairs until somebody apologizes for insulting it.”
Morgan turned to Jodi. “Is that…Doc?” he whispered.
“This concludes the morning announcements,” said the voice. “Good luck out there!”
Morgan turned back to get a better look at Ms. Minerva. She looked rough. Was this what happened she missed her morning coffee?
“I’m fine!” Ms. Minerva said. She rummaged through the lost-and-found box beneath her desk and pulled out a juice box. She squinted at the ingredients. “Water…kiwi and pineapple extract (Pineapple? That’s weird)…monodextrosomething concentrate…Why don’t they make these things with coffee?”
“Those two need to make up,” Jodi whispered into Morgan’s ear.
Morgan agreed. He spent the rest of homeroom hoping Ms. Minerva would hurry to apologize to Doc between classes.
* * *
Apparently, there was no apology.
Doc stopped by their table at lunch. “Greetings, my little Minecrafters!” she said. “I come to you seeking aid.”
Harper perked up, as she always did at the chance to learn from Doc. “What do you need?” she asked. “Is it…a science side quest?”
Doc chuckled. “You know me too well. Yes, in fact. I need a few students to take some measurements in the butterfly sanctuary after school.”
Po’s face drooped. “Aw, I can’t,” he said glumly. “I have drama club.”
“That means we won’t be playing Minecraft,” said Morgan.
“How come?” said Theo. “We could still play without Po there, right?”
Po gasped theatrically. “Don’t you dare!” he said, outraged by the thought.
“It’s an unspoken rule,” Jodi explained to Theo. “If one of us can’t make it, we usually don’t meet up.”
“You guys have a lot of unspoken rules,” Theo said. “Maybe you should write them down.”
He chuckled as he said it, so Morgan knew he was trying to make a joke. B
ut it rubbed Morgan the wrong way—like Theo was calling them bossy.
“Anyway,” Harper said, glaring at her friends before turning back to Doc, “I’ll help with the measurements.”
“Yeah,” Jodi said. “Morgan and I will, too.”
“Much appreciated,” said Doc. “I would do it myself, you know…but Ms. Minerva has decided not to give me a ride to my evening badminton match. Which means I have to take my bike. Which means it will be a mad dash to get there in time.”
“Gosh,” Jodi said. “That sounds stressful.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to get a ride in Minerva’s car today anyway,” said Doc. “Not after I fill it with beetles…”
The kids looked shocked.
“Eh-hem…I’m just kidding, of course,” Doc said as she nervously cleared her throat. “Well, see you in class.”
Then she quickly walked away.
“I feel like we’re kidding when we call her a mad scientist,” said Po. “But…maybe she’s actually a mad scientist?”
“Someone has got to get those two back on the same page,” said Jodi. Morgan could see the wheels turning in her head. His sister couldn’t stand to see people (or animals) in conflict.
Theo rapped his knuckles on the table to get their attention. “I have a surprise for you all,” he said. “I was going to hand these out at the library tonight. But if we’re not meeting, I’ll give them to you now.”
“A surprise?” Morgan echoed. “I hope it’s not a splash potion.” Jodi elbowed him in the ribs.
“I felt bad about how things went yesterday,” Theo continued. “So I stayed up late to make these.”
Crack in the Code! (Minecraft Stonesword Saga #1) Page 3
