Herobrine's Message

by Sean Fay Wolfe

  “Oh, open your eyes!” Ben yelled, the anger that he had barely been holding back since the Mechanist’s arrival surging forward. “These people have had their entire lives uprooted! The Noctem Alliance has taken over their city, stolen their homes, and forced them to lock themselves down in this stupid mine! Some of them have friends who are still up there, and the Noctem Alliance is probably abusing them, or worse! They need to hear good news!”

  “But . . . I . . . ,” the Mechanist sputtered. “What do you expect . . . We don’t have anything good to tell them . . .”

  “Well, that’s your job!” bellowed Ben, marching up to the Mechanist and now yelling directly into his face. “Like it or not, when you volunteered to take over Stan’s job, you took on the responsibility of keeping your people happy! And since the beginning, you’ve stayed holed up in the castle, drinking yourself into a stupor, and running the country without caring what your people think of you.

  “Even now, when we’re all trapped down here, do you have the nerve to talk to your citizens face to face? No! You just locked yourself in your room, feeling sorry for yourself, and had me and Bob take the fall for you! We’ve been trying as hard as we can to keep the people of Element City from hating us. What have you done to make the situation better? Nothing!”

  There was a moment of silence, broken only by the ongoing, enraged roar of the crowd, during which the Mechanist stared into Ben’s furious eyes, unable to speak. Ben glared back, his anger slowly fading, and grief starting to well up in his face.

  “My brother died to save you,” Ben spat bitterly. “And so far, I don’t think that you’re worth it. You’d better prove me wrong.”

  And with that, Ben shoved the Mechanist away from him and, with tears streaming down his face, he marched out of the room.

  For a moment, Bob and the Mechanist just stood there. The Mechanist stared blankly at where Ben had just stood. After a moment, Bob turned around and had Ivanhoe run out the back door and down the hall after Ben, leaving the Mechanist standing alone in the midst of the barren stone room.

  Ever since he had woken up and realized that Bill had sacrificed his life so that he could live, the Mechanist had been totally distraught. After he had joined Stan’s militia all those months ago, the Mechanist had sworn off SloPo. Yet, in the stresses of running the entire country, the Mechanist hadn’t been able to resist the relaxing allure of the potion. If he had had the power to resist, to keep off the potion, Bill would still be alive.

  And the more he thought about it, the Mechanist realized, in horror, that Ben was totally right. He hadn’t done anything since they had entered the mines, too wrapped up in his own self-loathing, only ordering cuts to the food rations when supplies began to run low. He had abandoned his police chiefs and he had abandoned his country. And now the Mechanist knew what had to be done.

  Taking a deep breath, the Mechanist walked out the doorway and onto the stone-block balcony, overlooking the basin of the giant cave, which was swamped with players. The mob of players, which was beginning to become slightly calmer, erupted yet again at the sight of the Mechanist. Now, however, the anger emanating from the crowd was far more potent. This was the first appearance the Mechanist had made before his people since before the construction of the bunker. All the hatred at the overwork and ruthless discipline that the Mechanist had ordered came surging forward.

  “Excuse me!” the Mechanist yelled, raising his hand, struggling to be heard over the tumult of the masses. “I have something I would like to say to you all.”

  The noise did not die down. Rather, another brick flew up out of the crowd, and straight toward the Mechanist. Acting out of instinct, the Mechanist whipped his pickaxe from his inventory and shattered the brick in midair. Shocked and appalled, he looked down into the crowd and saw soldiers surging into the throng to apprehend the one who had thrown the brick. He forced himself to take another deep breath.

  “Anyway,” the Mechanist continued, trying as hard as he could to ignore the struggle between the attacking player and the soldiers going on below him, “I would like to personally thank all of you for your continuing cooperation. Being holed up in this cave is difficult for everybody, but it is necessary to—”

  “It’s not hard for you!” a single voice rang out above the noise. “I bet you’ve been on SloPo every minute of every day since the war started!”

  A fresh round of fury burst forth from the crowd at this accusation. The words stung the Mechanist, and he gave a shudder of disappointment in himself before responding.

  “I fully admit that since the departure of my fellow councilmen, I have not always acted as I ought to. I have made many mistakes, and for that, I offer you my sincerest apologies. However, in the present situation—”

  “You’re nothing but a dictator!” the voice cut back in, from a player somewhere in the center of the crowd who the Mechanist couldn’t see. “You’ve done nothing but lay around and drink while us normal people have been doing all the hard work!”

  “Okay, guards, apprehend that player. I can’t get a word out!” the Mechanist spat out without really thinking. Had he given it any thought, he would have realized just how big a mistake that it was.

  “He’s trying to silence me!” the player screamed, sounding disturbed and terrified. “He’s gone crazy with power!”

  The soldiers, who had just finished detaining the brick thrower, now surged toward the shouting player, who was in the center of the crowd. However, the rest of the citizens began to fight back. They were punching the soldiers, slamming into them, doing all they could to keep them from reaching the center of the crowd where the one player was. The Mechanist watched in total shock as the soldiers drew out their weapons and began to fight against the hundreds of players now pressing into them.

  What the Mechanist was witnessing was a revolt.

  “Please, calm down!” the Mechanist cried out in desperation. “Guards, I order you to stand down. Return to your positions immediately!”

  The guards couldn’t hear him. They were too busy fighting against the citizens, who had drawn their own weapons and were starting to attack the soldiers. As he stared down into the crowd, awestruck, the Mechanist suddenly realized that something else was flying directly at him. He ducked down under the cobblestone-wall railing of the balcony, and watched the arrow fly directly through where his head had been seconds before and stick into the stone-block wall above him.

  The Mechanist’s heart was pounding out of his chest as the gravity of the situation dawned on him. One of his people had just tried to assassinate him. He would never be able to find out who. The entire population had turned on him. A full-on battle was breaking out among the people of Elementia.

  All of a sudden, the Mechanist knew that he wasn’t safe anymore. Nobody was. The Noctem Alliance hadn’t even found their cave yet.

  The Mechanist realized that he had to find Bob and Ben. They, of all people, might be able to fix this dangerous mess. He crawled across the cobblestone balcony and was about to enter the room again when an explosion echoed throughout the cavern.

  All concerns for safety flying out the window, the Mechanist leaped to his feet, terrified at the thought that somebody in the crowd below had detonated a TNT block. However, looking down into the throng, he saw no sign of the blast. Rather, all fighting had ceased in an instant, and all eyes were now turned to a giant hole that had been ripped in the upper wall of the cave.

  The entire cave watched with bated breath. What was this? Was it some sort of military operation? Was it an accidental TNT detonation? Had the Noctem Alliance finally found them?

  Then, one by one, players emerged from the opening, standing on the ledge, and the Mechanist’s heart lifted.

  He recognized the tattered army uniform and scraggly beard of the navy officer Commander Crunch and the dirty white robes and full red lips of Cassandrix. Kat’s orange shirt, pink shorts, and blond hair were still radiantly bright despite their heavy wear and tear, and R
ex’s head poked out joyfully beside her. Charlie hobbled up next to her, his leg clearly damaged but still in one piece.

  And then, from amid a group of people that the Mechanist could see standing behind the four players, another stepped to the front of the pack. His turquoise shirt was stained, his navy pants were torn, there were scratches and bruises pock-marking his face, but it was still completely undeniable as to who this player was.

  “People of Elementia!” Stan2012 announced to the stunned mass of hundreds of players. “We . . . are . . . back!”

  And with that, Stan pumped his fist into the air in a triumphant gesture as, all at once, the entire population of the cave burst into applause. The Mechanist could only stare, tears of joy in his eyes, as he took in the wonderful, wonderful truth that his friends were home alive.

  Ben and Bob rushed out of the door and stood beside the Mechanist.

  “What’s going on out here?” Ben demanded, astonished by the aura of amazing joy that was now echoing throughout the cave.

  The Mechanist said nothing. He simply turned back around and pointed up at the hole in the wall. As soon as the two brothers realized who they were looking at, they erupted into hoots and cheers, hugging each other and jumping around, totally elated.

  And there, far up on the ledge, as his friends broke down in tears at the fact that they were finally home, and they hugged each other, and danced, and shouted their love down into the crowd, Stan didn’t move. He simply stood still, his fist still raised into the air like a beacon of victory, and looked down into the faces of his people, his heart filled with joy such as he had never known before.

  Within minutes, he knew that he would have to meet up with the Mechanist and the three police chiefs. He knew that he would have to reveal the tragic news of DZ’s death. He knew that he would have to lead his people. He knew that he would have to plan an attack. He knew that time was of the essence. He knew that the fate of the game of Minecraft may very well be resting on his shoulders.

  But Stan still allowed himself, just for a minute, to live in the moment. He had worked so long and hard to return, and he had sacrificed and lost so much, that never, in a million years, could this moment be ruined.

  CHAPTER 19 THE NEW PLANS

  The holding room was nothing but a giant cube, constructed of cobblestone blocks and taking up a sizable space within the Noctem Capitol Building. Torches lit the perimeter of the room, making it light enough to see and prevent other mobs from spawning. Cutting through the solid wall of cobblestone on the upper half of one wall was a row of glass, through which any curious onlookers could see what the two Zombies were doing.

  These two Zombies did not resemble typical Zombies. Rather than the square head reminiscent of a player, they had elongated heads, with bloodshot red eyes and giant, droopy green noses hanging down off their faces. These Zombies, one fully grown and the other half the first one’s size, had once been two villagers.

  They were once mother and son, named Mella and Stull, and they had lived happily together in their village, which was now long gone. Not that they knew it, though. Besides their names, Mella and Stull had no memory of their previous lives. Oh, it was there, hidden somewhere deep within the layers of instinct and bloodlust that had overtaken their already primitive reasoning upon being bitten by a Zombie.

  The two of them lumbered around aimlessly. For the past month, this had been their lives. They had spent the majority of their time ambling aimlessly around this room. Occasionally, they had been pulled out by the players who had put them there to serve as a communication bridge between the players and the mobs, and they had soon after been rewarded by unconscious players, who they would devour with pleasure.

  It had been quite some time since they had been utilized, however. The Noctem Alliance’s mobs had been of great use on the battlefield, but now that the fighting was all but over, they served little to no purpose besides controlling the Withers. In fact, Lord Tenebris had made it clear that no tamed mobs were to be allowed into Element City. Only players who had been members of the Noctem Alliance would be allowed to live freely within the walls. Not that the villagers knew this, though. The only thing they knew was that at some point, the iron door on the ground would open again, and it would be time to feast.

  Sure enough, the door did eventually scrape open, and Mella and Stull glanced at it. Through the frame marched a player, a bronze skin showing under his black armor, followed by another black-clad player with a thunderbolt across his red face, and around twenty players in soldier uniforms. The Zombies were beside themselves in anticipation. They had never seen so many players in one place before.

  “Are you sure about this?” the lightning-faced player asked, turning to face G.

  “Hey, don’t look at me,” said G, sounding annoyed as he gave a noncommittal shrug. “I’m just following what General Tess told me.”

  “Yeah, but I heard something totally different,” the player replied, sounding confused. “She told me to bring these players to the firing squad, not the Zombie chamber. And it makes more sense to do it that way. I mean, there are way too many players here for the Zombies to eat all of them at once.”

  “Look, Zingster,” G retorted, looking Corporal Zingster directly in the face. “I just came down from talking to Tess, and she told me that she wants me to knock out these players and let the Zombies have them.”

  “But—”

  “But nothing!” G spat at him. “As of today, I outrank you, Corporal, so you’ll do what I say!”

  Corporal Zingster stared at G for a moment.

  “Yes, sir, Captain MasterBronze,” the Corporal replied, giving a respectful salute before backing out of the room, the door closing behind him.

  Wasting no time, G started rummaging through his inventory. He knew that it would only be a little while before Corporal Zingster discovered that he wasn’t really a captain like he had said. G hated that he’d had to lie to Zingster like that; it was just another complication to be thrown into the plan, but he knew that it was the only way to ensure that Zingster obeyed him without question. In any case, it didn’t matter now. If this plan worked out, he would most likely never see Zingster or Tess again until they met on the battlefield.

  “Take these!” G said, as the horde of captive soldiers, who had been looking on in terrified silence, now stared at him in surprise. From his inventory, he threw dozens of pickaxes into the crowd, which he had looted from the supply room.

  One of the soldiers caught the pickaxe, and looked it over uncomprehendingly before returning his gaze back to G.

  “Who are you?” he asked in awe.

  “My name is Goldman2,” G replied hastily. “I’m a spy for Elementia and a member of the Element City Council of Eight, and we’re busting out of here.”

  Instantly, a ripple of excitement spread throughout the crowd, though, with the discipline of the soldiers they were, they remained quiet. G continued to look through the supplies he had stolen until he found what he was looking for. He held a liquid Potion of Weakness in his right hand, and had a golden apple on standby. G turned to face the two zombies, who had been looking at him expectantly since his arrival.

  “Come here, Mella and Stull,” G called out to them like dogs. “It’s time to eat.”

  Their eyes flashed red with excitement as they lumbered forward toward G. Then, when they were a few blocks away, G launched the Potion of Weakness in their direction. The glass bottle shattered on the ground, enveloping the two villagers in a cloud of fumes. The two forms of the villagers stumbled around in confusion within the cloud for a few seconds before falling to the ground. Without hesitation, G took a deep breath and sprinted into the cloud. He shoved the golden apple down the throat of Mella, and then drew a second golden apple and did the same to Stull. The mother and son sputtered for a minute, before falling unconscious to the ground, golden wisps of smoke curling up off their bodies.

  G barreled out of the smoke, and finally allowed himself to breat
he in the fresh, nontoxic air. After he had regained his breath, he turned to face the soldiers, who were all looking at him.

  “Start digging,” G commanded. He pulled a compass from his inventory, glanced at it, and then pointed toward the left wall of the room. “Aim that way. And hurry up, we don’t have much time before the Noctems discover that we’re gone.”

  The soldiers nodded and immediately began to tunnel into the ground, creating a sizable staircase down into the underground in a matter of seconds. G called over to a few soldiers to help him carry the shuddering Zombie villagers, who were slowly but surely becoming less and less green. Two of them hoisted Mella up over their shoulders, while the other scooped up Stull in her arms.

  As the last of the soldiers disappeared down into the tunnel, G gave a sigh of relief. He couldn’t believe how well his plan had worked, and allowed himself a moment of self-congratulation. Then, he picked up a handful of loose cobblestones on the ground, descended into the tunnel, and placed the blocks back into the floor. The room was now identical to how it had looked just minutes before, save the absence of the two Zombie villagers who were nearly cured and en route back to Element City.

  Lord Tenebris looked around the Element Castle council room, upon the stone-brick table of the Council of Operators. He found it odd that when Stan2012 had taken control of Element City, he had not destroyed the throne, which Lord Tenebris now sat on. Perhaps he had kept it as a reminder of King Kev’s rule, so that the decisions that they made should never allow a monarch to rule Elementia ever again. In any case, Lord Tenebris couldn’t help but feel an innate sense of contentedness sitting on the throne. He had waited so long, and worked so hard for this throne, that, no matter who sat on it, he knew that it would always truly be his.

  The feeling of satisfaction only lasted for a moment, however, before Lord Tenebris’s dormant rage swelled back up. As relieved as he was that the Noctem Alliance had now conquered the entire server of Elementia, it was still inexcusable that Stan2012 had not been located yet. Furthermore, although the citizen population within the city was locked in their houses under quarantine, it was obvious that not all of them were there. A good number of the Element City citizens had clearly escaped to somewhere.