Terrors of the Forest

by Mark Cheverton

  I don’t know if I can do this on my own, he thought.

  After almost being killed by Herobrine at the end of the Great Zombie Invasion, Gameknight felt as if there was some kind of monster hiding within him, and that inner beast was made of pure fear and was waiting to devour him. If he tried to do this on his own, he was sure he’d fail, and Weaver would be lost forever.

  “I need your help to catch Entity303 … please.”

  “I can catch that user,” Stitcher said. “Just give me one clear shot and I’ll take him down for you.”

  “Stitcher, I think it best we tried to help Weaver without violence, if possible,” Crafter said. “Gameknight, we’ll do whatever is necessary to help.”

  “First, let’s just get inside before the monsters come out,” Hunter said. “If we’re going after that user, we need supplies and horses.”

  Hunter moved toward the massive village gates with the rest of the NPCs following her. But Gameknight couldn’t move. He’d seen Weaver, and the expression of confusion and fear on the boy’s face had stabbed at his heart.

  “Don’t worry, Weaver, we’re coming for you,” Gameknight said, then raised his voice until he was shouting as loud as he could. “YOU HEAR THAT, ENTITY303? I’M COMING FOR YOU AND NOTHING’S GONNA STOP ME!”

  A distant laugh echoed out of the forest, which just made Gameknight999 that much more determined. With an angry scowl on his face, he headed into the village.

  CHAPTER 3

  THE BAIT

  Entity303 kicked his horse in the ribs, making it gallop. He yanked on the rope that led to his prisoner.

  “Hurry up!” the user growled. “If you slow us down, villager, you’ll be made to suffer.”

  Weaver urged his horse to a gallop, matching speed with his captor.

  “You know, they’re gonna come after us,” Weaver said, his iron armor clanking as the metallic plates banged together with every hoofbeat.

  The NPC could have adjusted his riding posture and moved with more fluidity on the horse’s back, but he obviously chose not to. That insignificant bit of defiance made Entity303 smile.

  “Good; I want them to come after us, especially your friend with the two swords. Now why don’t you just shut up, like a good little program, and ride that horse quietly.”

  “When he catches you, he’s gonna make you suffer,” Weaver said.

  The user laughed.

  Reaching into his inventory, he pulled out a black cloth sack. Moving his horse next to Weaver’s, Entity303 pulled the bag over the boy’s head.

  “Not this bag again, it stinks,” Weaver complained. “Besides, I need to see where we’re going.”

  “You only need to see what I allow you to see,” the user said. “Now shut up or you’ll be seeing the edge of my sword.”

  He drew his sword and held it up before his eyes. The edge of the blade glowed a bright yellow, as if powered by some kind of mechanism from within. Entity303 smiled, then swung the sword, slapping Weaver in the back with the flat side of the blade. The NPC grunted.

  “Just remember, if you do as you are told, you might just survive this, villager.”

  An angry growl came from beneath the cloth. It made Entity303 laugh.

  They rode in silence through the colorful forest. Each tree was a different autumn color: some were bright orange, some yellow, some a deep red. Quickly, they reached the edge of the forest, then turned northward into a new biome. All around them were trees with leaves in every shade of pink imaginable. Entity303 glanced at Weaver and smiled as the boy took in all the sounds and smells, even from under the black cloth bag.

  “This is a Cherry Blossom Grove,” he said to the NPC.

  Weaver just grunted in reply.

  Entity303 marveled at the smell of the landscape; the aroma of the fresh cherry blossoms was captivating. It was like being buried in rose petals, but with the added sweet taste of cherries dripped on top; it was just incredible. He reached into his inventory, pulled out a brown egg with green spots, and threw it to the ground. Instantly, a monster shaped like a tree appeared, its face looking ancient and wise.

  “Those that follow me seek to destroy the forest,” Entity303 said.

  “Grrrr,” the creature growled.

  “Protect the forest,” the user commanded.

  The monster pulled in its arms and became still, merging into the forest as if it were just another tree. The user laughed.

  He was sure Gameknight999 hadn’t figured it out yet, but Entity303 was inside the game, too. After hacking into the computer Gameknight’s father used for his invention business, he had found the company that first Digitizer had been sold to. Then, it was easy enough to break into that company and steal the device; their security system had been childlike. Now, Entity303 was inside the game, with his name floating over his head like every other user, but with no server thread connecting him to the Minecraft servers. He was just like Gameknight999, a user, but not a user: he was also a User-that-is-not-a-user. But Entity303 rejected that name; it was for his enemy, not him. He was Entity303, and he wanted everyone to remember his name after he’d destroyed every Minecraft server in existence. Then, all those foolish programmers who made Minecraft would truly regret the day they fired him from his job as a programmer there.

  “Entity303 will have his revenge,” he said under his breath.

  Kicking his horse so it would move faster, he galloped through the Cherry Blossom Grove, heading due north. He yanked on the rope.

  “Hurry up back there,” he yelled at Weaver.

  When they reached the end of the colorful pink forest, Entity303 headed to the west, into the next biome; it was a bamboo forest biome. Tall, thin shafts of bamboo stretched high into the air, the closely spaced trees making it difficult to pass at times. Starting about six to eight blocks off the ground, the narrow green trunks were covered with clusters of pale green leaves, making the bamboo seem top-heavy, even though it stood straight and tall. Entity303 had to slow his horse to a walk as he guided it through the forest so that he could find places their horses could pass between the trees. At times, he even had to pull out an iron axe and cut down a tree or two so they could get through. Eventually, as they moved deeper into the forest, he had to dismount and walk the horse forward, cutting through the bamboo trees as he went. It was frustrating, but he knew it was necessary, because he needed to bring Gameknight999 to the next biome.

  Once they passed through the forest of skinny but tough bamboo stalks, Entity303 mounted up again, then drove the horses hard, turning again to the north.

  “I can tell you’re taking some kind of zigzag path. Why are you doing that, to confuse me?” Weaver asked. “You know they’re probably already chasing us.”

  “I’m just giving your little friends a view of what I’ve done to Minecraft after snatching you up,” Entity303 explained. “You see, you’re just a program, so I don’t expect you to understand, but …”

  “I’m not just a program! My name is Weaver!”

  “Oh, how cute, a program with a temper who wants a name. That is adorable. As I was saying, villager …”

  “I said, my name is Weaver!”

  “Whatever, villager; as I was saying, when I pulled you out of that battle with my virus, Herobrine, I was able to use some new software that I inserted into Minecraft. If that fool, Gameknight999 hadn’t gone into the past, it would have never been possible. But his blundering intrusion in the past made it all possible: I just followed the signal from his PC and let it lead me to Minecraft’s past. And then, when we stepped through that diamond portal, my software code followed the same path out of the past and into the present. So everyone in the past—all your friends and family—thinks you died in that legendary battle with Herobrine.”

  Weaver growled, but stayed silent.

  “I’ve been watching Gameknight and his adventures in Minecraft for a long time. I know TNT was his weapon of choice against the mobs. When I took you, the great Weaver—the only NPC wh
o really knows how to use TNT in battle—out of the past, I knew it would disrupt everything, changing the entire timeline for Minecraft. Things progressed differently than before, which enabled my wonderful little virus, Herobrine, to unlock the mods folder. I’ve made many modifications to Minecraft, just to make life more difficult for everyone. And so this zigzag path is to teach those who pursue us just how severe the damage to their precious world has been. Now, be quiet so I can concentrate.”

  They rode hard through the next landscape. The user knew it to be called the Mystic Grove Biome, and it was appropriately named: Everything took on a mystical appearance, from the sky to the ground. Overhead, the sparkling stars had a pink hue, as if a sheet of rosy glass had been pulled across the heavens. Even the moon showed the blushing color. Trees stood tall along the banks of the many rivers that crisscrossed the landscape. The waters in the tributaries were colored a deep purple, and looked inviting, almost as if they were beckoning them to jump in. Entity303 wasn’t sure if that was even safe; maybe the water was poison, as he knew it to be in the Ominous Woods, the next biome.

  Suddenly, Weaver fell from the saddle of his horse, landing with a thud in the thick grassy carpet, ferns and shrubs cushioning his fall and the musty hood falling from his head. Entity303 pulled his horse around and brought it up next to the boy. He then jumped out of the saddle and lifted Weaver to his feet.

  “I don’t know what happened. I must have fallen asleep.”

  “I know exactly what happened,” Entity303 said. He helped the boy back into the saddle, then pulled out an arrow, the tip covered with some kind of thick green coating. “You know what this is?”

  Weaver glanced down at it, then shook his head.

  He poked the boy with the arrow. Instantly, green spirals appeared around Weaver’s head, swirling in the air as his skin color became pale, then a sickly green.

  “This is a poison arrow,” the user explained. “If you try that trick of falling off your horse again to slow us down, I’ll give you more than just a taste of this poison. This stuff will make you so sick, you’ll beg for death.” He poked him again, causing more of the green swirls to appear. “Let me be clear. I need you so those fools behind us will follow. But if you won’t cooperate, and make things difficult for me, then I’ll just feed you to some spiders and dress a zombie up in your clothes instead. I’d rather not do that, because zombies stink so much, but if you become a problem, you will be eliminated. Do we understand each other?”

  Weaver nodded his head, then leaned down, resting his chest against the horse’s neck, struggling to stay mounted.

  “I’m glad we have an understanding,” Entity303 said.

  “Smithy is going to make you suffer when he catches you,” Weaver moaned.

  “Smithy, eh?” Entity303 laughed. “Villager, you have quite a surprise in store for you. Now you be good and I’ll keep that hood off you … agreed?”

  Weaver grunted, but reluctantly nodded his head.

  “Good.”

  They rode through the Mystic Grove in silence for hours. Gradually, the moon began to touch the western horizon as the sun rose in the east. The sky, instead of fading to its normal deep blue, grew bright and pink. That was how it worked in this biome. Normally, Entity303 would have reveled in the beauty of it, but his hatred for the programmers of Minecraft was so deep, he wouldn’t allow himself to think anything positive of their creations.

  With the landscape growing brighter, he glanced back along their trail, hoping to see his pursuers, but there was nothing. They were likely still too far behind to be seen.

  Reaching into his inventory, the user pulled out a piece of rope and dropped it conspicuously on a small bush.

  “They should be able to find that if they aren’t too stupid,” the failed programmer said. He glanced at Weaver disdainfully. “I think you’re going to enjoy what I have planned for your friends. It’s a pity not all of them will survive this little adventure. But, since they’re only lines of code inside a computer chip, what do I care?”

  He smiled an evil, toothy smile, then guided the horses to the left, toward a gigantic tree that stretched high into the air, easily three to four times the height of the tallest oak. Its trunk was massive, at least six blocks across, with multiple levels of branches extending outward. It could almost hold a city in its canopy of branches.

  As they passed beneath the massive plant, Entity303 could see the end of the Mystic Grove, the colorful trees, purple waters and pink sky ending abruptly. A gray, diseased-looking biome butted up against the colorful Grove, extending off into the distance.

  “What’s that smell?” Weaver asked.

  Entity303 sensed it as well. There was an acidic, putrid aroma that battled with the aromatic flowers and fragrant trees. The scent assaulted his nose and he felt as if he could almost taste the air. Entity303 knew this was the Ominous Woods, and it was a dangerous place. Plants here tended to be poisonous, as were the rivers and streams. Everything was gray and devoid of color, even the sky. The entire forest seemed lifeless, as if some kind of lethal spell had been cast upon the biome.

  “This will do nicely,” said Entity303 as he stopped the horses, then dismounted. “Get off.”

  Weaver slid off the horse’s back. “What are we doing here?”

  “Shut up!” The user drew his sword, the sound of the blade leaving his inventory stilling any further questions.

  “I can’t wait to face you, Gameknight999,” he muttered to himself. “We have much to discuss. But I’m sure you’ll have far too many companions with you. It’s unfortunate I’ll have to destroy some of them.”

  He grinned an evil grin, like that of a snake after catching an unsuspecting mouse. Moving to an open area, Entity303 used a shovel and dug a two-block by two-block hole in the ground, then filled it with water. Reaching into his inventory, he withdrew a handful of flowers and planted them carefully around the edge of the pool.

  “Are you ready to go someplace you’ve never been?” Entity303 asked.

  “What are you talking about?” Weaver replied, confused.

  The former programmer didn’t reply. He grabbed a diamond from his inventory and threw it into the calm pool of water. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning shot down from the gray sky, the following thunder almost deafening. When the bright flash of light faded, the water had changed to a deep, sparkling purple.

  “Here we go, villager. The adventure starts for real, right now.”

  He yanked on the rope, drawing Weaver next to him. He grabbed the villager’s well-known yellow shirt and tore off a piece, then threw it to the ground. The user smiled as he glanced at the young boy, and Weaver scowled in return.

  “That’s just to make sure that idiotic, Gameknight999 follows us,” Entity303 said with a chuckle.

  Entity303 smiled, then shoved Weaver into the portal. Instantly, he disappeared. “I’ll be waiting for you, Gameknight999,” Entity303 said, and then he too stepped into the portal and disappeared from the Overworld.

  CHAPTER 4

  THE CHASE

  With Herder at his side, Gameknight999 rode at the head of a formation of villagers, all of whom were ready for a fight. Herder leaned down to say something to his wolves. He’d brought a dozen of the furry animals with him, and their sensitive noses were proving very useful at finding Weaver’s trail. After whispering something to the animals, they barked, then three of them ran to the back of the formation.

  “What did you tell them to do?” Gameknight asked.

  Herder was the only person with the gift of being able to speak with the wolves and get them to do what was needed. Many of the villagers called him Wolf-man, as a sign of respect for his gift. His wolves had proven truly helpful to the villagers many times in their past wars against Herobrine.

  “I thought a rear guard might be smart,” the lanky villager said with a smile, his long black hair hanging in tangles across his face. Then, with a suspicious tone to his voice, he added, “You never know who’
s following?”

  Gameknight nodded, though he scowled a bit. Herder was not usually the suspicious type. He was always searching for the best in people, and expecting someone to be following them was out of character for the young boy. At least, it was out of character for the Herder he’d known before all this had happened.

  “Do the wolves still have the scent?”

  “They lost it, so they’re searching the forest for it,” Herder replied.

  “Perhaps we should just continue in the direction they were heading,” Crafter suggested. His tiny form seemed almost comical on his gigantic horse. Even though he was probably the oldest living villager in Minecraft, he currently inhabited the body of a young boy. “When the wolves find the scent, I’m sure we’ll hear them. It seems reasonable that they were still heading in this direction.”

  “I agree; let’s keep going this way for now,” Hunter added. “Digger, what do you think?”

  The stocky NPC just shrugged his shoulders and glanced down at the ground. Gameknight was accustomed to Digger being a leader, his booming voice filling others with confidence, but here in this timeline Digger was not a tower of strength. Instead, he seemed consumed by sadness and fear.

  What happened to you, my friend? Gameknight thought. How could Weaver’s abduction in the distant past have done this to you?

  Gameknight wanted to ask Digger, but felt it wasn’t the right time. Besides, Digger wouldn’t have known anything was different with him, right? Because he’d never known anything different, his life in this timeline would seem normal to him, even though it was clearly different to the User-that-is-not-a-user. Gameknight glanced up at the square face of the sun. It had now cleared the horizon and was slowly creeping its way upward, the blue sky covered with boxy white clouds.

  “Let’s just get moving,” Stitcher complained. “If we’re gonna save that villager, we should find him quickly.”

  They rode through a forest that Gameknight couldn’t believe actually existed. Countless plants sparkled, with shining particles rising from their multi-colored leaves and petals, the magic within the plants slowly leaking out. There were trees capped with purple leaves, and others with leaves of blue or green or silver. Vines covered with tiny white flowers hung down from the leafy canopy. Even the water in the streams was the richest color of purple he’d ever seen. It was incredible to behold.