System Overload

by Mark Cheverton

  “Where do you think they go?” Crafter asked.

  Gameknight shrugged.

  The moaning of the monsters grew in volume as they passed one of the tunnels. The User-that-is-not-a-user glanced at Crafter, then moved to the rocky wall and stood next to the dark opening. The other NPCs did the same, pressing their backs to the walls of the crevasse and hiding in the shadows.

  “I think maybe there’s a zombie-town down there,” Gameknight whispered. It was hard to be heard over the sorrowful moans. “They must have moved from their other town to this one to avoid being seen by us.”

  “But why would they care if we see them?” Digger asked.

  “Maybe we need to go down there and find out,” Gameknight suggested.

  “That sounds like a fantastic idea,” Hunter said sarcastically. “Let’s all go down into a dark tunnel filled with the sounds of a hundred zombies. This is one of your best ideas yet.”

  Stitcher punched her sister in the arm.

  “Ouch,” she grumbled, then smiled.

  Gameknight looked around at the villagers that had followed him on this foolish adventure. Their looks of confidence had slowly been shaved away as they took the parkour stairway to the floor of the crevasse. And now, the loud moans of the zombies were etching away at what little remained.

  I can’t take them down there with me, Gameknight thought. Something terrible might happen to them. I don’t want to be responsible for that. I must do this alone.

  He turned away from the dark passage and faced the NPCs.

  “Not everyone, just me,” Gameknight said. “All of you, get defenses set up, in case we need them. We have to be ready for anything. If it goes bad, we can all retreat to the end of the crevasse and use the tunnel the villagers are digging to get to the surface.”

  “Agreed,” the stocky NPC said.

  Digger started to give orders. Blocks were placed across the crevasse floor as archer towers began to grow upward. Gameknight marveled at the efficiency of the NPCs, but he knew, sadly, that they’d done this kind of work many times before.

  “Gameknight, I have a bad feeling about this,” a voice said from behind.

  The User-that-is-not-a-user turned and found Cobbler staring up at him.

  “What is it, Cobbler?” he asked.

  “Everywhere I go, bad things happen,” the young boy explained. “I have nothing but bad luck, and I’m afraid it’s going to affect you down there in that zombie-town.”

  “Don’t be silly, Cobbler. You don’t have bad luck,” Gameknight said. “Sometimes bad things happen, but you just need to get over it and keep doing what you need to do.”

  “That’s not very sympathetic,” Stitcher said next to him.

  “What?” Gameknight asked.

  “It’s not,” she replied with a scowl. “Look, Cobbler, like our insensitive friend here said, bad stuff sometimes happens, but you can always find some good in every situation, if you look hard enough.”

  “Really?” Cobbler scoffed. “Where is the good thing here? My village, along with my family and all my friends, have all either been taken by zombies or destroyed. I don’t see the good part there.”

  He has a point, the User-that-is-not-a-user thought. That’s pretty terrible. And I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that all these zombie attacks are really because of me, somehow.

  “But you’re safe,” Herder said. “And you told us that your village was missing. If you hadn’t been out of the village when the monsters came, then nobody would know what happened, and we wouldn’t be hunting for them right now.”

  “That’s right,” Crafter added. “I’d say that is pretty good, wouldn’t you?”

  “Ahh … I don’t know,” Cobbler said as he lowered his gaze to the ground.

  “We don’t have time for this right now,” Gameknight said. “I want to know what is going on in this zombie-town. So I’m going down there to take a peek.”

  “You aren’t going alone,” Hunter snapped. “I’m going with you.”

  “Me, too,” her younger sister added.

  “No, I need you two here,” Gameknight replied. “I want everything ready when I return, in case a bunch of monsters are chasing me. Besides, I can’t go stomping around down there with a lot of soldiers with me … it will make too much noise, and chances are we’ll be detected. No, this is a job that requires stealth and secrecy. I need quick and quiet.” He turned and faced Crafter. “I need you to make something while I’m gone.”

  “What is it?” Crafter replied.

  Gameknight explained quietly, sketching on the ground with the tip of his sword.

  “I’ll have them ready when you return,” the young NPC replied.

  “OK,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said. “All of you, just be ready when I return.”

  Without waiting for a reply, he spun around and darted into the shadowy passage, a redstone torch in his hand. As he walked, he removed his enchanted diamond armor and replaced it with some of the gold zombie armor they’d collected in the portal room. Gameknight tried to hold his breath as he put it on. The metal stunk of decaying flesh; it was terrible. When he had all the disgusting armor in place, he put away his sword and took out a golden one. Hopefully, this disguise would allow him to get close without being immediately spotted.

  Moving as quietly as he could, Gameknight walked down the passage, the redstone torch casting just enough light to see if there were any holes in the ground that he might trip over. His golden boots clicked on the stone floor, and he could only hope it was not too loud. Then he heard something behind him. Spinning around, he raised his sword, ready to attack.

  “Hi, Gameknight,” a familiar voice said from the darkness.

  Holding out the torch, Herder stepped into the dim light, a group of wolves at his side.

  “When you said you needed stealthy people, I figured you meant me and my wolves,” the lanky boy said with a smile. “So here I am.”

  Gameknight shook his head and scowled. “OK, stay close and stay quiet,” he said. “We aren’t looking for a fight. We just want to know what’s going on.”

  He turned and continued down the dark tunnel. It seemed to twist and turn through the stone, gradually descending. The air was dusty and dry, as if fresh air hadn’t passed through this corridor for centuries. It dried out Gameknight’s throat and made him want to cough, but he resisted the urge; it might get him and Herder killed.

  The two friends walked in silence as they moved through the passageway, the soft paws of the wolves making no noise at all.

  Gameknight was about to say something when a sorrowful moan filled the air. He stopped and moved against the wall, listening. The sound was distant and not approaching … good.

  They continued through the passage. Very quickly, it began to slope downward at a sharper pitch as it continued its zigzag path through Minecraft. The sound of the zombies grew in volume, their sad moans now louder than their footsteps. This reduced Gameknight’s fear of being heard, but his nerves were still stretched tight.

  They skulked through the tunnel, going deeper and deeper as the monster sounds grew louder. Finally, Gameknight and Herder reached the source of the sound … the zombie-town. It was a massive cave, but completely different from the one Gameknight had seen when he had rescued his sister. This one had a rough floor that was very uneven, like it had been sculpted out of the ground with TNT. Huge craters dotted the floor of the cave, as if it were a battlefield from some long-forgotten war. A river ran through one side of the town, with zombies bobbing up and down in the current as they tried to cross the watery obstacle. All across the massive chamber, Gameknight could see countless zombies—at least a hundred of them, if not more. They were all clustered at the center of the chamber, where a single HP fountain sprayed out shimmering green embers. The emerald sparks splashed on the ground, coating the nearby zombies with life-restoring HP.

  Just then, the pitiful moans increased as a large group of green, decaying monsters emerged fr
om a tunnel on the far side of the town. At the front was none other than Xa-Tul himself.

  Gameknight growled, causing the wolves to snarl as well, their white hair standing straight up as their eyes turned red. He watched as the zombie king stormed across the cavern.

  And then he saw them!

  Villagers were lined up against the wall, each with a pickaxe in their hand. They were digging into the rocky wall, slowly expanding the cavern.

  “You see them?” Herder whispered.

  Gameknight nodded. “We need to …”

  Suddenly, a group of three zombies stepped into the passage in front of them. Their dark eyes grew wide when they saw the two NPCs and a dozen wolves. Growls came from the monsters as razor-sharp claws slowly extended from stubby fingers.

  “Zombie-town is under attack!” one of the monsters shouted.

  The other two charged forward, their angry shouts bouncing off the cavern walls. Gameknight took a step back as he threw aside the gold sword and drew his enchanted diamond blade. Before he could attack the monsters, the wolves dove at them. Strong jaws clamped onto zombie arms and legs, devouring the monsters’ HP.

  One of the zombies kicked away a wolf and lunged at Gameknight999. But before the claws could reach his diamond armor, Herder was there with his sharp iron sword. The lanky NPC slashed at the monster, hitting it in the arm, then the side, and then the chest. His attacks were so fast, the monster never had a chance to respond. It disappeared with a pop, leaving behind three glowing balls of XP.

  “No one kicks my wolves!” Herder growled.

  Gameknight nodded, acknowledging his friend’s ferocity, then turned to face the other two, but the wolves had already finished them off, leaving the passage empty of monsters … for the moment. Staring out at the zombie-town, Gameknight could see the entire mob of monsters shuffling toward them. A hundred zombies, or more, were heading straight toward them. There was no way the NPC army could survive this attack.

  “Gameknight, what do we do?” Herder asked. “What do we do?”

  The User-that-is-not-a-user watched the NPC prisoners for a moment longer, then brought his gaze back to the massive horde of monsters that were approaching. Uncertainty filled him from head to foot.

  I have to save those NPCs, Gameknight thought. But I can’t fight all those zombies. I’ve failed them.

  And as he removed the smelly gold coating and replaced it with his own diamond armor, Gameknight could feel a sense of failure settle into his soul.

  CHAPTER 12

  RETREAT

  “Come on, Gameknight, we need to get out of here,” Herder said.

  He reached out and grabbed the back of Gameknight’s armor, yanking him backward, away from the opening.

  “Ahhh … what?” he said.

  “We need to go,” Herder insisted. “The monsters are getting closer.”

  The wolves began to growl and bark at the approaching mob.

  “You’re right,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said.

  He glanced one more time at the NPCs that toiled away with their picks.

  “We’ll be back!” he shouted to the distant prisoners, but they were too far away; it would be impossible for them to hear him. “I promise!”

  The moans of the zombies grew louder.

  “Come on, we gotta go,” Herder insisted.

  “OK,” Gameknight agreed reluctantly as he turned and retreated back into the passage.

  “Wolves … follow,” Herder commanded as they took off, following the dark passage, no longer worrying about trying to hide the sound of their footsteps. It was clear that the zombies knew they were there.

  When he reached the crevasse, Gameknight found the defenses still under construction. NPCs were climbing up the sheer walls, building stairs that led up to platforms for the archers. Walls were being erected across the entire width of the chasm, with holes for arrows to greet any attacking army and openings that would force groups of zombies into choke points where they’d be more susceptible to the villagers’ swords. Digger was using every trick they’d learned from all the battles they’d fought together to come up with a defense that would help them against the approaching storm of claws.

  But they have no idea how many monsters are really coming, Gameknight thought grimly.

  He sprinted out of the tunnel entrance with Herder right beside him. Behind the duo raced the wolves, their canine eyes glowing bright red. They all sprinted to the structure and shot through the opening. Gameknight and Herder took the stairs to the top of the fortified wall, while the wolves paced about on the ground angrily. The two friends stared at the dark tunnel entrance with trepidation in their hearts.

  “Did you find anything?” Hunter asked from one of the tall archer stands.

  Gameknight looked up at her. The terrified expression on his square face told her all she needed to know.

  “Oh … great,” she said. “Here we go again.”

  “I found the captured villagers,” the User-that-is-not-a-user finally said. “But I also found a whole bunch of zombies, too, and they’re headed this way.”

  “How many?” Stitcher asked from a hastily-constructed platform on the opposite side.

  “You don’t want to know,” he replied.

  “Great!” Hunter replied sarcastically.

  Right on cue, growls and moans began to fill the air.

  “I think it would be better to run than fight,” Crafter said.

  “The tunnel to the surface isn’t complete yet,” Digger replied as he added some blocks to the barricade. “We need more time.”

  “Then let’s give it to them,” Crafter replied. “Everyone, get ready!”

  The warriors took their places on the rapidly-built fortifications. Swordsmen stood near the openings in the walls, waiting for the monsters to pass through, while archers on the two raised platforms fitted arrows to bowstrings.

  “Here they come!” Hunter shouted.

  Instantly, Gameknight could hear the twang of her bowstring. Then more strings began to sing as the rest of the archers opened fire. Running across the rampart, the User-that-is-not-a-user moved next to Digger on top of the stone wall. The zombies poured out of the tunnel like a green flood. They were shoulder–to-shoulder, all of them snarling and growling like savage animals as they shuffled forward.

  Arrows rained down upon the monsters, but the zombies did not slow or bother to help their wounded brothers. They just charged forward, intent on destroying the intruders. Gameknight put away his sword and pulled out his own enchanted bow. He began firing, but could quickly tell his arrows were not doing enough damage. It was the total sum of all the arrows that were taking their toll on the monsters, but that was about to change. As soon as they reached the stone walls, the archers would no longer have a good angle of attack on the creatures, and the arrows would be much less effective.

  The mob needed to be slowed down, and Gameknight999 knew just how to do that, but he was afraid. Can I be brave enough to do it? The User-that-is-not-a-user thought. Can I be as brave as the legendary Smithy of the Two-Swords? And as he thought about the celebrated NPC, Gameknight felt courage begin to flow through his veins.

  Drawing his diamond and iron sword, he jumped off the fortified wall, screaming as loud as possible, then stood out in front of the defensive wall, a lone user facing a hundred zombies. He glared at the monsters the way Smithy would have, with nothing but confidence in his eyes. The monsters saw him step forward, and this unexpectedly aggressive maneuver made them hesitate. The archers took advantage of this and increased their rate of fire.

  “It’s the User-that-is-not-a-user,” one of the gold-clad zombie generals growled, pointing. “Get him … ATTACK!”

  The monsters took a step back and Gameknght999 advanced a pace. Those at the front of the formation fell under the steel-tipped hail that rained down from the archer towers.

  The zombie general drew his sword and smashed it into the monsters in front of him. They flashed red as they to
ok damage.

  “Attack … NOW!” the commander screamed.

  The monsters turned their hateful glare toward Gameknight999 and charged. But to their surprise, the User-that-is-not-a-user just stood his ground.

  “Crafter … NOW!” Gameknight yelled over his shoulder.

  Suddenly, a stream of big, stocky warriors charged out from the defensive wall, each carrying a weapon in their right hand. They formed a line next to the User-that-is-not-a-user, but not so close that they were shoulder-to-shoulder: an important gap remained between each pair of warriors.

  “What are you doing?” Hunter shouted. “The zombies will just run right between you!”

  Gameknight glanced up at his friend on the archer stand and flashed her a mischievous grin. He then turned to face the oncoming mob.

  “Ready?” Gameknight asked the warriors.

  They banged their weapons against their metallic chest plates.

  The monsters came closer. The stench of their rotting bodies began to fill Gameknight’s nose as their sad moans hung in the air.

  “NOW!”

  As one, the warriors each pulled out a large, rectangular shield. But instead of holding them so they protected their bodies, head to foot, the NPCs turned them sideways, forming a barrier that would block the monsters from running past.

  “Close in so there are no gaps,” Gameknight instructed. “Hold your ground. We have to give the diggers time to make our escape tunnel.” He turned his head and glanced at Hunter. “Fire between us, at the zombies.”

  She nodded her head as she drew an arrow back and fired it right toward him. The pointed shaft streaked past his head and imbedded itself into an approaching monster. Gameknight turned and struck at the monster with his diamond sword as he held his own shield firmly in his left hand.

  “Advance!” Gameknight shouted.

  The wall of warriors slowly moved forward. This caused the approaching monsters to slow for a moment, the bravery and audacity of these few warriors giving them pause.

  The zombie general began hitting his own troops with his golden sword again, urging them forward. The horde smashed into the wall of shields, pushing the defenders back slowly. Zombie claws raked at the defenses, and tore at those holding them. Arrows flashed over shoulders to strike at the monsters, but there were still just too many of them.