Last Stand on the Ocean Shore

by Mark Cheverton

  “They’re running!” Stonecutter exclaimed, his voice filled with shock and surprise.

  “What?” Gameknight asked as he glanced over his shoulder. “I’ve never seen zombies run before. Herobrine’s shadow-crafters must have done something to them … giving the monsters this new ability.”

  “Great, running zombies,” Hunter said. “That’s all we need.”

  “Let ’em have it!” Gameknight yelled.

  Hunter stopped and spun around, then drew an arrow from her inventory and fired it at the red and white block. The arrow struck the cube right in the center of the N and instantly started to blink. The creatures were so enraged that they didn’t notice the ticking bomb.

  BOOM!

  The block of TNT tore into the mob, flinging green bodies into the air. A few disappeared as they landed, flashing bright red on impact. The decaying monsters howled in anger and ran straight toward the NPCs.

  “Here they come,” Trimmer yelled. “RUN!”

  They all turned and fled, sprinting across the desert with every ounce of speed.

  “Head toward those two sand dunes,” Gameknight yelled, pointing with his iridescent, shimmering sword.

  The party sprinted forward, not bothering to respond. They headed for the gap between two large hills of sand. When they reached the two mounds, Gameknight stopped to make sure the zombies saw them.

  “Hunter, send them a message,” Gameknight said.

  “Gladly,” she replied as she fired a deadly missile toward their pursuers.

  The arrow struck one of the zombies in the shoulder, causing it to catch fire for a moment, then went out when the monster dropped to the ground to put out the magical flames. Standing, the wounded zombie roared a bloodcurdling wail, then ran directly at Hunter.

  “I think they got the message,” Hunter said with a smile, then turned and ran along the narrow pass between the two dunes.

  “Quickly, turn this way,” Gameknight said as he cut back along their path, heading around the dune and back toward the monsters.

  “What are you doing?” Cobbler asked. “You’re heading back toward them.”

  “No, they’re behind the dune. They can’t see us,” Gameknight explained. “We’re playing a little game of follow the leader. Put two blocks of TNT right between the two hills.”

  Cobbler stopped and placed the blocks next to each other, then turned and ran. Hunter laughed as she patted her friend on the back, then also turned and ran, the rest of the NPCs following their leader’s direction. As they ran, Gameknight could hear the moans of the pursuing horde as the monsters emerged from between the two sand dunes.

  “Hunter,” Gameknight said. “Hit ’em NOW!”

  With a fluid motion, Hunter pulled out an arrow, notched it to her bowstring, stopped to take careful aim, then released. It flew in a graceful arch, lighting the sand with a soft blue glow as it streaked through the air, then struck the TNT block. Instantly, the red and white cube started to blink. The monsters at the front saw the bombs and tried to turn around and run back, but the mass of zombie bodies surging from behind was too large. They all crashed together, stopping the stampede of decaying creatures.

  BOOM … BOOM!

  More bodies flew into the air. Gameknight didn’t stop to count how many; he just turned and ran.

  “Come on, we’ve delayed them enough. Let’s get to the temple,” he shouted.

  The others cheered and ran, heading straight for the temple that was just barely peeking over the top of the sand dune ahead of them. As they crested the hill, Gameknight could see the temple clearly. It looked like some kind of ancient Egyptian pyramid, with sloping sides that narrowed as they stretched up into the sky. Images of the great pyramids of Giza sprang into his mind as Gameknight remembered lessons from school. But those pyramids had been massive. This one before him was but ten blocks high, with an ornate entrance and twin towers standing on either side of the opening. Orange cubes of wool decorated the faces of the towers, giving it an ancient look, as if some kind of great secret lay hidden within its depths.

  As they approached the temple, Gameknight could see that most of the villagers were already inside the blocky building. Workers were modifying the structure, adding stone and dirt here and there to form defensive walls and platforms from which archers could fire. As they neared the entrance, Hunter ordered NPCs to distribute the blocks of TNT around the temple. Once they were done, they all ran into the ancient building.

  Instantly Gameknight coughed at the dust that filled the air. There were so many people moving around that dust from the sandstone blocks was billowing upward, choking everyone. It seemed that the hard hooves of the cows were the worst offenders.

  “Herder … where’s Herder?” Gameknight yelled.

  “I’m here,” he replied from across the chamber.

  “The cows, they have to go outside,” Gameknight said.

  “But they won’t be safe,” Herder complained.

  “Zombies don’t eat cows,” Gameknight replied. “I’m sure they will be OK. Now get them out before we suffocate in here.”

  Herder nodded his head, then whistled as he moved toward the door. Stepping out of the temple, Herder led the cows onto the open plain.

  “Quickly, get back inside,” Crafter yelled. “They’re coming.”

  Herder looked at his cows, then turned and glanced at the approaching monsters. Placing a hand affectionately on the nearest cow’s neck, he patted the animal, then ran back to the temple doorway. Once inside, Herder turned and placed blocks of dirt in the opening, sealing the entrance.

  Moving to one of the side towers, Gameknight climbed the stairs that would let him reach the top of the pyramid. Jumping onto the sloped roof, he positioned himself on the pyramid’s peak and watched the monsters approach. They flowed across the desert like a poisonous green tide, knocking over cacti as if they weren’t even there and trampling the brown, dried bushes with their clumsy feet. When the horde reached the temple, they stopped and glared up at Gameknight999, their cold, dead eyes filled with hate. By the looks on their decaying faces, he could tell that these creatures wanted nothing more than to tear them all to shreds.

  They were completely surrounded, and all the villagers hiding in the temple were exhausted from heat and hunger. There was no way they could go out there and fight off this horde; they were trapped. All the zombies needed to do was wait until Herobrine came here with his main force; then they would all surely die.

  “Great … what do we do now?” Gameknight said as he looked down on the monsters, waves of uncertainty crashing down on him.

  We can’t just wait here … or we’ll be trapped, he thought. We have to do something, but what?

  CHAPTER 5

  BATTLE

  The sorrowful moans of the zombies floated up to Gameknight999 from all sides.

  “I think they like you,” a voice said next to him.

  Turning, he could see that it was Hunter, her red curls shining in the moonlight.

  “You know, they’re harder to get rid of if you name them,” she said playfully.

  “Stop clowning around,” he growled, then turned to stare down at their attackers. “What are they doing?”

  “I don’t know,” Hunter replied. “Maybe they weren’t expecting to find us and are a little confused.”

  “Yeah, well—”Gameknight started to say, but he was cut off by a pain-filled moo from a cow, and then another and another.

  “They’re killing the cows,” Herder yelled from inside the pyramid.

  Hunter moved to the side of the roof as she drew back an arrow, then fired.

  The projectile streaked through the air and hit a zombie that was swinging at one of the cows with its razor-sharp claws. The arrow struck the monster in the back, but it did not stop the attack. Instead the zombie continued to strike at the cow, ignoring the arrow sticking out of its back. Hunter fired again and again until the creature disappeared.

  Gameknight was shocked at
what he was seeing.

  Why would they want to attack the cows? he thought.

  Turning, he ran down the side of the pyramid and into the tower. Taking the steps two at a time, Gameknight sprinted to the front door. Drawing his pickaxe, he broke the top block so that they could shoot at the zombies with their bows.

  “Someone shoot at the monsters!” Gameknight yelled. “They’re attacking the cows.”

  “My cows!” Herder exclaimed.

  But before anyone could move, Gameknight continued to knock holes in the walls of the temple, creating more spaces from which they could shoot.

  “Archers to the top of the temple,” the User-that-is-not-a-user commanded. “Shoot at the zombies. We aren’t going to let them take our cattle.”

  NPCs cheered as they pulled out their bows and headed for the stairs that led to the top of the temple.

  “Digger, I need more archer slits for the—” but before Gameknight could even finish the sentence, the big NPC was already breaking blocks in the side of the temple, creating places where the warriors could fire on the monsters.

  In a matter of minutes, there were holes all the way around the temple. Those with bows fired their arrows at the decaying creatures. When the zombies realized what was happening, they approached the gaps and tried to reach in and attack the NPC with their dark claws.

  “Stand back, away from the holes,” Gameknight shouted as he drew his sword and stood right next to one of the gaps.

  As a zombie reached in to get at the archer, Gameknight hacked at the arms of the monster, causing them to flash bright red. The villagers without bows saw this and instantly lined the perimeter of the temple, standing between the open gaps. Working as a team, the archers drew the monsters close with their pointed barbs, then the swordsmen attacked them with their blades. Soon, the zombies learned to stay away from the edge of the temple. This allowed the archers on the roof of the ancient structure to take their toll.

  “HUNTER!” Gameknight yelled, hoping his voice could be heard through the sandstone walls. “LIGHT THE TNT!”

  Gameknight turned and found his sister firing through one of the openings, her enchanted bow lighting the interior of the pyramid.

  “Monet, go up and help Hunter and Stitcher … quick!” he said.

  She flashed him a smile, then streaked for the stairs that led to the roof.

  Instantly, the group felt the ground shake as a cube of TNT detonated. Moving away from the wall, Gameknight headed for the stairs as well. He ran to the top of the temple and found Stitcher and Monet there, both firing their bows at the sea of green monsters that were surrounding the structure. Off to the side, Gameknight could see Hunter firing her enchanted bow at the red and white blocks of TNT.

  “Here you go, zombies,” Hunter yelled as she fired at another block of TNT.

  BOOM!

  “Come get some!” she yelled as she ignited another bomb.

  BOOM!

  The blocks detonated, tearing gashes in the ground and throwing zombie bodies into the air. Running to the other side of the temple, Hunter fired again and again at the explosive cubes. Blasts rippled around the desert temple as the TNT blossomed, enveloping the decaying monsters in their fiery embrace.

  Gameknight looked around the temple to assess the situation. There were still at least a dozen zombies still alive, but most of them were now running after the remaining cows and not attacking the temple.

  Why would they want cows? he thought.

  The cries of the terrified cattle mixed with the growling moans as the zombies fell upon the docile beasts. They attacked the animals, quickly diminishing their HP with vicious intent, multiple monsters falling on the creatures from all sides. But soon the spotted animals were silent … the last of them destroyed. With no more cattle to attack, the zombies stopped their moaning wails, turned, and ran back into the desert.

  “We can’t let them escape!” Gameknight yelled. “If they report our position, Herobrine will be here before we’re ready.”

  Without waiting to see if anyone was following, Gameknight hacked a narrow opening into the temple wall and ran out onto the sand, diamond sword in his right hand, iron in his left. When the villagers in the temple saw this, they all cheered. Suddenly all of them were running across the desert sand in pursuit.

  “Where are you zombies going?” Gameknight shouted.

  One of the monsters heard the voice and looked over his shoulder. An excited growl came from the monster when he saw the lone user. He turned for Gameknight999, the other monsters following his lead. With a dozen zombies approaching, anyone else would have ran … but not the User-that-is-not-a-user. His mind was lost to battle and he was acting without thought, his body moving on pure instinct. Gameknight charged straight toward the zombie leader.

  “I’m not gonna let you hurt my friends!” he shouted. “FOR MINECRAFT!”

  The zombie reached out with its dark claws, swiping at Gameknight’s head, but the User-that-is-not-a-user ducked, then spun, his iron sword raking across the zombie’s side. The monster flashed red as it howled in pain. Pivoting on one foot, Gameknight returned, striking at the beast with both swords, taking all of its HP.

  Not waiting to see it disappear, Gameknight moved to the next creature. Charging straight at it, he leapt high into the air, bringing both swords down onto the monster with all his weight … it didn’t stand a chance.

  Suddenly, moaning sounds came from all around him. Looking to his left and right, Gameknight could see that there were zombies on both sides of him, and a group of three charging straight at him.

  How am I going to fight all of these at the same time?

  Fear trickled down his spine as he gripped the hilts of his swords. But then a strange whirling noise sounded through the desert air. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Digger’s pickaxe spinning end over end before hitting one of the zombies in the shoulder, knocking it to the ground. Following the pick was a stream of arrows streaking out of the darkness. Their shimmering shafts stuck into the monsters, pushing them back a step and making them flash red again and again. More arrows shot out of the darkness as Gameknight charged the group of three. But before they reached him, he found Stonecutter at his right side, his big iron pickaxe held at the ready, and Hunter and Monet on his left. They fell on the remaining zombies as the villagers ran around the battlefield to close off any possibility of escape. In seconds the battle was over … all the monsters were destroyed.

  A cheer erupted across the shadowy desert, the villagers joyous that they’d stopped these monsters without losing a single life. But Gameknight was not so happy. There was a puzzle here that he did not understand.

  What are you after, Herobrine? Gameknight thought. Why do you need these cows?

  Surveying the battlefield, Gameknight saw glowing balls of XP everywhere, with chunks of zombie flesh floating on the ground, bobbing up and down as if on an unseen ocean. But on a distant sand dune, at the very edge of his vision, Gameknight thought he saw someone … or something standing there, watching. It looked like a zombie, with dark blue pants and a faded light blue shirt, but there was something different. It looked to Gameknight as if there were something on its chest, something yellow. Straining his eyes, he could almost see the outline of what looked like a … sunflower?

  Why would a zombie have a sunflower painted on its shirt?

  But just as soon as Gameknight noticed the monster, it disappeared.

  Was that real, or did I imagine it? he thought. I know I’m tired … but it looked so real, yet impossible at the same time. A flower … on a zombie?

  “Everyone back to the temple,” boomed Digger’s voice.

  A hand slapped Gameknight on the back. Turning, he saw Hunter’s smiling face, and his sister, Monet, at her side.

  “You really enjoy that two-sword thing, don’t you?” Hunter asked. “Maybe you can save some zombies for others.”

  Hunter laughed, but Gameknight did not respond. He was still staring
out at that distant sand dune … confused.

  “Hey, are you listening?” Hunter asked.

  “Ah … what?” Gameknight said.

  “I said, that two-sword thing,” Hunter repeated. “You seem to—”

  “EVERYONE BACK TO THE TEMPLE!” Digger yelled, his voice almost making the desert sand shake.

  “Yeah, we should get back,” Monet said, an arrow still notched in her bow. “Come on.”

  Hunter and Monet turned and headed back to the temple, leaving Gameknight there, staring at that mysterious sand dune. Shaking his head, he turned and followed the NPCs. When he reached the temple, he walked around the perimeter, checking the damage to the structure. There were glowing balls of XP everywhere, which the NPCs picked up. He could see pieces of raw beef floating on the ground, littering the area, but no leather. Moving around the structure, he picked up the meat, careful to avoid the stinking green zombie flesh.

  “Why would they do that?” Gameknight said aloud to no one.

  “Why would they do what?” asked a voice from behind.

  Turning, he found Crafter standing near the temple entrance, his iron sword still in his hand.

  “They took the leather, Crafter. Why would they do that?”

  Shaking his head, the young NPC surveyed the destruction surrounding the temple.

  “I don’t know,” Crafter answered. “It makes no sense.”

  “Well, at least we stopped them from getting to the village,” Hunter yelled from atop the temple wall.

  “Yes, but I’m not sure they were even heading for the village,” Crafter said. “Maybe they were attracted to our cattle and not the village at all.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Hunter said as she moved near the entrance. “All zombies want to do is destroy, be it cattle or villagers … it’s in their nature. They should be exterminated.”

  “Hunter!” Stitcher snapped. “Violence is not always the answer.”

  “It is when it comes to monsters,” the older sister replied. She then turned and faced Gameknight999. “Let’s get to that village out there.”