Lost in the End

by Winter Morgan

“I’m so glad you’re both safe.” Esther smiled. “You can stay with us.”

  “Actually, we really wanted to build a house out of a mushroom,” said Sean.

  “You can do that,” said Molly, “but we built a large castle.”

  Molly, Esther, and Thao walked us over to a mammoth castle that overlooked the water. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t spotted it when we arrived on the island. It was very opulent and colorful and had a large picture window and a deck.

  “We’d love to stay here,” I said.

  Sean looked disappointed. He wasn’t impressed with the large home; he wanted to build a house out of a mushroom. I was happy that this was our biggest problem. After being kept prisoner and battling Charles, I realized that deciding where we’d stay wasn’t a big deal. So I said, “Sean, let’s build the mushroom house.”

  “We’ll help you,” added Molly.

  We gathered supplies and started to construct a mushroom house near their mansion.

  As we put the finishing touches on the house, Thao shouted out. “Ouch.”

  We turned around and saw Charles and his army.

  7

  BACK TO THE OVERWORLD

  If the journal entry ends on Mushroom Island, how did it wind up under the sea?” asked Harriet.

  “That’s a good question. I think you we’re right to suspect that this journal might be a hoax,” Toby said.

  Oliver wouldn’t hear any of it. “We haven’t finished reading the journal—maybe they don’t stay on Mushroom Island! And anyway, there are lots of ways the journal could have ended up under the sea. We have to believe in the journal and we need to go back to the Overworld and to Mushroom Island. If we find William there, we’re done searching.”

  Oliver swam toward the surface and the others followed him. When they reached the surface of the ocean, they saw a shore in the distance.

  “It’s not too far from the land,” said Harriet. “We can make it.”

  The group swam as fast as they could and crawled onto the shore. Veronica saw a small village. “I see shops. We should go into the village and trade some of our treasures for resources.”

  Everyone agreed. They were running low on resources and needed to replenish their supplies.

  The village had a butcher, a blacksmith, and a library, but it was missing a golem. One of the villagers approached the group.

  “Are you the people who have arrived to help us rebuild the golem?” they asked the gang.

  “No, what happened to your golem?” asked Harriet.

  “Somebody stole it, and ever since we’ve been having nightly zombie attacks. Sometimes they even come during the day when it’s raining,” the villager replied.

  “That’s awful,” Harriet said. “Guys, I think we should help them.”

  “Thank you, we need all the help we can get. The zombies are awful and they have changed some of the villagers into zombies.” The villager smiled.

  Oliver asked his friends. “Do we have the supplies needed to build a golem?”

  The gang looked through their inventories, but the villager interrupted. “Don’t worry, we will provide the supplies. We just need your help building it.”

  The villager led them to the spot where the old golem had once stood. Other villagers joined them and thanked the group for helping build a golem.

  Harriet grabbed the iron blocks and began to craft the golem, when she felt a drop on her head.

  “Oh no,” Harriet called out, “it’s raining.”

  The sky grew dark and the rain began to fall on the village.

  Then Oliver cried out, “Zombies!”

  A gang of zombies lumbered toward the group, and began to rip doors off of the village shops.

  “Help us!” cried the villagers.

  Veronica lunged at two zombies with her diamond sword and struck them. Jack and Toby splashed the zombies with potions of harming. The others used arrows and swords to battle the zombies, but it was pointless. New zombies kept spawning and terrorizing the village.

  Townspeople sprinted from their homes to help the gang and the defenseless villagers battle the zombies. The rain kept falling, and the gang used all of their resources to battle the undead mobs.

  Oliver struck a zombie with his diamond sword, but he was losing energy fast. He tried to grab milk or a potion of strength from his inventory, but it was impossible. Every time he tried to access his inventory, a zombie attacked him. He cried out, “Someone help me. I only have a couple of hearts left.”

  Veronica sprinted toward his side. With one hand she skillfully battled a zombie and with the other hand she handed Oliver milk. He drank the milk and joined her back in battle.

  When the rain finally stopped and the sun came out, the zombies disappeared. The villager said to the gang, “This is what happens all the time. We are under constant attack by zombies.”

  “We will help you,” Harriet said again, more determined than ever.

  The others looked at Harriet. They were happy she was so eager to help, but they worried this project would sidetrack them. They had a mission to accomplish. They needed to get to Mushroom Island to save William.

  As they built the golem, Jack asked Oliver, “Do you have a map of this part of the Overworld? Do you happen to know how far Mushroom Island is from this town?”

  One of the townspeople overheard Jack say “Mushroom Island” and interrupted them, “Did you say Mushroom Island? We just had some visitors who had come from that island, and they told us all about it.”

  “Who?” asked Harriet. She wondered if the visitors were William and his friends.

  “They were two women. I think their names were Molly and Esther,” the townsperson replied. “They were very nice. We liked having them here. That was before our golem was stolen and we were attacked by zombies.”

  “When did they leave?” asked Harriet.

  “It wasn’t that long ago.” The townsperson paused. “I can’t say I know the exact date, but I do know they were very nice.”

  As Harriet continued to work on the golem, she said to her friends, “I don’t think they’re still on Mushroom Island.”

  Everyone agreed. Oliver said, “We need to find the next journal. It’s our only hope to finding William.”

  The townsperson said, “Journal? One of the women left a book at the library. I tried to read it, but it didn’t make any sense at all. It was supposed to be an explorer’s journal, but there was no plot and it started in the middle. I’m not a fan of that type of book.”

  “Where’s the book?” asked Harriet.

  “I left it at the library. I figured somebody else might enjoy it, and in case they ever came back and were looking for it, I thought we shouldn’t throw it away.”

  Harriet asked, “Can you take me to the library? I want to see the book.”

  The townsperson led Harriet to the library. The librarian asked them if they needed help. The townsperson said, “I’m looking for that journal I had left here. I told you about it.”

  The librarian led them down an aisle of books and pulled out the journal. “Here it is.”

  Harriet thanked the librarian and left the library. She opened the book. Her friends crowded around as she read.

  8

  JOURNAL ENTRY: TRAPPED AGAIN

  Entry 4: Prisoner on Mushroom Island

  “This is our island!” Molly shouted at Charles.

  Charles’s boisterous laugh was loud, and he said, “This is the end for you guys.”

  I looked behind Charles and noticed more soldiers emerging from the grassy mushroom-lined landscape. I imagined they had either TPed to the island or Charles had constructed a series of boats. In any case, we were outnumbered. I tried to formulate an escape, but it was pointless.

  Sean whispered to me, “Do we have any more potion of invisibility?”

  I didn’t have any in my inventory. I asked the others, but they didn’t have any potions left either.

  “We surrender.” I held up my arm
s.

  I noticed Molly and Esther were annoyed with me. They wanted to battle Charles, but I knew it would just weaken us and we’d be left in worse shape.

  Charles led us toward the water. There was a large hole in the ground near the shore and he told us to climb inside. The hole led to a large stronghold. Charles’s soldiers led us to a prison. They locked us in the cell. One of the soldiers laughed and bellowed, “Welcome to your new home.”

  The soldier left and we were alone in the small cell.

  “Trapped again?” said Esther. “Charles won’t get away with this.”

  We all agreed, but we didn’t have a plan. We had to escape and we also had to defeat Charles.

  “Now that we are trapped in here, we can use this time to come up with a plan.”

  Sean wasn’t listening. He was too busy looking through his inventory. He said, “I have a pickaxe.” He took out the pickaxe and dug a hole in the ground.

  Thao warned him, “Stop. I hear the guard coming down the hall. If they see you digging a hole in the ground, they might destroy you.”

  “Yes, stop,” chimed in Molly. “We never know what Charles is planning. He could have used command blocks to set us to Hardcore mode.”

  Thao used to work with Charles and he agreed. “Charles is always planning something awful. We need to watch out for him and we have to be smart about our next move.”

  I just wanted to escape from the prison cell. I couldn’t believe that a few moments earlier, I had been happy. I had truly believed I could live a peaceful life on Mushroom Island, and now I was trapped in a prison. I was upset. I was annoyed. I was angry. When Charles walked toward our cell, I yelled, “Charles, we’ve had enough of this!”

  Charles laughed. “I especially love capturing Thao. He was once an obedient soldier, but now he has his own ideas. What a silly man.”

  Thao was angry. “We are going to get out of here. You aren’t going to win.”

  Charles let out another deep laugh. “You can talk about escaping and winning all you want. But remember, you are still my prisoner.”

  Charles left and Thao suggested, “I have a bunch of supplies. I think we should brew some potions. We have to use this time to be productive and plan our escape. If we have an inventory full of potions, we will have a better chance of getting out of here and surviving.”

  We all agreed with Thao, but we weren’t sure how we could brew potions in our small cell when Charles and his soldiers were guarding us.

  I hushed the group. “Shhh—listen. I can hear Charles talking.”

  The group stood quietly and listened. Charles was shouting at his soldiers. “We are running low on resources. We need to travel to the Nether to get supplies to brew potions. I don’t trust our prisoners. They’re smart and are probably planning an escape. We need to be prepared for battle.”

  I paced in the small cell. “This is good news. They aren’t as strong as we thought. This is the best time to plan our escape.”

  “But how?” asked Esther.

  We were interrupted by a horde of skeletons walking toward our jail cell. “I didn’t think hostile mobs could spawn on Mushroom Island,” I said.

  Thao replied, “Charles must have summoned them. They want to weaken us. Or destroy us.”

  “Or distract us while they travel to the Nether,” added Esther.

  Luckily we still had weapons in our inventories. As I heard the sound of the skeletons’ bones click, clack, clang, I grabbed my bow and arrow and aimed at the bony beasts.

  “You’ve got it,” Esther exclaimed as I struck a skeleton with an arrow.

  The gang flooded the horde of skeletons with arrows, but they were strong and retaliated, aiming their arrows at us.

  We dodged arrows as we fought the skeletons. It was a hard battle. There was no place to hide. We were trapped in the jail cell. I’m not sure how we defeated the skeletons. It seemed like a miracle when they were all gone. When the final skeleton was defeated, I ordered the group to eat and drink to replenish their energy. As we ate apples, potatoes, and carrots, we tried to come up with a plan.

  Sean said, “I think the only way out of here is digging that hole.”

  The others agreed.

  Sean began to dig the hole. When it was large enough, Molly and Esther were the first to crawl in the hole.

  As they disappeared into the hole, Charles returned. “What are you doing?” he shouted.

  “Nothing,” I replied.

  “Don’t lie to me. I can see that Esther and Molly are missing,” he shouted as he entered the jail cell. He walked toward the hole we had dug in the center of the jail cell and called out to Esther and Molly, but they did not reply.

  I hoped they had emerged on Mushroom Island and were on a boat back to the mainland. I hoped they were far from here.

  9

  PEAKS AND VALLEYS

  When did the women leave?” Harriet asked the townsperson.

  “I told you, it wasn’t that long ago. I don’t remember the exact date. But it was before the zombie attacks started. So you understood the book? I didn’t enjoy it at all.”

  Before Harriet could answer, Julian cut in. “How did the book get here? William must have written that entry when they left. I’m very confused.”

  The gang stood by Harriet and looked over her shoulder. They analyzed the journal.

  Ezra said, “I don’t think Esther and Molly escaped that time.”

  Everyone agreed. There was something missing. But they all knew it was a possibility that William could still be trapped on Mushroom Island.

  “We should go to Mushroom Island,” Harriet told her friends.

  The townsperson said, “You can’t leave without helping us finish the golem. You guys were doing such a fantastic job and we need the help. We are being destroyed by these nightly zombie attacks.”

  Harriet looked up at the sky. It was dusk. They would have to spend the night in the town anyway, because it would be too dangerous to travel at night. “If you give us a place to stay,” she said, “we will help you fight the zombies and construct the golem.”

  The townsperson thanked them. “I have room on my wheat farm. It’s not far from here.”

  The gang followed him to his wheat farm. Harriet said, “You never told us your name.”

  “I’m Steve,” he replied, as he led them out of the town and toward his farm.

  The farm was quite lush and his house was very large. There was more than enough room for everyone in his farmhouse. Steve’s walls were adorned with emeralds.

  “You have a very nice house,” Julian remarked. “I also live in a town that is similar to this one, but my wheat farm isn’t as nice as this one.”

  Steve was very modest. “This farm isn’t that nice. I don’t travel much. I’d rather spend my time on the farm. Since I have a lot of carrots and wheat, I’m able to trade with village shops and have lots of resources.”

  Harriet was excited to hear that Steve had lots of resources. They were running low and needed all the help they could get for their battle with both Charles and Valentino. Harriet said, “If we help you battle this zombie invasion, would you help us battle the man who is trapping our friend?”

  “Of course,” Steve said, but added, “I’m not really a fighter. I usually like to stay close to home.”

  “Well, you can help us. You have many resources and we need to battle a man who is trapping William the Explorer,” explained Harriet.

  “William the Explorer!” Steve was shocked. “I used to idolize him and read about all of his explorations with Oliver.”

  Oliver introduced himself. “I’m Oliver. I was William’s fellow explorer.”

  “No way! I can’t believe I’m meeting Oliver! This is the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me!” Steve was beaming.

  There was a banging on the door and Harriet called out, “It’s zombies. One of them is yanking the door off the hinge!”

  Steve took out a diamond sword. Everyone pr
epared themselves for the zombie attack.

  When the zombie ripped the door off of Steve’s house, the group was speechless. There were countless zombies standing in front of them.

  “How are we going to defeat them?” Steve’s voice was shaky. “There are hundreds of zombies. We’re outnumbered.”

  “We’ll just do it, one at a time,” Harriet said as she charged toward the zombie that stood in the doorway and pierced the vacant-eyed undead mob with her diamond sword. The others followed.

  No matter how many zombies they destroyed, more seemed to spawn almost instantly.

  Julian said, “There has to be a zombie spawner. We need to find it and deactivate the spawner. It’s our only hope.”

  As the gang battled the zombies, Steve and Julian sprinted far from the wheat farm in search of the zombie spawner.

  “Where could it be?” asked Julian.

  Steve knew the landscape well. “it might be in this field right outside the village. It seems like zombies are coming from that direction.”

  “Who would do this to your town? Do you have any enemies?” asked Julian.

  “There was a man who used to live here named Valentino. He has been terrorizing us ever since he left.”

  “Valentino!” Julian couldn’t believe his ears. “We have also been battling him.”

  “Yes, he causes problems all over the Overworld. He seems to be everyone’s enemy,” Steve said breathlessly as he led Julian to the patch of land where he hoped they’d find the spawner.

  Just as they reached the field, the sun came up and the zombies disappeared. Julian said, “I hope our friends are okay. I feel badly that we didn’t find the spawner.”

  The sun shined brightly on the field. Julian spotted a book on the ground and picked it up.

  “What’s that?” asked Steve.

  “It can’t be.” Julian looked at the cover. “It’s another one of William’s journals.”

  Steve was shocked. “You mean the journal I read was actually from William the Explorer?”

  “Yes. It’s a small portion of the journal, which is why it didn’t make any sense to you. You have to read it from the beginning. We need to head back and read this to my friends. These journals are helping us find William. We’re going to save him and set him free and we’re going to defeat Charles.”