Baby Zeke: The Diary of a Chicken Jockey: The Complete Minecraft Series, Books 1-9: An Unofficial Minecraft Book

by Dr. Block

  “Why? Why can’t we stop this?” he sobbed. “It is not fair.”

  I got off Harold and sat down next to Otis. I put my stubby arm around his shoulders. “At least we tried. At least we know that we cared enough about the world to try and save it. Maybe we’ll respawn in a better place.”

  “Where?” said Otis. “If Herobrine destroys the world, there won’t be anywhere to respawn.”

  He was right, of course, but I did not want to think that this was really the end of everything. I felt tears starting to form in my eyes, but I wiped them away and refused to cry. I would not allow myself to collapse in the face of Herobrine’s evil.

  I stood up and looked at Herobrine, who was now about two-thirds of the way to the top of the tower. There must be something I can do? I scanned the cavern again. Maybe I missed something?

  But, there was nothing. I stood by helplessly and watched Herobrine continue his assent. He ignored us now, safe in the knowledge that we had failed and evil had triumphed.

  Then, I noticed something strange. A long, dark shape appeared near the base of the tower. It was stuck onto the side of it.

  What?

  Another dark shape appeared, stuck to the wall of the tower. Then another and another and another.

  I tapped Otis’s shoulder excitedly. “Otis! Guys! Look at that. Endermen!”

  Otis, Bob and Harold looked at the tower in awe as first dozens and then hundreds of Endermen appeared on the sides of the tower. It was as if they were glued to it.

  It was then that Herobrine looked down and saw the Endermen too. “No!” he shouted. “I won’t let it happen again!”

  Herobrine increased his climbing speed. He would be at the top tower in just a few seconds. More and more Endermen were appearing on the side of the tower. It seemed like their number was approaching one thousand.

  “This is amazing,” said Harold. “But, what are they doing?”

  “I don’t know, but Herobrine doesn’t like it,” I said.

  Just then, Herobrine arrived at the top of his tower. He stood at the point of the pyramid and pulled out the two mysterious objects: the small pyramid and the cuboid. He held one in each and and shouted, “You are too late, fools!”

  He raised his hands from his sides, held them directly over his head and said, “Together we build. Together we destroy. I put you together now, and command you to—. ”

  He did not get a chance to finish because the tower suddenly disappeared.

  “Oh my Notch,” said Otis. “They teleported the tower away!”

  We all cheered and started crying with joy.

  Herobrine was screaming with hatred as he fell through the air and landed with an echoing thud on the island below. He was not moving.

  “Do you think he is dead?” asked Bob.

  “Probably not,” said Harold.

  We stood and watched as Herobrine slowly stood up. He looked at the mysterious objects in his hands and cried, “No! No! No! Not again.”

  “Loser!” shouted Otis.

  Herobrine looked at us. “Still here? You can be my consolation prize.”

  “What?” I said.

  Herobrine took the two mysterious objects and put them together. I large, swirling ball of light formed in his hands. He slowly expanded his hands until the ball was the size of his head.

  “What is that shape? I’ve never seen anything like it,” I said.

  Before anyone could answer, Herobrine said, “Die,” and tossed the ball in our direction.

  We watched as the glowing light sped toward us. I guess this is it.

  And then, everything went black.

  Chapter 12

  When I opened my eyes, I saw that we were back in the underground farm in our cave. Moonlight was filtering in through the holes in the ceiling.

  I saw Harold, Bob and Otis next to me. And Zeb was standing a few feet away. His arms were at his sides and his mouth was hanging open, like he had just seen a ghost.

  “Zeb! Zeb! We’re back,” I shouted.

  Zeb did not respond except to raise his arm and point at something behind me.

  I turned around and saw an Enderman almost as tall as the ceiling of the cavern!

  “Oh my Notch, where did you come from?” I said.

  “I teleported you away from Herobrine’s attack,” he said in a deep, plain voice.

  “Thank you,” I said. “But, why? I mean, how? I mean, I don’t understand.”

  “Do you remember when you found the small pyramid?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Long ago, the Endermen hid that pyramid in the lava. When we learned of its power, we tried to destroy it, but it could not be destroyed. Herobrine stole it from us, but we were able to steal it back. Fearing an ongoing battle with Herobrine, one of our great ancient leaders sacrificed his life and teleported himself and the pyramid into the lava core of the world.”

  “Whoa,” said Otis.

  “Yes, whoa,” said the Enderman. “We had hoped it would never be found, but it was.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said. Was all this my fault?

  “No need to apologize,” said the Enderman. “It was bound to happen eventually. Unfortunately, we knew if it were ever discovered, Herobrine would sense its evil and come looking for it.”

  “You were right about that,” said Harold sadly.

  “Once the pyramid was free from the lava, it quickly made a cuboid for you to find. We did not realize Herobrine would spawn inside a skeleton and steal the objects from you so quickly. That was a serious miscalculation on our part.”

  “Why didn’t you come get the objects once we found them?” asked Otis.

  “We cannot sense them the way Herobrine can. We only realized that he had the objects after he had started building the amplification tower.”

  “Speaking of which, that was pretty cool how you teleported it away,” I said.

  “Thank you,” said the massive Enderman. “We have tossed it off the edge of the world in the End.”

  “So, did we even need to go after Herobrine?” I asked. “I mean, were you going to defeat him all along?”

  “Maybe. Maybe not,” said the Enderman. “When I saw you were on Herobrine’s trail, I decided to help you find him. I thought we could use as many allies as possible.”

  “Wait,” I said. “Were you the shadow I saw following us?”

  “Yes.”

  “But, you are so huge. How could you have followed us in those passages,” I said.

  “I am the Ender King. The royal family has the ability to be large or small. This is my normal form.”

  Royalty? Whoa!

  “Should I like bow, or something?” asked Otis dismissively.

  “Only if you wish,” said the Ender King. “You are not my subject, so I do not require any ceremony.”

  “So, now what?” I asked. “I mean, is the threat over?”

  “Yes, from the objects. Herobrine destroyed them when he tried to kill you,” said the Ender King. “And, I am glad he did, otherwise, I would have had to get them from him and teleport myself into the lava core.”

  “Oh,” I said.

  “But,” continued the Ender King, “Herobrine will not stop with his evil ways. So, you should be careful.”

  “We will,” I said.

  “Be safe, my friends,” said the Ender King. “Herobrine knows where you live.”

  “Let him come,” said Otis, tapping the blade of his diamond sword in his hand. “I’ve got something for him.”

  The Ender King smiled. “I admire your bravery, Otis. Now, I must leave. If you ever visit the End, you shall have help when you need it.”

  “Good bye,” we all said.

  The Ender King nodded once to acknowledge us and then disappeared.

  End of Book 5

  Book 6: No Rest

  Chapter 1

  I had mixed emotions after the Ender King disappeared from our cave.

  First, I was sad to see him go. I mean, how many
times do you get to meet an Ender King? For most people and mobs, it is ZERO times.

  What is more, I had not only met an Ender King, but he saved my life and thanked me for helping to fight Herobrine. Pretty awesome.

  Second, I suddenly realized how tired I was. Even though it only took a couple days to prepare for and find Herobrine, I had been totally stressed out the entire time. I had been constantly afraid what might happen if we did not find him, and even more afraid of what would happen when we did.

  Now that it was all over, I finally had a chance to relax. And, as I felt myself relaxing, all that I wanted to do was just sleep for a few days.

  Third, it only took a few minutes after the Ender King disappeared for me to realize how completely vulnerable we were. Herobrine knew where our cave was. He had been there when he took the mysterious objects from us!

  He would want his revenge because we helped stop his plans to destroy the world. How long would it be before he regained his strength and began looking for us?

  He. Was. Coming.

  Someday….

  I looked at my companions – Harold, Zeb, Otis and Bob – as they chatted and yawned. I could tell they wanted to rest just as much as I did.

  I did not want to break the mood, but I had too. Our lives depended on it.

  “Guys?” I said, getting their attention. “I hate to say this, but we need to leave.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Otis’s chicken, Bob. “We just got here.”

  “Herobrine knows where we live. He came to this cave when he stole the mysterious objects. He’ll be back for revenge,” I said plainly.

  Not even Otis bothered to argue with me. Everyone knew I was right.

  My chicken Harold sighed and said, “So, what’s the plan, Zeke?”

  “Well, it is nighttime right now, so Zeb can travel without risk of burning to death. I say we gather as much of our things as we can and find the nearest cave. Once we are away from here, we can rest for a day and then decide where to go from there.”

  They all agreed, and ignoring our weary bodies and minds, we sprang into action.

  Chapter 2

  Zeb and I went to the underground farm chamber to gather what supplies we could. It was beginning to look like a real farm and had started to produce lots of wheat and vegetables. All of our animals looked healthy and happy too.

  We slaughtered all of our cows and pigs and gathered their meat. It was sad to have to kill them all at once.

  We then gathered as much of the wheat as we could carry for Harold and Bob.

  As we left the farm chamber, I stood for a moment, silently looking at what we had built and contemplated how great it would have been if we could have lived in this cave longer.

  I sighed. “Zeb, we worked so hard on this farm. And now…,” my voice trailed off.

  Zeb put one of his big, undead hands on my shoulder. “I know Zeke, I know. It was brilliant while it lasted.”

  I shook my head sadly. “Even when Herobrine is defeated, he is not defeated. His evil and vengeance just keeps going.” I paused for a moment and then asked, “Why does evil like that exist in the world?”

  Zeb took his hand off my shoulder. “I don’t know, Zeke.”

  I turned my back on the farm chamber and began walking back to where our friends awaited us. Zeb followed.

  “Do you think the All-Powerful Creator, Notch, made Herobrine?” I asked.

  “Why would Notch do such a thing?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. To punish us for something?”

  Zeb shook his head. “I don’t think Notch would make something to punish us. I think the world is in a delicate balance, and Herobrine is a part of that balance.”

  I had never thought of the world as “in balance.” I asked Zeb to explain what he meant.

  “Think about it,” said Zeb. “Mobs kill villagers. Players help defend villagers by killing mobs. Villagers trade with players. The three spokes – mobs, villagers, players – balance each other.”

  “Interesting,” I said.

  “And, there is the Overworld, the Nether and the End. Another balance of three,” said Zeb.

  Wow! This was getting really interesting.

  “So, then, I guess Notch is the creator and Herobrine is the destroyer, so where is the third part?” I asked.

  Zeb walked silently for a few moments, contemplating my question. Finally, he said, “I think maybe we met him: the Ender King. He is the protector.”

  Mind blown.

  “The creator, the destroyer and the protector,” I babbled. “Balance. Three spokes. Whoa.”

  “Yeah, whoa,” said Zeb, flashing a toothy smile.

  After I managed to put my exploded mind back together and regain some of my ability to think rational thoughts, I had a thought bubble.

  “How come no one has ever seen Notch? I mean, obviously Herobrine and the Ender King are real. We’ve seen them. I always hear about ‘Notch this’ and ‘Notch that,’ but I’ve never heard of anyone actually seeing him.”

  “True,” said Zeb. “But, there must be a creator of the world, and he is named Notch. That the world of Minecraft exists is proof enough that Notch exists.”

  “I suppose so…,” I said, not entirely convinced.

  It was then that we arrived where our friends were waiting. Philosophy and theology would have to wait for a later time.

  Otis, Bob and Harold had gathered as many weapons, pieces of ore and items as they could carry.

  “I hope we can find another cave soon,” said Harold. “This stuff is heavy.”

  “Quit your sniveling,” said Otis bitterly. “Let’s get going before that glowing-eyed freak shows up.”

  And with that, Otis led our rag-tag, worn out little group from our warm, cozy cave into the crisp air of the night.

  Chapter 3

  We walked for half the night, peeking into nooks and crannies. We met a few wandering zombies along the way.

  “You guys know a cave where we can stay?” I asked the zombies.

  The zombies looked at me with blank expressions and said, “We just spawned. What is a cave?”

  I slapped my head and said, “You guys better find a cave before the sun comes up or else.”

  “Or else what?” they moaned.

  “You will burn to death,” I explained.

  These newly-spawned zombies did not seem to realize how serious a situation they were in. They said, “First we need to find a village to terrorize. After, we will find one of these caves of which you speak.”

  “Have fun respawning, you fools,” said Otis. “Come on, let’s get going.”

  We left the zombies to their fate. Zeb glanced back at them, a look of concern in his eyes. But, he said nothing.

  Soon thereafter, we found a small cave. We were able to carve a new room into it so that we would have a place to put all of our inventory and still have enough space to stretch out and sleep.

  “This should do as a temporary place to live,” said Zeb.

  “Can we ever have a permanent place to live? With Herobrine after us?” said Harold.

  I looked down at my chicken. He had a point. Would we have to be on the run all of our lives? Was this our reward for standing up to the evil plans of Herobrine? We had helped the Ender King save the world, yes, but had we ruined our lives as a side effect?

  I reached down and stroked Harold’s back. “I don’t know Harold.”

  “We could go to the End and live with the Ender King,” suggested Bob.

  “Bah,” said Otis. “Those endermen give me the creeps. I don’t want to live there. I’d rather take my chances in the Overworld.”

  “Maybe it is not as bad as we think,” said Zeb, suddenly sounding very upbeat.

  “Explain, old man,” said Otis, absent-mindedly picking dirt from under his rotten fingernails with the point of his diamond sword.

  “Herobrine knows where we used to live, and he knows what we look like as a group, but what if we were not in
a group?”

  “What do you mean, Zeb?” I asked.

  “You know how all mobs look exactly the same, right? I mean, I look like every other zombie ever spawned. You look like every baby zombie ever spawned. Otis looks like every other baby zombie pigman. Harold and Bob are identical to all other chickens.”

  Otis was tapping his foot impatiently. “Get to the point.”

  “The only way for Herobrine to recognize you and Zeke as the jockeys that attacked him is for you to be traveling in a group,” said Zeb.

  That was when it hit me. The surest way to ensure our survival would be to split up and go it alone in the world. As long as I was just a solitary chicken jockey, or better, just a wandering baby zombie, the better chance I had to avoid Herobrine.

  I looked around at my friends. Judging by their sad expressions, they all understood too.

  “No, no, no,” muttered Bob, a tear leaking from his eye and running along his beak until it fell to the ground.

  Harold walked over and comforted Bob. “I am afraid it is true. At least the two of us can wander around together. Herobrine won’t pay any mind to two chickens.”

  I looked at Otis and Zeb. I was fighting hard to hold back my tears.

  “Is this the last night we will be together?” I asked, barely able to get the words to form in my mouth.

  Zeb nodded silently.

  Otis sighed. “It is hard to argue with Zeb’s logic.”

  I could not believe it. For the first time since I spawned, I was going to be alone in the world.

  How would I survive all alone? Would I be able to meet new friends? Why was this happening to me? It was so unfair, and I was not going to stand for it.

  “Forget that!” I yelled. “I would rather be with my friends and die than be alone and live.”