Creeper Invasion

by Winter Morgan

  “How did he get back on the server?” Mr. Anarchy’s thoughts were elsewhere; he couldn’t focus on finding command blocks if he wasn’t sure he even had the power to zap people off the server.

  “I’m assuming it was a glitch, if we see the orange and blue griefers,” Lily said.

  “Or Pablo, Ronan, and Matthew,” Simon added. “Then we’ll know the lightning bolt isn’t working.”

  “Maybe Nicholas knows how to zap himself onto the server,” Lily theorized. “I’m sure most of the other people who left this server would never try to get back on. Maybe it’s easier than we think.”

  “That’s a possibility,” Mr. Anarchy said.

  Benji called out, “I found the mineshaft.”

  The others raced toward the mineshaft, but an army of creepers flooded the narrow jungle path and exploded. Lily was instantly destroyed. She respawned in her bed, and looked over for Robin.

  Seconds later, Robin respawned. “I’m sure Nicholas summoned that creeper invasion.”

  Lily asked, “Could you believe Nicholas actually wanted to come back on this server? It’s so hard to imagine. I can’t wait to get back home,” Lily said as she put on her armor.

  “I know,” Robin agreed. “I think we should TP back to the jungle. I also think we have to stop worrying about Nicholas. I’d rather get back to the real world. I want Mr. Anarchy to work his magic with the command blocks.”

  “Yes,” Lily said. “Also, when I get back to the real world, I am going to stay far away from this server.”

  The two TPed back to the jungle and found everyone was already there. As they stood by the entrance to the mineshaft, Simon called out, “We’ve been waiting for you.”

  “We came as quickly as we could,” Lily replied.

  Mr. Anarchy and Benji were the first to enter the mineshaft. Lily could hear Mr. Anarchy exclaim, “Found it!”

  Benji shouted, “Watch out!”

  “Help!” Mr. Anarchy yelped. “This mineshaft is filled with spiders!”

  The gang sprang into action, clutching their diamond swords tightly, and striking the numerous red-eyed spiders, destroying them.

  Michael paused. “I bet there’s a spawner in here.”

  “We have to look for it,” suggested Simon.

  The two set off deep into the mineshaft to search for the spider spawner. Lily went over to Mr. Anarchy. “Let’s get off this server right now. Who cares about Nicholas?”

  “I agree, but it takes me a while to summon that bolt.” Mr. Anarchy stood by the command blocks.

  Michael and Simon came back. Simon announced proudly, “We destroyed the spider spawner.”

  “Great.” Lily smiled.

  Robin walked over to the command blocks. “There are so many command blocks. This is fantastic.”

  Michael counted the enormous stack of command blocks. “One, two, three …” he paused. “There must be more than fifty command blocks in this pile.”

  Simon joked, “You were never that good at math. There are a lot more than fifty command blocks.”

  “This means we can all go home,” Robin cried tears of joy. “I just want to see my friends again.”

  “I know!” Lily exclaimed. “Finally.” Lily didn’t express how sad it would be not to share a house with Robin. Also, she’d have to go back to the real world and start waking up for school and helping take out the recycling and her other chores that her parents asked her to do. In Lisimi Village, she didn’t have to make her own bed, like she did at home.

  Everyone must have had similar thoughts because Simon said, “I bet our old lives are going to seem super boring after living on this server.”

  “I know,” Mr. Anarchy agreed. “Maybe that’s why Nicholas zapped himself back onto the server?”

  Lily realized Mr. Anarchy was beginning to believe Nicholas didn’t return to the server because of a glitch or an error that Mr. Anarchy had made, but that it was a choice. It was a strange choice, but they were all beginning to understand why someone would choose to zap themselves back on the server.

  “Should you work on the command blocks here or should we take them back to the village?” asked Michael.

  Mr. Anarchy was about to reply, when Nicholas appeared in the mineshaft. “These are my command blocks and you’re not taking them anywhere!”

  13

  IT TAKES A VILLAGE

  Ilana and Warren leapt at Nicholas, but they were both destroyed when a second army of creepers quietly snuck into the mineshaft and exploded.

  Lily and Robin respawned in the cottage and were about to TP back to the jungle when a loud roar shook the small cottage.

  “He spawned the Ender Dragon!” Lily was annoyed.

  “Forget about battling the Ender Dragon; we have to go back to the jungle and get those command blocks. I want to go home,” Robin said.

  “I know.” Lily was interrupted when the Ender Dragon’s wing struck the side of her house, creating a gaping hole. Rain filled the hole.

  “It’s raining, too!” Robin exclaimed. “This battle will be trickier than we thought.”

  Lily was able to plunge her sword into the dragon’s wing. It roared and then banged against the house, knocking down an entire wall.

  “My cottage!” Lily cried.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Robin reminded her. “We’ll be back in the real world soon.”

  The dragon’s side was exposed as it broke down another wall. Lily and Robin were able to strike it with their swords. The dragon lost hearts.

  Michael and Simon rushed to the cottage and aimed their bows at the dragon. “Got it!” Simon exclaimed when three of his arrows landed in the dragon.

  “It’s almost destroyed,” Michael called out as a barrage of arrows hit the powerful flying beast.

  “I have potions!” Ilana hurried toward them, but two arrows from skeletons that spawned in the rain struck her. Ilana turned around and splashed the potions on the bony beasts.

  “Has anyone seen Nicholas?” Mr. Anarchy rushed to his friends.

  Sunny, Blossom, Benji, and Warren hurried over.

  Sunny called out, “We have!”

  Benji added, “We can’t leave the jungle mineshaft unattended.”

  Sunny and Blossom ran toward the Ender Dragon and bravely slammed their swords into the beast, destroying it.

  The Ender Dragon dropped an egg, and a portal to the End appeared, but nobody hopped on. They weren’t playing the game; they were trying to end the game.

  “Let’s get back to the jungle,” Mr. Anarchy said, as four vacant-eyed zombies lunged at him.

  Ilana splashed a potion on the zombies. She spotted Juan and called to him, “Juan, watch out. There are zombies over here. If one of them attacks you, you’ll become a zombie villager.”

  “That’s why I’m here,” Juan cried out. “Emily is a zombie villager.”

  Lily and Robin raced over to Juan.

  Lily said, “We’ll help her.”

  “I have a golden apple,” Robin told them as she grabbed one from her inventory. “I can turn her back into a villager.”

  The duo rushed to Emily’s house, armed with all of the ingredients to change Emily back into a regular villager.

  “She’s here.” Juan pointed to a vacant-eyed Emily strolling through the village streets in a trance-like state.

  Lily and Robin worked quickly to help Emily turn back into a villager. When it was complete, Emily thanked them, and then warned, “Watch out!”

  Four creepers exploded and Lily and Robin were back in the cottage. The holes in the roof and the walls left them vulnerable to the hostile mobs that spawned in the rainstorm. A group of zombies were in the cottage living room. Lily jumped out of bed and splashed the undead mob with a potion.

  Robin stood by Lily’s side as the two of them battled the zombies.

  Without warning, the rain stopped. Lily looked around the cottage. “It’s beyond repair!”

  “It’s okay,” Robin reassured her. “We
can rebuild if we have to, but let’s hope the command blocks are still in the mineshaft and we can be home soon.”

  Lily smiled, but the smile quickly disappeared when she heard Michael call out, “Nicholas! Stop!”

  Nicholas stood in the center of the village. “Don’t bother trying to get those command blocks. And I’m going to make sure you never find your way home.”

  Nicholas held up a few command blocks. “These are the last command blocks, and I have used them to put you all on Hardcore mode. I’m going to destroy you all.”

  “If you destroy us, who will you torment?” asked Blossom.

  Nicholas snickered, “I’ll just zap more people onto the server. It’s really no big deal.”

  “No big deal? It’s our lives.” Lily couldn’t believe how callous Nicholas was and how he lacked any empathy.

  “You guys are such a nuisance.” Nicholas held the command blocks.

  Mr. Anarchy caught up with Nicholas and grabbed the command blocks and destroyed them.

  Nicholas hit him with his diamond sword, but Mr. Anarchy splashed a potion of invisibility on himself and disappeared.

  “I’m going to get him!” Nicholas screamed.

  Sunny and Blossom struck Nicholas until he was destroyed.

  14

  HIDING SPOTS

  “What happened to Mr. Anarchy?” Sunny asked.

  “I bet I know where Mr. Anarchy is,” said Lily.

  “Me too.” Robin smiled and looked at the others. “We have to TP to the jungle and find him.”

  The gang TPed into the heart of the jungle as Benji called out, “I see him!”

  “Oh no!” Lily cried while running toward Nicholas.

  Nicholas turned around and Lily sliced his hand with her diamond sword. She could hear him moan.

  Robin ran to Lily, plunging her sword into Nicholas’s side.

  Mr. Anarchy screamed, “Over here! The command blocks are still here.”

  “You’re a liar,” Lily uttered as she struck Nicholas until he was almost out of hearts.

  The gang rushed toward Mr. Anarchy. Ilana asked, “Can you zap us now before Nicholas is destroyed?”

  “I think Nicholas should be the first to go. I want to experiment on him. I have to make sure we aren’t conducting a fool’s errand and we all get back home and get zapped back.”

  Michael reminded him, “The others didn’t come back, so I think we know it will be okay.”

  Mr. Anarchy was a perfectionist. “I wish I knew a way to make sure you could never get zapped back on again, even if you wanted to.”

  “Maybe once we are all off the server, we can shut it down,” suggested Lily.

  “That sounds like a good idea, but I don’t know how to do it,” admitted Mr. Anarchy.

  Nicholas charged toward the group. “You thought I was gone, didn’t you?”

  Mr. Anarchy whispered to Lily, “Take care of him. I have an idea,” and Mr. Anarchy raced toward the stronghold.

  Night was beginning to set in. Ilana looked at the sky. “It’s going to be a long night.”

  “I know.” Nicholas laughed and splashed a potion of harming on Lily and Ilana.

  Lily had an idea. She grabbed bedrock from her inventory, but Nicholas took notice and laughed. “Seriously? You think you’re going to trap me in a bedrock room like I did to you and Robin?”

  Michael said, “We destroyed that bedrock wall! You’re awful.”

  “I knew you were the one to destroy it!” Lily smiled at Michael as she gathered more supplies to build a makeshift prison for Nicholas.

  Six creepers lurked through the dark jungle and crept up behind Lily and Michael. Nicholas didn’t warn them. The creepers exploded and Lily was back in Lisimi Village in a cottage that was falling apart. Two skeletons stood over Lily as she respawned in her bed. One of the skeletons stared at Lily as it shot an arrow at her head.

  Lily dodged the arrow as Robin respawned in her bed. Robin quickly grabbed her sword and battled the skeletons.

  Lily said, “We have to get back to the jungle now. We have to make sure Nicholas is trapped.”

  “There are so many creepers in the jungle. I lost count,” Robin explained. “I think everyone was destroyed.”

  “What about Mr. Anarchy?” questioned Lily as she destroyed a skeleton.

  “I’m not sure,” Robin replied. “We have to TP there and find out.”

  15

  CAPTURED

  As Lily and Robin arrived in the jungle, they saw Michael and Simon shouting at Nicholas, “Stop the creeper invasion! We know you’re summoning them. We don’t want them to return.”

  “Why should I do that?” Nicholas questioned.

  Michael held his sword against Nicholas’s chest, and called out to his friends, “Someone go inside the mineshaft and tell Mr. Anarchy to put Nicholas on Hardcore mode. We are going to destroy him.”

  “No!” Nicholas shook. “Don’t do that!”

  “We have no choice.” Michael pierced Nicholas’s arm with the diamond sword.

  “Go into the prison.” Simon splashed a potion on Nicholas, leaving him with only one heart.

  “No!” Nicholas shouted.

  Ilana sprinted over. “Mr. Anarchy said it’s all set. Nicholas is on Hardcore mode. We can destroy him if we’d like and then we’ll never have to be bothered by him again.”

  Tears filled Nicholas’s eyes and he quietly wept as he walked into the small bedrock prison. Michael and Simon constructed another wall. They were about to enclose Nicholas in the bedrock prison when Mr. Anarchy rushed out of the mineshaft. “Don’t trap him. I’m ready.”

  “Ready for what?” Nicholas questioned. He was terrified.

  “You’ll see,” Mr. Anarchy said, not directly answering Nicholas’s question.

  The dark skies filled with clouds and rain fell on the jungle. Ilana took shelter under a large oak tree.

  “Now!” Mr. Anarchy called out. “Bring him here.”

  Nicholas didn’t want to leave the bedrock prison, but Michael and Simon chased him out to where Mr. Anarchy ordered him to stand.

  A flash of light almost blinded Michael as a lightning bolt struck Nicholas.

  “He’s gone! It worked!” Lily exclaimed.

  “I had to get Nicholas off first because if I didn’t, he’d try to thwart all of our attempts to leave.”

  “I agree,” Lily said.

  “He was relentless,” Mr. Anarchy spoke but his voice was muffled through the thunder.

  Benji came over to Mr. Anarchy as another lightning bolt shot through the dark jungle biome. Benji vanished.

  Ilana was about to call out that it wasn’t fair; she wanted to leave the server, but she kept her mouth closed. She knew Mr. Anarchy was going to find a way to get them all off the server and it would be fair. It didn’t matter if you left the server first or last; it only mattered that you were able to get off the server.

  The storm ended and everyone commended Mr. Anarchy. He smiled. “I’m glad that worked. Now we have to figure out a fair way to zap everyone back to the real world. And I should let you know that I am going last. I can’t leave unless I know everyone is off this server.”

  Five green creepers could be seen through a patch of leaves. Lily called out, “We never stopped the creeper invasion.”

  “I couldn’t find out where he was spawning them,” confessed Mr. Anarchy.

  Ilana didn’t see the creeper behind her, as it exploded. More creepers flooded the jungle. Soon everyone was destroyed by a creeper and respawned back in Lisimi Village.

  When Lily respawned, she was relieved to see the sun was shining. “Look,” Lily called out to Robin, who was getting out of bed. “It’s daylight.”

  “We have to find the others,” said Robin. “I can’t wait to go home.”

  As Lily and Robin exited the devastated cottage, Lily gasped when she recognized someone in the distance. “It can’t be,” she cried.

  16

  SIGNS


  “Pablo?” Lily called out.

  “Yes.” Pablo rushed to Lily and Robin.

  “How did you get back on the server? Was there a glitch?” questioned Robin.

  “No,” Pablo explained. “I am here as a player. I got onto the server without getting zapped back on.”

  “How?” asked Lily.

  “You mean you’re at home?” Robin was jealous. She was also bursting with questions. “Did your parents notice you were gone? Are you back at school? What’s the date?”

  Pablo was overwhelmed and only replied, “It was as if I never left, but I am changed. I mean the experience made me appreciate my real life. I like to sleep through the night without worrying that a zombie is going to drag me from bed and try to kill me. Or if a griefer is going to blow up my house with TNT or many other crazy things that happen in Minecraft that don’t happen in the real world.”

  “What did you have for dinner?” Lily asked as she took an apple from her inventory and took a bite.

  “Do you really want to know?” asked Pablo.

  “Maybe not.” Lily bit into the apple.

  Robin said, “We have to go see Mr. Anarchy. Would you like to come with us?”

  Pablo said, “Of course. I want him to know that he did a great job getting me off the server. I want to thank him.”

  As they walked toward Mr. Anarchy’s lab, Lily talked rapidly about returning home; she couldn’t conceal her excitement. “The first thing I’m doing when I get home is asking my mom to take me out for pizza.”

  “Pizza.” Robin salivated.

  “With pepperoni,” Lily added.

  “And meatballs.” Robin started to imagine a large pizza pie. “That’s going to be my first meal, too.”

  Pablo paused and seemed distracted when he said, “Yeah, pizza is great.”

  “What’s the matter, Pablo?” asked Lily.

  “My mom wants to use the computer,” explained Pablo.

  “Does she know that you’re trying to help people trapped on the server?” questioned Robin.

  “No,” Pablo laughed. “She’d never believe me.”

  “I guess that makes sense,” said Lily.