Trapped in the Overworld

by Winter Morgan

  Simon whispered, “We need help. Let’s use a potion of invisibility and—”

  A dozen zombies spawned in front of them. The trio could barely move, and there was no time to discuss their escape; they had to fight for survivial.

  Lily splashed potions. Michael and Simon struck zombies with their diamond swords.

  Three zombies were destroyed, but there were still nine left.

  “We can do this,” Lily said as she destroyed a fourth monster.

  “I hope so,” Michael was busy striking the undead beasts with his sword and was tired. This was getting repetitive, and Michael assumed Mr. Anarchy had a larger plan. Michael couldn’t believe he found watching them that entertaining.

  Lily destroyed two more zombies and called out to Simon, “Help!”

  “I’m trying!” Simon knew the battle was futile.

  They were losing hope, when the Prismarines ripped open the prison door and helped annihilate the remaining zombies.

  Mr. Anarchy wasn’t prepared for this plot twist, and he tore into the room, shooting arrows at the Prismarines.

  “You won’t get away with this,” he warned them as he aimed another arrow at Greta. The arrow struck Greta’s shoulder and she cried out in pain.

  Michael leapt at Mr. Anarchy, his diamond sword puncturing the man’s arm. Lily rushed over to the master griefer and splashed a potion of weakness on him just as the Prismarines aimed a sea of arrows at Mr. Anarchy, destroying him.

  “We have to get out of here before he respawns.” Michael announced, and the gang sprinted from the small prison cell.

  They raced through the ornate, spacious jungle temple and onto a path. The road from the temple was thick with leaves, and it was hard to keep track of each other.

  Lily looked up at the sky. “It’s getting dark.”

  Michael said, “We should keep going and find a place to build a house.”

  Simon wanted to escape as quickly as possible. “We don’t have time to build a house. We should TP to the village instead.”

  Everyone agreed, until a familiar face appeared in front of them and shot arrows at the group.

  “I’m back!” Mr. Anarchy laughed.

  “You’re outnumbered,” Michael yelled at the master griefer.

  “I don’t think so,” he smiled.

  Michael felt an arrow rip through his arm. He turned around to see who shot the arrow, and was shocked to see a group of men dressed in blue. They looked just like Mr. Anarchy, which confused the group. They had no idea which player was Mr. Anarchy.

  “I never said I didn’t have an army,” the master griefer cackled.

  Lily was dumbfounded when she saw Mr. Anarchy change his skin in front of them. He went from a blue man to someone dressed in jeans and a red sweater. Lily wondered if Mr. Anarchy had found some setting that allowed him to change skins every few hours.

  Mr. Anarchy shot an arrow at Lily. She aimed at the man in the jeans and red sweater, but he disappeared. When he reappeared, he was wearing black pants and a green shirt.“I can’t keep track of him,” Lily cried. Although she was glad he didn’t look like his soldiers, Lily was confused.

  Suddenly, Mr. Anarchy struck Lily with a diamond sword. Her friends were battling his blue-skinned army and weren’t able to help her. She had to battle Mr. Anarchy on her own. She leapt toward the master griefer with her enchanted diamond sword, but before she could strike him, he splashed a potion on her, and she lost hearts.

  Lily felt her head spin. She grabbed some milk from her inventory and took a sip, as Mr. Anarchy’s skin changed to red. She struck the red griefer, but he was too strong, and there was no way Lily would be able to destroy him. This was an impossible battle.

  Thunder boomed throughout the Overworld. Lily knew they were about to face another challenge.

  10

  SURVIVAL IN THE OVERWORLD

  Thick, wet drops began to fall on the group. When Mr. Anarchy looked up at the heavy clouds above them, Lily took the opportunity to run toward her friends.

  Mr. Anarchy seemed as surprised by the rain as they were, which calmed Lily down, because she knew it was probably just a normal storm, and they wouldn’t be attacked by an incredible number of hostile mobs.

  “Skeletons!” Michael called out.

  Lily looked over. It was just a couple of skeletons, and she let out a sigh of relief. She remembered that, when she’d been new to the game, battling a few skeletons in a rainstorm had been a challenge. But after these few days trapped in the Overworld, she couldn’t believe how easy that seemed.

  Simon defeated the bony beasts with just a few strikes from his diamond sword and joined the group in their battle against Mr. Anarchy and his army.

  Regaining her strength, Lily sprinted toward Mr. Anarchy. He called out, “You’re a fearless one, aren’t you?”

  Lily had to stifle her laughter. It was funny how much she didn’t mind fighting other players, but how she’d tense up when she encountered a witch. Yet she replied, “I get pleasure from destroying bullies.”

  “I’m not a bully,” Mr. Anarchy exclaimed.

  Lily slammed her sword into the master griefer and he lost hearts. Michael shot an arrow at Mr. Anarchy and he was destroyed.

  The trio and the Prismarines annihilated the soldiers. Arrows, swords, and potions flew at the blue soldiers and the skeletons.

  When the last blue soldier was destroyed, the sun came out, and Simon announced, “Let’s TP to the village.”

  The group TPed and emerged in the center of town. Juan the Butcher raced over to them. “I’m so glad you’re here. There is a strange man who entered the village. He was asking about you guys, and I was worried.”

  Fred the Farmer stood next to Juan. “He stopped by my house. He wanted to know if I knew a Simon, a Lily, or a Michael.”

  Michael pondered who the strange man was and asked, “What does he look like?”

  Fred described the man, “He’s wearing a brown suit.”

  “I don’t know anyone who looks like that,” said Michael.

  The others agreed. They never met a man in a brown suit.

  Lily blurted out, “Oh no! It has to be Mr. Anarchy. He constantly changes his appearance. Is he still here?”

  “I’m not sure,” said Fred. “He just asked me if you were here and then he left.”

  Michael wondered when Mr. Anarchy had the chance to enter the town, but it could have been when they escaped from the prison cell with the folks in green jumpsuits.

  Lily said, “I know this sounds crazy, but I hope the strange man in the brown suit is Mr. Anarchy, because I wouldn’t want another person to be targeting us.”

  The others agreed. Greta said, “Besides Mr. Anarchy, there aren’t too many griefers on this server. I know we used to grief, but I think Mr. Anarchy is the only one who still does.”

  “Along with his soldiers,” added Lily.

  Juan reminded them that it was getting dark and they should head inside before hostile mobs of the night began to spawn in the village.

  “Too late,” Michael said. “I just caught the eye of one of those Endermen.”

  The friends turned their heads just in time to see two block-carrying Endermen. The one that had spotted Michael let out a loud shriek.

  “Run toward the water!” Simon called.

  Michael raced toward the lake nearby, but the Enderman was right behind him. He didn’t think he’d make it in time. Michael turned around and the Enderman reached for him. He sprinted faster and jumped into the cold, blue water. Both Endermen leapt in after him and were destroyed.

  “This is going to be some night,” Lily said as she helped Michael climb back out of the water, looking around for any witch huts nearby.

  “We need to seek shelter, and I need to dry off,” Michael announced to the group. “I have a big house. I think I can offer all of the Prismarines a place to stay.”

  “What about me?” Simon asked. “I don’t have a house.”

 
“You can stay with me,” Lily suggested. “I know my cottage is small, but I have enough room.”

  The gang headed for shelter. They were relieved when they entered the homes without being attacked by hostile mobs.

  Lily settled into her bed. She hated being stuck in the Overworld, but she loved the comfort of her bed in the cottage. While she was in bed, she could almost pretend she was just on a beach trip with her family. When she started to think about her family’s annual summer vacation, she was both comforted and sad.

  “I miss my family,” she said to Simon, who was in the bed across from her.

  “Me too.” Simon’s eyes filled with tears.

  “I know this is a fun adventure, but I really miss my real life,” she confessed.

  “I even miss school. I’d do anything to be in Mrs. Sanders’s class. I’d take a million hours of lunch detention to get out of this game.”

  “Remember how excited we were about playing on this server? And how long we spent building that roller coaster?”

  Simon nodded his head, “Yes. I think the only way we are going to survive here is if we realize how much we love the Overworld. We might be trapped, but once we begin to enjoy playing the game, I think we might have a better chance of survival. I don’t know if that makes any sense.”

  Lily smiled. “It makes perfect sense.”

  Simon pulled the covers over his tired body. “I think we should get some sleep. We’ll want to respawn here if anything happens to us.”

  Lily agreed. She said goodnight and they both drifted off to sleep.

  They awoke to a beautiful day in the Overworld. The sun was shining. Lily looked out the window and could see cows grazing in the pasture. She heard barking.

  “Oh my! It can’t be!” She raced to her door and opened it. “It’s Wolfie!”

  11

  WHERE’S MICHAEL?

  “I can’t believe I was reunited with Wolfie!” Lily was beaming. “I’m so happy!”

  Juan rushed over to Lily. “I have bad news. The Prismarines are missing, and so is Michael.”

  “What?” Lily was shocked.

  “I went to deliver some meat to them and nobody was there,” Juan said.

  Simon and Lily ran to Michael’s epic wooden house. They entered the house to search for their friends, but they could tell almost immediately that it was empty.

  “Michael,” Lily called, her voice echoing in the empty rooms.

  “Green people,” Simon called out.

  “That’s not funny. They call themselves the Prismarines,” Lily said.

  “Okay, but they are green,” replied Simon.

  “Do you think the Prismarines have anything to do with Michael’s disappearance?” Lily asked.

  “I don’t know, but I’m thinking it has something to do with Mr. Anarchy,” Simon said and walked through the house, opening every door and even looking in Michael’s fireplace.

  Juan walked into the house. “I told you. They are missing. This is horrible.”

  “We’ll find them,” Lily said.

  “How?” asked Juan.

  Lily stammered, “I’m not sure, but I think we should head to the jungle temple to see if this is the work of the evil Mr. Anarchy.”

  Simon agreed, and the duo set out toward the jungle biome. They grabbed apples from their inventory and plotted their course.

  When they finally reached the jungle biome, they heard a whistling in the trees. A moment later, they were hit by a bunch of arrows.

  “It’s Mr. Anarchy’s army,” Lily said as she sheltered herself behind a large tree.

  Simon aimed his bow and arrow at the griefers, but was only able to strike one. They were skilled fighters.

  One of the blue men leapt at Lily and slammed his sword against her body. She was losing hearts.

  “You’re coming with me,” he demanded.

  “Simon!” she called out as the soldier herded her away from her friend. Simon turned to run toward Lily.

  “You’re coming with us, too,” another blue griefer demanded.

  “But—” The blue man splashed a potion on Simon, and he was weakened and could no longer speak.

  “Follow us to the jungle temple,” a blue man told them.

  Lily and Michael walked toward the temple. The griefers held diamond swords against their backs as they made the journey.

  “Look who came back.” Mr. Anarchy reappeared, wearing an orange suit.

  Lily wanted to ask him if he wore a brown suit earlier, but she didn’t have any energy, even to voice a question, and she doubted that he would have answered honestly.

  “Did you guys have such a good time, you wanted a return visit?” Mr. Anarchy laughed.

  The blue griefer opened the door to the prison cell. Lily looked for Michael and the folks in green jumpsuits, but they weren’t there.

  “Where are our friends?” she asked weakly.

  Mr. Anarchy seemed perplexed. “Why would they be in here?”

  “But you—” Lily stopped. She didn’t have to explain anything to the master griefer. If he didn’t trap her friends, he shouldn’t know they were missing.

  “What?” Mr. Anarchy knew Lily was withholding information.

  “Nothing,” Lily replied.

  “I think you’re hiding something from me.” The master griefer grabbed his diamond sword and pointed it at Lily. “Remember, you might be on Hardcore mode.”

  Lily realized she hadn’t been destroyed since Mr. Anarchy had suggested that she and her friends were on Hardcore mode. If she was on Hardcore mode, she feared she could be erased from both the server and her life.

  “Michael is missing,”Lily confessed.

  “What? Where is he?” The master griefer was annoyed.

  “We don’t know. We thought he was here,” Lily told him.

  “No, he’s not here, but I am not happy about this. I’m the one who controls the Overworld and I want to know everything,” Mr. Anarchy shouted. He ordered his army to find Michael.

  Lily was happy to know that someone was going to search for her friend, but she was worried. What if Michael was on Hardcore mode and was attacked and destroyed?

  Mr. Anarchy closed the door. Simon and Lily were alone in the prison.

  “We have to find Michael before Mr. Anarchy does.” Simon paced the length of the small room.

  “But how? We’re trapped in here.” Lily felt defeated.

  “I don’t know. But I’m also worried because if Mr. Anarchy doesn’t have Michael and the Prismarines, then who took them?”

  Lily asked, “What if the Prismarines are really bad and they were just pretending to be good?”

  “That’s a possibility, but I really trusted them,” remarked Simon.

  “The only way we’re going to solve anything is if we can get ourselves out of here.” Lily looked at the ground and then exclaimed, “I have the best escape plan!”

  “What is it?” asked Simon.

  “Do you have any obsidian?”

  12

  BATTLE OF THE BLAZES

  Simon rummaged in his inventory and found some obsidian. He placed it in a rectangle on the ground and ignited a flame. Purple mist surrounded them as they activated the portal.

  “What a strange way to escape,” Lily said to her friend.

  “I know,” he agreed. “It’s like escaping to the worst place in Minecraft.”

  “I think we were already in one of the worst places in Minecraft.” Lily was happy to leave that small prison cell.

  “Agreed,” Simon told her as they emerged onto the netherrack landscape and saw a group of blazes and ghasts flying through the sky toward them.

  “Do you have any snow left from the cold biome? Or did you give it all to Michael for the igloo that we never completed?” Lily asked her friend.

  “I have some left.” Simon crafted a snowball and aimed it at the first blaze, destroying the fiery beast.

  Lily only had a few snowballs in her inventory and used them spa
ringly. She only threw them when she knew she would be able to strike and destroy the mob she aimed at.

  Simon obliterated another ghast with a snowball. Lily threw a snowball and destroyed the final ghast.

  “We should make a portal to the Overworld now and head back to Lisimi Village,” suggested Lucy.

  “Wait. Look.” Simon pointed out a Nether fortress in the distance.

  “I don’t want to go loot a fortress. I want to find our friends. And the Nether is a lot worse in real life. I knew this was a fiery biome, but it’s very hot and seriously creepy. I don’t like it here. It’s a lot more fun when we are playing the game. I think if I go into the Nether fortress, I won’t enjoy it.”

  Simon disagreed. “Look, this might be our only opportunity to explore a Nether fortress in real life. And we might get some treasure. You know how hard it is to find a Nether fortress.”

  “I don’t care about treasure—I want to find Michael!”

  “Lily, we might be stuck here forever,” Simon said. “We might need that treasure to survive. This is no joke.”

  Lily sighed, but she had to admit that Simon had a point. Her inventory was very low and she might not have time to replenish it. Ever since they arrived on this server, she was in a constant battle and had no time to gather supplies.

  “Okay,” she replied. “Let’s go to the Nether fortress. But we have to make it quick.”

  “Great!” Simon replied, watching his step as he walked. There were many lava streams and he feared they’d fall in one.

  “I hope I don’t regret this.” Lily shook her head.

  A group of zombie pigmen walked by them. The duo tried to avoid the mobs. Although they were passive, zombie pigmen could be aggressive if provoked, and Simon and Lily tried hard not to brush against them and make them upset.

  Simon suggested they sprint to the Nether fortress.

  “Why can’t anything be easy?” Lily cried as she looked up and spotted two blazes protecting the Nether fortress. “We should have just hopped in the portal back to the Overworld.”

  “Don’t worry; we can handle these guys.” Simon aimed his snowball at the flying menaces. He destroyed one.

  “Got it!” Lily destroyed a blaze.

  Lily picked up the glowstone dust, as well as a blaze rod from the blaze that Simon destroyed.