by Terry Mayer
"Good shot girl, way to go" shouts Natasha. "Can you climb up the line?"
"I don't know, but I'll give it a try."
Grabbing the line, she pulls herself along, dangling underneath until she reaches the bank. Dropping to the floor, she calls out for the next person. One by one, they pull themselves along the line until just Natasha and Jethro are left in the boats.
"Ok Jethro, you're up next."
"No, after you young lady. I feel my rather corpulent figure may have a detrimental effect on the rope."
"Not a chance Jethro, you think I'm leaving you here on your own? Now get out before I throw you out."
Grimacing, Jethro grabs the rope and starts to pull himself along the line. All is going well until a large log comes barreling around the corner and slams into the leading boat. Immediately the line snaps, throwing Jethro into the water and sending Natasha swirling away towards the jaws of the mighty waterfall.
*****
Advancing cautiously into the clearing in the woods, PowerGlide sniffs the air. Smells like zombies, he thinks, drawing his sword and moving towards the small wooden house at the far side. As he draws closer, he spots dark shadows moving at the tree line. "Zombies at 3 o'clock, defensive positions." Immediately they each turn their backs into the centre and form a circle. "Where the heck is Warlord?" barks PowerGlide.
"No idea boss," replies Munster. "Now that I think of it I haven't heard him moaning for quite a while."
"Well, thinking has never been your strong point, has it?" PowerGlide snaps back.
"Shut up Glide. It's not my fault he's gone," he snarls.
"Yeah? But it is your fault that you never noticed. Now get back there and find him."
"No way, there are zombies everywhere."
"We'll take care of the zombies, you find Warlord and get back here asap. Now move it!"
Running out of the clearing, back in the direction they had just travelled, Munster cannot help but wonder why he is taking orders from PowerGlide, it is supposed to be a competition after all.
"Right Mad, just you and me. Think you can handle a few zombies?"
"No probs Glide, slice em' and dice em'."
"Good man, because here they come."
Shuffling into the clearing, twenty plus zombies advance on their position.
"Uh boss, that's a lot of zombies. How do you want to play this?"
"Hold your position, face forward, I've got your back. Come on man, look ahead, they're almost on us."
As the zombies shuffle into range, PowerMad steps forward and cleaves the heads off the first two with a single swing. "Hey boss, you see that, they're having a two for one sale on zombie heads. Boss, you ok boss?"
Looking over his shoulder he see's PowerGlide disappearing into the woods and another dozen zombies advancing on his position from behind.
"You troll! Get your double crossing......" but he does not get to finish his tirade as three zombies grab hold of him and pull him to the floor.
"Get your stinking, rotten flesh off me." Punching one zombie in the face, he raises his leg and kicks another as it tries to bite his ankle. With no time to spare he swings his sword and slices the heads from two of the zombies and rolls to the side as three more arrive and try to hold him down.
"You need to be faster than that, meat head," he bellows, swinging his sword and kicking out at any zombie that is unfortunate enough to come into his path. Fighting his way towards the edge of the clearing, leaving thirty plus dead zombies in his wake he stumbles over a fallen log and drops to his knees. Immediately the zombies sense a change in their fortune and rush forward. Shuffling backwards on his knees, PowerMad continues to delivery deadly blow after deadly blow. Arms and legs are hewn from bodies, and the stench of rotting flesh is almost overpowering. Backing into, what he thinks is a tree, he prepares to stand as he feels the razor sharp bite of a zombie sinking its teeth into his neck.
"Nooooo," he screams, grabbing the zombie by its neck and throwing it over his shoulder at the advancing hoard. Feeling his life point's plummet, he looks wildly about him for options. Seeing the small cabin, with its door wide open, he pushes himself to his feet and, screaming a war cry, runs straight for it. Knocking zombies aside as he dashes for the safety of the cabin his pace starts to slow, and zombie hands reach out for him. As he nears the front door, he has four zombies clinging to him, trying to drag him down. Stumbling forward, he senses his life points falling rapidly and cannot believe that he is going to loose to a zombie. Screaming his defiant war cry, he throws off the zombies hands and turns to face his aggressors. "Come on you meat heads, come and get it ...arrggh....arrggh."
The zombies shuffle to a halt and stand defeated in front of him. They no longer fear or loath him, it is as if he no longer exists to them. Slowly they lose interest and shuffle off in different directions. When PowerMad is finally alone he looks around, gives out a huge moan, and shuffles off after his fellow zombies.
*****
Hanging on the rope, Jethro is tossed like a rag doll in the current. With his strength fading he looks towards the bank where Jack, Jay, Hailey and Nathan are pulling on the rope.
"Hold on Jethro, just a little longer," shouts Jay over the thunderous sound of rushing water. After minutes of strenuous rope pulling, they finally manage to heave Jethro from the water and he drops, exhausted on the riverbank.
"Thank you," splutters Jethro. "I thought I was done for that time." Looking about he asks. "Where's Natasha?"
"Sorry Jethro. When the line broke, Natasha was still in the front boat and they all went over the waterfall."
"What? Nooooo. I told her I was too heavy and she should have gone first. This is all my fault."
"It's not your fault Jethro," replies Hailey, bending down and comforting him. "A huge log came around the river bend and slammed into the boats, that's what snapped the line."
"Even so, if Natasha had gone first then she would still be alive."
"Uh guys. Has anyone heard an announcement?" asks Nate.
"What?"
"Has anyone heard an announcement? When someone dies, that announcer dude tells everyone who is dead. Now I haven't heard anything, so maybe Natasha is still alive."
"My lord, he's right," smiles Jethro heaving himself from the riverbank. "Come on everyone, we have to help her."
Rushing along the edge of the river as the sun is starting to rise they fail to notice the dozens of eyes watching them from the jungle foliage.
*****
Sprinting through the wood, PowerGlide quickly catches up with Munster.
"Come on man, we need to get moving," he shouts as he sprints past him and disappears around the corner.
Chasing after PowerGlide, Munster runs along side him and asks, "where's Mad? what happened?"
"Too many zombies. They came from everywhere. We got separated in the clearing, and the last I saw, they were all over PowerMad. There is no way he could have survived. We need to put some distance between us and them before morning."
"This is all Warlord's fault. If we were all together we would have been alright."
"Couldn't agree more. Warlord is certainly the cause of all our problems. We need to think very carefully what to do with him when we catch up with him."
"I know what I'm going to do to that dirty little coward when I catch up with him."
Smiling to himself, PowerGlide thinks, I love it when a plan comes together. Before long, I will be the last player, and crowned Master of Minecraft.
*****
7 - And Another One Bites The Dust
Opening his eyes, Notch looks around his surroundings. He appears to be in a 6 x 4 granite cell with iron bars at the front. Two flaming torches light the cell.
"Hello Notch, I hope you are feeling ok after your trip here?"
"Where am I and who are you?"
"You are home and I think you know who I am," he replies, stepping forward into the light.
"Herobrine?"
Standing
before him is a blocky character with shinning yellow eyes.
"Of course. I'm so happy that we are finally together Notch."
"What the heck is happening?"
"The future!"
"What? Where am I, and what the heck is going on?"
"You are in the world of our making. You have now taken your rightful place in the world of Minecraft."
"What? But, that is not possible, what sort of joke is this? Who put you up to this?"
"Why, you did Notch. You agreed to come with me and take up your rightful place with me."
"I most certainly did not."
"Yes Notch, you did. No one can enter minecraft unless they agree to come. I asked you if you were ready, and you said yes."
"But, but, but that's not what I meant."
"Whatever, you are here, as you should be. Now we can begin."
"Begin what?"
"Why, the merge, of course."
"What's the merge?"
"Come now Notch, you designed Minecraft. This is all your conception. You designed the merge."
"No, it can't be. Please tell me it's not what I think it is."
"Of course it is Notch. Such genius. Pure and beautiful in its simplicity and it's all down to you. Now, are you ready to begin?"
"Noooo."
Even as his scream fades, darkness clouds his vision and he feels himself falling. His last view is of the iron bars opening and Herobrine advancing into the cell.
*****
As they reach the edge of the waterfall, the immensity of the situation hits them. Standing on the precipice, they look out at the jungle vista, maybe 150 blocks below them.
"Wow! I've never seen a waterfall this huge before. Look at the jungle, we can see for thousands of blocks."
"Yes, yes Jay, but we need to get down to Natasha. How much rope do you have?"
"Uh, just a few pieces of string, sorry."
"Ok, does anyone else have any rope?" Looking at each player, they all shake their heads in reply.
"Drat and blast it. Right, think Jethro, think. Ok, we will build a staircase down the rock face. Ok everyone, get your pickaxes out, it's time to dig." Removing his own pickaxe, he furiously starts digging at the edge of the cliff face but only gets three blocks deep before hitting granite. "Drat and blast it to damnation." Moving sideways, he digs another block before hitting more granite. Turning again, he starts to dig when a shout from Jay stops him.
"Not that way Jethro. That get's you fresh air."
Looking back at Jay, Jethro drops his axe and slumps to the ground. "This whole cliff face is granite. There's no way we can dig through it with these stone pickaxes."
"I get the feeling that's the idea. No doubt there is a way down but we are going to have to follow the path, and whatever Herobrine has in store for us."
"Arrgghh! I'm sorry Natasha," screams Jethro.
"Give yourself a break man. It is not your fault and anyway, she is still alive. She is tough as nails Jethro. Remember, she was invited here, just like us, because she is a great player, so quit worrying. Now let's get out of here before anything else happens."
"Uh Jay, I wish you hadn't said that," stammers Jack.
Looking back, Jack is pointing at the Jungle. Turning to look where he is pointing he sees hundreds of eyes peering at him from the shadows.
*****
Sensing a change in the atmosphere, Warlord digs a block of soil from over his head and breathes a sigh of relief as the first rays of daylight fill the opening. He pulls himself from his small shelter and surveys his surroundings. At the edge of the clearing, dark shapes move in the shadows. Their moaning increases as they see him rise up out of the ground.
Son of a gun. They knew I was here. If it were not for the sun, I would have come up right in the middle of them. Moving cautiously away from the hoard they follow, in the shadows, and he is soon walking in circles, with the hoard of zombies following in the tree line. Suddenly a wail of agony from behind makes him spin. Watching, a zombie rushes from the woods and suddenly bursts into flames. Even as it burns it still advances on him and he finds himself drawing his sword, ready to defend himself. With only a few blocks remaining between him and the flaming zombie, it trips and flails on the floor until it disappears leaving behind some floating cobblestone, a sword, pickaxe, and four gold bars.
What the heck? Zombies do not carry stuff.
BOOM. The canon sound explodes in the air and then the thunderous voice announces...
The forth competitor has been eliminated. PowerMad has not proven worthy. Eight competitors remain. Continue the tournament.
Ah man, PowerMad. How the heck did you let a zombie get you? Bending down he collects the last possessions of his friend and looks around him again. Mind you, these zombies are very persistent.
*****
As the canon sounds, Jethro throws his hands over his head and falls to his knees. Screaming at the sky, he does not hear the announcement of PowerMad's demise. Running over to his friend, Nate pries Jethro's hands from his ears and shakes him until he looks into his eyes.
"Jethro, Jethro. It's not Natasha, she's still ok."
Looking into his eyes, Jethro asks pleadingly, "What? It's not Natasha, she's still ok?"
"Yes Jethro, PowerMad just bought the farm, but Natasha is still ok, at least for now."
"Oh thank the lord." Grabbing Nate, he encloses him in a huge bear hug. Laughing and literally jumping with joy, Jethro spins around and around.
"Guys, cool it, we still have company."
Looking over at Jay, Jethro immediately sobers up and puts Nate down.
"So what do you think it is Jay?"
"I don't know Jack, just keep still and whatever it is won't come out in daylight."
"Yeah right, just like creepers don't attack in daylight either."
"Oh snap, that's it. Jay, you still got that string?"
"Yeah."
"Good, very slowly get your crafting table out and make me a fishing rod."
"What! We don't have time for this Hailey."
"Shut up Jay, I know what I'm doing. Come on, don't just stand there."
Looking at her, Jay shrugs and pulls his crafting table from his inventory. Reaching back inside, he pulls out two lengths of string and combines them with three poles on the crafting table. Handing the fishing rod to Hailey, he remarks, "You better know what you're doing, because whatever they are in the trees they are getting restless."
"Trust me Jay, this is the best thing that has happened to us since we met."
Moving slowly, keeping her eyes on the forest, Hailey edges towards the river, and drops the fishing line in the water. Almost immediately, she has a bite and pulls a fish out on the end of her line.
"Ok, everyone stay very still and don't make any noise," she says, dropping the fishing rod and edging closer to the tree line and whatever it contains. As she comes close to the trees a low growl emanates from straight in front of her. Swallowing her fear, she holds out the fish and continues towards the trees.
"Oh clever girl," whispers Jethro.
Turning, Nate asks, "why J-Dog, what's she up to?"
"Just watch Nathan, this should be interesting."
Turning back to watch Hailey, Nate neatly jumps out of his skin when a huge, spotted cat moves out of the jungle straight towards Hailey. Just as he is about to shout a warning, a hand clamps over his mouth and Jethro whispers into his ear. "Steady now Nathan, its ok, just watch."
As the giant cat moves towards Hailey she gives a little purring noise and quietly says, "here kitty, come on, you know you want the fish."
Shaking the fish right in front of the cat's face, it sniffs the offering, then gently takes it from her hand and sits down to eat it. Almost immediately, its appearance starts to change, with the spots merging into one another and before long, it looks just like a normal cat, except it is huge. Turning to her audience, Hailey smiles, and asks, "So, who wants their own tamed Ocelot?"
Moving fo
rward slowly to the river, Jay picks up the rod and casts into the fast flowing water. He too is rewarded with a bite and pulls a fish from the water. Holding it up he stage whispers to Jethro, "J-Dog, you're up man, go get yourself an Ocelot."
Moving cautiously towards Jay, who continues fishing, Jethro collects the fish and heads over to where Hailey is playing with her cat. Holding out the fish, he edges towards the forest and is greeted by a loud, deep growl.
"Nice kitty, come on kitty. I've got a lovely fish for you."
The Ocelot that moves out of the shadows is even larger than the first and stands almost as tall a Jethro. Gulping, Jethro waves the fish, and the ocelot moves to within reach, takes the fish and sits down to eat it's prize. As with Hailey, the ocelot immediately changes color to resemble a huge domestic cat.
"Nate, Jack, come on, get a fish," whispers Jay, holding up two wiggling fish.
They both take the fish and perform the same slow and steady dance and before long, they are both sat stroking a huge cat. When Jay catches a fish for himself, he also performs the ocelot dance and is soon a proud cat owner. Once everyone has a cat the other ocelots in the forest lose interest and disappear back to where they came from.
"So Hailey, you want to explain to me why we all just adopted a huge cat? Don't get me wrong, he's really nice," he stammers as the ocelot looks up and places his huge nose right in Nathan's face, "will they protect us, is that the idea?"
"Yes and no Nate, ocelots are peaceful creatures and never attack anything."
"Then why bother, I know I'm new here but everyone else must know that they are useless."
To this comment, he receives a loud, deep growl from all the ocelots.
"No Nate, ocelots are not useless, it is true that they are peaceful and never attack but they have one special skill, creepers are terrified of them and never attack when there are ocelots around."