Never Say Nether

by Greyson Mann

  Also by Greyson Mann:

  Secrets of an Overworld Survivor

  Lost in the Jungle

  When Lava Strikes

  Wolves vs. Zombies

  The Creeper Diaries

  Mob School Survivor

  Creeper’s Got Talent

  This book is not authorized or sponsored by Microsoft Corp., Mojang AB, Notch Development AB or Scholastic Inc., or any other person or entity owning or controlling rights in the Minecraft name, trademark, or copyrights.

  Copyright © 2017 by Hollan Publishing, Inc.

  Minecraft® is a registered trademark of Notch Development AB.

  The Minecraft game is copyright © Mojang AB.

  This book is not authorized or sponsored by Microsoft Corp., Mojang AB, Notch Development AB or Scholastic Inc., or any other person or entity owning or controlling rights in the Minecraft name, trademark, or copyrights.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Sky Pony Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

  Sky Pony Press books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Sky Pony Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or info@skyhorsepublishing.com.

  Sky Pony® is a registered trademark of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.®,a Delaware corporation.

  Minecraft® is a registered trademark of Notch Development AB.

  The Minecraft game is copyright © Mojang AB.

  Visit our website at www.skyponypress.com.

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

  Special thanks to Erin L. Falligant.

  Cover illustration by Grace Sandford

  Cover design by Brian Peterson

  Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-5107-1334-5

  Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-1335-2

  Printed in the United States of America

  CHAPTER 1

  “You’ve been where?”

  Will stared at Mina as if seeing her for the first time. She looked the same on the outside—a red-headed girl with determined green eyes. But he wondered what secrets and strengths she’d been hiding on the inside.

  “I’ve been to the Nether,” she repeated. “You can’t brew potions without Nether wart. And that only grows in one place, Will.”

  She carefully placed another potion bottle on the low stone wall. They were sitting in an indoor garden, sun streaming through the windows in the roof above. The potions in Mina’s glass bottles were as colorful as the poppies, roses, and sunflowers surrounding them.

  “Ugh, I’m nearly out of potion of weakness and potion of healing,” she said, shaking the contents of the last two bottles in her sack. “That zombie siege in Little Oak took almost everything I had.”

  Will glanced out the window at the charred fields of his brother Seth’s farm. “The zombies took almost everything Seth had, too,” he said. The indoor garden was one of the last green spaces near Little Oak.”

  “I guess I’ll just have to go to the Nether and start over,” said Mina with a sigh, sitting back on her heels.

  Will shushed her with a finger. “Don’t let Seth hear you say that. He’d freak out. He says people don’t come back from the Nether.” He searched the plants and bushes nearby, wondering where Seth was pruning now.

  Mina shrugged. “Well, I came back, didn’t I? And I will again—with plenty of Nether wart. And ghast tears, glowstone dust, blaze powder …” She rattled off a list of potion ingredients as she slid her bottles back into her sack.

  Ghast tears? Blaze powder? Will imagined the mobs Mina would have to fight to gather those ingredients. What an adventure! He sprang to his feet. “I’ll go with you.”

  Mina shook her head. “Thanks, but like you said, Seth probably won’t let you go.”

  Won’t let me go? thought Will. He’d already been to the jungle, the Extreme Hills, and the Taiga. He didn’t need his brother’s permission to travel—he could go where he wanted. He was about to tell Mina that when the lilac bush across the cobblestone path began to shimmy and shake.

  “Creeper!” Will shouted, grabbing his sword.

  But instead of a green mob exploding, a dark head popped up from behind the bush. Seth wore a muddy apron and held a pair of pruning shears.

  “It’s okay with me if Will goes to the Nether,” he said calmly, as if he’d been a part of the conversation all along. “And I want to go, too.”

  “Wait … what?” sputtered Will. “But you never go anywhere! You don’t fight mobs. You stay here, and farm, and build things, and do stuff like … gardening.” He pointed at the shears in Seth’s gloved hands.

  “I’m going with you,” said Seth, more firmly this time. “You and Mina saved me from the zombies. Now it’s my turn to repay you.”

  Will shook his head. “You don’t have to do that. The Nether is full of ghasts and blazes. I mean, they’re way more dangerous than zombies. Tell him, Mina!”

  For some reason, Mina stayed silent. She studied her fingernails as if they were the most interesting things in the world.

  “We’ll fight the ghasts and blazes,” said Seth, “if that’s what we have to do. You and Mina can teach me how.”

  Seth’s words bounced around in Will’s mind: You can teach me how. He had never heard Seth say that before—about anything. He imagined what it would be like battling mobs beside Seth, teaching his brother how to fight off the quickest and strongest monsters. The thought made Will smile just a little.

  Mina raised her eyes, waiting for his response. Seth stared at him, too.

  Finally Will said, “Okay.”

  “Okay,” said Mina with a grin. She held out her hand, palm down.

  “Okay,” said Seth, putting his hand over hers.

  We’re going to the Nether! thought Will. This is my chance to show my brother what I can do. He put his hand firmly on top of Seth’s.

  CHAPTER 2

  “No,” said Mina, pointing at the diamond pickaxe sticking out of Seth’s pack. “You shouldn’t bring your diamond tools, Seth. They’re too valuable, and you’ll end up losing them in lava or to an angry mob. Just bring iron ones—they’re good enough for the Nether.”

  Will hid a smile. When it came to packing and planning, Seth was usually the one doing the scolding, not being scolded.

  But then Mina pointed toward the water bowl in Will’s hand. “You can’t bring your dog, Will. Dogs can’t go through the Nether portal. Besides, there’s no water there. What would you pour in Buddy’s bowl? Hot lava?”

  From her dog bed in the corner, Buddy heard her name. She lifted her head and thumped her tail.

  Will had tamed the wolf in the snowy Taiga, and Buddy was an amazing fighter. She could take down a zombie or even a skeleton in the blink of an eye—much quicker than Seth or even Mina could. And now Will had to leave her behind? It seemed so unfair!

  “She can join the other wolves guarding Little Oak,” said Seth. “In case the zombies come back.”

  Zombies, schmombies, thought Will. The zombie siege in Little Oak had been scary, for sure. But wait till we get to the Nether. Then we’ll battle some really hostile mobs, he thought with a shiver of anticipation. He strapped his bow and arrow over his shoulder.

  “I hope we have enough of these to last,” said Mina, wrapping a few glass vials in cloth. “Potion of fire resistance, especially. Lava is everywhere in the Nether. I’ve heard of explorers w
ho stepped through the Nether portal and fell right into it!”

  “Really?” said Will. That would be horrible luck—finally reaching the Nether and burning up in a pit of lava after just one step.

  But the only part of Mina’s story that Seth heard was the word portal. “Can I help you build it?” he asked.

  Mina smiled. “I was hoping you’d offer,” she said. “Nether portals aren’t easy to build—they take lots of obsidian. But you’re the best builder in Little Oak. You’ll have it done in no time!”

  Will felt the quick burn of jealousy. All his life, he’d heard people call Seth the “master builder.” Will could hardly wait to get to the Nether, where building wasn’t important—not as important as fighting, anyway.

  “While you guys build that portal, I’ll just … um … bring Buddy down to Little Oak,” he said. The thought of saying goodbye to Buddy hurt his heart. But Will didn’t want to stay here and help build the Nether portal. Seth didn’t need his help—Will would just be in the way.

  So he gathered Buddy’s things, whistled for his dog to follow, and headed down the hill toward the village below.

  When Will was only halfway back up the hill, he could already see the Nether portal. He shaded his eyes. It loomed toward the sky like a giant black picture frame with two figures standing inside.

  Mina waved as he grew closer. “Isn’t it amazing?” she called.

  Will had to agree. Seth had laid out four blocks of black obsidian in a straight line. Two pillars of obsidian stretched upward from those, and another four blocks framed the top. But why were Seth and Mina already standing inside?

  “Wait for me!” called Will, breaking into a jog.

  Mina laughed. “It’s not lit yet,” she said. “We can hop through it all day long and never get to the Nether.” She demonstrated by jumping through the portal and back again.

  Still, Will raced up the hill, afraid of missing out on something. By the time he reached the portal, he was breathing hard.

  “Do you want to do the honors?” asked Seth, handing him a flint stone and a C-shaped piece of steel.

  Will shook his head. Building fires was like building houses—Seth was much better at it. “You do it,” he said.

  Seth struck the steel against the flint until it sparked to life. Then he held it out toward the hollow space of the Nether portal. Instantly, purple flames leaped from the frame. Seth jumped back and dropped the flint. “Yikes!”

  Mina sighed. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

  Will couldn’t respond. He stood mesmerized by the swirling purple wall. Beads of sweat popped up on his forehead, but all he wanted to do was walk through that flame.

  “Wait!” said Mina, pulling him back. “Not yet. You might be walking into a pit of lava, remember? Drink this first—a potion of fire resistance.” She pulled a glass bottle filled with orange liquid from her sack. “This works for only three minutes. So after you drink it, you have to go through right away, okay?”

  Will nodded and met his brother’s eyes. “I’ll go first, just in case,” he said bravely. Because this is what I’m good at, he wanted to add.

  “Wait!” said Seth. “I’m not ready. I dropped the flint.” He squatted to pick it up from the ground.

  Will laughed. “You won’t need to build a fire where we’re going, brother.” But he wondered if Seth was really worried about the flint or just having second thoughts about the Nether.

  Well, I’m not afraid, thought Will. I’ll protect him. He took a deep breath—and the first tasteless gulp of potion. Then he handed the bottle back to Mina and eagerly stepped through the flames.

  CHAPTER 3

  Will opened his eyes to flickering lavender flames and quickly closed them again, his lids burning. As he inhaled heat and smoke, his lungs heaved. Without warning, he tumbled out of the portal, coughing and sputtering. The ground felt hot—too hot. Lava?

  He jumped to his feet, relieved to see them firmly planted on some sort of reddish-orange rock. It was hot, all right, but it wasn’t on fire.

  The world around him was bathed in an orange glow. Flames shot up from the ground in random bursts, and lava streamed down from the ceiling into a swirling, bubbling pit. Will spun in a circle, taking it all in.

  Then he realized he wasn’t alone.

  A man with a sword was quickly approaching. As he neared the lava pit, the fire cast light on his green flesh—zombie flesh.

  Then the zombie turned his head, and Will saw splotches of pink, too. Now he knew exactly what he was dealing with—a zombie pigman. Will drew his sword.

  When Seth tumbled out of the portal, Will didn’t have time to think. He sprang into action, putting himself between the pigman and his brother. Will lunged at the monster, who squealed with surprise—then rage.

  In an instant, he was sprinting toward Will. He was fast, so fast! This mob was nothing like zombies in the Overworld. Will realized in a heartbeat that he didn’t know how to fight it. But if he kept running, he could at least lure it away from Seth.

  Then he saw with horror that three more pigmen had joined the fight, sprinting from the flame-filled corners of the Nether. He and Seth were already outnumbered!

  When another mob flew at Will from the side, he raised his sword.

  “Will, it’s me!”

  Mina was running beside him, and when she turned to fight the grunting, snorting mob, Will found the courage to turn, too. Together, they knocked the pigmen backward. One fell into the lava pit with a hiss and a squeal.

  Will lunged toward another pigman, striking him with his sword. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Seth running toward them with his own sword drawn. That made Will strike harder and faster. Before Seth could even reach them, the zombie pigman was nothing more than a smoking heap of rotten flesh.

  Seth’s jaw hung open, his eyes wide and wild.

  “I … I’m sorry I didn’t get here in time to help,” he said.

  “It’s okay,” said Will, trying to catch his breath. He’d done it by himself—he’d protected Seth and shown him what a good fighter he could be. And Seth did look impressed.

  But Mina sure didn’t.

  “Why did you do that?” she snapped at Will.

  He took a step backward. “What? I saved Seth from the zombie pigmen. Why are you mad?” He raised his arms in confusion.

  “You didn’t save anyone from the pigmen,” said Mina. “You put us in danger. The pigmen wouldn’t have bothered us if you hadn’t attacked one. They’re a passive mob. You don’t have to fight everything you see, Will. The Nether is dangerous enough.”

  Sheesh, thought Will, sliding his sword back into its sheath. Sorry.

  Five minutes into their Nether adventure, and he had already done something wrong. He hadn’t tumbled out of the portal into a lava pit. But I might as well have, he thought sadly as he followed Mina back toward the portal.

  “Seth, that’s brilliant,” said Mina, running her hands over a wall of Nether brick. “It’s as solid as cobblestone, and it won’t catch fire.”

  Seth beamed as he added another red stone to the wall.

  Even in the Nether, he’s a master builder, thought Will. His brother had spotted the best building material to create their base and was just finishing a wall around the portal.

  “Score one for Seth,” he mumbled.

  Mina shot him an odd look. “What?”

  “Nothing,” he said. “Can I help?”

  “As soon as Seth is done, you can help me explore the Nether fortress,” said Mina. “We passed one while we were battling pigmen—did you see it? I could almost smell the Nether wart.” She lifted her nose to the air, but the twinkle in her eye said she was joking.

  Will hadn’t seen the fortress. He’d been too busy trying to protect Seth. But he was itching to check it out now. “I’m just going to step outside and take a look.”

  Mina hesitated. “Don’t go too far,” she said. “Wait for us. There’ll be ghasts protecting the fort.”


  She might as well have told him that the fort walls were made of diamonds. Will had never seen a ghast before. His heart thudded with excitement.

  So while Mina helped Seth finish his wall, Will stepped outside it into the depths of the Nether. He kept his eyes peeled for the enemy—he was good at that. And he spotted the fortress quickly, too.

  Like a red-brick castle, its towers loomed above the cavern. Will imagined wither skeletons looking down on their fiery kingdom from the windows of those towers. Then he noticed they were connected by a bridge.

  And floating right above that bridge, he saw his first ghast: huge, white, and fluffy. The jellyfish-like mob looked almost friendly. Its tentacle legs swayed back and forth as if waving hello to Will. Had it seen him?

  Will let his guard down for only a second.

  The ghast opened its mouth and launched its first fireball.

  The ball of flame howled as it flew past Will and struck the ground behind him.

  Missed me! he thought with relief.

  Then he felt heat on his arm—and searing pain. As he glanced down he realized with horror that …

  He was on fire.

  CHAPTER 4

  Water! was all Will could think. I need water!

  Then he remembered he was in the one place where there was no water. He was in the Nether. And he was on his own.

  He dropped to the ground and rolled over and over, narrowly missing a fire pit. When he sat up, his cape smoked and smoldered. The flames were out, but his arm throbbed with pain.

  And the ghast was still firing from above.

  Will dodged fireballs as he raced back to the safety of Seth’s Nether brick walls. He dove to the ground, holding his arm and rocking back and forth.

  “Get … the ghast,” Will gasped.

  Mina grabbed her bow and arrow and ducked behind the wall. She fired arrows, one after another, into the dark sky.