The Phantom Virus

by Mark Cheverton

  Sprinting as fast as he could, the User-that-is-not-a-user followed the young boy through the empty streets of the village. When he reached the end of the next building, he turned the corner, trying to stay fast on Herder’s heels. He rounded the corner, expecting to still be far behind the boy. Instead, he nearly collided with him.

  In front of Herder and Gameknight stood all the inhabitants of the village, motionless, in shocked silence. Beyond the crowd was the village’s well. It was a cobblestone structure with a square roof on top, the source of water for the entire community. But right now, it was under attack.

  “What’s happening?” Gameknight asked in disbelief, looking up in the sky.

  Sheep plummeted from the sky, landing on and around the well. The poor animals were bleating as they dropped, each one disappearing with a pop as soon as it landed.

  It was beyond terrible.

  Small cubes of wool floated just off the ground all around the structure, as well as some tools and armor. Gameknight scanned the crowd, looking for an NPC in a black smock. But all he could see were the square heads of the villagers, many of them looking down at the ground, weeping, unable to help the sheep. Gameknight continued scanning the crowd, and eventually saw flowing black hair resting against a black smock. It was the village’s crafter.

  “What’s happening here?” the User-that-is-not-a-user asked as he approached.

  “We don’t know,” the crafter replied with a defeated look on her face. She turned and looked at Gameknight with tears in her eyes.

  “They just started falling from the sky,” the crafter said, her voice cracking with emotion. “You can hear their cries of terror from high up in the air … oh … they must be so scared as they fall. How could anyone do such a thing?”

  “Why didn’t you build a pool of water to catch some of them?” Gameknight asked as he pushed through the crowd.

  “We tried,” the crafter answered.

  “Builder and Carver tried,” one of the NPCs said. “But each sheep is heavy, and when they’re falling from such great heights they can be incredibly dangerous, and …”

  The villager stopped speaking, overcome with emotion, and simply pointed to the collection of armor, tools, and weapons that floated among the cubes of wool. It was all that remained of the two volunteers.

  “We have to do something,” Herder cried, panic in his eyes. “I’ll go out and—”

  “No, Herder!” Gameknight snapped. “You’ ll do as I say.” He turned back to the crafter. “I need buckets of water—now!”

  The crafter looked at the User-that-is-not-a-user for a moment, trying to decipher what he might have in mind. Then, realizing that the village had tried everything they could already, to no avail, and hoping there was still a solution they hadn’t thought of, she turned and looked at a group of villagers standing nearby.

  “Well?” she asked. “Does anyone have water?”

  Instantly, four full buckets were thrust toward him. Gameknight gestured to Herder, and the lanky boy collected them and put them safely in his inventory. Gameknight then pulled Herder close to his side and spoke softly in his ear.

  “You stay close to me, as close as possible. Do you understand?”

  Herder nodded.

  Reaching out his right arm, he wrapped it around the boy and pulled him close. With his left, he pulled out his shield.

  “Gameknight, what are you doing?” Digger asked from behind him.

  “We’re going to help those sheep,” he replied.

  “But there’s too many,” the stocky NPC said in protest. “Your shield can’t take that kind of abuse.”

  The User-that-is-a-user moved forward anyway, ignoring the objections and holding his rectangular shield up over both his and Herder’s heads. The first sheep that hit the shield almost tore it from his grasp. He wasn’t prepared for the force of the blow. Gripping his only defense with all his strength, Gameknight continued on, slowly but steadily, holding Herder close.

  “When we get close to the well, I want you to get under its roof,” Gameknight shouted over the smashing animals and their terrified cries.

  Herder looked up at his friend and nodded as he wiped tears from his eyes.

  More sheep hammered his shield. At one point, two animals hit at the same time. His arm nearly buckled, but Gameknight’s strength held. Their scared cries assailed him from all sides. They were now only four blocks from the well.

  “Come on, Herder, let’s go faster,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said.

  The pair increased their pace. When they reached the protective cover of the well’s roof, both Herder and Gameknight jumped up onto the edge of the square structure. They could see the cool water down in the well and knew that if they fell into it, they would likely never be able to get out.

  Carefully, Herder poured a bucket of water on the ground. It flowed outward in a six-block radius, creating a thin layer of water on the ground. But that layer was enough to cushion the fall of the bleating animals. Instead of being instantly killed, they survived. Herder moved precariously along the edge of the well to the next corner and emptied the next bucket of water out into the grass. As before, the sheep falling in that area survived. Gameknight watched as the fuzzy white creatures struggled out of the water, but once they escaped, they began to walk around the village as if nothing had happened.

  Moving like a tightrope walker, Herder carefully made his way along the lip of the well until he reached the next corner. He poured the life-saving water onto the ground as before, and again, a circle of survival formed for the sheep, allowing the animals a chance to live. Moving to the fourth corner, he readied the last bucket, but was stopped.

  “Herder, wait,” Gameknight said as he moved up behind him. “There’s a sign out there—I have to read it before the water washes it away. Wait until I tell you to place the water.”

  Herder nodded his boxy head, his long black hair hanging over his eyes.

  Gameknight held the shield up over his head and stepped out into the bleating rain. The animals pounded on his shield when they struck. He could see small cracks starting to appear through the metal layer from the force of impact; he had to hurry. Scooting around the corner of the well, he stopped in front of the sign to read it quickly, then raced back to safety under the well’s roof.

  “Now … pour it!” Gameknight shouted over the din of the falling sheep.

  Herder dumped the last bucket of water on the edge of the well. The pool of water quickly spread across the grass-covered ground. It uprooted the sign and pushed it aside as the thin blue coating of liquid expanded to a distance of six blocks.

  Looking where the sign had been, Gameknight thought he saw a faint crimson glow, as if some kind of red light were buried under the ground. Gameknight started thinking.

  “Herder, stay there,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said.

  Holding the shield over his head, he leapt off the well and ran outside the circle of woolly hail. The NPCs cheered for the User-that-is-not-a-user, but Gameknight ignored them. There was another mystery here; that red glow beneath the sign meant something, and he was going to find out what.

  Putting away his shield, Gameknight pulled out a shovel and started digging. He carved steps into the ground three blocks deep, then dug straight toward the place where the sign had stood, leaving one block above him. Soon, he was enveloped in darkness as the entrance he had dug moved farther and farther behind him. But then a light flared behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he found Crafter standing behind him, one torch placed in the wall and another in his hand.

  “I don’t know what you are doing, Gameknight999, but I’ll help where I can.”

  The User-that-is-not-a-user gave his friend a nod, then turned and continued digging. He figured they were about six blocks from the red glow he’d seen. He could feel water drops falling on his head and shoulders; they were under one of Herder’s protective pools. Glancing up, he could see cracks beginning to form in the blocks of dirt. T
he water was protecting the sheep’s HP, but it was not stopping the impact from slowly destroying the blocks of dirt.

  He had to move quickly.

  Digging with all his strength, he closed the distance on his target. Removing two more blocks, he knew he was almost there. He dug up another pair of blocks, revealing a faint red glow that leaked from around the edges of the next block. When he removed the outlined block of dirt, Gameknight gasped in surprise.

  “What do you see?” Crafter asked.

  “Come look.”

  Crafter moved next to his friend, a look of shock on his face.

  “What is it?” Crafter asked.

  Before them was a hollowed-out chamber three blocks wide, a dozen long, and two blocks high. Glowing lines of redstone power zigzagged across the chamber, all of them connected in a complex series of repeaters and comparators, pulses of light moving through the structure like the beating of a heart. Directly under the location of the sign sat a block that Gameknight instantly recognized: a command block. But this one was different from others he’d used before. It was checkered orange, with what looked like blinking lights on the sides.

  “It’s a redstone timer circuit,” Gameknight said. “And that strange block is called a command block. It must be what’s causing the sheep to spawn up in the air.”

  “Redstone timer? Command block?” Crafter said, confused.

  Gameknight ignored the question for the moment as he cleared another block of dirt from their path and stepped into the chamber. With a quick stroke of his shovel, he broke the redstone circuit, extinguishing the crimson light and plunging the chamber into darkness. Crafter pulled out a torch and placed it against the wall.

  “You’re telling me that this orange block was causing all those sheep to fall to their deaths?”

  Gameknight nodded.

  “And it was also messing with the cows and pigs? And the bone snow too? It was all because of command blocks?”

  The User-that-is-not-a-user nodded again.

  An angry scowl came across Crafter’s face. Pulling an iron pickaxe out of his inventory, he swung it with all his strength, digging the metal point into the checkered block. The tool bounced off it harmlessly, as if he were trying to mine diamond with a wooden shovel. He swung again. The iron tool ricocheted off the unblemished block, small iron chips breaking off the tool and spraying both of them.

  “You can’t break them,” Gameknight said. “They’re as indestructible as bedrock.”

  “How do we destroy it?” Crafter asked.

  “We have to destroy the redstone power source, which we just did.” Gameknight put a hand on the NPC’s pick and carefully pushed it down. “I assure you, it’s dead.”

  Crafter gave a sigh of relief.

  “What did the sign say?”

  Now it was Gameknight’s turn to sigh.

  “It said ‘THIS IS BECAUSE OF GAMEKNIGHT999. PREPARE FOR RETRIBUTION. SEE YOU IN THE NEXT VILLAGE.’ And it was signed ‘—HEROBRINE.’”

  Gameknight looked down into Crafter’s bright blue eyes as a shudder ran down his spine. How can this be? he thought. Is that virus still in Minecraft? Is Herobrine still alive?

  All the villagers say they can feel Herobrine is gone from the servers, but how can that be true while these signs and command blocks keep popping up? His doubt about Herobrine’s fate began to chip away at his own confidence. Maybe I am responsible?

  “Is this all my fault?” he asked his friend, his voice barely a whisper.

  “Of course not,” Crafter snapped. “But we must tell the others. Now that we’ve figured out the command blocks, we can help the other communities. Come on!”

  CHAPTER 8

  REAPER

  The skeleton king rode majestically atop his bony horse, a crown of bones leaning slightly to one side on top of his pale skull. Behind him marched a hundred of his best fighters, all of them expert archers and experienced warriors. Reaper dismounted when they reached the mouth of the tunnels and handed the skeleton horse’s reins off to one of his subordinates.

  “Which way now?” he asked the large black spider that stood at his side.

  “The chamber issss thissss way,” the spider hissed.

  Moving quickly, the spider scurried into the tunnel, her red eyes seeming to glow brighter in the darkness, with the army of skeletons fast on her eight heels. She led them through so many twists and turns that at first it seemed like it would have been impossible to get back out without her.

  I got lost when they led me out of that chamber to collect my troops, Reaper thought. Is this spider trying to purposely confuse us and make it impossible to ever leave this place? What kind of game is Shaivalak playing?

  But then he noticed the blocks of spiderweb placed high up on the walls, carefully positioned in the shadows so as not to be easily noticed. They were markers, showing the spider where to go. Reaper continued to follow the dark monster through the twisting passages, descending deeper into the bowels of Minecraft, keeping an eye on the position of the markers. Soon, they passed a section of tunnel with a large opening in the side. Pausing, the skeleton king gazed through the opening and down into a massive chamber lit with a scant few redstone torches. He could see the narrow bridge stretching from the cavern entrance. The single-block-wide crossing led to a large cobblestone platform that appeared to float in the middle of the cavern, only touching the walls at a few strategic places. Beneath the platform, all he could see was darkness, the cavern stretching far below into the shadows. Another bridge extended away from the cobblestone platform, but whatever it led to was shrouded in darkness. Blocks of some kind were barely visible, but Reaper could not tell what they were.

  “That issss Herobrine’ssss cave,” the spider hissed.

  “I know that, spider,” Reaper snapped. “I’ve been here before. Just lead on.”

  Without a reply, the spider moved off, continuing through the sloping passage. In minutes, they were at the cavern entrance.

  “My queen hassss ordered that the sssskeletonsss are to guard thissss entrance with their livessss, and refusssse entrance to any usssser or NPC,” the spider said.

  “You don’t give commands here, spider,” the king of the skeletons growled. “Leave us.”

  The eight-legged creature glared up at the bony monster, then turned and scuttled back through the tunnels, likely heading for the surface.

  Pulling out his massive longbow made of pale white bone, Reaper strode across the narrow bridge, unconcerned about the lethal drop that yawned on either side, and stepped onto the large platform. Moving to the edge of the bridge, but nervous about following their king across the narrow walkway, many of the skeleton warriors peered over the edge, down into the darkness. Reaper drew an arrow out of his inventory and dropped it over the side. The silence seemed to go on forever, and with each passing second, the skeletons grew more and more uncomfortable. Finally, it hit the ground with a tiny plink.

  “Hmm. It must be a great distance down to the bottom,” the skeleton king said to no one in particular.

  “Yesss, farther than you can imagine,” a voice replied from behind him.

  Spinning around, Reaper drew another arrow from his inventory, notched it to his bowstring, and drew it back all in one fluid motion. Before him was the spider queen, Shaivalak. He recognized her by the purple eyes that peered up at him.

  “We have done as Herobrine asked,” Reaper said, lowering his bow. “Here are a hundred of my finest warriors. We are ready to battle the User-that-is-not-a-user.”

  “Excellent,” Shaivalak said. “Guard thissss chamber well, for Gameknight999 hassss already been sssspotted. Herobrine sssseekssss to have hissss revenge on the Usssser-that-is-not-a-usssser and all the NPCssss of the Overworld. On the far platform issss hissss greatessst invention. It will desssstroy all of the NPC villagessss and Gameknight999 will be forced to watch.”

  The spider queen moved across the platform to the other single-block-wide bridge, which stretched into
darkness, the other side hidden from sight. Reaper followed close behind. He hadn’t looked closely at the blocks that last time he was here, and now he was curious.

  As they drew closer, Reaper could just barely make out the strange blocks in the shadows. There were lines on the ground connecting them all together. On the far side of the platform, he could see a hole in the cavern wall. Bright orange lava flowed out of the opening and fell into a large pool below. High up on the wall of the cavern was a display that showed the number 82 … tick … no, it was now 81.

  “Gameknight999 will be here ssssoon,” Shaivalak said. “The Maker hassss predicted it.”

  “The Maker predicted it, you say?” the skeleton king asked.

  The spider did not reply.

  “I just wish Herobrine could have left a portion of his code in the server,” Reaper said. “It would be a treat to see the Maker’s delight when the villagers are all destroyed.”

  “The Maker decidessss hissss path,” the spider queen said. “We cannot quesssstion hissss plan. He issss gone, wreaking vengeance on the physsssical world, and we are here to carry out hissss lasssst commandssss.”

  The king of the skeletons grunted, as if unconcerned, then glanced up at the ticking clock and smiled. Looking around the platform, he considered possible defenses against the User-that-is-not-a-user. There was no place for his warriors to hide and shoot their bows. They’d have to stand out in the open and fire—not ideal, but his warriors could easily cover that narrow bridge that led to the cobblestone platform.

  “We will do what we must, but I have learned to not underestimate the User-that-is-not-a-user,” Reaper said. “What if he comes here with more villagers than I have skeletons?”

  The spider queen moved across the platform to a strange-looking block at the edge of the stony plane. In the dim light, he could see that it was checkered, with an orange tint to it. Next to the block was a lever in the “OFF” position.

  “The Maker left ussss thissss block jusssst for Gameknight999,” Shaivalak said. “If he getssss by your sssskeletonssss, then he will have to deal with all of the sssspiderssss thissss block will ssssummon. Hundredssss of the ssssistersss will be sssspawned if I flip thissss lever. Our enemiessss do not sssstand a chance.”