The Phantom Virus

by Mark Cheverton

  The spider beneath Reaper clicked her mandibles together, the multiple eyes glowing bright red.

  “And just before she died, you know what she said?” the User-that-is-not-a-user continued.

  “Be quiet!” Reaper yelled. “You speak lies.”

  “The spider queen said she wished she’d been born an idiotic creeper so she could detonate herself and end her miserable, pathetic, useless life and stop being embarrassed by her own spiders.”

  “No one sssspeaks of Shaivalak that way,” the spider hissed behind clicking mandibles.

  “When she begged for her life, she kissed my feet and called me her Maker,” Gameknight said with a smile.

  “No … NO!” the sister shouted.

  “Hold your position,” Reaper commanded, but the spider was out of control.

  She charged forward, her multiple red eyes glowing bright with hatred.

  I have to time this just right or I’m dead, Gameknight thought.

  The spider surged across the narrow cobblestone bridge. When she neared the broken section, she readied a leap. But before she could launch herself into the air, Gameknight used Digger’s pickaxe and tore at the block in front of them. The huge monster instantly realized what her enemy was going to do and skidded to a halt, but she had already started to jump, and her momentum continued to carry her forward.

  Ignoring the skeleton king, Gameknight smashed at the cobblestone block, striking again and again until the cracks that spread across its surface finally claimed the cube, causing it to crumble to dust. Scrambling to grab the edge of the block behind her, the spider started to tumble into the emptiness that surrounded the bridge.

  Gameknight could hear her claws scraping against the hard stone, but they could not find purchase. Her screams mixed with Reaper’s as the monsters tumbled off the bridge and were swallowed by the darkness.

  Reaper, the king of the skeletons, was destroyed.

  CHAPTER 27

  HEROBRINE’S REVENGE

  Sweat trickled down his square forehead. Wiping his brow with his free hand, Gameknight looked up at the timer display. It now showed 4. He had to hurry.

  Pulling a block of cobblestone from his inventory, he placed it on the broken bridge where the spider had fallen through. Placing a second one, he ran across the bridge. Gameknight quickly found himself among hundreds of command blocks, all of them connected by lines of redstone powder. With a torch in his hand, Gameknight raced through the collection of orange-checkered blocks, looking for that one block that would control them all, and in the darkness, bind them.

  “It must be here, somewhere,” Gameknight said to himself.

  “What are you looking for?” Crafter’s voice said from behind.

  “One of these blocks will give all the commands to the others,” Gameknight said. “All of these are likely programmed to teleport the lava to the villagers, but somewhere among all these blocks is one that controls them all.”

  And in the darkness, binds them, he thought.

  “Why don’t we just start breaking the redstone?” Digger’s voice boomed across the chamber.

  Gameknight glanced over his shoulder and found his two friends running to catch up with him. Glancing up at the timer, the User-that-is-not-a-user saw that it showed 3.

  “There’s no time. I have to find the main control block,” Gameknight said. I have to hurry. “You two can start breaking redstone. Every command block you disconnect represents a saved village.”

  Gameknight turned and tossed Digger his pickaxe, then dashed through the field of blocks. He tripped and fell over one. The light was dim and it was difficult to see. The only illumination came from the large pool of lava that was filling from a hole in the cavern wall, and the single redstone cube that blinked like his own heartbeat, fast and regular.

  The level of the molten stone in the lava pool was almost to the height of the hole that spewed the fiery liquid. The sound of pistons moving echoed throughout the chamber. Glancing up, Gameknight could see the display now read 2.

  I have to hurry, he thought. Where would I put the main control block if I were going to teleport a bunch of lava from that pool to the villages?

  He concentrated as his gaze wandered across the pool of boiling rock, and then he saw it: a single command block set apart from the rest, sitting right beneath the pulsing redstone lantern.

  “That’s it!” Gameknight screamed as he dashed through the dim light.

  Running as fast as he could, he streaked toward the beating lantern, ignoring the pain in his legs and chest. Glancing up, he saw the display change from 2 to 1. With all his might, he ran toward the lone block. He knew he wouldn’t have time to break all the redstone that stretched across the floor. His only hope was to reprogram it.

  Running with every ounce of speed, he shot past the last few command blocks. When he was two steps away, he dove through the air, his right hand extended. Landing with a thump, Gameknight drove his thoughts into the command block. He saw the code there and found the command he was looking for, /tp, and then he found the item code right after the teleport command. It was set to 10; lava.

  He was so scared. If he didn’t get this right, then everyone could be destroyed.

  Thinking quickly, he put a new item ID number into the code, any number … 175 popped into his head. He replaced the code for lava with the ID number 175 just as the redstone lantern stopped pulsing and glowed with a constant intensity. The redstone traces leading from the lantern became alive with redstone power, making them all glow with an evil red light.

  Standing, Gameknight watched as the redstone lines began to light up and spread across the large field of command blocks. It was like watching blood flow through the empty veins of some giant beast. The redstone traces grew brighter as the signal continued across the forest of command blocks. Glancing overhead, he could see the timer display now read zero. It was happening. He sighed.

  “I hope I did it right,” Gameknight muttered.

  “We won’t know until we go check,” Crafter said.

  “What about the skeletons?” Gameknight asked.

  The young NPC pointed across the narrow bridge to the large cobblestone platform. Everywhere there were glowing balls of XP and white skeleton bones lying about. The white fur of the wolves shone bright in the dim light, looks of pride on their canine faces.

  “The wolves took care of the skeletons,” Digger said as he approached. “A few ran out of the cave, but a large pack went out hunting them. I don’t think they will get very far.”

  Crafter moved to Gameknight’s side and laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

  “You did what you could,” Crafter said. “Now we must go out and see what happened.”

  “First, we break all this redstone,” Gameknight said as he pulled out a shovel and started breaking the glowing red lines.

  As he worked, he could hear the other NPCs coming to join him. Soon the air was filled with the sound of tools breaking redstone, the glowing lines slowly being extinguished. When it was complete, Gameknight put away his shovel, crossed the narrow bridge, and stood on the large cobblestone platform. The NPC army surrounded him, all looking at him with uncertainty in their eyes.

  “I wasn’t able to stop the command blocks, but I did reprogram it, I think,” Gameknight explained. “I just don’t know if I did it in time or not.”

  “Then we’ll go see,” Butch said in a booming voice.

  “No reason to hang around here and wait,” Digger added, his voice competing with Butch’s echoes. “Let’s go.”

  Gameknight nodded, then turned and headed for the cavern entrance.

  CHAPTER 28

  GAMEKNIGHT’S REVENGE

  Trapper led the group through the maze of tunnels back to the surface. They emerged from the subterranean passages where they had started, in the wide cutout that was carved into the side of Olympus Mons. Their horses were still tied to the fence posts someone had thought to place in the ground. Sadly, when they
had first arrived at the mountaintop, they did not have enough mounts for all to ride double, but now it was no problem finding everyone a place on a horse.

  Gameknight sighed as he realized how many had lost their lives in that underground battle.

  Butch led the group away from the gigantic mountain and through the extreme hills biome. Moving at a steady trot, the group quickly rode out of the rocky landscape and into the flower forest biome.

  They all breathed a sigh of relief when they entered the colorful woodlands. None of them realized how tiring it was to always be looking at the constant gray of stone and gravel that filled the last biome. But now, the bright red and blue and yellow flowers stood out in stark contrast against the lush green grass that covered the ground. It was a feast for their eyes.

  The scores of wolves that followed the army quickly dispersed into the forest, happy to be out of the mountainous terrain and have soft grass under their paws.

  “I am sad to see you go, my friends,” Herder shouted to the animals as they disappeared amid the oaks.

  “They did us a great service,” Crafter said to the boy who rode behind him on a large, patchy black-and-white horse.

  “I know,” the Herder replied, a smile on his face.

  “What about the other wolves?” Gameknight asked.

  He looked down at the nine surviving animals that had accompanied them on this journey. Sadly, three had been destroyed in the battle. They looked up at the User-that-is-not-a-user with pride in their tiny eyes, their red collars standing out against their fur.

  “These will stay with me until we get back home,” Herder explained. “I’ve tamed them and they will not leave my side.”

  “Well, I don’t mind saying it: I like having them with us,” Hunter added. “It’s always good to have a wolf around. You never know when you’ll need one. Who knows what else is lurking out there, hiding in the shadows?"

  “Perhaps you should send them out on patrol around our party,” Crafter suggested.

  “You’re probably right,” Herder said.

  He scanned the pack for the largest of the wolves, then spoke a single word to the animal: “Protect.” Instantly, the alpha male barked once, then sprinted away from the riders, the other wolves choosing different directions and doing the same. In seconds, they had a furry protective ring around them. It made all the warriors breathe a sigh of relief.

  Continuing on in silence, they party rode through the flower forest with bows in hand, eyes constantly searching the shadows for monsters. By sundown, they reached the lava-destroyed desert village that had been the first victim of Herobrine’s revenge.

  “Do you see anything different?” Crafter asked Gameknight999.

  He surveyed the mound of cobblestone and obsidian.

  “No, it looks the same to me,” the User-that-is-not-a-user answered.

  “That must be a good sign,” Stitcher said.

  “I doubt it,” Gameknight replied. "Likely, this village was not targeted by one of the many command blocks in that chamber. It had already been destroyed and didn’t need to be hit again.”

  “Maybe you’re right,” Stitcher said, then stretched her arms and yawned. Fatigue was taking a toll on all of their party.

  “We’ll camp here for the night,” Butch said.

  “Set up fortifications around the camp in case any more monsters decide to come pay us a visit,” Digger added.

  Gameknight looked at Crafter and smiled. Digger and Butch were used to being in command, and they both fell to the task with ease. This had brought the two of them together as fast friends. Now they commanded the army as one, neither vying for control, each just contributing wherever their strength could help the group.

  The NPCs quickly placed blocks of stone around their encampment, taking what they needed from the sarcophagus that stood behind them, parts of it still warm.

  After the sky had turned from its rich blue to a warm glow of reds and oranges, then to a star-speckled black, the camp became still as many went to sleep. But not Gameknight999. He was worried sick over the fate of the villages.

  Did I change the code in time? Gameknight thought. And what did I change it to?

  He’d been in such a rush that he really didn’t remember the item number. But if he’d changed the ID number, from lava to something like sand or iron blocks, that could be just as deadly. At least Gameknight knew he hadn’t set it to water, which would have been a catastrophe. Water had a single digit ID number and the User-that-is-not-a-user knew that he’d put in three digits … at least he hoped he had.

  With sleep eluding him, Gameknight volunteered for the evening watch. He knew the wolves were out there, also watching, but the User-that-is-not-a-user felt it was necessary that one of them be awake and watching.

  Moving silently through the camp, Gameknight listened to the sound of the forest. The bleating of a sheep and the occasional moo of a cow floated into the camp on the constant east-to-west wind. He heard no monster sounds, though, and none approached the resting NPCs, though he almost wished they had. Being alone with his thoughts was torture. Gameknight imagined every conceivable terrible outcome that could happen, all because of him, and it brought one horrific image after another as his mind played through all the possibilities. He was grateful when he saw the sky start to glow a soft orange as the sun’s yellow face peeked up over the eastern horizon.

  Gameknight woke everyone quickly, then began breaking down the barricades and fortifications they’d built at dusk. With practiced efficiency, the NPCs were heading toward Butch’s village before the whole of the sun had made it into the sky.

  They rode hard toward their destination, partly because it was far away, but also because Butch was nervous … no, scared. Everyone knew there were only two possible outcomes: his village would be destroyed like the last one, or it would be unharmed. There was no other option.

  Shifting from a trot to a run, Butch goaded the group to move faster as they left the desert and moved into the rolling hills of his grassland biome. Ahead was a tall hill maybe a dozen blocks high. Gameknight remembered that the village sat just beyond that grassy knoll.

  As they approached, Butch suddenly stopped.

  “What’s wrong?” Digger asked.

  “I’m afraid,” Butch said in a low voice, not wanting others to hear.

  “I am, too,” Gameknight added as he moved to the big NPC’s side.

  They looked at each other. Each could see the fear in the other’s eyes.

  “All of you stay here,” Digger said. “I will go to the top of the hill and look. Just stay here.”

  Gameknight and Butch nodded, then watched as Digger rode up the hill.

  His tall white horse ascended the grassy mound in two-block leaps, scaling the slope with ease. When he reached the top, he just stood there, staring down at the distant village, motionless, as if he were in shock.

  “I’m not sure if that is a good sign or a bad sign,” Butch said.

  “I can’t imagine how it could be a good one,” Gameknight said. “But if …”

  The User-that-is-not-a-user stopped speaking when Digger turned and motioned for the pair to join him on the peak. Gameknight and Butch looked at each other, fear in their eyes.

  “I guess we have to do this,” Butch said.

  Gameknight said nothing, just nodded.

  Urging their horses forward, the duo rode slowly up the hill, the rest of the army following close behind. Stitcher was suddenly at Gameknight’s side. He was glad she was there. And then Hunter moved up on his other side, her red curls bouncing around her shoulders as she rode.

  “We won’t let you do this alone,” Hunter said as she looked at him, compassion filling her deep brown eyes. He never noticed before how much the color of her eyes reminded him of rich chocolate.

  “That’s right,” Stitcher added. “We’re family and we’ll do this together.”

  Gameknight said nothing as tears welled up in his eyes. He was so grateful they
were here for him, in what could be the worst moment in his life. He was afraid.

  As they reached the top of the hill, Gameknight closed his eyes, terrified.

  As one, everyone gasped when they reached the summit, then remained silent.

  “What is it?” the User-that-is-not-a-user asked.

  “Open your eyes,” Stitcher said.

  “What happened?” he asked again.

  Someone leaned next to him, then Hunter’s soft voice whispered into his ear.

  “Just look, you idiot,” she said.

  Slowly, Gameknight opened his eyes, then gasped.

  Before him sat Butch’s village, but instead of being covered with lava, it was covered with a field of sunflowers, the tall flowers growing from nearly every block of soil. Their yellow faces stared up at Gameknight, and he could have sworn they were smiling at him. And instead of this being the worst moment in his life … it was the best.

  MINECRAFT SEEDS

  All of the different biomes and structures mentioned in the book can be seen on Gameknight999’s server. Just go to the book warp room at the old spawn and you’ll see the buttons for each chapter. You can use the command /warp bookwarps. I’ll be building Herobrine’s chamber somewhere on the server so that all of you can see what I was imagining while I was writing. Maybe I’ll build Butch’s village as well … come to the server and find out.

  For those without access to the server, I’ve listed Minecraft seeds for version 1.87. I don’t know if they will work with Minecraft PE or if they’ll work for every 1.9; you’ll just have to try them out and see.

  Chapter 1: Crafter’s village

  Seed: 6154835779399006209

  Chapter 3: Desert village

  Seed: 1660196624

  Chapter 4: Herobrine’s Chamber

  Chapter 5: Savannah village