Carnival of Doom, Book 1: The Angry Ghost

by Mark Mulle

  Chapter Four

  Before they knew it, Sarah and Steve were walking out of the village towards the mountain. There was a pathway they could take up to the top but that was the farthest that Steve had been.

  "Shouldn't we go over for the last time what we ended up bringing?" Steve asked Sarah, who was quiet and focused.

  "Sure. Once again, since you seem to be panicking, we have our weapons, an axe, two pickaxes, some armor, food and a map."

  "I just feel like this is all happening very quickly."

  Sarah stopped to look at him, "What do you want to do then, Steve? You freaked me out last night. The capital is the only place that would have doctors that would have any idea about what is wrong with you. If Herobrine really broke free because he saw you and saved you from the wither skeleton and thinks you are someone he used to know then fine. You have some freaky ghost haunting you. But he was in you last night and had taken control of you. That is serious, that is -"

  A loud wail echoed around them suddenly. Steve pulled Sarah closer and they looked up and down the pathway to see if they could spot something.

  "What was that?" Steve hissed.

  "Whatever it was didn't sound friendly."

  "It's still daylight. Why is anything up and about right now besides farm animals?"

  The strange noise came again and Steve looked down the pathway and saw him. Herobrine.

  He was in the middle of the pathway, his empty eyes staring at Steve. He just stood there. Steve took a step forward and opened his mouth to speak - but Herobrine spoke first.

  "Are you looking to be rid of me? I knew you were him. You know you were descended from him too. The bond we had back then we will have today. I can take control of you at any time."

  And suddenly everything went black.

  Steve was in another room, looking out a glass window, overlooking the city below. His city. Why could they not understand that he cared for them? They would be in open rebellion soon and he was powerless to stop it.

  "I can help you."

  Steve looked over his shoulder to see a figure coming out of the darkness.

  "How did you get in here?" Steve narrowed his eyes at him, "Were you in my castle last night?"

  "You will need my help," The figure said, "You are about to lose your kingdom."

  Steve opened his eyes with a gasp. He found himself looking at tree branches above him, cutting through the sunlight. Another face appeared in his vision - Sarah - who looked pale.

  "Steve?" She said slowly, almost nervously.

  "Yeah," Steve said, managing to sit up slowly, "What happened?"

  "You weren't yourself again. You suddenly just looked like that ghost again and took off into the mountains. I managed to follow you and ended up throwing some chicken eggs I found at your head till the spirit got annoyed and seemingly left." She shrugged.

  Steve felt his head and realized it was sticky with eggs, "Thanks, I think."

  "Do you remember anything?" Sarah pressed.

  "I saw...Herobrine. But that is all I remember. Maybe I had another dream. I don't know."

  "This isn't good," Sarah mumbled, "Once we get out of the mountains, the capital isn't too far away. We need to get there as soon as possible."

  Steve couldn't help but find himself agreeing.

  They walked two full days. At night, they made a makeshift shelter and Sarah kept guard to watch over Steve in case Herobrine tried anything again. Luckily nothing happened and they broke through the mushroom forest to see the capital in front of them. The towers were long and tall, glittering in the sunlight with the ocean behind it. Sarah and Steve fell quiet for a few moments, just admiring the capital before they began to head down.

  As they walked down the mountain side, Sarah stopped.

  "Did you feel that?" She asked him.

  Steve was about to say he hadn't felt anything when he did, in fact, feel something - the ground vibrated underneath his feet. They glanced at each other and then began to move down the mountain faster. The ground vibrated harder and longer until finally it began to shake so hard that the mountain was rumbling.

  "Grab onto something!" Sarah yelled and Steve tried to find footholds in the mountain.

  Creepers appeared at the edge of the mountain, in such a number that Steve knew it was unnatural. The entire group of them was looking downwards at Steve and Sarah. Sarah's jaw had gone slack and Steve felt frozen. What do you do with a ton of creepers bearing down on you?

  As if in answer, the creepers began to fall over the mountain side. The first one exploded near Steve, sending vibrations shuddering through the mountain. Steve felt himself almost lose his grip but he managed to keep holding on as two more exploded near them. Sarah shielded herself from stones falling as more creepers exploded around them. Cracks shot up the mountain side, deep thick. The final group of creepers went flying, exploding along the mountain side. Sarah let out a scream as the piece of mountain she was holding onto broke free and she toppled off the mountain side. Steve managed to grab her arm and hold onto her as she looked up at him, wild-eyed and panicked.

  "Hang on!" Steve yelled down at her as the final creeper exploded.

  The final explosion seemed to do the trick. The entire mountain cracked into pieces and Steve lost his footing as well. The two of them fell off the side of the mountain as it crumbled around them, rocks flying in the air. Steve looked down to see that they were heading to fall directly into a river. He closed his eyes, held his breath and braced for impact.

  The water was freezing since it was coming directly from the mountains. Rocks fell in around them and Steve let himself go limp, going with the current and popping up for air when it calmed down a bit. Sarah was coughing up water next to him - her landing in the water hadn't been nearly as graceful as Steve's. They paddled to the shore and laid there, staring up at the sky, trying to catch their breath.

  "You okay?" Steve mumbled.

  Sarah coughed up another mouthful of water and then grumbled, "Yeah, just wonderful. Who doesn't deal with a group of creepers blowing up a mountain and sending you spiraling downwards?"

  "I've never heard of creepers doing that before." Steve admitted.

  "Because they don't. This has to do with that...Herobrine." She spat, angry.

  "I'm so confused." Steve mumbled.

  Sarah managed to sit up now, checking herself for any injuries and after finding none, she stretched, "We need to get moving. I don't feel like being sitting ducks here at this river."

  "Sounds good to me."

  Aching, Steve and Sarah headed off through the field, back to the pathway towards the capital city. Steve couldn't help but think - if Herobrine had saved him from the wither skeleton, why was he now trying to get rid of him while he approached the capital?

  He wondered if this was exactly where he needed to be if he was getting the ghost worked up over something.