by Mark Mulle
Chapter Seven
That explains the skeletons, Notch thought with a growing sense of horror as the lava slowly came from the top of the mountain, taking skeletons with it. The three of them turned and began to run at full speed, barreling through skeletons as quickly as they could. The lava finally began to slide down the side of the mountain towards the lava spring that they were running from. It picked up speed as it came down the side.
They were running down the pathway they had taken to get up here. Notch was worried he was going to lose his footing and fall as the lava swallowed up the spring. He had never heard of the lava spilling like this before. It had to have been Herobrine. Pauline and Notch were running side by side. Where was James? He risked a glance behind him. James was running too slowly. The lava was almost nipping at his heels. The heat from the lava was enough to make Notch feel as if he was going to be baked like a pork chop in his own armor.
"James!" Notch cried, "Hurry up!"
Pauline didn't say anything - she stopped running, grabbed James' hand, and pulled him on top of her back. She was giving James a piggy back ride down the mountain - it would have been hilarious if it had been any other circumstances other than lava chasing them down a mountain.
The heat rolled off the lava, feeling as if it was a constant force pushing Notch forward. His entire body ached from trying to run down the mountain and not trip over anything. Pauline was running next to him with James on her back. They were halfway down the mountain when Notch realized there was no way they were going to make it this way. He glanced over the edge of the mountain. The mountain was right next to the ocean. Their only chance would be to leap off of it.
"Pauline!" He cried, "The mountain side! Jump off the side of the mountain!"
If Pauline found him crazy, she didn't say anything. Her face was flushed from running and carrying James. She probably knew what he was thinking by this point anyway. It was a risk to suddenly change course, but they had no other chance. Trying to run down the entire length of the mountain wouldn't work. Notch turned and ran to the right suddenly, with Pauline on his heels. This way was a lot rockier since it was off the path. The lava was sliding close to them as they climbed over the rocks as quickly as they could.
There was the edge of the mountain. Notch almost tripped over a larger rock. He looked behind him to make sure that Pauline was keeping up. She had let James off her back and the two of them were scrambling over the rocks.
"Hurry!" She shrieked at Notch.
The lava was almost on them at this point. He ran up to the edge of the mountain and looked down at the ocean below. The lava was not more than a foot from them now. Notch took a deep breath and he leapt off of the mountain.
The air whipped up to smack him in the face as he fell towards the ocean. Notch had been higher up than he had realized. The ocean spun in front of him as he flew down to the water. He closed his eyes tightly, took a deep breath, and got ready for impact. He hit the water hard - it was the same feeling he had gotten when the wave had hit him in the village. Notch sank in the water and began to pump his feet right away, trying to get to the surface. Nearby someone else sank into the water, although he was unsure who it was. The ocean was almost completely pitch black in the moonlight. Notch hoped he was swimming the right way.
Notch kicked his legs, trying to break through the water. He saw a squid swim by and realized with a jolt that he was swimming the wrong way. He was going deeper into the water! Panic surged through him and Notch shifted his weight and swam upwards now. His head was throbbing from holding his breath for so long, and just when he thought that he wouldn’t be able to make it, Notch crashed through the surface.
Notch looked around wildly, bobbing in the waves. The mountain was covered in lava. He could only watch as it slid down the mountain like ooze. There were dark clouds coming over and Notch knew it was going to rain. The storm looked ugly. They had to get out of the water now. He looked around, trying to see if he could find Pauline and James anywhere. He saw James bobbing around off to the side, yelling his name. Something was floating next to him.
There was a crash of thunder. Notch yelled back and began to swim over, finally meeting up with James. Pauline was floating next to him, unconscious. Notch helped James pull her along as they tried to get to shore. The skies opened up above them and the rain was unleashed. There was a hissing noise filling the air as the water connected with the lava. They managed to get Pauline to the shoreline, far away enough from the mountain that they needn’t worry about the lava.
“Pauline!” James was yelling.
Notch pressed down on her chest and water burst forth from her mouth, and she began to cough. Relief swept through him - she was okay. Her eyelids fluttered and then she opened them slowly.
“What happened?” She mumbled as a clash of thunder echoed around them.
“Are you okay?” Notch said to her.
Pauline managed to sit up with James’ help and then nodded, “I’m fine.” She replied.
“Do we have all the blocks?”
Pauline nodded, “We have what we need to get into the Nether.”
Notch looked up at the mountain. There was no doubt in his mind that the sudden eruption from the mountain was from Herobrine. They were still an annoyance to him. It only made Notch want to go faster and figure out what was going on.