Madness in the Mine

by Winter Morgan

  Poppy couldn’t eat the fish. The smell was so rancid that she couldn’t even be in the same room as the fish. The others agreed, and they threw the fish outside of the prison bars. This annoyed the soldiers. One of the soldiers picked up the rotten fish and swam away to dispose of it.

  Brett had a plan, but he wasn’t sure how he could bring it up to his friends. There were soldiers watching their every move. He swam next to Joe and whispered in his ear. “We need to attack the soldiers. We have to use our arrows.”

  Joe whispered this plan into Ivan’s ear. As everyone whispered Brett’s idea into their neighbor’s ear, Brett worried this would turn into a game of telephone. Usually at the end of a game of telephone, the message got jumbled and somebody misheard it. This meant the final person usually never heard the original message. This wasn’t a game, and if the final person didn’t the message, something bad could happen.

  He watched as the message was passed from one person to another. His heart beat fast. When the last person got the message, Brett picked out his arrow from his inventory. However, he didn’t even have to use it, because a group of Drowned mobs spawned outside the prison bars, and they attacked the soldiers.

  The soldiers weren’t prepared for the attack. They were taken by surprise, and one of the Drowned destroyed two soldiers. There weren’t many soldiers left, and Brett and the gang used this opportunity to shoot arrows at the soldiers and the Drowned.

  The arrows destroyed the soldiers and the Drowned. Brett could see a trident on the ocean ground. He put his hand through the bars, but he couldn’t reach it.

  Bea said, “We can’t worry about things like tridents. We have to use our pickaxes and dig our way out of here. We must escape right now.”

  Everyone agreed, and they dug as fast as they could. Soon they had a large hole in the ground. They swam inside the hole, and Brett immediately felt a breeze of freezing cold air.

  “There’s another portal,” he exclaimed, but his words weren’t heard. He was in the portal traveling to an unknown time period. The combination of being wet and in the cold air transformed his arms into ice cubes. Brett was convinced he was going to freeze to death. He couldn’t worry about where he was going to land. He was too concerned with staying alive. He also knew that they might still be on hardcore mode, which made this journey even scarier.

  He fell to the ground, but he didn’t get a break from the cold. They were in the cold taiga, and he was the first to fall into the snow. He wished he had a jacket. Poppy was the second person to fall out of the portal, and she stood up and looked around. “Where are we?” she asked.

  “I have no idea,” said Brett. “It could be the past or it could be the future.”

  The rest of the gang fell into the snow. Ivan, Calvin, Bea, and Vera looked at the ground, “What is this?” Calvin asked as he picked up the snow and put it in his hand, shaping it into a ball.

  “This is snow,” said Poppy.

  Brett added, “And you’ve just created a snowball.”

  “This biome is amazing,” said Vera. “It’s the best.”

  “Well, I’m glad you’re having fun,” said Poppy, “because we have to figure out where we are.”

  Nancy pulled out a map. “Maybe this could help. It’s an old treasure map that I have. It looks like this cold taiga biome is on it.”

  The group crowded around Nancy to stare at the map when they heard a familiar voice call out.

  “Nancy! Over here!”

  “Who said that?” asked Nancy.

  “Nancy! Brett! Help!” another voice called out.

  “What’s going on?” asked Brett. He recognized the familiar voices, but he couldn’t believe it.

  “Where are you?” asked Nancy.

  The group sprinted toward the sound of the voices and found Helen and Grant standing next to a large mountain of snow.

  15

  REVENGE

  “We weren’t on hardcore mode,” explained Grant. “I awoke in my house and Helen awoke next door.”

  “How are you guys here?” asked Poppy.

  “We were searching for a portal,” said Helen, “and since every portal seems to be cold, we thought we’d find one in the cold taiga biome.”

  “How far are we from Meadow Mews?” asked Joe.

  “Not far,” replied Grant.

  “I have a feeling that we should go back to the mine. I think we have to figure out why the mine stopped producing any gems. I just believe if we figure out who is going to destroy the mine or how the mine will be destroyed, we will find our answers.”

  Brett agreed that they might find answers in the stronghold, which was located in the mine. They followed Grant and Helen toward the Meadow Mews, and once they reached the mine, they were shocked to see it filled with Mikayla’s masked soldiers.

  The gang took out their diamond swords and struck the soldiers, but it seemed as if there was a never-ending supply of soldiers.

  “How are we going to destroy these soldiers?” asked Helen. “There are too many there.”

  “They aren’t as powerful as you think,” said Bea. “If they were, you’d be gone. They couldn’t even put you on hardcore mode, and Mikayla is so petty that she was going to imprison me for trying to search for buried treasure. If she was capable of creating a strong army, she wouldn’t have been worried about me. She has controlled the people in the ocean world for so long, they have no idea how to think for themselves. Soldiers who can’t think for themselves are easy to battle. If we destroy one, we can destroy them all,” Bea said as she raced toward the soldiers and began to destroy them with her diamond sword.

  “There is no escape!” she called out at the top of her lungs.

  Bea struck two soldiers, destroying them. Her friends joined her in battle, but the sun was beginning to set, and a group of skeletons and zombies spawned. The skeletons shot arrows at the gang, and the horrid-smelling zombies lumbered toward the gang and the soldiers. They were in the midst of one large battle between the soldiers and the mobs.

  Ivan rushed toward Brett’s side and said, “I have TNT in the stronghold. I had it because we were using it to make a hole in the ground to create a portal. Should we use it to blow up the mine and destroy the soldiers?”

  Brett slammed his sword into a skeleton and picked up the dropped bone that fell to the ground when it was destroyed.

  “I think that sounds like the only idea that could work, but how can we get into the stronghold? It’s filled with soldiers,” said Brett as he plunged his sword into the belly of a vacant-eyed zombie.

  “I’m not sure,” said Ivan as he shot an arrow at a soldier. “Keep fighting and tell the others.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” said Brett.

  Brett raced toward Poppy to tell her about the plan. They had to battle and make their way into the stronghold to get the TNT. Within minutes the entire gang knew the plan. Brett felt like this could work, and he was very optimistic.

  There were about twenty soldiers in the mine. The soldiers used arrows, tridents, and diamond swords to attack the gang and whatever hostile mobs were in the mine. The gang fought the soldiers as they tried to make their way into the stronghold.

  “We can do this,” Brett said to Poppy. He thought about what Bea had said about the soldiers and how they all thought the same way. He slammed his sword into a soldier, and it was destroyed. He watched another soldier perish the same way. Bea was right. They didn’t think for themselves, so all they could do was follow directions. Mikayla must have told them to destroy anyone who entered the mine and stronghold and not to leave. The soldiers stayed in the same place and fought from their positions. The gang struck them with diamond swords and splashed potions on them until they were all destroyed.

  “We destroyed all of the soldiers in the mine!” declared Bea.

  “Now we will destroy the rest in the stronghold,” said Brett.

  They sprinted deep into the stronghold until they found the TNT hidden in a dark corner. A pa
ir of red eyes peered at them, and Ivan swung his sword at the cave spider that crawled next to the pile of TNT.

  The gang grabbed the TNT, placed a large stack by the entrance to the stronghold, lit it, and ran.

  Kaboom!

  The stronghold was destroyed. They also placed a bunch of TNT in the mine.

  Kaboom!

  They stood outside the charred mine in the darkness. There were no more soldiers left, but a few hostile mobs lurked in the darkness. A spider jockey headed toward them.

  Brett aimed his bow and arrow at the skeleton. “Bull’s-eye,” he said, and the skeleton was destroyed. Poppy charged the spider and struck it with her sword, destroying it.

  The gang hurried back to the two houses and crawled into bed. They were exhausted. When they awoke, they were surprised to see Mikayla in the living room. She wasn’t wearing her crown, and she was alone.

  16

  WATERY REUNION

  “You’ve destroyed my army,” Mikayla announced. Yet she didn’t sound upset; she sounded defeated.

  “We destroyed the army forever?” Bea felt guilty. She didn’t want to destroy anybody. She didn’t think they were on hardcore mode. She had believed they would all return to the world under the sea and she would be able to stay on land with her new friends.

  “Were they on hardcore mode?” questioned Brett.

  “No,” Mikayla replied.

  This didn’t make sense to Bea, and she wondered if Mikayla was trying to trick them. She didn’t trust her. “Then how did we destroy them?”

  “Look outside,” she said.

  Bea walked outside the house and was shocked to see all of the soldiers without their masks on. One of the soldiers said, “We aren’t going to follow Mikayla anymore. We want to be free like you.”

  “What happened?” Bea wasn’t sure what happened.

  The unmasked soldier who had just spoken said, “We heard you saying that we were easy to battle because we don’t think.”

  Another soldier said, “It was at that moment we decided that we needed to think for ourselves.”

  “Does this mean you are all going your separate ways?” asked Bea.

  “Yes,” replied one soldier.

  Another said, “Today we are going to pick out our own skins. Then we will decide if we want to live under the sea or on land.”

  Bea was shocked that her words had that much power, and she was proud of the soldiers’ actions. She said, “I am happy that you have chosen your own paths.”

  As she spoke, Mikayla walked out of the house. She handed her crown to Bea. “I am no longer the queen of the underwater world.”

  Bea held the crown. It was gold and much heavier than she imagined. She wanted to place it on her head. She was curious to see how it felt to be queen, but she knew that she’d never want that power over anybody else. Instead of trying on the crown, she handed the crown back to Mikayla. “Keep this in your inventory.”

  “What?” Mikayla was confused.

  “You don’t have to give it up. You just shouldn’t wear it,” she said.

  Mikayla held the crown and then placed it in her inventory. Then she delivered a speech to her former army. “I want to apologize for my actions. I shouldn’t have kept you from living the lives you wanted. I wish you luck on your new adventures.”

  One of the soldiers said, “We want to start our life in our time period. How do we get out of here?”

  Mikayla confessed, “I don’t know.”

  “Do you think we should go under the sea and see if we could find a portal?” questioned one of the soldiers.

  “Let’s see,” said another, and the soldiers rushed the coast and jumped into the water. They swam deep into the ocean, but they didn’t find a portal. They didn’t even find an ocean monument. It seemed as if the sea was barren. Ivan said, “Perhaps this isn’t the best idea. It doesn’t seem like the sea is developed yet. Except for a few fish, there is really nothing down here.”

  The group swam to the surface and stood on the beach. They all had various ideas of where they might find a portal, but nobody was certain. As they spoke, raindrops fell from the sky and thunder boomed.

  “Oh no,” cried Helen. “A sun shower.”

  Within seconds skeletons and zombies spawned, and everyone was involved with the battle. Brett took a deep breath as he plunged his sword into a skeleton. As he picked up a dropped bone from the soggy ground, he looked up and saw everyone battling the mobs together, and he smiled. He was glad that there would peace in the Overworld.

  A smelly zombie lunged at Grant, and he lost a heart. He only had one heart left as he swung his sword at the undead beast. He was relieved when he destroyed the zombie and grabbed a bottle of milk to replenish his energy. As he took a sip, the sun came out, and everyone continued the conversation on how they might get back to their time period.

  Grant suggested, “Maybe the way out is through the mine. Perhaps that’s why the mine isn’t working anymore. Maybe it was destroyed when it became a portal for hundreds of people?”

  Everyone thought that was a good theory, and they jogged to the mine. But nobody felt the familiar cold breeze that emanated from the portal. They clutched their torches and searched every inch of the portal and the stronghold. The TNT had created gaping holes in the mine and the stronghold, and the gang peered into the holes, but they didn’t see a portal.

  “What are we going to do?” asked Helen.

  Nobody answered.

  17

  POTENTIAL PORTALS

  They walked out of the mine feeling defeated. Poppy said, “I wonder if we could find one in the cold taiga biome?”

  Grant said, “That sounds like a good idea, but can we check the mine one more time? I feel a breeze.”

  “You feel a breeze?” asked Brett, and when he saw Grant nod his head, he dashed into the mine and searched for the portal. He felt cold air coming from a small hole in the ground and banged his pickaxe against the ground. The blocks gave way, and Brett fell down the portal. As he made his way deeper into the portal, his arms began to freeze and his teeth chattered, but he smiled the entire way. He was happy to be going home. The only thing that bothered him was that he didn’t get to say goodbye to Grant. However, he knew that he would probably see the man again on another time-traveling adventure.

  Brett didn’t know that the portal closed right after he fell through. When he landed with a thump in the middle of Meadow Mews, the sun was shining, and it was peaceful. He waited for a while for Poppy, Joe, Helen, and the others, but nobody showed up.

  Poppy was still in the past. She stood by the portal that had closed and questioned, “How are we going to get back home?”

  Joe felt a mild breeze behind him, “Does anybody feel that breeze?”

  Ivan said, “Yes, I do.”

  Together they rushed to the corner of the mine and began to knock against the wall where they had felt the cold air. They both fell into the portal and landed in Meadow Mews.

  “Brett?” Joe hollered when he didn’t see his friend. Then he hurried to Brett’s house.

  “You guys made it back to Meadow Mews,” exclaimed Brett, and then he asked. “Where’s Poppy?”

  “It’s weird,” explained Ivan. “It seems like there are small portals and only a few people can travel through them.”

  Back in the mine, people kept feeling cool breezes, and eventually the entire mine had transformed from a place where one would find endless treasures to a depleted mine that had been used to transport everyone back to their original time period. The only person who stayed behind was Grant.

  Grant inspected the portal. It was filled with holes. He walked around wondering if he would feel a cool breeze, but he never did. He knew he was meant to stay in the past to develop Meadow Mews, Farmer’s Bay, and many other communities. Although he knew this was his place in the world, he was also sad to see his friends leave. He hoped he would see them again in the future.

  Grant took one more look at t
he mine and smiled. Now he knew the story behind the mine, but he wasn’t sure how he’d explain it to anybody in his time period. Nobody would believe him when he told folks that he had met time travelers and that there were people who lived underneath the sea. He laughed to himself when he thought about it and said, “Nope, there is no way anyone is going to believe me, so I will just say nothing.”

  Grant knew this would mean that people would make up their own stories about how and why the mine was emptied, and he was okay with that. It was rare to come across a mine that didn’t have one precious stone in it. As he exited the mine for the last time, he smiled.

  Grant had lots of work ahead of him. He had only heard snippets about what Meadow Mews was like in the future, but he did gather that it was a flourishing community. He knew he had to get to work. The first thing he wanted to construct was a library. He wanted to see the bookshelves lined with stories about history. However, he wasn’t going to let the story of the mine get into a history book, because that was his secret.

  As Grant walked toward his house, he spotted a woman with red hair walking toward him.

  “Helen,” he called out.

  She stopped, “How do you know my name?”

  He didn’t want to tell her that he met her future self but said, “Good guess.”

  “I’d say that was a really good guess,” she said.

  “Do you need help with anything?” he asked.

  “I’m looking for a place to build a shelter.” She looked up at the sky. “It’s getting dark, and I don’t want to be attacked by hostile mobs.”

  Grant said, “I have a house not far from here. You can build one next to mine if you’d like. I am trying to start a town called Meadow Mews. You can be one of our first residents.”

  “That sounds great,” Helen said.

  As they walked toward Grant’s house, Grant was happy to be reunited with Helen. He giggled when she asked, “I saw you standing by a mine. Is that mine good? I mean, can I go there tomorrow and mine for diamonds?”

  “That mine isn’t working. There is nothing in there,” he replied.