by Mark Mulle
–”
Chloe yanked him backwards, “Stop annoying the guards. Come on.”
“I wasn’t annoying him!” Liam protested.
“There’s no use. Think of it from the king’s standpoint. Portals to the End opening all over the place. Now tons of people are outside his city walls. He has to protect himself and his kingdom.”
We had moved away from the cluster of people who were in front of the city walls to the area where people were setting up camp.
“So, what? We just wait here? It could take ages.” Liam grumbled.
“We’ll figure out something. Are you always this stressed out?” Chloe asked before turning to me, “I’m going to scout the camp. See if I can hear anything about the End portals. I know I told you to do the same but I think you should stay put.”
“Why, you think everyone is going to panic that a creeper is walking around?” I asked but I knew she was right.
With this many people around, all on edge from attacks from the End, the last thing I should be doing is wandering around. The odds of me finding someone who had seen a vision of themselves from the future and wanted to discuss it were slim to begin with. Who would want to talk to a creeper about it?
“Let’s set up camp while Chloe explores the place.” Liam said to me.
She left. I wasn’t sure if she would come back with any information but at least she knew what she was looking for. I had felt nervous confiding in her about the End Guardians, the crystals and the future me. But she had taken it all well and hadn’t called me crazy once. I was grateful for that.
We wandered farther away from the crowd. It felt as if it had doubled in size since we had arrived.
Liam thought the same thing because he went, “Crowd is bigger. If villages are burnt down or people need help, it won’t just be envoys coming out here. People looking for safety with their king will come to the capital. The situation is going to get large very quickly.”
“The capital city isn’t prepared for this. What could the king even do? We came here to see if other people were seeing the portals. Everyone is.”
“The king will figure it out. That’s his job, isn’t it?” Liam asked.
I didn’t feel as confident. I probably knew more about the End than the king did. I hoped he had advisors that would let him know how serious this was. If only I had some information about the End Guardians! I could tell the guards I had information and perhaps get to the king.
“What are you thinking about?”
I shook my head, “Sorry. Lost in thought. Just hoping that the king has the proper advisors. Do you think he has someone who has been to the End?”
“Who has been to the End?” He shrugged, “Probably though. Someone who knows a lot, at the very least. What about this? You think this is a good place for camp?”
“It’ll be crowded here soon enough. This is fine.”
Together, we put up camp. We had been right: the people kept pouring in. Some weren’t envoys but just people looking for safety. As the sun sunk behind the hills, the capital lit up like a giant candle.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Man, I really wanted to get in there.” Liam said a bit sadly.
“You’ll see the capital eventually. They can’t keep us out here. It won’t be safe.” I replied.
“We can’t go back to the village without some sort of information for Cassie,” He said, “I hope we aren’t here for so long that the village is in trouble and we aren’t there to protect it.”
I sat down on the ground just outside our tent. I was tired. What a day. It felt very long. I could hardly believe how much we had walked today. On top of that, being attacked by more Ender Men and running into Chloe – a lot had happened! That wasn’t even counting what unfolded yesterday.
Since I was waiting for Chloe, I decided that I had some time to write in my journal. Watching the crowds pour in and the capital just out of reach, I can’t stop thinking. What is really going on? Is it naïve of me to be hoping that Chloe comes back with some information? There are a ton of people here, after all. Someone might know something about the End Guardians.
Day 5
Chloe return to our camp by midnight. She looks excited which is a good sign!
Chloe hurried over to me, sitting down quickly and went, “I’ve heard something.”
“What?” I asked as Liam sat down next to us.
She glanced at him but didn’t tell him to leave. Whatever she found out had nothing to do with visions from the future.
“I heard a legend about End Guardians.”
Liam leaned forward, “What are those?”
“I walked around camp for ages. I kept my ears open and tried to listen in for anyone talking about something that were connected to the End portals. That was when I heard this tiny ancient woman talking about the End. The person she was talking to was blowing her off. He left so I went over to her. I asked what she was talking about to that man that made him so angry.”
“And?” Liam prompted, now engrossed in the story.
“She said that she was talking about End Guardians but her son wasn’t interested. So I told her that I was.”
“Did she tell you the legend?” I asked.
“Yeah, even made me some tea!” Chloe exclaimed as if being made tea was the highlight of her day.
“Chloe, please – the legend.” I said, trying to get her back on track.
“Oh, right, sorry. Okay, so this woman told me that there is a legend about End Guardians and their crystals. A long time ago, Ender Men were actually more evolved than what we know from them today. They could communicate, build cities and write. They were like us but could teleport too. Oh, and I guess their eyes…”
“Chloe!” I tried to get her back on track yet again.
“Sorry, sorry. Anyway, the Ender Men were evolved. But they got their power from crystals that were formed from the End. These crystals were incredibly powerful. They could do things we could only dream of – open portals to wherever we want and make someone so strong they could destroy cities. Because of their powers, there were Ender Men set up to protect the crystals.”
“End Guardians.” I finished for her.
“Right. These End Guardians protected the crystals from the Ender Men. It was so no one became too powerful or used the crystals for something bad. The legend states that they are still there, protecting the crystals, long after the Ender Men destroyed themselves in various wars and are now the Ender Men of today.”
“What does this have to do with what is going on now?” Liam asked, “Nice story, don’t get me wrong. But you seem excited over a legend.”
“I can’t say,” Chloe crossed her arms, “Carl has to tell you.”
He looked over at me. I felt put on the spot. Even though I wanted to be honest with Liam, I didn’t want him to think I was crazy…
Chloe nudged me with her foot. Clearly, she thought that Liam could handle the truth. Perhaps I wasn’t giving him enough credit.
So, with a deep breath, I told Liam about what I had seen. His eyes grew wider with each passing word. But the time I finished my story, he had gone very pale and was staring at me.
“Surely, you’re joking.” He finally said.
“Nope,” Chloe answered for me, “Trust me, we’ve seen some weird things. That’s why I know it’s the truth.”
Liam grabbed my arm, “We have to tell this to the king.”
“The king won’t believe me! I can’t even believe that you are.” I admitted.
“It sounds completely insane. But so did portals from the End opening around the Over World and that’s happening, isn’t it? It is connected somehow. The king needs to know!”
“The king won’t listen to him,” Chloe replied, “The story is bonkers. We all know it. We believe it, yes, but imagine a creeper going up to the king and telling him that visions of himself from the future came to warn him about a legend.”
Chloe was right and we all knew it.
I s
hook my head, “Let’s get some sleep. We can think about it tomorrow, all right?”
We got in our tents. Liam and I were sharing one. Chloe had brought her own. As I laid there, listening to the sounds of the camp coming alive around me – people coming in, making their own tents, or talking about the day – I doubted that I would be able to fall asleep. Liam had fallen asleep instantly, snoring next to me.
Yet I fell asleep. I must have because I jolted awake, hours later, to the sound of pure panic.
I could hear screaming. That humming noise was filling my head again. I didn’t have to leave the tent to know what was going on. Portals from the End had opened outside the city.
I leaned over and shook Liam awake, “We’re under attack!”
He was up instantly. We grabbed our weapons and left our tent. Chloe was coming out of her tent at the same time. She was holding her bow.
Chaos filled the field outside the capital. End portals had appeared across the area. Ender Men were pouring out of them. For a few seconds, all I could do was stare. What hope did we have at pushing them back? We didn’t even know what they wanted.
The legend of the End Guardians filled my head. They were protecting the crystals. But my warning had told me the guardians were gone. What if this is how the portals were being open? Who had gotten the crystals?
But those questions would all have to wait for another time. Right now, we had to help defend the camp. The guards from the capital were spilling out across the field. I could see them fighting the Ender Men.
“We have to help!” Liam exclaimed and we took off after him.
Chloe fired an arrow. It