Attack of the Drowned

by Maggie Marks

  A chest. They’d found a treasure chest!

  Asher yanked backward on the chest so hard, he fell. But the chest slid out of the dirt just enough for them to force open the lid.

  As Mason pulled out an iron ingot, and then a gold ingot, Asher pushed his hands past Mason’s to dig deeper.

  He pulled out something smooth and round. Something blue as prismarine. He held it in his hands so tenderly, Mason wondered if his brother had found a baby turtle in that chest.

  Then he held it out to show Mason and Luna.

  Asher had found exactly what he’d been looking for, right here in this underwater hill.

  He had found the heart of the sea.

  “Let me do it!” Asher pleaded.

  He stood beside Luna’s crafting table, clutching the heart of the sea. Luna had already loaded up the table with spiral nautilus shells, but she stood aside so that Asher could add his newfound treasure.

  Together, while Mason watched in wonder, they crafted the conduit—a speckled square block. It didn’t look like much yet, but when they placed it into the prismarine frame Asher had built, the conduit would work its magic.

  That’s the block that’s going to save us, thought Mason. I hope!

  As he checked the windows again, he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. They had managed to tunnel out the other side of the dirt mound, escaping to Luna’s underwater base without the drowned seeing. But any moment now, the drowned would discover them here—would surround Luna’s home just as they had Mason and Asher’s.

  “Hurry!” he urged the others.

  Luna raced toward the supply chest. As she dug out some leather armor and turtle helmets, Mason marveled at how quickly she had recovered. Her red T-shirt was still tattered, like the clothes of a zombie, but her eyes were clear and bright.

  “What?” she asked, catching him staring at her.

  Mason shook his head. “Nothing,” he said with a smile. “Just glad to have you back.”

  Luna blew the bangs off her forehead. “Me, too,” she said. “But we can celebrate later. There’s work to do. Take this!” She tossed him an iron sword.

  Mason slid the sword into his sheath and then helped Asher lug the conduit block toward the front door. After a few sips of potion and a few deep breaths, they waited for Luna to open the door to her flush entrance.

  Just like the one we used to have, thought Mason. Picturing their new glass house, destroyed, cast a shadow over him. But he shook it off. We’ll fight the drowned, and then we’ll rebuild, he promised himself.

  “Ready?” asked Luna.

  “Ready,” said Mason, tightening his helmet.

  Then they were off, swimming through the long rocky tunnel that led from the safety of Luna’s home to the underwater world beyond.

  The conduit was clunky, but it felt much lighter in the water. Mason and Asher swam with it between them while Luna scouted the path ahead. She had her trident drawn, ready for the drowned.

  Will they still be crawling all over the ruins of our house? Mason wondered.

  He didn’t have to wonder for long. As they passed the dirt mound where they had discovered the heart of the sea, Mason could already see them. The drowned surrounded the glass shards of the destroyed house, staggering through it aimlessly.

  But Luna’s eyes weren’t set on the house. She made a beeline toward the prismarine frame, the power source for the conduit they had crafted. She waved her arm over her shoulder.

  Mason kicked harder, faster with his legs, as he and Asher approached the prismarine blocks. As they lowered the conduit into the center of the frame, a current tugged at the conduit, sending it crashing into the wall.

  Hold it tight! Mason willed Asher with his eyes. Don’t let go!

  He used his legs to brace himself against the frame, lowering the conduit so slowly that his arms began to shake. Finally, the block had settled onto its base. Then Mason pulled Asher backward. What would happen next?

  He held his breath, waiting.

  At first, nothing happened. A school of tropical fish swam by. The sea grass rippled in the water. And then . . . the drowned began to come.

  Out of the house, they spilled and staggered. Mason tugged Asher’s hand back farther still and reached for his sword.

  Not again, he thought. We can’t fight them again. This time, we may not win!

  As the first drowned approached, Mason swung his sword. It was lighter than his trident had been, but just as powerful. The drowned snarled and swung at the weapon. Then Luna was upon it, poking it backward with her trident.

  But the others were on their way, an angry mob that stretched across the ocean floor like a wriggling wall.

  Mason glanced again at the conduit. Do something! he wanted to scream. He kicked at the prismarine frame. Do something!

  Then suddenly, it did. The conduit began to shake. It opened up, revealing the spinning blue sphere inside. The world lit up with its glow.

  As Mason swam closer, watching, he saw the drowned closest to the conduit freeze. They staggered backward. They grunted and groaned. And then they dropped, in great writhing heaps. They lay like a green blanket across the ocean floor.

  He turned toward Asher. We did it! he wanted to holler.

  His brother pumped his fist and grinned.

  Then Mason caught sight of something else—someone else—swimming overhead. Luna?

  No! The woman was clothed in long white robes. Her hair swirled around her as she stopped and stared.

  In the glow of the conduit, Ms. Beacon looked younger somehow—friendlier. She locked eyes with Mason, only for a moment. Was that a smile stretching across her face? Yes. And then she was gone.

  CHAPTER 15

  Thwack! Thwack! Whack!

  This time, it was Mason swinging the pickaxe at the wall of dirt. He was widening the room in the dirt mound, the place where they had found the heart of the sea.

  “Is this big enough?” he asked Luna, standing back to admire his work.

  “It’s plenty big enough,” answered Asher, barely looking up. He sat with his back against the wall, reading Uncle Bart’s leather journal.

  Mason sighed. “You have to help, too,” he told Asher. “Rebuilding our house is going to take time, especially if we want to do it right.”

  Asher shrugged. “I just built the conduit that pretty much saved us. Isn’t that enough help for now?”

  Mason started to argue, but then changed his mind. Asher’s conduit had pretty much saved them. So he left his brother to his reading and turned back toward the dirt wall.

  “I think I’m starting to get why Ms. Beacon lives in a cave,” he said to Luna.

  “Why’s that?” she asked as she smoothed out the wall with her hand.

  “Glass walls are great,” he said. “Except when you’re surrounded by drowned. This time, we should make sure that part of our home is hidden.”

  She nodded. “Maybe you can have a little of both,” she said. “Dirt walls and glass walls.”

  “Tinted-blue glass?” Mason asked. “Two blocks thick?” He grinned, remembering all of the “suggestions” Luna had had when he’d built his first house.

  She laughed. “Good idea. Why didn’t I think of that?”

  “I have an even better idea,” said Asher. He held up the journal, pointing at a sketch that Uncle Bart had drawn. “We could build a redstone circuit—an alarm that would tell us whenever the drowned started creeping around. All we need to do is find some redstone dust!”

  Mason groaned. “We’re not going on another treasure hunt,” he said. “We have everything we need right here.”

  “Huh?” Asher’s eyes widened. “I wasn’t going to hunt for buried treasure. I was thinking about asking Ms. Beacon if she has any redstone dust.”

  Mason laughed with relief. “Okay, good. So you don’t think she’s a witch anymore?”

  Asher rolled his eyes, as if that were the dumbest idea ever. “Of course not. She’s our friend. She h
elped us save Luna, remember?”

  Mason glanced at Luna. “I remember.”

  He also remembered how he’d felt about Ms. Beacon the first time he’d seen her—how scary she had seemed as she’d chased them from her home.

  But things aren’t always what they seem, he realized now. Someone who looked like a witch or a zombie might actually be a friend. And something that looked like a simple dirt mound might actually hide an underwater home—or even buried treasure, like the heart of the sea.

  As Asher suited up to go visit Ms. Beacon, Mason followed him out. Their underwater base was lit by the conduit, which cast a warm blanket of light and safety across the ocean floor.

  Mason spun in a circle, admiring the beauty of the underwater village. Now that the drowned were gone, the tropical fish had returned. Edward floated lazily above the coral reef. And sunlight trickled down from above, sending shimmers of light dancing through the water.

  Yep. We have everything we need right here, thought Mason with a smile. At least for now.

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