Hidden in the Chest Read online

  Chapter 3

  TREASURES AND TERROR

  “What was that?” Julia’s voice cracked.

  Another piercing thunderous sound shook the ground of the school farm. A lightning bolt flashed across the sky, hitting the great lawn. Rain fell from the sky, creating a flood on the campus. The rain pounded down onto the soggy farm as a skeleton army spawned in the heart of the campus. The skeletons aimed their arrows at the group standing in the farm.

  Emma sprinted away from the arrows. Steve called out, “Where are you going? You have to help us battle the skeletons. Every person counts.”

  “I can’t,” Emma cried. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.” She sprinted out of sight, abandoning her friends.

  Julia watched Emma sprint away, and didn’t notice the barrage of arrows that struck her arm, “Ouch!”

  “Put on your armor!” Steve called out to the group.

  Mia tried to pull her armor out from her inventory while dodging arrows from the skeleton army. The skeletons marched toward the group, cornering them. Steve looked down at the treasure chest. He wondered if he closed the chest, if it would have any impact on the storm. He realized that it had started when he opened the chest, but even after he reached down and closed it, the storm continued and the skeleton army kept growing.

  Julia looked over at Steve. She realized that he thought the chest must have had some impact on the storm. She wondered if it wasn’t opening the chest that caused the powerful storm and skeleton invasion, but the removal of the treasure. She called out, “Put the diamond back.”

  “What?” Steve couldn’t hear Julia as another loud deafening thunderous boom roared across the campus.

  “Put the diamond back!” she screamed as loud as she could. Another arrow struck her exposed arm. She wanted Steve to place that diamond back in the treasure chest and for this invasion to end.

  Julia leapt toward two skeletons, slamming her sword into them. She wished Emma were there to help her battle the bony beasts. Julia knew Emma would have annihilated them in seconds. As four skeletons surrounded Julia, she fumbled with her sword. Two skeletons’ arrows ripped through her arms, and her energy was almost depleted. She hoped Steve had heard her and placed the diamond back in the chest. She also hoped returning the diamond to the treasure chest would stop the storm.

  Jamie sprinted toward Julia and struck two of the skeletons, weakening them, which allowed Julia to deliver the final blows.

  “Thanks!” Julia lunged at another skeleton, destroying it and picking up the bone it dropped.

  “Help!” Mia screamed.

  Julia looked over at Mia, and was devastated to find her friend in serious trouble. Numerous skeletons surrounded her, and she appeared incredibly weak and unable to continue her battle with the bony mob. As Julia and Jamie raced toward Mia, she spotted Steve picking up the diamond and placing it in the chest.

  Julia traded her sword for a bow and arrow and shot arrows at the skeletons that attacked her friend. Jamie and Nick joined Julia and unleashed a barrage of arrows, destroying a few of the skeletons that surrounded Mia. Yet no matter how many skeletons they destroyed, more instantly spawned.

  Julia was inches from Mia when the skeletons disappeared and the rain stopped. She looked over at Steve, who called out to her, “The diamond. It’s back in the chest.”

  Julia rushed over to him. “Did the rain stop when you placed it back in the chest?”

  Mia stood behind her, sipping a potion to regain her strength. “Do you think we caused the storm when we took the diamond out of the chest?”

  “Possibly,” Steve said. “But we can’t be sure unless I take it out again and we see if the storm starts.”

  “Please don’t,” Mia begged.

  “We have to do it,” Julia said. “Steve’s right. It’s the only way we can be certain that removing the diamond is responsible for causing the storm.”

  “Everyone should drink a potion to regain their strength. And keep your armor on and take out a weapon,” Steve instructed.

  Julia picked a potion of healing from her inventory and took a sip. Steve looked at the group and asked them if they were ready. The gang looked at each other. They shook their heads.

  “Okay, I’m going to take out the diamond. Get ready for a possible storm and skeleton attack,” Steve said as he pulled the diamond out from the chest.

  The familiar menacing sound of thunder shook the campus yet again. Rain pelted down to the ground with such intensity that the pond began to overflow. More skeletons spawned and the gang was in the midst of an instant skeleton invasion.

  Steve was about to put the diamond back in the chest, but he fumbled and dropped the precious gem as two arrows pierced through his arm. Julia raced to Steve’s side and leaned over to grab the diamond laying on the soggy grass, but as she reached for the glistening gem, three skeletons surrounded her.

  “Help!” Julia cried out.

  Steve wanted to help, but he was in the middle of his own personal battle, as more skeletons, each one clutching a bow in its bony hand, shot arrows at his exposed arms. Despite drinking a potion to regain his energy, Steve could tell that he was losing hearts. This wasn’t an easy battle. In the midst of the battle against the skeletons, he glimpsed a gang of vacant-eyed zombies walking past the Dining Hall. Skeletons weren’t the only hostile mobs attacking them! Steve regretted experimenting. He shouldn’t have removed the diamond from the chest to see if that was the reason the storm had occurred, but it was too late to think of that now. He had to destroy the skeletons and replace the diamond in order to bring peace back to the campus.

  Julia grabbed a potion from her inventory and splashed it on the skeletons attacking her from all sides. She lunged at the weakened skeletons with her diamond sword, destroying them one by one. She wished Emma were there to watch her battle these bony beasts. As Julia rushed back to Steve, she was relieved to see that he had the diamond in his hand. He quickly placed it back in the chest. The storm was over, and the gang let out a collective sigh of relief.

  As the campus transformed from chaotic to calm, the headmistress Lucy sprinted across the lawn.

  Lucy rushed over to Steve. “What’s going on?”

  Steve looked down at the chest. “I think we have a serious problem.”

  Chapter 4

  RAINY DAYS

  The lunchroom was filled with chatter about the treasure chest. Julia walked through the large dining hall with her tray, catching bits of conversations.

  “The volunteers on the school farm were annihilated.”

  “Really?”

  “Someone put them on hardcore mode.”

  “The campus is cursed.”

  Julia didn’t interrupt the many conversations to tell the students that they were misinformed. Her friends weren’t destroyed, and she was standing in the middle of the dining hall holding a tray of chicken and potatoes. Yet Julia felt a lump in her throat when she heard the last comment. It made her wonder if the school was actually cursed. Maybe when Steve opened the treasure chest, he had unleashed a powerfully potent evil force onto the campus? She wasn’t sure and hoped this wasn’t the case, but she knew whatever the case might be, she’d do anything to help the school. She had been instrumental in stopping Hallie, and Julia was confident she could help again.

  “Over here,” Emma called out to Julia across the crowded cafeteria.

  Mia said, “You can’t believe what I heard when I was in line to get food. Two guys were talking about how we and the other folks who were on the farm were zapped out of the Overworld.”

  “I just heard someone talking about that too,” Julia said.

  Brad rushed over to their table. “Julia! Wow, I’ve heard stories about you guys. I was so worried you were destroyed.”

  “Nope, those were just rumors,” Julia confirmed.

  “I can see.” Brad smiled. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

  “I’m worried, though. I feel that Steve unleashed something sinister when h
e opened that chest,” Julia confessed.

  “I agree,” Mia said. “That was intense.”

  Brad looked at his schedule. “Do you guys have Max’s modding class on your schedule? I do, and I have to leave now.”

  “Yes.” Julia barely had enough time to eat. She was so shaken by the incident that morning that everything seemed to take much longer than usual. She was still processing the attack when she and her friends walked to class with Brad.

  The class started with Max lecturing them on new mod packs and helpful ones to construct for combat. This was when Emma would usually ask a lot of questions about combat, but when Julia looked over at her, Emma was listened silently. In fact, she almost appeared to be sleeping. Julia wanted to call out to Emma and tell her to pay attention.

  A girl with black hair and a red hairband walked into the class, smiled, and looked for an empty seat.

  Max stopped lecturing. “You must be the new student. Lucy told me you would be arriving today. Please introduce yourself to the class.”

  The girl stood by her desk. “My name is Cayla. I’m excited to learn about mods and attend Minecrafters Academy.”

  “We’re excited to have you in the class.” Max smiled and resumed lecturing the class on mod packs.

  After class, Cayla walked alongside Julia, Emma, and Mia as they entered the dorms.

  “Do you live here?” Emma asked.

  “Yes.”

  Cayla climbed the stairs, walked down the same hall as Emma, then pointed to the end of the hall. “I live down there. The last room on the left.”

  A thunderous roar rocked the dorms.

  “What was that?” Mia’s voice shook as she addressed her friends.

  “It sounds like thunder,” Cayla said.

  The group stood in silence as they waited for another thunderous boom or the sound of rain against the dorm, but nothing happened.

  “I guess that was just a random sound,” Emma said.

  “Yes,” Cayla agreed. “Nice meeting you guys. I’m sure I’ll see you around campus.”

  The trio entered their room, and Mia rushed to the window. She saw Steve, Lucy, and Max standing on the farm next to the treasure chest. “Guys, I think Steve, Lucy, and Max are trying to figure out what is causing the storm and if they can stop it.”

  “Maybe the chest is modded,” suggested Emma, “which is why Steve is there.”

  The girls crowded around the window and watched as Steve buried the treasure chest.

  “Should we go down there and ask them if they need any help?” Mia asked. “We never got to work on the farm this morning, and we have a while before dinner.”

  “Good idea,” Julia said. She wanted to know what was happening with the chest and if somehow they had unleashed something awful onto the school. She truly hoped that this wasn’t the case, but if it was, she was going to do something to stop it.

  The trio spotted Cayla on the stairs. “Do we have class?” Cayla asked.

  “No, we’re just going to volunteer on the school farm,” Julia replied.

  “I love farming,” Cayla said. “Do you think they’d mind if I came along?”

  “Well …” Julia paused.

  “No,” Mia said. “I’m sure Steve would love the help.”

  “Lucy told me about the farm,” Cayla said. “I actually got into the school for farming.”

  “There’s another student, Nick, who is a farmer and volunteers on the farm,” Emma said.

  Julia couldn’t understand how her friends could be so casual after what had happened with the treasure chest. How could they forget to mention the treasure chest to Cayla?

  “I see you’ve met Cayla. She is a great farmer,” said Steve, who had just looked up to see the group approaching.

  Mia said, “We wanted to help out on the farm. We hope that’s okay.”

  “Of course.” Steve picked a shovel from his inventory. “We should focus on a different section of the farm.”

  “That makes sense,” Julia said, “after everything that happened this morning.”

  “What happened?” Cayla asked.

  Before anyone had a chance to respond, Julia’s shovel hit a hard surface deep underneath the dirt. “I think there’s something here.”

  Steve looked into the hole and used his shovel to remove the excess dirt. He jumped into the hole and climbed up, holding another treasure chest.

  “A treasure chest!” Cayla screamed with excitement.

  “Don’t open it!” Julia shouted. She didn’t want another potent rainstorm to overtake the campus, but didn’t have the energy to explain all of the details to this new student.

  “Why not?” Cayla looked confused. She knew this was a great find and wanted to see what treasures were in the chest. “I want to do it. You can’t stop me.”

  Steve rushed over to Cayla, “No, please, don’t. That isn’t a normal treasure chest.”

  “How do you know?” questioned Cayla.

  “We had an incident earlier with a treasure chest that we found on the farm. Please just stay away from it.” Steve said.

  “I’m sorry,” Cayla said, looking down at the mysterious chest.

  “There’s no reason to apologize. We just have to be very careful,” Steve said.

  “What should we do?” Julia questioned.

  “Nothing at the moment,” Steve replied as he moved between them and the chest.

  The group noticed Lucy and Max walking toward them. Steve called out to them, “We found another one.”

  Chapter 5

  ZOMBIE STRIKE

  “Open it,” Lucy instructed.

  “What? No!” Julia didn’t even realize the words shot out of her mouth. She didn’t want to defy Lucy, but she was afraid that opening the chest would create another storm. She quickly grabbed a potion from her inventory and took a sip. She wasn’t going into a battle unprepared.

  “Julia,” Lucy said calmly. “I know you’re nervous because of the battle earlier today, but we have to open this chest. We might encounter hostile mobs and other threats once we open it, but we don’t have a choice. We need to figure out what’s going on, so the only choice is to be brave.”

  Julia knew Lucy was right, but that didn’t erase the fact that she was petrified. “Can I have a minute to put on my armor?”

  “That’s a good idea,” Lucy said.

  Cayla was utterly confused. She was new and didn’t know how much trouble could be in store. “What exactly happened earlier? I don’t understand what you’re talking about at all.”

  Emma explained what had happened when they found the chest earlier that day. Cayla gasped.

  “Open it, Steve.” Max leaned over the chest.

  Steve opened the chest. “Emeralds.”

  “It’s safe. It’s not raining.” Cayla looked up at the sky.

  “Not quite.” Steve lifted an emerald from the chest and the sky grew dark, and a lightning bolt struck the flagpole on the great lawn. Rain soaked the campus, and two zombies lumbered toward the group.

  “Put it back,” Lucy ordered as she clutched her diamond sword.

  Steve carefully placed the emerald back in the chest as the sun came out. “There has to be curse on this chest.”

  “I don’t believe in curses.” Max inspected the chest.

  “It doesn’t matter if you believe in curses,” replied Lucy. “I think someone doesn’t want us to take anything from the chest, and they are hiding their treasures on the campus.”

  “These chests could be all over the campus,” Steve said.

  “Yes,” Lucy added. “They could even have been here before the school was built. We have no idea.”

  The sky turned dark and another lightning bolt lit up the campus. Skeletons and zombies spawned from all directions. Julia gripped her sword tightly as she asked, “Steve, are you sure everything is back in the chest?”

  Steve opened the chest and counted the emeralds. Four skeletons surprised him and he didn’t have time to fight bac
k. He was struck with a multitude of arrows that pierced his unarmored limbs, destroying him.

  “Steve!” Lucy cried as she engaged in her own zombie battle. Four vacant-eyed zombies reeking of rotten flesh surrounded her. Lucy held her breath to avoid taking in any of the horrible odor as she slayed the undead beasts.

  Zombies and skeletons cornered Julia, and her sword wasn’t powerful enough to fight them. She cried out for Emma, but her friend was nowhere in sight. Mia and Cayla were busy battling a cluster of zombies, and Lucy and Max were engaged in a battle against a skeleton army. Julia was on her own, and she was having a hard time trying to battle the tricky mobs.

  Julia had only been able to take a quick sip of the potion before the battle began, so her energy bar was incredibly low. She barely had the energy to swing her sword or grab another sip of potion from her inventory so that she could regain her strength or call for help. The last thing she saw were two green zombie arms reach for her and the horrid smell of rotten flesh. It was over.

  * * * *

  “Emma.” Julia looked over as she respawned in her bed. Emma was standing by the window, watching the battle.

  “I’m sorry,” Emma said quietly. “I just can’t do it.”

  Julia said, “You know we can’t do it alone. The campus is in under attack and you’re the only one who can help us.”

  “Find someone else,” Emma responded in a monotone voice as she continued to watch the battle from the comfort of their dorm room.

  “But we need your help,” Julia said as she sipped a potion of strength. “I have to go back and help them. Will you come with me?”

  “I can’t. I really can’t,” Emma repeated.

  “Is this about the Olympics?” Julia asked.

  A thunderous noise shook the window, Emma covered her ears. “I asked you to leave me alone,” she begged.

  “What’s the worst thing that can happen? If you get destroyed battling the skeletons and zombies, you’ll respawn back here. Is that so bad?”

  “It’s not that,” Emma replied.

  “Then what is it?”