The Griefer's Revenge Read online

  “I’m not sure that’s good enough,” Mac said as he signaled to the people carrying the supplies to stop.

  “I wish you’d reconsider. I think giving up the games because we are threatened by Daniel, an evil griefer, would be a complete shame. I don’t want to give him that much power. He doesn’t deserve it. And this town doesn’t deserve to lose the opportunity to host the games because of him. It’s just not fair,” pleaded Violet.

  “Did you say Daniel?” asked Nina.

  “Yes,” replied Violet.

  “Is this the same Daniel that led a rainbow army in an attempt to take over the Overworld?” questioned Mac.

  “Yes,” said Noah. “He is the one and only evil head of the rainbow griefer army. But we were able to disband the army, so I think we can avoid an attack at the Olympics. Please don’t take this chance away from us.”

  “We’ve dealt with Daniel before. He is extremely evil. But you’re right—we can’t let him stop the Olympics. We will bring some of our own people to help secure the Olympics too. The games will go on!”

  Violet and her friends cheered. She felt it was too good to be true. She was getting to build a bunch of stadiums and her town was going to host the Minecraft Olympics.

  “While you begin building in the field outside of town, we will start organizing our tryouts for the locals,” Mac informed them.

  “And we almost forgot,” added Nina. “We need you to build a hotel for visitors and housing for the athletes.”

  “I can do it!” Violet was excited and she gathered all of her good friends to help her build Olympic Village.

  The supplies were stacked outside of town. Violet and her friends walked toward the supplies, and she began to give detailed instructions on how they could help her craft the Olympic village. Violet noticed Noah walking away from the construction site.

  “Noah,” Violet called out. “Where are you going?”

  “I am going to help you build the village, but first I’m going to try out for the Olympics,” replied Noah.

  “What game will you try out for?” Violet asked, as she held a wooden plank in her hand. She had no time to waste; there was a lot of work to be done.

  “The Battle of the Mobs,” said Noah.

  As Noah spoke those words, the sky grew dark and cloudy. Rain began to fall on the town and the construction site. A group of zombies lumbered toward Violet and her friends. Noah didn’t have to try out—he was now in the thick of an actual battle of the mobs.

  Wherever the gang looked, they saw vacant-eyed zombies creeping toward them. Hannah splashed a potion of strength on the zombies, and they lost many hearts. Noah lunged at the weakened zombies with his diamond sword, destroying them.

  “It’s going to be a lot harder when you’re destroying zombies in front of an audience,” Ben remarked as he struck a zombie and destroyed it.

  “If I didn’t splash those zombies, you’d still be battling them,” Hannah reminded him.

  More zombies approached the group.

  “Oh no! I’ll never have time to build the Olympic village.” Violet was worried that they’d never get the village ready for the athletes, and she wondered if Daniel was behind this zombie attack. She knew she had to stay focused to get the Olympic Village completed before the opening ceremonies.

  Violet hit two zombies, destroying them. She looked at the piles of supplies and hurried over to the wooden planks. Her friends could finish the battle. She had to build. She lifted a plank just as a zombie walked by. Violet reminded herself she ought to battle the hostile mob first for the safety of everyone. She put the wooden plank down. But the zombie was destroyed by Noah’s arrow.

  “Thanks!” she called out to Noah.

  “You have to build, Violet,” Noah replied.

  The sun began to rise. The zombies disappeared and the friends began to build Olympic Village together. Noah slipped out to enter the tryouts for the Battle of the Mobs. They all wished him good luck.

  As Violet constructed the first stadium, a man wearing a green hat and sunglasses appeared in the distance.

  “Who is that?” asked Hannah.

  He approached the group, and Ben questioned him, “Hi, who are you?”

  “I can’t believe you don’t know who I am,” the man with the green hat and sunglasses replied smugly.

  4

  STADIUMS

  “I’m sorry. We don’t recognize you,” Hannah said politely.

  He looked at Violet. “Are you Violet? Nina and Mac sent me here. They said you are constructing a mansion for me.”

  “A mansion. Nobody told me I was constructing a mansion. I have to build four stadiums, a hotel, and housing for the athletes.” Violet pointed at the plans Nina and Mac had given her.

  “I can’t stay with the others. I need my own place. A mansion,” the man with the green hat and sunglasses insisted.

  Angela stared at the man and then asked, “Are you Samson?”

  “Finally, somebody recognizes me.” He smiled.

  “Samson is one of the most famous fighters in the Overworld,” noted Angela.

  “Not one of the most famous. I am the most famous,” he corrected her.

  “I don’t have any orders to build you a separate house.” Violet pointed at the plans again.

  “Well, I order you to build a separate house for me. I am the best fighter in the Overworld and I deserve it.”

  Kaboom! There was an explosion in the distance.

  Samson trembled and said quite nervously, “What was that?”

  “If you’re such a skilled fighter, an explosion shouldn’t bother you,” said Violet. “Will you stay in the house I am building for all the Olympic athletes if I don’t tell anyone you’re scared of loud noises?”

  “I wasn’t scared. And I’m not bothered by TNT. I was just asking why there was an explosion.”

  “Okay. Fine. You aren’t scared. But you must stay with the other athletes. I don’t have enough time to build you a separate home,” explained Violet.

  Ben and Hannah looked out into the distance. They tried to spot the smoke from the explosion, but they couldn’t see any.

  Violet got back to work. She glanced at Samson, “Are you busy?”

  “Well, I have two days until the Olympics. I was going to hone my skills. Why do you ask?”

  She handed Samson some granite. “Help me build. It will make you stronger.”

  Samson looked at the granite. He couldn’t believe Violet was asking him to construct a stadium. He was an Olympic star.

  “You can’t be serious,” he said. Samson was shocked at her request.

  “Do you want the games to go on?” asked Violet. “Because we have so much work and I have very little help. If you don’t put your ego aside, there won’t be any games.”

  Hannah interrupted with, “The Olympic committee is busy trying to secure the town. We might have a potential griefer who wants to destroy the Olympics.”

  “You aren’t talking about Daniel? The griefer who had the rainbow army?” he asked.

  “Yes, how do you know him?” questioned Ben.

  “He once took over my village. He is the reason I became a skilled fighter. I never want to be attacked by him again. When he found out how strong I had become, he tried to recruit me for his army.”

  “If you really dislike Daniel, then you should help build this stadium,” Violet urged Samson.

  Samson didn’t reply, but he quietly gathered the supplies Violet handed him and started to build the foundation for the other side of the stadium. The group worked hard and within a few hours, the first stadium was constructed. They stood back and marveled at the grand stadium.

  “This is the stadium for the player versus player event,” Violet said as she pointed out the room for respawning that was housed right outside the arena.

  “This is where I will win my gold medal,” Samson said confidently.

  “You don’t want to jinx yourself by boasting,” advised Angela.
r />   “I don’t believe in that nonsense. I am the best fighter and I know I’ll win.” Samson was sure he would walk away with the first-place gold medal.

  The sun began to set. Violet wanted to work throughout the night. She had three more stadiums to construct and also the hotel and houses for the athletes. As two Endermen walked past, carrying blocks, Violet and the gang tried to avoid them and to not make eye contact, but it was too late. One of the Endermen shrieked and teleported next to Samson. The gang got a private showing of Samson’s skilled fighting. With one strike, the Enderman was destroyed. They were impressed, until a creeper crept up behind Samson. He didn’t have time to fight back. The creeper exploded and Samson was destroyed.

  “Poor Samson,” said Violet, “I wonder where he’ll respawn.”

  “We have to make our way to the tree house,” Ben warned them, “before we all get destroyed.”

  The gang could hear the rattling of skeleton bones. Noah dashed toward the group.

  “Stop. Don’t shoot!” he called out, worried they might mistake him for a skeleton.

  “Noah, help us! We are trying to make our way back to the tree house,” shouted Violet.

  Noah shot arrows at the skeletons. Hannah splashed the bony beasts with potions. Angela and Ben struck them with their swords. Violet lunged at a skeleton, and with a powerful blow from her enchanted diamond sword she obliterated the hostile mob. Finally the last skeleton was destroyed, and the group raced as fast as they could toward the tree house. When they reached the tree, they stopped in their tracks.

  The ladder was missing. The tree house was destroyed. Somebody had blown it up. Rubble lay on the ground around the tree that once held Violet and Noah’s scenic tree house.

  “We need a place to sleep,” Violet said calmly, even though she was devastated.

  “Come with me,” a voice called out, “I know a place we can stay.”

  It was Samson. The group didn’t know where he had respawned. They also didn’t know if they should trust him. But they felt they had no other choice—they followed the skilled fighter through the village and back to the field where the Olympic village was being constructed. He walked the group into the small dwelling Violet had built for the player versus player athletes to respawn in. Samson had crafted a bunch of beds in the room.

  “We can all sleep here,” suggested Samson.

  The gang was extremely tired and everybody climbed into bed. As Violet drifted off to sleep, she wanted to ask Samson how he knew her tree house was destroyed. She looked over at Samson’s bed, but he was already asleep. Violet was suspicious, but she was also tired. She couldn’t fight the exhaustion and fell asleep. She was happily surprised when she woke up.

  5

  LET THE GAMES BEGIN

  When Violet woke up, her friends were already hard at work on the second stadium.

  “Wow!” exclaimed Violet. “Thank you, guys!”

  Samson walked over and handed Violet a piece of cake. “I’m so glad you don’t mind that we started to work on Olympic Village without you. I was worried that you’d be upset.”

  “Not at all,” Violet replied as she took a bite of cake. “We don’t have much time. I appreciate all the help I can get.”

  Noah joined them. “I am so upset that our house was destroyed. It has to be the work of Daniel. I’m also concerned that he is going to try to destroy the games.”

  “He probably will try to destroy the games, but we’ll stop him.” Violet wasn’t going to let Daniel ruin the Minecraft Olympics.

  “After I respawned in my house outside of town last night, I ran back here and everybody was gone. As I walked through the village looking for you, I saw a man walking alone. I thought it was Daniel. When I approached him, he shielded his face and said, ‘Your friends are right up ahead.’ Then he ran away. And I could swear I heard him laugh,” Samson told them.

  Samson’s story put Violet’s mind at ease. She wanted to trust this world-renowned athlete. She, too, wondered if that was actually Daniel walking around the village last night and what he might be plotting.

  “We have to keep an eye out for Daniel,” Noah cautioned as he grabbed some more bricks and worked on the stadium for the sprinting competition.

  Nina and Mac arrived at the construction site. “Very nice,” Nina commented in approval of the two stadiums. “We have some people coming to help you finish Olympic Village. Tomorrow we will have the opening ceremonies and people will be arriving from all around the Overworld.”

  Violet looked at the patch of land designated to house the hotel and athletes’ houses. “I hope we finish in time.” She was very worried because there were so many interruptions. And she feared that Daniel would return and cause even greater havoc than a few explosions and some hostile mob attacks.

  A group of people in red jackets marched toward the construction site.

  “Oh great, they’re here!” exclaimed Nina. “These are the workers who will help you finish the village.”

  Violet couldn’t believe her eyes. There were so many people. She had never been in charge of anybody before. Usually she just asked some friends to help, but now she had to lead an entire construction crew. She felt all jittery.

  “You’re going to do a terrific job,” Mac reassured Violet. “We’ve seen your other projects, and you’re one of the most talented builders in the Overworld. These people are just here to help you finish the job. There’s no reason to be nervous.”

  Violet stood on a block and instructed the crew about what they needed to do to get Olympic Village ready for the games. Everyone got right to work.

  Nina and Mac went over the agenda for the opening ceremonies. There would be a parade, fireworks, and a presentation of the top athletes.

  “We need to make a big deal when Samson shows up. He’s our star athlete,” stated Nina.

  Noah overheard Nina and interrupted, “Samson’s already here.” He pointed out Samson carrying granite over to the final stadium that was being constructed.

  “What?” Nina questioned. She was shocked.

  “How can you have our star athlete building a stadium?” Mac pointed out the absurdity of the situation.

  “Samson,” Noah called out to his new friend.

  Samson put down the granite and walked over to Noah and the others.

  “Samson, you don’t have to build the stadiums. You can rest for the opening ceremonies and the big fight that you are scheduled to partake in,” Mac informed the skilled fighter.

  “I don’t want to be treated any differently because I’m a skilled fighter. Also, building helps me increase my strength. It’s better than sitting around all day and being waited on hand and foot.” Samson excused himself and went back to the construction site. He asked Violet what she needed him to do next.

  Nina’s mouth dropped open. “Wow, that’s not the Samson we remember from the last Olympic games.”

  “I hope this doesn’t affect his fight tomorrow. I hope he wins,” Noah told them.

  “So do we,” agreed Nina.

  Nina and Mac examined the construction site; they couldn’t believe how quickly it was being built. They called Violet over to commend her on the great work.

  Violet felt pleased as she looked over the site. A large hotel loomed over the four stadiums. The construction crew was busy building the houses for the athletes. Soon the games would begin.

  Athletes and fans started to arrive while the crew placed the finishing touches on Olympic Village. The townspeople and villagers also entered Olympic Village, excited for the games to start. There was a jovial atmosphere everywhere.

  Valentino the Butcher showed up with some meat. “Somebody told me they wanted a restaurant.”

  “Yes,” Violet said, and she walked Valentino over to a concession stand she had crafted outside the stadium.

  “This is so exciting!” exclaimed Valentino. “I’ve never been to the Olympic games.”

  Nina and Mac led the visitors to the hotel. A parade o
f athletes entered the village. Everybody stopped and cheered as the athletes walked toward their newly erected houses. Samson joined the parade. He had a player versus player battle to fight. Violet and her friends hoped he’d win.

  Violet lit torches and placed them on the walls of the stadiums to prevent hostile mobs from spawning in Olympic Village. The construction crew had also built a large iron golem to watch over the village.

  As the evening set in, everyone felt safe in the well-lit Olympic Village. Nina and Mac stood in the center of the village and announced the official start of the Olympic games.

  The sky lit up with a fantastic display of fireworks. Red and green fireworks shot up like giant fountains of light. Violet had never seen anything so beautiful. She had also never felt this comfortable outdoors in the nighttime. It seemed like the entire Overworld was watching the fireworks show. Everybody cheered. Despite the cheering and the noise from the fireworks, Violet was sure she heard a boom in the distance.

  Noah rushed over to Violet’s side. “Did you hear that noise?”

  Kaboom! Another explosion split the air.

  “Yes,” Violet said fearfully, “and it doesn’t sound like fireworks. I wonder what Daniel has destroyed.”

  “We don’t know it’s definitely Daniel,” replied Noah.

  “There’s only one way to find out.” Violet dashed out of Olympic Village and toward their town. Noah followed, and they made their way through the darkness, hoping they wouldn’t be attacked by hostile mobs lurking in the shadows.

  6

  FIREWORKS AND FIERY BEASTS

  Noah and Violet raced through the village, but they couldn’t find the place where the TNT had ignited.

  “We should head back to the Olympic games. This is a fool’s errand.” Noah could hear the celebratory noises from the Olympic games and he wanted to return. Also, he had never slept in a hotel before, and he was excited to spend the night in the Olympic hotel they had constructed.

  “I guess you’re right.” Violet felt almost ready to give up. They had searched the entire village and everything seemed to be intact. As they made their way through the town, Violet noticed some rubble.