Hidden in the Chest Read online

There was no time for Emma’s reply. Two zombies ripped their door from its hinges and lunged toward them. Julia pierced one of the zombies with her sword, weakening the beast. She swiftly pulled a potion from her inventory, splashing it on the creature of the night. The splash was enough to annihilate one zombie while she battled with the stronger, second zombie.

  Emma stood by the window watching the battle. Julia cried out for help, but she didn’t move from her spot. Julia delivered a final blow, obliterating the zombie and ending the battle.

  “Emma!” Julia was annoyed. “Don’t make me battle these beasts alone.”

  “I want to help,” Emma confessed, “but when I see them, I become paralyzed with fear.”

  “I know how you feel,” Julia said. “That was the way I reacted before I met you. There’s hope. You will overcome this fear. I did.”

  “How?” Emma asked.

  “It’s not easy,” Julia said, “but you just have to try. Once you start fighting, you’ll realize that it’s not that hard.”

  As Julia spoke, four skeletons rushed into their room, aiming their bows at the girls. Julia fearlessly raced toward them, striking two with her sword. Five zombies walked behind the skeletons. They were outnumbered. Julia panicked. She needed Emma to help her, or they’d both be destroyed.

  “Please, Emma.” Julia pleaded, but there was no response. Julia tried to battle the mobs on her own, but her energy was fading fast. She used everything in her inventory to annihilate the mobs in the center of her room, but the battle was overwhelming her. Julia was ready to surrender.

  She called out one final time, “Emma, you’re the only person I know who could win this battle.”

  Julia was shocked to see Emma grab her potions and splash them on the skeletons and zombies, skillfully destroying them one by one.

  Emma wore a wide-mouthed grin. “We did it.”

  “No, you did it,” Julia said as the sun came out.

  Mia, out of breath, rushed through the door with Cayla. “I can’t believe what’s happening.”

  “Me either.” Julia smiled.

  “Why are you smiling?” Mia asked.

  “We had our own victory here.” Julia looked over at Emma.

  “Did you fight?” Mia sprinted over to Emma.

  “Yes.”

  “Don’t be modest. She singlehandedly destroyed a bunch of skeletons and zombies,” Julia bragged about her friend.

  Cayla changed the subject to announce, “I think I know why all of this is happening. I have some information about the chests.”

  Chapter 6

  A QUESTION OF TRUST

  “What?” Julia asked.

  “I’m not sure if it’s anything,” Cayla said, “but my family has a long history at this school. I remember my mom telling me a story about secret treasure buried on campus, and how if it was ever found, bad things would happen.”

  “Really?” Emma questioned. “What type of bad things?”

  Mia asked, “Like these storms?”

  “Even worse,” Cayla said.

  “Even worse?” Julia repeated. What could be worse than what was happening?

  “But you know it is a story that has been passed down, and stories like that tend to grow as they are being told. People embellish and we never know what is fact and fiction,” Cayla said.

  “I bet Aaron would know something about this,” Mia said. “He was a student here years ago. If this story is a part of the campus folklore, he might have more information.”

  “Good thinking,” Emma said.

  Julia looked at the clock. “We have to go to dinner. It’s almost over. We don’t want to miss it.”

  The dining hall was crowded, and Julia heard even more crazy tales about the afternoon battle as she walked through the dining hall.

  “I think those farm volunteers are behind these attacks.”

  “We thought they were destroyed.”

  “They were, but they came back.”

  “They have special powers and want to take over the campus.”

  “We don’t trust them.”

  Julia sprinted back to the table, her body shaking. “I’m really worried, because I keep hearing snippets of conversations, and it appears that some students think we’re behind these attacks.”

  “How?” Emma asked.

  “Why?” Mia was appalled.

  “But I just got here,” Cayla explained. “Am I included in this?”

  “I don’t know,” Julia’s voice cracked. “I hope the students don’t turn against us. That would be awful.”

  It was too late. Three girls wearing matching red berets walked over to them. One of the bereted girls threw a piece of chicken and screamed, “Stop terrorizing our school!”

  “But we’re not. We want to help the school.” Julia could barely get the words out.

  Mia clutched a potion in self-defense as the girl shouted and pointed to Mia’s bottle. “Look, she’s ready to attack us!”

  “I only took it out because you threw chicken at us,” Mia defended us.

  “We’re watching you,” the girl said, and walked away with her two friends trailing behind her.

  Julia sighed. “This is going to be harder than we thought.”

  “We have to find Aaron. He can help us.” Mia quickly ate her beef and potatoes.

  Julia agreed. “He can, but we have to be careful. We don’t want to attract any more attention to ourselves. We don’t want to be attacked by any of the students.”

  “I have no idea why they think we’re behind this.” Emma was annoyed.

  The group exited the dining hall as everyone turned around and glared at them. Whispers could be heard throughout the dining hall.

  “This feels awful,” Emma said to her friends.

  “I know. We have to clear our names,” Mia said.

  “And save the school,” Julia added.

  “Let’s first find Aaron,” Emma said as they walked out of the dining hall and toward the faculty houses.

  The light was on in Aaron’s room. His room was on the ground floor and was sparsely decorated. Aaron didn’t like to spend a lot of time on campus. Although he enjoyed working at the school, he preferred to spend most of his free time in the stronghold, where he’d brew his potions. As they entered the building, Julia spotted Lucy walking down the hall.

  “What are you guys doing in the faculty houses?” Lucy asked.

  “Cayla mentioned that she heard a story about the treasure chest, and we wanted to confirm it with Aaron,” Julia explained.

  Cayla told Lucy about the story she had heard from her mother, who had attended this school years before.

  “Interesting,” Lucy said. “I’ve never heard about this. I wonder if Aaron has.” Lucy knocked on Aaron’s door.

  Aaron was dressed in dyed blue armor and a green helmet. “Excuse me. I didn’t think I was going to have any visitors.”

  “Sorry to bother you,” Lucy said, “but—”

  Aaron interrupted, “I just want to explain why I’m dressed like this. I often wear this when I’m brewing potions. It inspires me.”

  “That’s wonderful,” Mia said. “I wear a cap when I brew potions.”

  Aaron laughed. “I guess I’m not the only one who likes to get dressed up when they work.”

  Lucy wasn’t there to discuss work habits; she wanted to get any information Aaron had about the treasure chest. “Aaron, we have a question about a treasure chest.”

  Lucy then asked Cayla to tell Aaron all she knew. Cayla repeated the story. “Have you heard about this cursed treasure chest?”

  “No. Either that was before my time or after it. But it’s strange that I never heard anything about it. Stories like that usually stick around,” Aaron said.

  “Maybe I should go home and ask my family,” Cayla suggested.

  “Maybe we should go with you,” Julia said. “The entire school thinks we’re the ones behind the attacks and are talking about us.”

  “Yes,” Emma
added. “Everyone was talking about us in the cafeteria. It was awful.”

  “I don’t think you need to leave the campus. If we close the chest and don’t remove the treasures, things remain peaceful,” Lucy said. “From now on, we won’t tempt fate, and we will leave the chests closed. I will hold an assembly to explain what happened. This will stop the students from focusing on you guys and will end these awful rumors. I’m sorry you have to deal with this.”

  “I think holding an assembly is a great idea,” Julia exclaimed. “Once everyone knows the facts, life will go back to normal.”

  Aaron pointed toward the window. “It’s getting dark out there. You guys should head home.”

  “I will announce the assembly at breakfast,” Lucy told them.

  Julia was thrilled as they walked across the great lawn toward their dorms. The girls were steps from their room when Cayla shrieked in pain. They turned around to see a spider’s red-eyed menacing stare. A Spider Jockey was just inches from them.

  Chapter 7

  ANNOUNCEMENTS

  Mia’s arrow was the first one to hit the Spider Jockey, scraping the side of the black spider. She aimed and shot another arrow. The impact from the second arrow shook the spider, forcing the skeleton off the red-eyed spider. Cayla leapt at the falling skeleton, slamming her sword into its bony frame. Emma grabbed a potion from her inventory, splashing the skeleton, while Cayla delivered the final blow, destroying the bony beast.

  “Pick up the dropped bone,” Julia called out as she battled the spider. She tried not to get scared as she stared into its red glowing eyes. With four blows from her sword, she slayed the powerful eight-legged beast.

  “We have to get back to our rooms,” Mia called out to the others. The girls raced inside the building as they kept a close eye for any hostile mobs that might be spawning in the dimly lit halls.

  Julia rushed into her bed and pulled the blue wool covers over herself. She was exhausted, and hoped everything would be cleared up the next day and the other students wouldn’t torment them. She fell asleep with dreams about the assembly and having her name cleared.

  * * * *

  The next morning, Julia rubbed her eyes and saw Emma staring out the window.

  “Is everything okay?” Julia asked.

  “Yes.” Emma looked at the sun flooding the lush, green campus. “I don’t know if I’m in the mood for breakfast.”

  “Really?” Mia asked.

  “I don’t want to go into the dining hall, where everyone will stare,” Emma explained.

  “I know how you feel, but we can’t let them bother us,” Mia said.

  “If we don’t go, we’ll appear guilty,” Julia said, “and once breakfast is over, the whole school will feel badly for tormenting us.”

  Cayla stood by the door. “Are you guys going to breakfast?”

  Yes,” Julia replied. “We were just about to go. But are you sure you want to be seen with us?”

  “Yes,” Cayla laughed. “I know you guys weren’t behind these attacks. I will be happy to defend you.”

  Emma reluctantly joined the others at breakfast. As they all expected, once they entered the dining hall, they were met by intense glares and whispers. Julia wanted to hide behind her tray, but instead she strode confidently through the dining hall. She didn’t want anyone knowing how upset she was, as again she heard snippets of conversations.

  “Lucy should have them removed from the campus.”

  “They’re probably staging all of this because they failed to win the Minecraft Academic Olympics.”

  “I can’t wait until they’re in the bedrock jail with Hallie. I’ll feel so much safer.”

  Julia tried not to let these comments sting, but that was a nearly impossible feat. She just wanted life to go back to normal.

  The gang ate their breakfast in silence. They were too busy listening to the hum of gossip to start a conversation with each other. Brad walked over to their table, breaking their silence. “Are you guys ready for Henry’s survival class today? I hear he’s taking us to the Nether.”

  “All I hear is people talking about how awful we are,” Julia said. “I haven’t been paying attention to school.”

  “Well, you should pay attention to schoolwork. Today, we’re going to learn important skills to use in the Nether. I really dislike that place, so I’m glad I can get some tips.” Brad smiled.

  Julia turned to hear Lucy’s announcement. She stood in the center of the dining hall and addressed the students. “After breakfast, there is an assembly in the Great Hall. Please meet me there as soon as you finish eating.”

  When Lucy exited, the entire dining hall gazed at their table. Julia gulped. “I bet they all think we’re going to be punished in front of the school.”

  Brad said, “Don’t waste your time worrying about what these people think. You know you’re innocent and so does Lucy.”

  “I guess you’re right,” Julia said, “but it still hurts to have the entire school talking about you and staring at you.”

  “Or throwing chicken at you,” added Emma.

  Julia announced that she wasn’t in the mood to eat anymore and the others agreed, they exited the dining hall, and were one of the first people to arrive at the assembly. Lucy called out to them, “Julia, Emma, and Mia, please come to the podium. I want you to stand by me as I make my announcement.”

  The trio stood next to Lucy as students crowded into the auditorium in the Great Hall. Lucy started to speak.

  “I’m gathering you all here to address an incident that happened yesterday. I know there are many rumors circulating around campus, but what I will tell you are the facts. Our visiting faculty member Steve, who is also an expert farmer, was creating a farm on campus with some volunteers. While he was working on the farm, he found a chest. He opened the chest and took out a diamond. Once he removed the diamond, it began to rain. However, once he placed the diamond back, the rain ceased. This happened again when he discovered a second chest later that day. We aren’t sure if these chests were cursed, but we do know that if we leave them alone, we are fine. We will work tirelessly to find out who placed the chests on the campus and why we can’t remove these treasures, but you must be patient.”

  Students raised their hands. Lucy said, “I can only take a few questions.”

  A girl with green hair asked, “Are there any students who might be behind the attack?”

  “As you can see, I have a few of the student volunteers with me. These innocent students were accused of being the culprits behind these attacks and have suffered viciously from the fellow students at this school. I truly expected more from the students at such a prestigious academy. Please leave these three girls alone and let them study in peace. They have done nothing wrong, and have only helped the school by volunteering to build a farm on campus.”

  The assembly was over and the gang rushed to Henry’s survival class. Henry asked the students if anybody knew how to build a portal to the Nether. Emma whispered to Julia, “Wow, that’s so basic.”

  Julia didn’t reply. She still had to look up how to craft a portal to the Nether. Brad raised his hand and started to rattle off the list of ingredients for crafting a portal to the Nether, when a loud boom shook the small classroom.

  “What was that?” Brad asked.

  “It sounds like thunder,” Henry said as he pulled his armor from his inventory and instructed the class to do the same.

  Julia grabbed her armor. As she put it on, she saw a group of students whispering and staring at her.

  “Oh, no!” a student gasped as a rare skeleton horseman rode past the classroom window.

  Julia shivered as she clutched her sword. She wasn’t sure if she would have to battle the other students or the skeleton horseman.

  Chapter 8

  LOOTED

  Boom!

  The ear-shattering thunder rattled the classroom as Julia sprinted toward the bony horse and the skeleton riding atop of it. The skeleton horse’s legs c
langed as it raced around the campus. A flash of lightning shot across the campus, and Julia narrowly avoided being struck as she caught up with the horse. Julia leapt at the skeleton horse, but it sprinted away without a scratch.

  “What’s going on?” Mia called out in utter horror.

  The campus lawn filled with zombies, skeletons, creepers, and Endermen.

  “This is going to be an epic battle,” Brad said as he struck a zombie with his sword. “I’m glad we have Henry by our side.”

  Henry showed off his survival skills as zombies, skeletons, and a creeper surrounded him. Using a mixture of potions and his enchanted diamond sword, Henry fought off the evil mobs that cornered him by the classroom entrance.

  Kaboom!

  “That didn’t sound like thunder!” Julia exclaimed as a loud explosion rocked the campus. Smoke rose through the sky, clouding Julia’s vision, and she didn’t see three skeletons lunge toward her as one of the bony beasts delivered its final blow. Julia awoke in her bed and raced to the window.

  The campus was under attack. Every hostile mob of the Overworld battled the student body under rainy skies. Students slipped on the soggy grass as they raced toward skeletons and zombies. Julia spotted Mia splashing through a puddle as she sprinted from a skeleton army that trailed closely behind her. Julia knew she had to help her friends. She rushed from the dorm and raced back into the thick of the rainy battle.

  “Help!” Cayla cried as three green creepers detonated in front of her. Julia caught a glimpse of Cayla before she was destroyed.

  Julia spotted Lucy in the middle of an intense zombie battle and rushed to her side. “Did someone find another treasure chest?”

  “Not that I know of.” Lucy could barely spit the words out as she struggled to destroy the new crop of zombies that spawned in front of her. “Do you know what was destroyed in the explosion?”

  Julia hadn’t seen anything but smoke. “No,” she replied as she slayed a zombie. “Hopefully there was no damage.”

  Lucy gasped as six more zombies lumbered toward them. As she reached for a potion of strength, the sun came out, and she let out a sigh of relief. “We have to find out what exploded.”