The Nether Attack Read online

  Hannah and Ben walked into the small house. Ben remarked, “I placed a torch on the front of the house, so we won’t have any more visitors.”

  “Good idea,” Violet said. She realized she had forgotten to place a torch outside.

  The group hopped into their beds and tried to sleep. Violet pulled the blue covers over her body and began to think about Will and Trent. She wondered where Daniel had taken them and if they were safe. The Overworld was massive—how would they ever find the treasure-hunting duo? Of course, she knew they had to focus on finding snow first, so the town could be safe. Violet drifted off to sleep dreaming about the ice plains and the many snowballs she would craft.

  “It’s morning,” Hannah called out to the others, as the sun came through the small window.

  “Great!” Noah exclaimed as he jumped out of bed. “We must eat and then make our way to the icy plains.”

  Hannah walked out of the house and began to hunt for meat. She spotted a chicken and shot an arrow. “We now have breakfast,” Hannah announced proudly.

  The group devoured the chicken and then began their trek toward the cold biome.

  Noah studied the map and directed, “The icy plains are past the mountains to our left.”

  Ben paused and stared up at the massive mountains. “Do we have to climb those mountains?”

  “I’m afraid so,” Noah told his friend.

  “But I’m afraid of heights.” Ben was ashamed to admit this to the others.

  “There’s no better time to get over your fear of heights,” Noah joked. “But seriously, we will be there with you. I know it’s scary, but it will be a lot scarier if we return to our village without snowballs.”

  Hannah reassured Ben, “I know you’re scared, but if we stick together, you’ll make it up that mountain.”

  Ben’s heart beat faster as they neared the mountains. With each step up the mountainside, he took a deep breath.

  “Are you okay?” asked Violet.

  Ben swallowed. His stomach felt like a million butterflies were swirling around in it. He was very scared. His palms were sweaty, but he replied, “I’ll be fine. Let’s keep going up the mountain.”

  “If you weren’t afraid of heights, you’d love the view from the mountain.” Violet looked out from the top of the mountain. She could see the town behind her and the icy plains stretched out in front of her.

  Hannah looked at the icy plains and said to Ben, “We’re almost there. I can see the icy plains. Once we get down the mountain, we’ll be able to collect the snowballs.”

  “And then we have to travel all the way back up the mountain to get back to town?” Ben simply wanted this mountain adventure to end.

  “Yes,” Hannah replied. She knew there was nothing she could say to make Ben feel better. She just had to stay by his side while he traveled up and down the mountain and give him support.

  The group hiked slowly down the mountain. The trail was very steep, and they were afraid they might fall. Once they reached the bottom, Ben let out a sigh of relief.

  “See? It wasn’t that bad, was it?” asked Violet.

  “Truthfully?” Ben answered Violet honestly. “It was awful.”

  “I’m sure it was,” said Noah, “but it was worth it. Look where we are.”

  The group had entered the icy plains. The white landscape seemed to go on forever. Hannah smiled and noted, “Wow, we can make a million snowballs. There’s so much snow.”

  “I’m glad we made the trip,” Ben said while he gathered a bunch of snow and began to craft snowballs. As the snowballs piled up in their inventories, the group was hopeful that they now could defeat the Nether mobs. And, in the meantime, they had crafted a plan.

  Violet scanned the expansive icy biome and wondered where in the Overworld Will and Trent were being held prisoner. There were so many biomes and so many places to search. She was happy the group was building up a supply of snowballs to defeat the Nether mobs and Daniel, but without her treasure-hunting friends Will and Trent, she felt like this would be a cold and empty victory.

  7

  COLD FRONT

  Watch out!” Noah warned Hannah, as she stepped onto a frozen river. “You could slip in!”

  The group made its way very carefully through the icy and snowy biome. Violet could see tall ice formations in the distance. “Are those spikes?”

  “Violet, I think you’re right. Those are called ice spikes. They are very rare.” Noah was excited to see ice spikes. They looked like upside-down icicles.

  As the gang trekked through the frigid, frozen landscape, they picked up snow along the way.

  Ben asked, “Do we really need to explore the spikes? Can’t we just head back? My inventory is overflowing with snowballs, and I want to help the townspeople. We’ve been away too long.”

  Ben objected to investigating the ice plain’s spikes because he wanted to get back over the mountain. Every minute they spent in the icy biome was another minute Ben obsessed about the trip over the mountain. He imagined himself climbing up the side of the steep mountain—a thought which made his heart race. He wanted to be back home. He wanted to walk into town with the snowballs and hear the townspeople applaud their arrival. He wanted to be a hero. But right now, he was just plain scared of the trip back over the mountain.

  The group didn’t listen to Ben’s protests, though. They were too excited as they headed for the ice spikes.

  When they got close, they climbed the steps to touch them.

  “These are so awesome!” Noah looked at the large spikes that rose from the blocks of snow.

  “They’re great. Can we leave now?” Ben was annoyed. He picked up another patch of snow and crafted a ball. “Am I the only one who is still making snowballs? You guys should be thinking about the townspeople.”

  Noah reached down and picked up some snow and made a snowball. “Yes, we care about the townspeople, but we also recognize that ice spikes are a very rare find in the Overworld. We want to investigate a little bit.”

  The spikes ranged in size. Some seemed so high that they were going to touch the sky. Violet gazed at the spikes in amazement. “These spikes are really cool, but Ben is right. We have to head back to the village.”

  Violet walked down the blocks and stepped carefully onto the frozen river. Hannah held Violet’s hand as they made their way across the frozen waters.

  Crack!

  “What is that?” Violet asked nervously.

  Hannah looked down and saw a large crack opening up in the frozen river. “Oh no! We are drifting away!”

  “This never happens. Daniel must be setting a trap with command blocks,” said Noah.

  “But how does he know we’re here?” asked Ben.

  “It’s an obvious place for us to be. He sent the Nether mobs and we needed snowballs. This is probably a booby trap,” explained Noah.

  The crack grew wider and the patch of ice Violet and Hannah stood on drifted out into the frozen river.

  “Help us!” Violet called to Noah and Ben.

  Noah and Ben looked for a tool to grab the ice with. They wanted to help their friends get back to shore.

  Violet and Hannah drifted farther away. Noah called out, “We’re trying to find something to help! Just wait!”

  “We don’t have time to wait!” Violet yelled back.

  Hannah looked into her inventory. “I have an idea,” she exclaimed.

  “Great, what is it?” Violet was open to any ideas—she just wanted to get back to shore. They were floating farther away, and she worried they’d be stuck on the water for a very long time. As long as they were adrift, they couldn’t help the townspeople and they certainly couldn’t find Will and Trent.

  Hannah handed Violet a potion of water breathing. “Drink this, and let’s jump.”

  Violet took a large sip of the potion and jumped off the floating patch of ice. The water was cold as Violet swam to shore. Hannah led the way, and Violet swam closely behind. The two reached the shore and
their friends cheered.

  “I’m so happy that you’re safe and that Daniel didn’t destroy you.” Noah smiled at his friends in relief.

  “No thanks to you.” Violet was annoyed that Noah hadn’t saved them.

  Noah defended himself. “I’m sorry, but it’s hard to save someone who is floating away.”

  The gang stood on the shore of the cold beach. Hannah asked her friends, “Do we have enough snowballs for the townspeople now?”

  The group gathered the last handfuls of remaining snow from the shoreline and began their journey back to the village.

  Ben saw the dreaded mountain in the distance. The mountain loomed high above the ice plains. It overshadowed the large ice spikes in size. His heart began to beat faster with each step they took, drawing them nearer to the mountain.

  “Are you nervous about going back up the mountain?” Hannah asked Ben.

  He didn’t want to admit he was still nervous, but he replied, “Yes, but I’ll be fine. I have to think about the townspeople.”

  “Yes, and we have to think about finding Will and Trent,” Violet added. Violet wondered where they were and if they were in a frigid biome like the ice plains. It was so barren and cold. She hoped the gang would be able to find them soon and set them free. They had to stop Daniel.

  Noah glanced at his inventory before they made their climb up the enormous mountain. “I don’t think I could fit another snowball in here if I tried.”

  The others checked their inventories and agreed. They all had inventories packed with snowballs and felt confident they had enough to defeat the Nether mobs that were attacking their village.

  “I’m confident that we’re going to win this battle against these mobs,” Noah said as he took his first step up the side of the mountain.

  Ben’s heart pounded, and he wished he felt as confident as Noah. But Ben didn’t realize that with each step, he was slowly overcoming his fear and gaining confidence.

  When they reached the top of the mountain, the group was surprised when Ben looked out at the view and calmly announced, “I can see our village from up here.”

  Violet smiled at her friend, but her smile quickly disappeared when she heard a sinister laugh. The muted laugh sounded like it was coming from the direction of their town.

  8

  OUR TOWN

  After climbing the mountain twice, Ben felt confident and proud as he strode into the village with an inventory overflowing with snowballs. Before he could enjoy the satisfaction of overcoming his lifelong fear of heights, though, he spotted Daniel standing in the center of town, ordering the rainbow griefers to attack the townspeople.

  Violet rushed toward Daniel and struck him with her enchanted diamond sword.

  Daniel just laughed. He grabbed a potion from his inventory and gulped it down. “You think you’re going to destroy me?”

  Violet struck Daniel again, but he hit Violet with his diamond sword. Violet didn’t realize she had spent all of her energy in the cold ice plains, and she was destroyed. She respawned in the house she had built, which was located outside of the town.

  Violet felt panicked when she respawned in her bed. She was alone, and it was a half-day journey back to the town. She crawled out of bed and began to eat some potatoes to regain her energy.

  “Violet,” Noah called from the bed. He had just respawned, too.

  “What’s happening in the town? I’m upset that we are so far away,” Violet spoke rapidly and began to pace around the small house.

  “I think the others will respawn here soon,” Noah said. He sounded defeated as he spoke. “We let our energy bars reach dangerously low levels, and now we are paying the price. We sacrificed a lot to get those snowballs.”

  “But we needed them,” Violet reminded her friend.

  “Yes, we did. Also, Daniel is fighting a very tough battle. He has amassed another army. This one is much larger than the last. He even has silver griefers that are extremely skilled fighters. I was destroyed by a silver griefer.”

  Violet paced restlessly. “Silver griefers? Wow, I’ll have to really watch out for them.”

  Hannah and Ben respawned at almost the same exact moment. Violet looked at them as they awoke in their beds.

  “Wow, we’re all here,” Ben mumbled. He sounded groggy.

  “We have to go back to the village, and we have to do it quickly,” Hannah stated as she arose from the bed.

  Violet handed Hannah a potato. “We need to slow down and regain our strength or we will just be destroyed again and will respawn in this house.”

  The group devoured the potatoes, and Noah said, “We must come up with a plan. We shouldn’t just stroll into town—that will leave us open for another attack.”

  Violet agreed. “We have to think of a way to trick Daniel and his evil rainbow griefer army.”

  “And now he has those serious silver griefers, too,” added Ben.

  Ben and Noah began to discuss the skilled silver griefers. As they talked, Noah suggested, “Maybe we should change our skin to silver. Daniel will think we are the silver griefers.”

  “We’ve done that before,” remarked Violet. It was true. They had dressed up as rainbow griefers to confuse Daniel in a previous battle. It had worked in the past, but Violet realized that Daniel was smart. They needed a new plan.

  Hannah agreed with Violet. “Also, there were only a couple of silver griefers in his army. Daniel would realize that more silver griefers had appeared. He would definitely be suspicious.”

  Violet paused and asked, “Did you say … only two silver griefers?”

  “Yes. There are only two,” confirmed Ben.

  “Do you think Daniel has changed Will and Trent into the two silver griefers?” Violet asked her friends.

  “But if he did, why would Will and Trent hurt us? They are our friends.” Ben didn’t understand.

  “I was destroyed by a silver griefer,” added Hannah.

  Violet couldn’t stop fixating on the fact that there were only two silver griefers in all of Daniel’s army. “Maybe Daniel brainwashed them.”

  Noah said, “Maybe you’re right. But what can we do to save them or change them back to our old treasure-hunting friends?”

  “I’m not sure. But I think I have a plan.” Then Violet asked, “Hannah, do you have any potion of invisibility in your inventory?”

  Hannah checked and replied, “Yes, I do. And I have more than enough for all of us.”

  “Great!” said Violet. “We will enter the town, but we will be invisible.”

  “But when we’re invisible, we can’t wear armor. After the potion wears off, we’ll be open targets. We’ll be destroyed in seconds,” said Hannah.

  “We will have to take that chance,” Violet spoke slowly. She was still figuring out the details of the plan. “Maybe we can hide once we become visible. If we do that we will have time to put on our armor.”

  “Once we drink the potion and become invisible, what do we do?” asked Ben.

  “I want us to target the two silver griefers,” replied Violet. “I want to find out if they are actually Will and Trent. If they are, I think we have a serious chance of defeating Daniel.”

  “How?” asked Ben.

  “Obviously Daniel has control over them. Once we let them know they are safe with us, they’ll join us in battle.” Violet seemed to think this was a great plan.

  “What happens if they are truly brainwashed, though, and want to stick with Daniel?” Noah was worried that their old friends might destroy them instead of joining them.

  “I guess that’s a chance we’ll have to take,” Violet said as she walked out of the house and started the journey back to the village.

  “You really think those silver griefers are Will and Trent?” asked Hannah.

  “Yes, and I’m sure they’ll help us defeat Daniel,” replied Violet.

  Violet was hopeful her plan would work and that they would save the town and their treasure-hunting friends. But before th
e gang could put their plan into action, they were attacked by three white ghasts that flew past them.

  “Watch out!” Noah screamed as he dodged the flying fireball that almost struck him.

  The gang took out their snowballs and aimed at the ghasts. Violet could swear she heard a shrill laugh booming from behind her, but she couldn’t look back, because she had to battle the menacing ghasts.

  9

  DODGING BLASTS

  Ghasts and blazes!” Hannah shrieked as she eyed the mobs and threw snowballs.

  “And magma cubes!” cried Violet.

  The gang dug into their large supply of snowballs to battle the flying Nether mobs. Hannah and Violet fought the magma cubes that pounced at them.

  “We’re never going to make it back to the town. This is intense!” Ben called out as he slammed a ghast with a snowball.

  Noah was aiming at a yellow blaze when he was struck by a fiery blast and was destroyed.

  “At least he’s going to respawn in the house that is right behind us,” Ben noted as he hit another ghast and destroyed it.

  The magma cubes, with their dark red skin and menacing orange eyes, leaped at Hannah and Violet. Violet struck one with her sword, and it broke into smaller cubes. Hannah destroyed the smaller cubes.

  “We make a great team,” Hannah commented as she picked up the magma cream the magma cubes had dropped. She placed the cream in her inventory and said, “This will come in handy when brewing potions of fire resistance.”

  “And we’ll need that!” Ben shouted as he dodged a blast from a blaze.

  With the magma cubes destroyed, the gang turned their attention to the ghasts and blazes that flew through the sky.

  “It’s getting dark,” Hannah warned as they threw snowballs at the flying Nether mobs.

  “I think we have it!” exclaimed Ben as one of the last ghasts was destroyed.

  When the sky was free of hostile mobs, the group hurried back to the town. Once the village streets were in sight, they paused and Hannah handed out the potion of invisibility.

  Hannah counted slowly, “One … two … three.” On three, the group swallowed the potion.