Clash of the Creepers Read online

  “Watch out!” Steve screamed as a grayish bug with black eyes crawled toward Owen.

  Max hurried toward the bug and struck it twice with his sword. “Silverfish,” said Max, “we have to be on the lookout. They usually spawn in strongholds; there could be a lot of bugs crawling around this stronghold.”

  “You’re right,” Lucy’s voice quavered, “Look!”

  A horde of gray silverfish crawled across the sandy floor, surrounding the group. Owen hopped up on the pillar to avoid an attack.

  “What should we do?” Kyra had her sword out and struck a couple of silverfish but more crawled into the room.

  Henry took out a block of TNT.

  “What are you doing?” Kyra asked. She didn’t want to explode.

  “We have to walk along the pillar and make it to the spiral staircase. Once we’re upstairs, I’ll ignite the TNT,” Henry informed them.

  Owen had already made his way toward the stairs, striking as many silverfish as he could along the way from the pillar.

  “A silverfish bit me!” Kyra called out as she hit the small insects with her diamond sword while trying to reach the safety of the stairs.

  “Don’t worry. I have some potions that will help restore your health,” Adam reassured Kyra as they tried to remain calm during the short and rather intense trek to the spiral staircase.

  Once they had all reached the staircase and walked downstairs and into a large library, Henry ignited the TNT and blew up the fountain room.

  Kaboom!

  The explosion rocked the room. Henry inspected what remained of the fountain room. “It looks like we were able to destroy all of those silverfish. Let’s hope the spawner was destroyed. I don’t want another insect invasion.”

  Kyra explored the stronghold’s library. “I wonder if there are any more books on Mine Mountain in this library,” she said as she looked at the dusty shelves filled with leather books. Cobwebs and chests lined the room. The group looked at the books on the shelves.

  Henry called out, “Guys, come in here! I found a storeroom with a bunch of chests.”

  The gang headed toward the storeroom filled with chests. Each person had his or her own chest to open.

  “It feels like my birthday,” Lucy said excitedly as she opened her chest. “I wonder what’s in here.”

  Lucy’s chest was filled with enchanted books. The group crowded around her and examined the books.

  “These are excellent. We can use these to enchant swords,” Steve said, looking at the books.

  “Open your chest, Steve,” said Lucy.

  Steve carefully opened his chest. It was filled with apples. “We should eat these now.” Steve shared the apples with his friends.

  As the gang devoured the tasty fruit, the others opened their chests. The chests were filled with everything from iron pickaxes to gold ingots. Everyone shared their items, although Beatrice and Charlie didn’t think this was the best idea.

  “Why do we have to share everything?” questioned Charlie.

  “Because we’re in this adventure together,” replied Max.

  As they distributed the loot and placed it in their inventories, Steve looked at all of these useful treasures and said, “This is incredible!”

  “And you were the one who didn’t want to go into the stronghold,” remarked Henry.

  “I just didn’t want to go to the End,” Steve defended himself.

  “Speaking of the End, how are we going to get out of here?” asked Kyra. “Do we have to travel to the End to get out?”

  Kaboom!

  “What was that?” asked Charlie.

  “Maybe somebody else is here and is trying to defeat the silverfish?”

  “Or maybe it’s a creeper!” Lucy cried out as a green creeper crept into the storeroom.

  Chapter 9

  IN THE DISTANCE

  “We have to get out of here!” Lucy called out to the group.

  “Where should we go?” Owen had never been in a stronghold and had no idea how they could escape.

  “Quick, I see another staircase,” Henry said as the group hurried away from the creeper.

  Max turned back and struck the creeper with an arrow and it exploded. The gang raced down the stairs only to find a bedrock wall at the bottom.

  “We’re trapped,” Owen panicked.

  “We need to light torches so hostile mobs won’t spawn. It’s too dark in this stronghold,” Lucy told the group. They lit torches and placed them on the walls of the stronghold.

  “We should use our pickaxes to dig a hole out of here,” Steve instructed them.

  The gang took out their new pickaxes and began to bang against the wall of the storeroom but their efforts didn’t even make a dent.

  “I think it’s all bedrock underneath here,” Steve observed, looking at the wall.

  “Let’s move to another part of the stronghold,” said Henry, and the group left the storeroom and found themselves in a jail.

  “I wonder who they kept in this creepy jail?” Lucy asked as she placed a torch on the wall. She didn’t want to turn this into a jail full of hostile mobs.

  The light from the torches didn’t stop a silverfish from crawling too close to Lucy’s leg.

  “A silverfish!” Max lunged at the bug, striking it twice.

  “We have to get out of here before we deal with another silverfish infestation.” Steve sprinted down the hallway but stopped when he saw a creeper lurking at the end of the hall.

  Max shot an arrow at the creeper and it exploded.

  “We have to keep moving,” said Steve. “There has to be a way out of this stronghold.”

  They kept close together as they explored the cavernous stronghold with its many rooms. Soon they reached another jail. Owen opened the door to the jail.

  “What are you doing?” Beatrice questioned Owen. “We don’t want to get trapped in there!”

  “Look, more silverfish.” Henry struck the two small insects. “They are so hard to see because they blend into the wall.”

  “This place is a death trap. We have to escape,” Kyra said nervously as she looked for a wall that might be easy to break through. There didn’t seem to be a logical exit; they were walking through an endless series of rooms, as if they were caught in a puzzle.

  “I think this is the End room.” Henry stood by a room with an Ender Portal.

  “I am not going to the End,” Steve said defiantly.

  Charlie and Beatrice took out their pickaxes. At first Steve thought they were about to threaten him with the pickaxes but they didn’t. The two of them banged the pickaxes against the wall.

  “We made a hole!” Charlie called out.

  “The wall isn’t made of bedrock!” Beatrice said as she hit the pickaxe against the wall.

  “We don’t have to go to the End,” Steve said in relief.

  The rest of the group took out their pickaxes and banged them against the wall, and within minutes they saw light.

  “The desert!” Kyra cried out, “I was never so happy to see a sandy desert!”

  One by one they crawled through the hole in the wall and onto the sandstone blocks.

  “Just when we thought we were safe,” Max remarked as the sun began to set, making the group vulnerable to attacks from hostile mobs.

  “We have to light some torches,” said Lucy as the sun set quickly.

  A group of zombies lumbered toward the gang.

  “After the battle in the stronghold, this will be easy,” Henry said, and he charged at the zombies.

  “Don’t be too confident,” Kyra warned him, “this won’t be as easy as we think. Everyone has a low health bar.”

  Two zombies reached for Lucy. Max jumped in front of them and struck them with his sword.

  “Guys, we have to have our swords out at all times. We can’t let these zombies defeat us. We are too close to Mine Mountain to be destroyed!” Max said as he raced toward a group of zombies.

  “Do you think somebody is spa
wning them to stop us from reaching the mountain?” asked Kyra, while striking a zombie.

  “It could be the work of a griefer or it could just be a zombie attack. This is when they spawn,” Steve said as he clobbered a group of zombies.

  “At this point, we have to stop talking about why the zombies are here and just get rid of them,” added Henry.

  As the zombie battle intensified, the group tried to strike as many zombies as they could with their diamond swords. Adam threw a splash potion of weakness on the zombies, and the gang was able to defeat the dead mobs.

  After the zombies were defeated, Adam said, “Since this is another sleepless night, we need to drink potions to regain strength.”

  The zombie battle must have taken longer than the gang had realized because within in a few minutes the sun was rising.

  “We’re safe!” Kyra said happily.

  “I see trees in the distance,” remarked Henry.

  Max studied the map. “It’s just past this forest. We are almost there!”

  The group ran toward the trees. As they approached the forest, a wolf raced past them.

  “Ignore it,” said Henry, “we need to focus and find Mine Mountain. We are almost there.”

  “Nothing is stopping us,” Beatrice told them. “We are mining for diamonds before nightfall.”

  An arrow flew at the group. They looked around but didn’t see anyone.

  “It can’t be a skeleton,” said a very confused Steve. “It’s too light out.”

  “Let’s keep moving,” Max directed as he looked at the map. “Mine Mountain is right here.”

  Another arrow flew through the sky and struck Charlie. “I’ve been hit,” Charlie called out in pain.

  “Are you okay?” asked Beatrice.

  Meanwhile, Max noticed something nearby. “It’s Mine Mountain. I see the entrance,” exclaimed Max.

  “How are we going to get in?” Kyra wondered, as five rainbow griefers stood in front of the entrance. The rainbow griefers aimed their bows and arrows at the gang.

  Chapter 10

  DIAMONDS IN THE DARK

  The gang rushed toward the rainbow griefers with their diamond swords. But the battle was hard. The griefers had a lot of energy and were well supplied.

  “Why are you doing this to us?” shouted Steve. “There are enough diamonds for everybody. And we’ve traveled so far.”

  The griefers didn’t reply with words. They just shot more arrows and struck the gang with their powerful swords.

  Adam tossed a potion of weakness on the griefers and then splashed a potion of invisibility on himself and his friends.

  “Come on, we have to be quiet so they can’t find us,” whispered Adam. He and his invisible friends made their way into the legendary diamond mine.

  The group couldn’t see each other, so they weren’t aware that they all stopped at the same time and stood in awe at the entrance of Mine Mountain. The walls had a bluish glow. The floor of the mine was filled with layers of diamonds shining through the ground.

  “This is incredible,” remarked Lucy.

  “Shh!” Kyra reminded Lucy, “we don’t want the griefers finding us.”

  Lucy looked back. “But I don’t see the griefers. They must still feel the effects from Adam’s potion.”

  “Still, we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves. That wouldn’t be good,” Kyra told her friend.

  The gang hiked farther into the mine and began to mine for diamonds. If somebody else had walked into the mine right then, they might have let out a chuckle. They would see pickaxes digging into the ground, but they wouldn’t see a person holding them. It almost looked like ghosts were mining for diamonds in this mythical mine.

  As Kyra mined she looked down and could see her hand. “We’re not invisible anymore.” Kyra looked over and saw her friends beside her, mining for diamonds.

  The group continued to mine and gather diamonds. “I think I have enough diamonds to create armor for everyone,” Steve announced. As he mined deep within the ground, he started to think about Thomas. He knew that he would need these valuable diamonds to help rebuild his village. Steve hoped Thomas wasn’t causing any problems while he was gone.

  “How many diamonds do we need?” asked Kyra. “I think I have enough.”

  The group began to count the many diamonds they had mined. When four green forms lurked in a corner of the mine, Steve noticed them and called out, “Watch out for the creepers!”

  Kaboom! One exploded near Charlie and destroyed him.

  “No!” shouted Beatrice as she shot an arrow at another creeper, destroying it.

  The others battled the creepers but they were a challenge to fight. If they got too close, you were a goner.

  “Why are all of these creepers here?” asked Kyra when they finally got a break.

  Beatrice paced. “Where was the last place Charlie slept?” She couldn’t remember. She wanted to get back to her friend.

  “I’m sure Charlie and Cyrus will meet up and find us,” Owen reassured Beatrice.

  Three more creepers appeared from the shadows as the gang sprinted from the mine. When they reached the exit, four rainbow griefers holding diamond swords attacked them.

  “Looks like you aren’t invisible anymore,” one of the rainbow griefers taunted the gang.

  “Drop the diamonds now!” a griefer demanded.

  “No!” shouted Kyra as she struck the griefer with her sword.

  “If you drop the diamonds, we won’t attack you,” a griefer said calmly.

  Steve was shocked to see Henry drop his diamonds. Steve didn’t trust these griefers. The others followed Henry and dropped them. The griefers picked up the gang’s diamonds.

  “What about your diamonds?” A particularly colorful rainbow griefer questioned Steve.

  Steve placed them on the ground. The griefer smiled at Steve then said, “This is the end for you.” He ran toward Steve with a diamond sword.

  “Liars! I knew you’d still attack!” Steve screamed as he fought back, striking the rainbow griefer with his sword, but the griefer wasn’t destroyed and was able to hit Steve again. Steve’s energy bar was running low. He was worried that he might not be able to fight anymore.

  “Look at that!” Steve pointed at a group of rainbow griefers descending from the mountain that housed the diamond mine.

  “Oh my!” Lucy looked at the griefers advancing toward them. “Adam, do you have potion that could get us out of this?”

  Adam took a gulp of the potion of invisibility and sprinted around the griefers, throwing various harmful potions on the griefers that were battling his friends. Each time a griefer was splashed, he’d let out a cry. They weren’t sure who was splashing them and they wanted it to stop. Adam also knew that when his potion wore out, he’d be in trouble. With a few seconds left, Adam splashed as many rainbow griefers as he could, but it wasn’t making a serious impact. They needed more help.

  Arrows flew at the rainbow griefers. They looked over to see Charlie and Cyrus, dressed in armor and ready to battle the griefers.

  “Charlie!” Beatrice shouted, happy to see her friend.

  “This is no time for reunions,” Henry said looking at Beatrice. “Pay attention, we have to clobber these rainbow griefers.”

  One of the griefers lit a brick of TNT and threw it at Steve and his friends. The gang jumped back, just missing the powerful explosion. The gang raced toward the mountain, trying to escape the griefers, but the sun was beginning to set and Steve noticed the creepers slowly emerging from the mountain.

  “It looks like there’s an army of creepers.” Lucy was shocked. Unlike other hostile mobs that often traveled in packs, she had never seen that many creepers together before.

  “If they all ignite at once, there is no chance we’ll survive.” Henry shot arrows at the creepers.

  “Why did you shoot arrows?” Max said angrily. “Now they know where we are. We have to get out of here.”

  “But where can w
e go?” Lucy asked as she followed Max far away from the diamond mine.

  “Now we don’t have any diamonds. We need to go back to the mine.” Steve was upset. He needed these diamonds. He was worried about the fate of his village and the damage Thomas might have caused while he was away.

  The group sprinted faster. Steve could barely keep up. His energy was low. They reached the water.

  “Where can we go now? Should I build a boat?” asked Kyra.

  Adam passed out the potion for water breathing.

  “We’ll stay under the water until dawn. It’s our only chance for survival,” Adam said as he took a gulp of the potion and dove into the deep blue ocean.

  Chapter 11

  OCEAN MONUMENT

  “More creepers!” Lucy called out, as a hoard of green explosive beasts floated silently toward the group.

  Everyone drank the potion of water breathing and dove in after Adam. When they were deep beneath the ocean’s surface, they spotted their friend. A blue one-eyed fish with orange spikes swam past the group. Its tail moved quickly.

  “It’s a Guardian!” Steve shouted to his friends, “and it’s ready to attack.”

  “There must be an ocean monument nearby,” Henry said. He tried to swim as fast as he could but wasn’t quick enough. The Guardian shot a laser at Henry, striking him.

  “Ouch!” Henry called out and his movements slowed rapidly. “I can’t move.”

  “It’s mining fatigue,” Max told him as he skillfully shot an arrow that destroyed the fish.

  Lucy swam to collect the prismarine crystal the fish had dropped in the water, and then moved toward Henry. “How are you?”

  “A little better.” The mining fatigue faded but it had depleted Henry’s energy bar. He had barely enough energy to follow his friends.

  “We need to swim deeper. I think I see something,” Lucy stated and she swam toward an ocean monument. As they approached the mammoth underwater temple lit by sea lanterns, a guardian shot a purple laser at the gang. The laser turned to yellow as the group tried to swim away from the powerful healing beam that saved Henry.

  Max took out his arrow and aimed toward the fish.