Destruction in the Desert Read online

  The gang sprinted from the house in search of the mine. The swamp biome was larger than they expected, and when they finally reached the hilly biome, they were tired.

  “I don’t have any food in my inventory,” said Callie.

  “None of us does,” said Poppy. “We are going to have to conserve our energy.”

  “That’s easier said than done,” said Laura.

  The trio felt like they were walking forever as they searched for the mine, which seemed to be nonexistent. They were ready to give up when they heard a familiar voice in the distance.

  “Poppy!” the voice called out.

  “Brett!” Poppy rushed toward her friend.

  Brett was leading the pack, as the other friends were behind him. “We’re here,” he said breathlessly.

  “What happened to you guys?” asked Callie.

  “We looked for you, but it was as if you had disappeared,” remarked Laura.

  Nancy explained, “We were trapped in the witch’s house. Once we destroyed her, Veronica showed up and splashed a potion of weakness on all of us. We each had one heart left, and she forced us to enter the witch’s house. When the morning came, we ganged up on her and destroyed her.”

  “She is going to want revenge,” said Queen Gail.

  “We are going to have to battle her again. We can do it,” said Helen.

  Callie admitted that she was worried they were too weak to battle. “We each have only one heart left. We have no food in our inventories.”

  Colin, Jacques, and Queen Gail gave everyone food, and once the gang feasted, they followed Queen Gail to the mine.

  “I know it’s right here,” she said as she walked through a path thick with leaves. “There has to be an entrance over here.”

  “I think I see it!” Brett called out.

  Everyone rushed over to Brett as he pulled out a torch and entered the dimly lit mine in search of King Jed. As they stepped inside, Queen Gail said, “Yes, this is the place. Veronica is holding him in the prison in the stronghold.”

  They followed Queen Gail down a dark path that led to a door. She opened it and screamed. Veronica was on the other side of the door and splashed a potion of harming on the queen, leaving her with one heart.

  Brett lunged toward Veronica and slammed his diamond sword into her unarmored arm, weakening her. Poppy rushed to Brett’s side, splashed a potion on Veronica, and called out, “We are here to save King Jed. You have to stop terrorizing Sandy Vista.”

  “And Meadow Mews,” said Callie.

  “Never!” Veronica smiled.

  Brett continued to battle Veronica, making room for the others to dash down the stairs into the stronghold and save King Jed. Poppy was the only person who stayed with Brett and helped him contain Veronica.

  “Why are you doing this?” asked Poppy.

  “Because I can,” Veronica said as she pierced Poppy’s leg with her diamond sword. Poppy cried out in pain.

  “We are going to stop you,” said Brett as he leaped at Veronica.

  Poppy was about to splash a potion on Veronica when she vanished. Poppy said, “She TPed somewhere.”

  “We have to find out where,” said Brett.

  The others hurried toward Brett and Poppy. Queen Gail was smiling, and King Jed stood next to her. “We found him!” she exclaimed.

  10

  NETHER AGAIN

  “We have to find Veronica and stop her!” cried Poppy.

  “Of course,” said the queen, “but we also have to be prepared and have a plan.”

  The group agreed that they needed to come up with a plan. Colin said, “We still don’t know how to brew potions. Can you help us learn?”

  “We should go back to the temple, and we will teach you,” said Brett, but Poppy reminded him that they were running low on ingredients, and they remembered the trip to the Nether.

  “Let’s build a portal,” said Colin.

  “The Nether.” Queen Gail paused. “I don’t want to go there. I’ve heard stories about the Nether, and it seems like a horrid place to visit.”

  King Jed added, “We don’t think we’d survive in the Nether. Neither Queen Gail nor I is a solid fighter. I know there are multiple mobs there that shoot fireballs, and I don’t think we’d be able to fight them off.”

  “Do you want to learn how to craft potions?” asked Brett.

  “Yes,” King Jed replied.

  “Then you have to visit the Nether. We aren’t going to travel there and gather ingredients for you. That isn’t fair,” said Brett.

  Nancy said, “I’m a treasure hunter, and Nether fortresses are great places to find treasure, which means I’ve been to the Nether multiple times. I know it sounds scary, but if you stick with us, we will help you navigate the area.”

  “You’d do that for us?” asked Queen Gail.

  “Yes,” said Nancy. “We want to help you and the people of Sandy Vista.”

  Brett pulled obsidian from his inventory and began to craft a portal. Queen Gail shook as she watched him build it. “I’m very nervous,” she confessed.

  “Don’t worry. We will be by your side the entire time. I will guide you,” Nancy said as she led Queen Gail and King Jed onto the portal. They stood close to each other as the purple mist surrounded them and they made their way to the Nether.

  Landing in the Nether was easier than Queen Gail had expected. The trip through the portal took mere seconds, and when they arrived, they were next to a lava river and a stunning lava fall was in the distance. The skies were free of hostile mobs. There were two zombie pigmen walking toward them, but Nancy warned that they must not stare at the pigmen.

  “If you don’t engage, the pigmen will leave you alone,” said Nancy.

  Helen spotted a Nether fortress in the distance. “We need to go to that fortress. That is where we’ll find netherrack.”

  As the gang traveled to the fortress, two ghasts flew toward them, shooting a barrage of fireballs. Queen Gail gasped, “What do we do?”

  “I’ll show you,” said Nancy. “Just stay beside me.”

  A fireball flew at Nancy, and Queen Gail marveled as she saw Nancy use her fist to deflect the fireball. The ball shot back at the ghast and destroyed it.

  “You’re so talented,” exclaimed Queen Gail.

  “You can do it too,” said Nancy.

  The second fireball flew toward them, and Nancy said, “You can do it, Queen.”

  Queen Gail’s hand shook as she neared the fireball. Then she struck the ball, and it flew toward the ghast, obliterating it.

  “You did it!” exclaimed Nancy.

  “I can’t believe it,” said Queen Gail.

  “Pick up the ghast tear,” instructed Nancy. “You can use that to brew a potion of regeneration.”

  Queen Gail picked up the ghast tear and placed it in her inventory. “I can’t believe I was able to destroy a ghast.”

  “Wow,” King Jed said, “I’m so impressed.”

  “There’s no time to celebrate Queen Gail’s destroying her first ghast,” said Joe. “We have to head to the fortress. We must gather as many supplies as we can before we head back to Sandy Vista.”

  The gang headed toward the fortress, but once they reached the entrance, they were met by a group of blazes that guarded the fortress.

  “What’s that?” King Jed asked. He pointed to the yellow beasts floating from the ground and into the air as they shot a series of fireballs at the group.

  “Blazes!” cried Helen.

  “Help me fight them.” Queen Gail was confident that she could battle them now that she had destroyed her first ghast.

  Nancy pulled snowballs from her inventory and handed one to Queen Gail. “These are great for fighting blazes.”

  Nancy flung a snowball at the blaze, destroying the beast. A blaze rod dropped to the ground, and Nancy grabbed it. As Queen Gail destroyed the second blaze with Nancy’s snowball, Nancy told her, “You need to keep the blaze rod. You can use it to craft a potion.
”

  “Wow,” said Queen Gail, “we are certainly getting a lot of ingredients on this trip.”

  “We are,” said Nancy. “Now we have to enter the fortress, and I will help you search for everything you need to brew, but first I have to unearth the treasure.”

  “The treasure?” Brett was annoyed. “This isn’t the time to search for treasure. We have to battle Veronica, and we need all of the supplies we can get here. We don’t need to look for treasure.”

  Nancy shrugged. “Okay, I guess you’re right, but if we have any extra time, I will search for the treasure.”

  Poppy called out, “Soul sand and netherrack.” She walked toward the staircase. “We have to pick all of this.”

  The gang crowded around the staircase as they gathered the soul sand and netherrack, filling up their inventories.

  As they picked the final pieces of netherrack, Joe called out in pain. He turned around to find a dark wither skeleton standing inches from the ingredient. The mob slammed its sword against Joe’s arm, and he wailed. Brett leaped toward the wither skeleton as he pierced the undead mob of the Nether with his diamond sword. Brett destroyed the mob with one strike and picked up the wither skeleton skull that fell on the floor of the Nether fortress.

  “There are probably more of those,” remarked Poppy. “We have to be very careful.”

  “What was that?” questioned Colin.

  “It’s a wither skeleton,” said Poppy, “and there is another one right behind you.”

  Before the second wither skeleton could attack Colin, Jacques took out his bow and arrow and shot an arrow at the skeleton, obliterating the beast.

  “We have enough supplies,” said Brett. “We should head back to Sandy Vista and start brewing.”

  “Good idea,” said Jacques.

  The gang was ready to exit the Nether fortress when they heard a bouncing sound.

  Boing! Boing! Boing!

  “What’s that sound?” asked Colin. As he questioned the group, the room started to fill with large cubes.

  “Those are magma cubes,” said Brett as he slammed his sword into a magma cube and it broke into smaller cubes.

  “What are those?” questioned Colin.

  “It doesn’t matter what they are,” said Nancy. “Just battle them.”

  “They are just like slimes,” said Poppy, “but they’re in the Nether.” Poppy destroyed the smaller cubes.

  “You have to pick up the magma cream,” instructed Brett. “It’s vital for many potions.”

  The gang worked together to battle the magma cubes and pick up the cream it had dropped on the ground. As they finished battling the final magma cube, they heard a sinister laugh.

  “I see you guys are working together. How nice!” Veronica stood in the center of the Nether fortress. “What if I told you there is no Sandy Vista to return to? That I destroyed it while you were away on this vacation?”

  “Vacation?” King Jed pointed his enchanted diamond sword at Veronica. He lunged toward her, ready to strike, but she vanished.

  “Do you think what she said was true?” Colin’s voice shook as he spoke those words. “Do you think that she destroyed Sandy Vista? That we don’t have a home to return to?”

  “I think there’s only one way we can find out,” said Brett as he raced out of the Nether fortress and stepped onto the portal.

  11

  HIDING FROM THE HUSKS

  Although the trip back on the portal took seconds, it felt like an eternity. The gang huddled together as they nervously anticipated spawning in a place that might be destroyed.

  “I am so scared,” confessed Jacques.

  “We all are,” said King Jed.

  When they spawned in Sandy Vista, the gang let out a collective sigh when they saw the temple standing. A robed man approached them.

  “Brian,” Colin called out, “Sandy Vista is still here?”

  “Yes.” Brian had a perplexed expression. “Why should it be gone?”

  “Veronica,” explained Colin. “She told us she destroyed it.”

  “She’s tried. She has created a husk spawner. I was able to deactivate it. It was in the mine. She attempted to trap me down there, but I escaped.”

  “We have to stop her,” said Jacques.

  “We do,” said Brian, and then he screamed, “Oh no!” as he saw an army of husks enter Sandy Vista. “She built another spawner! We need to find out where it is.”

  “We have to battle the husks,” said Colin.

  Poppy stared at the husks. She feared the intense hunger these creatures inflicted upon them. With no food in her inventory, she didn’t think she’d be able to survive an attack from these beasts. Poppy wanted to find a portal and make her way back to Meadow Mews. She wished they were still in the middle of judging the practical joke competition and having a feast. She didn’t want to start a battle against a powerful enemy.

  Brett was the first person to strike a husk. He struck a husk with his diamond sword and destroyed it. He then moved on to a second husk, but it struck him. His stomach began to growl, and his food and health bar diminished. He didn’t have any energy to strike another husk. He just wanted to eat. Brett could see the farm behind the temple. He wanted to stop the battle and sprint to the farm and pick an apple, but he didn’t have the energy.

  Queen Gail stood alongside Brett, battling the husks. She could see Brett’s energy diminish, and she handed him a glass of milk. “Quick, drink this.”

  The milk quenched his thirst and replenished his energy, but he really wanted food. He thanked Queen Gail for the milk and asked if she had a spare apple she could give him. She handed him an apple. “After we defeat these husks, we will have a feast,” she promised.

  Brett looked at the never-ending army of husks that were in the middle of the sandy desert. He wasn’t sure they would ever defeat these beasts. As the gang battled the husks, more spawned, replacing the ones they had destroyed.

  “This battle is pointless,” said Brian. “We should go to the stronghold and destroy the new spawner. Who wants to go with me?”

  Brett volunteered, “I’ll go. I want to destroy the spawner.”

  Joe and Poppy followed behind Brett and Brian as they made their way to the mine to deactivate the spawner. When they arrived at the mine, Veronica was standing at the front of the entrance. She held her diamond sword in one hand and a bottle of potion in the other.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” she asked with a sinister laugh.

  “We are going to deactivate the spawner,” Brett said as he slammed his sword into Veronica’s shoulder.

  She splashed a potion on Brett, weakening him and leaving him with one heart. “I don’t think so.”

  “It’s just one of you and four of us,” said Poppy, and she leaped at Veronica.

  Veronica splashed another potion, which landed on Poppy’s glasses and clouded her vision.

  “I can’t see,” Poppy cried.

  Veronica laughed, then screamed out, “Backup! I need you now.”

  Brett, Brian, Joe, and Poppy were shocked when a group of people with green hair in ponytails emerged from the mine.

  “This is my army.” Veronica laughed as a second crop of husks marched from the mine and made their way toward the center of Sandy Vista.

  “I have husks and people helping me. I will defeat you guys. There will be no Sandy Vista or Meadow Mews by the end of the week,” said Veronica.

  “We will stop you,” said Brian. “You can’t destroy our towns and hurt innocent people.”

  “Why not?” Veronica questioned.

  “You’re a bully,” said Poppy as she sipped a potion to regain her strength.

  “Maybe I am,” said Veronica, “but I don’t really care.”

  This comment infuriated Poppy, and she leaped at Veronica again, and this time she was able to strike Veronica and weaken her.

  “You made me lose a heart.” Veronica was upset. “You are going to pay for this.”
r />   Poppy slammed her sword into Veronica’s shoulder, and Veronica lost a second heart. Veronica called out to the army, “Attack her!”

  Four soldiers surrounded Poppy, and one said, “You are now our prisoner. We are putting you in the jail.”

  “No!” Poppy called out, but it was pointless. She couldn’t battle the soldiers on her own, and her friends were in a battle of their own. Joe, Brian, and Brett were battling soldiers and Veronica. They were using all their energy to battle these criminals and make their way into the mine to deactivate the spawner. The trio was about to give up. They were losing energy, and they were concerned about Poppy. Brett called out, “Don’t take Poppy.”

  One of the soldiers announced, “You guys are our prisoners,” and they marched them inside.

  “We failed everyone,” said Brian. “We weren’t even able to deactivate the spawner.”

  “We will find our way out, and we will deactivate the spawner,” said Brett.

  “I hope that’s true,” said Joe.

  They were all tired and were losing hope. This battle had gone on too long, and they were worried that Veronica might win. Brett thought about Sandy Vista and how it had only lived in folktales. He feared that Meadow Mews might have a similar ending.

  The soldiers walked the gang into the jail cell and locked the gate. Poppy stood with her hands resting on the bars. “How did we wind up here?”

  The soldiers laughed as they walked down the dimly lit dirt hallway.

  “It doesn’t matter how we got here,” said Brett. “All we have to do is concentrate on how to get out.”

  “That’s easier said than done,” Poppy remarked. “We came here to deactivate a spawner, and we couldn’t even do that. Perhaps Veronica is just much stronger than us, and we have no way of defeating her.”

  “We can’t have that kind of attitude, or we will never survive. We have to come up with a plan,” said Brett.

  “I like the way you think,” a voice called out from the corner of the dark jail cell.

  “Who said that?” asked Brett.

  Joe pulled a torch from his inventory and explored the dark, musty jail cell. Two red eyes peered up at him, and he grabbed his sword and struck the cave spider. As he annihilated the spider, he saw feet in the corner, and he looked up and saw a man with gray hair and a long beard.