Red. Carpets, windows, bed sheets, furniture.

Covered in red

Two men shouting

"No…"

A fight

"Nooo…"

More red. Piercing, glowing white eyes.

"Nooo!"

I woke up with a start, accidentally smashing the wall behind me with a fist. The cracks on the wall quickly spider-webbed out, further weakening the shabby little hut. I put a hand to my forehead and waited, the horrendous thumping in my head sneaking away. "It will come back…" I muttered sadly. I looked back and saw that the oaken wall was dented where I had punched, but it had managed to spring back out.

I grunted and slid out of my bed. I opened my chest beside my bed – it was little shaky, but it is far better than what I tried to make when I had first escaped to the wilds. My polished iron sword was there, along with some battered leather clothing and a stone pick with its handle cracked down in the middle. I scanned the chest again – there it was. Neglected but unforgotten for 3 years, was the battered iron hoe I used to escape the burning villages. My home village. … I stood there staring for ages, then I shook myself out of it.

I donned the leather tunic and took up the iron sword, just in case there were more rabbits. Their hide was the only way I could make some new clothes, which I needed desperately. Suddenly, shouting and screaming erupted on the right, breaking the morning silence of the forests. "Who are they? They will scare off all the rabbits!" I grumbled irritably, striding towards the source. I approached the cliff face and leaned over. What I saw instantly stopped all my grudges.

A tiny girl was desperately holding off some shambling zombies. As I watched in horror, the kid was forced to back away against the cliff-face. Heart pounding, I sprinted through the trees downhill, tracking the zombies. When I was near the girl spotted me, pushed off a zombie and ran crying at me. I had no time to comfort the little one – I gently pushed her aside, raising my sword.

The zombies were rogue, a little more fanatic than the organised ones who tried to hunt me down at my home village. One daring zombie shambled too close, allowing me to kick it in the stomach and slice its right arm off. Wounded but unbroken, the zombie took a swipe at me. I parried the blow and smashed it in the head with the handle, crushing its head in, then pushing the advantage, I severed its spine, its head flying off. The other zombies in the meantime staggered away after knowing who's boss. Yep – they were at least smart enough to know. But smarter than that they will get dangerous. I chased each one and quickly and easily eliminated them, then returned to the kid.

The girl was sitting silently, sucking her thumb with tears in her eyes. She looked as if she was only 8 or 9. Did I know how to comfort a kid? No – very few had come searching for my help, but none was crying. I glanced around awkwardly when the kid calmed down and stated, "Your eyes are yellow."

I smiled and said "uh… gold, in fact. Um… would you… uh, like to stand up?" The girl silently stood up, her golden ponytail bouncing on her shoulders.

"What … uh, is your name?" I asked, feeling like a fool.

"Emma" she whispered shyly.

"Do you know where you live?" I asked, relieved of the fainting awkwardness.

"Altos City" She replied. Altos City? How could an ex-farm boy and now a forest boy know of the stuff?

"Where is that?" I asked, feeling yet again like an idiot. She stared at me as if there was only one city in the entirety of the world.

"Just over there." She pointed with her stubby fingers, about east ways. We walked together through the forests, silently but quickly, as the girl insisted. For a little girl, she knew a surprising amount of knowledge. She even held off the zombies until I came along! But how did she end up here? "How did you come here in the forests?"

Her eyes glistened with fresh tears when she said, "I was with Mrs Marshal when I chased a white bunny. Then it ran away and zombies came after me! They didn't burn" she added quietly. They had helmets, so they didn't burn in the sunlight. I realised someone had given to them, to chase down the girl on purpose. I shrugged the sudden dread off and continued to walk down the forests.

After a while, the forests finally parted and I gasped. In front of me was a huge white wall, made with pure bricks of quartz. With banners and battlements running all across its vast expanse, it was guarded heavily by guards. It was hard to see from here, but I was sure they had thick iron armour. I had never seen such grandiose walls before.

"Who goes there?!" A gruff voice pierced my thoughts. I looked down and realised a guard was pointing at me with his spear. He looked fierce enough to kill me if I moved a muscle. I smirked and remembered how our town guards were nice and gentle. But they were all gone now…

"WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT?!" A shout again shook me out.

"Sorry – uh, Emma here was lost in the woods…" I trailed off. How was I supposed to explain? The guard raised a very bushy eyebrow, staring at me with a fierce eye. I twiddled my thumbs, nervous.

Emma broke the dangerous silence, speaking up, "Mrs Marshal's class from Central Combat School, the name is Emma Hiels." Thanks Emma! I was on the verge of a breakdown as the guard continued to stare at me, but switched gears immediately when he heard Emma. But wait… combat school?

"Emma Hiels? Ah, name's here – off you go, be sure to check off with Mrs Catwols!" he cooed gently. Emma turned and thanked me for saving her life, then trotted off. As soon as she had passed him, the guard spun and turned to me.

"Saved a girl eh? I guess you are not a bad 'un, but I ask again – who are you?" I bit my lip.

"Steve Steelwood, East Blatts Town."

He looked at me with sudden interest. "Blatts Town? It was destroyed years ago! No-one survive that, could tell you. Herobrine rode on them Giants, he did, and crushed it all to dust. You sure about this?"

I gulped and explained, "Yes. I was the only one out of the ruins. Perhaps Notch's Army arrived after I ran into the forests."

He smiled and said, "You are one tough son of a wolf to sneak out of that alive. But can't let you in, boy, can't trust you yet, if you know what I mean. Plenty of sneaky little 'uns trying to get in. Off you trot, but thanks for the help."

I turned on my heels, then the whole ordeal came rushing back to me. Just met a girl. Saved her life, looked at a city and came back. Wow. I could trade that for the monotone forest life any day. But one thought stuck in my mind. Combat School? I had to find that out. Looks like I finally had a goal to set upon. But how could I get through the walls? I needed to scout, but that had to wait. The night was falling.