Jesse's POV

I could just make out a monster - a terrifying monster with a terrifying shriek soaring over me across the never-ending dark sky. The silhouette of a... thing... shaped like a.. cross? It's fading, and I reach out to try and grab it, but I don't see my hand. I don't see anything. No color, no black, no white, just the color outside your peripheral view... I can't breathe... I'm under water and I can see something beyond. I realize I'm running to it but I'm not getting closer. I'm trapped... time slows down and suddenly I'm falling... There is no ground below me... I hear a soft, dying squeal somewhere off into the distance... Something warm grabs me by my shoulders... I'm shaking uncontrollably like something is trying to reach me... Get to me... Help me...

"Jesse! Wake up! Sunrise is in less than an hour"

I groan and fight off the voice. I'm seriously tired. I was training all day and night yesterday and I came back at 2 o'clock. I turn over and I bury my head underneath my woolly red blanket.

"Later," I moan. I hear Olivia sighing and I feel her breathing against the back of my head.

"Jesse!" Olivia screamed into my ears. For the millionth time this month.

At that, I scrambled upright, still the blanket wrapped around me. It was freezing. I looked outside and I could barely see anything. All I could hear was the moans of zombies, and the rattling of skeletons. Olivia was right. The moon was about to touch down to the horizon and I hadn't even gotten changed yet.

Axel, Olivia and I had to train with Petra if we wanted to win this year's Endercon event. Oh, Endercon. The land's biggest annual festival was made for the anniversary of when the legendary Order of the Stone slayed the enderdragon. The event this year is Gabriel-themed, which meant groups of three would participate in a good old fist fight. We had been training for months now and we couldn't lose - to the Ocelots, at least. Every year, Lukas and his gang would beat anyone in these competitions and collect the grand prize. That's how they got their ultra-modern house and matching jackets and everything else.

I swung my legs off the bed and stood up.

"Alright, let's go as soon as possible" I said.

"As soon as possible means now, Jesse," mumbled Olivia as she left the room to give me some privacy. She was obviously tired too.

I put on my favorite red and white shirt with dungarees and grabbed Reuben, my pet piglet, and placed him on my bed. The poor thing scrambled under the sheets to get warm and I heard him quietly snore. Adorable.

"There you are, you sleepy-head," said Axel, as I entered the main room. The giant had his hands on his hips as he sleepily watched me advance to the chest where we keep our food. No pork. Never ever pork. Nuh-uh. Won't allow it. Axel brought some in one day to make bacon and I snatched it out of his hands and tossed it out of the window, where it landed on Olivia's head. Man, she was pissed, and so was Reuben when he found out we had killed another pig. I chuckle at that little story every single time.

"Alright, let's get going," I yawned.

We climbed down the ladder to see Olivia fighting off a zombie with her bare fists. With one final blow, the monster fell over, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Man, I suck at this," she said, staring at her worn out fists, "That took a while."

"Don't say that," I walked up to her and hugged her, keeping the both of us warm, "And besides, you're supposed to only push them out of the ring, not kill anyone. Although I'm tempted to kill too."

Olivia chuckled at my dark joke. We suddenly turned around to see an arrow flying past us and the sound of rattling bones fill their ears. We realize Axel punching it and slamming it into the ground before jumping on the skeleton, instantly killing it.

"Bring it on!" the giant screamed, surely scaring off some animals but failed to scare the creeper sneaking up behind Axel.

I ran up to him and pulled him by his hand before the creeper could explode and leave a small crater where Axel had almost gotten blown up.

"Come on!" I called to Olivia, still dragging Axel into the forest surrounding our house, "This way!"

Olivia ran alongside me into the depth of the forest, to where we meet Petra.