2: Bad News
Hannah woke the next morning to a light scratching on her door. Blinking groggily, she waited for the haze of sleep to leave her brain before getting up. After a minute, she forced herself to get out of bed and respond to the noise. Slipping on her robe, Hannah went and opened the door. There was no one there.
A small whimper sounded at her feet. Hannah looked down.
May was only a young Creeper. No taller than eleven inches. She had wandered into HUGS quite by accident, only a few months ago. She took to Hannah like a mother.
"Morning, baby." Hannah murmurs sleepily, rubbing her eyes. She bent to scoop the little green creature into her arms. She didn't worry about angering her. May was a timid little thing, not like the other Creepers. In fact, May had been "born without a bang" as the condition is referred to. She literally could not blow up, even if she wanted to.
May burrowed into Hannah's arms, whining again.
"Bad dream, huh?" Hannah cooed, stroking the little Creeper's rough skin. Hannah didn't know if mobs could actually dream, but once every so often, something woke them up. It only seemed fir to call it a nightmare.
She set may on the bed, walking over to the chest and pulling out her work clothes. Hannah never felt awkward dressing in front of May. Just as one wouldn't mind dressing while their cat or dog was around. May, like most mobs, did not understand why humans bothered with clothing. As she herself had no need for it.
Pulling on her apron, Hannah picked up May again. She set her up on her shoulder like a bird, where she curled up into a warm little ball against her neck.
It was still very early. Uriah sat at the table as usual, looking sour.
"Good morning." Chimed his sister, pouring some cocoa and sugar into his empty glass. It was a potion of her own creation, something like coffee.
"Morning." He grunted. "Good is debatable."
Hannah rolled her eyes. He had never been a morning person. If it wasn't for the Morning Potion, he would stay in bed till the afternoon. Hannah, however, only needed a few minutes to boot up. SHe got to work making breakfast. A quick plate of eggs, apples and leftover pork from dinner. Hannah fed crumbs to May, who still reclined on her shoulder, as she worked.
By the time breakfast was over, the sun was climbing into the sky. Hannah finished off her meal with a swig of milk, stuffing some bread into her inventory for later. She grabbed an apple, shoving it at Uriah and commanding him to eat. Then, she hurried outside to do her chores.
Since it had been Hannah's idea to house mobs, it was her responsibility to care for them. HUGS had a strict, "no eating each other" rule, which also applied to the farm animals. Thankfully, the resident mobs were content with a vegetarian diet. She knew exactly what each group preferred.
Mushrooms for the Endermen, sugarcane sap for the Slimes, and, oddly, potatoes for the Creepers. Spiders would take anything high in fiber for their silk. Silverfish stuck to their regular diet of cobblestones. Snow Golems were content with a block of ice.
Skeletons and Zombies kept their distance from HUGS, not liking how sunny it was. Nor did they take kindly to the house rules.
As the morning went on, so did the chores. Uriah dragged himself out of the house to check on the crops in the North fields. Hannah had finished feeding the mobs, and was now uprooting carrots, beets and potatoes from the root garden. A while later, around noon, she went back inside. The house was always clean, so she didn't need to bother tidying up. Though there was still a lot of work to do besides that. Bread, pies and cakes had to be made. And, of course, her famous chocolate apple fritters. (Well, famous in HUGS, at least.)
Meanwhile, Uriah set to work cutting wheat and sugarcane in the field. Afterword, he would go to the West orchard to harvest the apples and cocoa beans. However, before he could even finish his first task, a frightful racket came from the direction of the house. Uriah bolted out of the field to see what was wrong. The Creepers were enjoying their turn out in the yard, lounging in the shade and chattering quietly among themselves. All except for two.
One of the latest residents, a fiery young male who had been forced out of his herd, was picking a fight with Gideon. Gideon was a permanent resident of HUGS, bearing the same mark as Echo. As the foster Alpha of the guest herd, he was prone to challenges from newcomers. But he was getting older now, and couldn't defend his position as well as he used to.
Uriah knew this could end badly.
"Hannah!"
Hannah started, looking towards the door. Her brother stood there, looking panicked. She ran to meet him.
"In the yard," Uriah panted. He had been running. Hannah went to look.
Uriah didn't have to see her face to know that Hannah's expression had changed. Her motherly instincts had already kicked in. She dashed out of the doorway and across the yard. She crouched next to Gideon, staring down his challenger with a fierce glare. The Creeper hissed, and she hissed back, louder. This seemed to startle him. He hadn't expected a human to fight back. Looking from Gideon to Hannah, he slowly retreated. Storming off to where a group of female Creepers were gathered.
"Uh… Hannah…" Came Uriah's voice from the porch, sounding concerned.
"What, Uri?" She turned, "I have to check to make sure Gideon's alright!"
"Look. Behind. You."
Hannah whipped around, freezing in her place when she noticed Jeffery at the gate. The courier stood open-mouthed and wide-eyed at the sight before him.
"You… the Creepers…" He stammered, barely able to pull himself together. Hannah shot to her feet. Opening her mouth to speak, no words came. Nothing she said could explain what he had just seen.
Uriah approached, glancing from him to Hannah and back again. He took the letter from the postman's shaking hand.
"Um.. thanks, Jeff…" Was all he could manage. "... Have a nice day?"
Finally, the courier screamed, "... It's true! It's all true! You people are crazy!"
Before Uriah could say anything more, Jeffery was gone. Leaving a fluttering trail of letters on the gravel pathway.
Hannah began to fret. This would not turn out well. Almost no one visited HUGS, let alone just in time to see Hannah break up a Creeper tussle.
"Who's the letter from, Uri." She asks blankly, still staring at the path. Jeffery was long gone now. Though the foreboding sense that something terrible was about to happen remained.
"You should come inside…" Uriah replied, sounding concerned. Hannah looked at him, her heart sinking when she saw his look of dismay. She followed him inside.
Behind them, the Creepers gathered, whispering.
"I can't read this anymore." Uriah said as he sat down. He pushed the page away from him. Hannah looked at it for a moment, sitting there on the table. Something about it brought a sense of dread.
Uneasily, she picked it up, unfolding it slowly, as if it might burst into flames if she wasn't careful. She began to read, concerned and horrified by what she might find.
Hannah J. and Uriah G. Vyers; (The letter addressed them by their formal names instead of their gamertag names, Hannah noticed.)
Hannah J. and Uriah G. Vyers;
This is a message from the Department of Law Enforcement of the Citadel of Minecraftia. It has come to the attention of the department that recent event(s) occurring on your estate have come to breach the margins of the Mob Ownership and Housing act: Page 5, Article B7 of the Code of the Citadel of Minecraftia. As citizens, you have agreed to these laws and therefore are obligated to follow them. The following requirements are stated below to remind you:
Ownership and/or housing of any Hostile Mob requires permission from the City Council leadership
Owners and/or caretakers of Hostile Mobs must be approved and authorized to own and/or care for any Hostile Mob. A certificate of permission signed by a City Council leader and/or a license to own or house Hostile Mobs is required.
Any one estate may house no more than 5 Hostile Mobs on site at any time.
Any unauthorized or additional Hostile Mobs (exceeding the limit of 5) must be evacuated to a secure environment or submitted to the possession of the Citadel. In which case they will be humanely exterminated or released into a secure environment.
Any gamer proven to breach these laws will be fined a sum of
You will be given a maximum of 3 days to prove legal ownership and/or housing of Hostile Mobs residing on your estate. Additionally, any Hostile Mobs that are found to be unauthorized or exceed the residential limit will be confiscated and placed under the care of City Council. When the given time limit expires, an agent of the DLECM will be sent to evaluate your property and ensure that all laws stated above have been taken into account. All rights and regulations have and will be taken into account if you comply. The DLECM apologizes for any inconvenience or misunderstanding regarding this subject.
Sincerely, David H. Schell of the City Council Leadership.
"They can't do that!" Hannah cried, throwing the paper back down.
"They can, Nah." Uriah said quietly, hoping that using her childhood pet name might help calm her. "They're the law."
Hannah barely heard him. She was in hysterics. "How did they know?" She screeched, "They've been spying on us, that's it! I bet Jeffery's one of their little moles. 'All rights and regulations have been taken into account' Yeah right!" She was resisting the temptation to swear. She wanted to scream, she wanted to curse, she wanted to cry. But screaming and cursing and crying wouldn't get her anywhere. Especially as she had been taught not to say bad words.
"Hannah, calm down," Uriah coaxed. He was the one that really wanted to blow up. "I'm sure there's something we can do about it."
"Like what?" Hannah demanded, still flustered.
"Could you get a last-minute licence?"
"In three days? I wouldn't even get a beginner's permit!" (Uriah was secretly thankful for this.)
Hannah added, "...And don't even think about handing them over."
"I'm not." Uriah assured her. Though it did seem a good idea. Then again, even he didn't feel good about wanting to hand them over just to be slaughtered. "...But you could set them free, couldn't you? It said you can do that."
Hannah didn't have an answer for this. She could set the Mobs free. She could, but they would be just as bad as before she took them in. Lost, confused, hurt…
Rejected.
She couldn't do it.
"We can't go on under the law like this, Nah." Uriah continued. "This letter is proof that this is getting out of hand."
Hannah knew he was right. But what could they do in three days?
"We're going to figure this out." Uriah told her. "We have three days. We might as well let everyone know what's happened."
Hannah nodded, no longer angry now, but only sad. She knew there was nothing they could do. The Mobs would have to leave.
And it would break her heart…
Again.
Uriah led his sister outside. Jeffery's discarded letters were still laying on the path outside the gate, forgotten. The Creepers were still huddled together, some of them glancing warily at the gate, as if they knew something bad had happened. The other mobs had crept out of their shelters to see what was going on.
Echo broke away from a group of Enderman outside their lodging. He teleported, appearing in a flash before his Master and Mistress.
"Gideon is unharmed." He informed them. "He is concerned by what he saw, however. What has happened?"
"Bad news." Uriah replied. "Do you mind translating?"
"Not at all, Master." Echo became concerned. Taking the letter from Uriah, he read first to himself. Echo was the only resident that could read English, thus made him all the more valuable to HUGS. Once he finished, his dark face was creased in a troubled expression. Echo glanced at his Mistress, sharing her apprehension. He hesitated before translating to the others what he had learned.
Only now did Uriah realize how many residents there really were. With all of them out in the yard at once, they made a considerable group. Some of the Mobs glared at Uriah while Echo spoke. They all knew that Uriah had never quite approved of HUGS, even though his name was included in the title. (Which was mainly Hannah's idea, in order to turn the name into a quirky acronym.)
Uriah didn't return their glares. Even if he hadn't liked the idea of HUGS, he would never, ever do anything like this. Especially since made his sister so miserable.
"Get everyone back into the shelters." Uriah tells Echo when he was finished speaking to the crowd of Mobs. "It's going to be an early night tonight." He paused, glancing at Hannah. She was leaning on him now, looking pale. "... And then bring Gideon and Skipper to the house. We need to sort this out."
Echo nodded, waiting for a moment as he watched Uriah lead Hannah back inside.
"Of course, Master."
