Chapter 4

"Steve, don't leave me all alone. Stay with me, please."

Something hooked his shirt and pulled him up, but the current only pulled him back down again to choke on the clear water. Even if it was dark, he thought he saw the emerald eyes of the black mob standing somewhere near him. Something sharp hooked his shirt again and kept him from flowing on with the current. He choked on the water, gasping for breath but only sucked more in. He tried to fight against the current to get to the surface, to get air. A sharp tug pulled his head above the water and he grabbed a lung-full of air, coughing out the water. He rested on the edge of the stream, his hands holding the edge with a death like grip, not wanting to get caught in the current again. He was lucky to have landed in water. If he had landed on anything else he would've died.

He coughed again, drawing long, deep breaths and eventually looked around to get his bearings. He knew he's never been here before, as it would otherwise be lit up with torches. Being this deep in the caves was always cold; in addition to swimming involuntarily in cold water made it even colder, since there was no light and no warmth. He looked around quickly before hauling himself out of the cold water, unable to suppress a shiver.

He stumbled around blindly, eventually touching something with his foot. He fumbled to touch it and thankfully realized that it was his sword; picking it up hastily, feeling comfort for having at least a little protection. He could feel himself shaking from the cold, gentle drafts of cool air made him shiver even more. It felt like winter, only without the snow. He continued along, tripping over unseen rocks ledges and sudden short drops down, trying to find his way about in the darkness. He was getting colder, however, and his movements not doing much to keep him warm. He was getting exhausted fast, and soon he stopped to rest, even if the miner knew it wasn't a smart idea; he was cold and needed to keep moving. But he was getting tired and he only wanted to rest for a short time.

"Vlurp. Vlurp."

The miner opened his eyes and saw the emerald eyes hovering above him. He tried to back up but he was leaning against a wall, shivering and exhausted. Something was dropped on Steve, the eyes never leaving his own, and the man immediately felt warmth spread through him. He touched the item, wanting to know what it was. It was warm, soft, and large. He thought he felt a hood somewhere and assumed it was a cloak.

'But why?' Mobs are merciless creatures that hunt down humans, so why was this one helping him? After the first few encounters with the green-eyed Endermen he found him interesting, as he wasn't enraged when Steve looked him in the eye. He quickly found the hood of the cloak and slipped it on his shoulders, feeling the warmth spread through him. The Endermen dropped something bright down and looked at Steve expectantly. He made strange sounds and moved a little backwards, as if indicating he wasn't going to attack or harm the miner.

Steve was momentarily blinded, as it must've been a few hours since the assassins threw him down the ravine, but he reached out and touched the wooden handle. He hesitated instinctively, but reached out and grabbed the handle. The torch shone brightly, and he felt a little safe, but if the assassins were still around they could find him easily. He put it in his inventory, and the light went out. The Endermen tilted his head, indicating confusion.

"Assassins are after me and they could find me easily if I had a torch in the darkness." He croaked, his throat still sore from coughing the water earlier. The Endermen stopped tilting his head, and turned around, walking away from the human. Steve was surprised when the Endermen stopped and turned to look at Steve, as if he wanted the miner to follow him. Steve raised himself, and hesitantly took a step towards the Endermen. Suddenly he hissed as Steve took his sword. Panicked, Steve quickly sheathed his sword, the hiss coming down to a low growl as the Endermen turned around again and started walking. Steve hurriedly went after him, not wanting to be alone when suddenly he vanished, leaving the miner alone in the darkness again.

Steve sighed heavily and continued onwards, now feeling warmer and somewhat rested. He still couldn't see in the darkness, but his eyes were growing used to it rather slowly. He went somewhat slower than before, careful to avoid the sharp rocks that jutted out everywhere.

It's been a few hours since he saw the Endermen, and he was starting to get a little tired again. He stopped near a little ledge and closed his eyes. He didn't rest long, because sounds came to him, echoing off the stone walls. People were in the caves. No one knew about the caves but him and...and the assassins. That meant they were back. He had to get moving. Usually assassins were quiet, quick and deadly. These ones were more clumsy, and a little talkative but proved themselves to be deadly nonetheless. He quickly got up, taking his pickaxe and made a rather quick staircase to get down to the lower level. He started to jog, not wanting the assassins to find him again. Soon however, he stated to run.

"Over there!" A voice cried. Clothing shuffled and feet stumbled as people were running. Steve suddenly felt panicked and started running faster. He drew his sword, knowing a close up battle was soon going to take place sometime. He kept running, not knowing where he was going. He heard a short whizz! and felt something implant itself into his shoulder as pain exploded and he stumbled before catching himself on a rock ledge. It wasn't just hurting, but now it was starting to burn a little as his shoulder pulsed. He knew it was risky, but he grabbed the arrow by the shaft, and tried to yank it out. He stifled a cry, his good arm was practically wrapped around his wounded shoulder as he tried to pry out the arrow that the assassins shot him from behind with.

He didn't have time to do so, and he started running again, the assassins being close behind him now. How did they know he was still alive? How long has it been since he fell down the ravine? Time flew by down in the caves. The miner found it surprising that there was not a single pool of lava around to light his way. There was only a few patches of water here and there. He ran, hearing the soft footfalls of the assassins following close behind. He heard the drawing of swords as the assassins drew closer and didn't stop until he was sure they were right behind him. He spun around, catching them by surprise but sadly not off-guard.

Their swords collided, creating loud echoes that continuously bounced off the cave walls. Steve could see a vague outline of the assassins, as his eyes were staring to adjust to the darkness. He wasn't sure about the assassins though, as they seemed to be well coordinated despite being in the dark. He struck again and again, waiting to hit something other than iron as both assassins hammered their own against his. He waited and saw his chance. He swung and suddenly, he fell to the ground and swung at one of the assassins legs, hitting flesh and getting a below from the man before hearing a satisfying thud as the man fell to the ground.

"AH! Damn it!" He cried. Steve turned his attention to the other, wondering where he went. He heard a chuckle from behind him and quickly turned around, raising his sword in defense. The opposing sword slammed against his and slid down his blade's length, creating an awful scrapping sound that hurt the miner's ears. He heard another blade being drawn behind him and tried to shove the weight of the man off him. The second assassin had him pinned though and Steve instinctively moved his weight to the right, a sharp sting made him grimace as a small blade grazed his side.

He fell to the floor just as a gust of wind went by his face. The miner rolled, immediately regretting it as the arrow in his shoulder just got pushed further in, making him cry out in pain. He felt warm blood rush down his back as he struggled to stand again. He heard the unsheathing of blades, and turned to look at the vague outlines of the assassins. He shouldn't be standing, as Steve had cut his legs to a painful point, yet he wasn't grunting or crying in pain anymore.

"How can you stand? I-..." Steve gaped. He was cut off by a rough laugh that echoed terribly against the stone in the ravine and felt a sharp stinging on his back. He sharply cried, being cut off by a cough that racked his body. He felt around the pained spot, and pulled out the object with a low grunt, knowing from the smooth wooden handle it was a knife. He chucked it on the floor, only to feel another puncture the opposite side of his back. The miner fell back down, trying to remove the new knife as he cried out again. After having removed the second knife, the assassin stepped forward and dropped something. It hit the floor with a hollow clank and it dawned on Steve that the assassin had used a potion to heal himself.

"Potions, Steve." He chuckled. His friend stepped forward and kneeled by Steve, kicking his sword away before reaching for the arrow in his shoulder. "You should use some too." A dark chuckle almost shook the cave as the miner felt the arrow shift, then being roughly pulled out. Steve screamed as the pain in his shoulder exploded and burned intensely. He tried to get up but the assassins prevented him by each placing a boot on the wounded miner. They pressed down hard on the wounds, making Steve squirm from the pain. He felt drenched in blood, as the several wounds were being squeezed and stretched. He tried to pry their boots off, but they were stronger than him now. He was weakened, hungry and exhausted. They pressed down harder and the pain almost overwhelmed Steve.

Suddenly the force was released. "What was that?" They shifted uncomfortably, their boots slightly twisting the wounds as they looked around.

"There! Did you see that?" One of the assassins exclaimed.

"See what?" Using this distraction, the miner brought out the knife he had just recently pulled out from his back and threw it at one of the dark outlines he could see. A pained grunt came from behind him and the assassins boots came down on him again with more pressure. He couldn't focus on anything anymore, the pain being too great. Suddenly the pressure was removed completely.

"Green eyes." Came a calm voice; it was, however, filled with fear. A loud hiss came from somewhere in front of Steve and he looked up to see a blur of green hovering above him. The assassins were quick to back away, as they didn't know what it was that was standing in front of them. They didn't however, leave.

"Now, what do you suppose that is?" Came a shaky voice.

"No idea. You think we can kill it?" Came another. A snort came from the first assassin along with an inaudible murmur. They both advanced with weapons drawn when suddenly, a loud screech came from the Endermen. The men were momentarily frozen in place until the green-eyed mob advanced. They had obviously never seen anything like this and ran, each going their separate ways in fright. The mob continued his screech until both assassins were out of sight. He then turned to the human that was trying to get up, but unsuccessfully kept falling back down. Eventually, the mob saw the human get up on his hands and knees.

"Vlurp. Vlurp." He came closer to the human, noticing all the blood that was splattered on the stone floor, his glowing green eyes illuminated part of the floor in front of him. The human managed to get to his feet and leaned heavily on the stone wall next to him. The Endermen looked around curiously and saw the iron sword laying a few feet in front of the human. He teleported to his desired area and kicked the sword over. The human looked at it hesitantly before picking it up and leaned on it heavily as he made his way down the ravine once again, never noticing that the Endermen had left him again.

An hour later, Steve stopped and sat down to rest. The burning sensation in his shoulder was intensifying and spreading. The burning feeling was spreading very slowly and it was agonizing. He tried to stay awake, as he feared he would never wake up again, but he just wasn't able to fight off the exhaustion and he fell into deep slumber.

"Steve, please wake up. Wake up, silly."