Chapter 7
Ramirez walked among the beautiful courtyard grounds. He had gotten antsy after being cooped up in his room for so long and decided to take a stroll. Outside had definitely been a good choice. He always enjoyed being outside, but maybe that was because of where he came from. In Hawaii, nature's wonders were always out on display. The flowers and shrubbery amongst the tall grass in the courtyard reminded him a lot of his home.
He'd been born and raised in Hawaii with his father and mother. They lived beachside, more or less. It was no more than a short walk away anyway. He always enjoyed taking his weekends to go surfing and hanging out with his friends as he grew. They all really loved surfing. Maybe most would see that as a little stereotypical to Hawaiians, but he didn't care. They even had mini competitions against one another every once and a while. They'd all gotten really good.
Then he left for college. He was quite surprised at the transition from high school to college. It was a heck of a lot better in his opinion. The teachers expected you to do your work and never harassed you about it. Often times you would get out around noon and have the rest of the day to do homework and/or just lay around. It became a heck of a lot easier to hang out with his friends too and with the college being beachside, they met nearly daily for surfing.
He smiled in reminiscence of those fond memories. Of course, this was all before that fated night.
It was like any other normal day, he did his assigned courses, he surfed with his friends into the late afternoon, only two of them were there though. Joey had apparently promised to spend some time with his girlfriend and they talked about how they would tease him about that later. It was just another great day.
But when his friends wanted to call it a day, Ramirez decided to stay behind, wanting desperately to work on a new trip he'd been having trouble with. He worked on it well through the late afternoon and into the early evening. It was very dark by the time he decided to call it a night. He changed into the clothes he was wearing now and began his walk back to his dormitory.
Everything was fine until he was about halfway there. He was walking down a popular shop district, when something caught his eye in one of the shop alleyways. Something was shining extremely brightly around one of the bends. He stopped to stare at the dimly illuminated alley hall and listened carefully. Then, he bolted towards the source, afraid that maybe a fire had somehow started inside one of the dumpsters. The source was indeed coming from inside a half-opened dumpster, but it wasn't from a fire. There were no tongues of flame spewing out from the small opening. Heck there wasn't even any sparks.
This intrigued him. He wondered what the object was that was making such a brilliant light and why someone would just throw it away. Cautiously, he approached the dumpster. Once he was within arms reach of the lid, rested his hand on top of the black plastic. It wasn't hot, so whatever it was wasn't a danger to him or anything around him. That calmed him down a little. But, in hindsight, he really shouldn't have been.
He flipped open the lid quickly. The light intensified almost immediately, to his surprise, and blinded him, forcing his hands over his eyes. He stumbled back blindly, trying to get away from the strange light. He only made it a couple steps though, before something struck the back of his head worse than his surfboard could if it smacked him in the head in a wipeout. He dropped to the floor and felt his vision going dark. The light didn't bother him anymore. Actually, he wished for it to stay and come back as it slowly dimmed until he was left alone in the now inky black alleyway.
When he regained consciousness, he found himself in a place completely foreign to him in every way. The ground was astringent purple, hard and hot. As a matter of fact, he was sweating profusely. It was hotter than he'd ever experience under Hawaii's summer sun! He bolted to his feet and was met with throbbing from his head. His vision blurred and for a moment, he was afraid he was going to pass out again.
He didn't though, and kept on his feet as he stumbled around until his vision came back. He almost wished it hadn't. Standing directly in front of him was a creature of the most frightening and disturbing sort he'd ever seen. It was a creature that resembled a pig, only its skin was half rotted away, showing the exposed bone and flesh of a rib cage which resembled a human's, as he recognized the structure from atoning. It's face s half rotted and it was holding what looked to be a yellow type of broadsword. It snorted at him. A pig's snort.
He gasped and jumped back, mind reeling over what it had just taken in. The pig creature just stared at him for a moment in confusion, before walking away at a slow pace. The encounter was fast and hair raising for Ramirez,nub the was glad that it at least didn't try to attack him. Him having no weapon to fight with was definitely a disadvantage. He calmed his nerves down and scanned his surroundings. What he saw almost horrified him more than the pig creature. He was in what could only be described as hell. Or at least a good resemblance.
The purple ground was made from some sort of stone that he had n idea how to identify and it extended as far as the eye could see. Sluggish waterfalls of lava cascaded down some of this stone and into an even more expansive sea of lava. In the distance, he could spot a cluster of some sort of cube-like object that was emitting a faint glow. He rubbed his eyes and pinched himself. Had he gone to hell? No, he felt very much alive and there was no any this could be a dream. His mind could never imagine a place like this on its own.
He stayed stationary for a few minutes taking it all in until he finally decided to start moving. He might as well explore this new environment and hopefully find someone to tell him where he was exactly. That is, if there were any people here besides those weird pig creatures. There was no way he was going to try and talk to those things. So, with a deep breathe, he picked a direction and started walking.
He explored for a decent bit, but found nothing more than the cliff, pits of lava, and more of those sickening pig creatures. The only good thing about them was that they didn't ever once try and attack him or act threatening in any way towards him. Soon, he just ignored them and kept moving in the direction he was headed, hoping to find some sort of landmark, or better yet, someone other than the rotten pig husks he kept running into.
In a way, he got his wish, but not at all what he wanted. He was walking along, when he heard a ghastly scream come from somewhere above him. He reached for his ears to block out the unnatural screech, but by the time he had, the scram stopped. Suddenly, something crashed into the ground beside him, exploding, knocking him to the found and making a rather decent size hole. Pained, he looked up to see who had thrown whatever explosive device had blown up next to him, nearly killing him.
Only it wasn't a who. It was a what. The thing he saw floating above him was worse than the pig creatures he'd seen before. It was a large shaped cube, a pale white creature with gray eyes and a ghostly face that appeared tone crying. Underneath its large body, floated many tentacles that swayed back and forth in the air as it moved. It's eyes locked on him as he got to his feet again. It let out another ear splitting screech again and Ramirez finally understood where the explosion from before had come from. As the thing was screaming, it opened its large mouth and spit forth a great flaming ball that was quickly approaching the spot he was standing.
He quickly left to the side just in time to avoid another explosion, landing hand on his hands and knees. Pain shot through his body, but he had to get up. It wouldn't be long before that thing spit another one of this fireballs at him. Ramirez jumped up and started running. When heard the thing scream again, he changed direction to avoid the attack. Soon, his life was filled with nothing more than his own breathing, screaming, and explosions.
He ran and ran, desperately wanting to escape this deathly creature that was chasing him. Why had it even attacked him in the first place? He had done nothing wrong. Why couldn't it just leave him be like the pig creatures? What had he done to deserve coming here? These questions whined through his head as he ran away, picking up speed. But no matter how fast or what direction he took, the floating creature was always right on his tail, relentlessly firing those despicable fireballs with each and every scream.
Just when his lungs were about to burst and he was beginning to lose hope, he saw something up ahead. It was something else that puzzled him and would have given him pause had he not been running for his life. It was a rectangular structure composed of a deep purplish black stone that was turned vertically as if like a door. What astonished him was that this weird structure was surrounded by purples particles and displayed a dark purple wall of light on the inside. Almost like a…portal!
Desperate and renewed with possible hope, he dashed as fast as he could towards the rectangle. The creature above him started firing more intently, seeming to want to stop him from reaching that structure. This gave him courage and he dove into the purple particles just as a fireball hit the side of the rectangle and he blacked out after hearing a loud resounding boom.
When he awoke for the second time, his surroundings had drastically changed. Now he was in what looked to be a dimly lit cave. It was damp and cool, which seemed like a blessing compared to the super heated environment he'd been in. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he sat up and looked around. The cave he was in was filled with what looked like burnt out torches at first, but they streamed constant dim light throughout the cave. It was also tinted red instead of a dark amber.
His hand brushed against something scratchy and rough. He looked down to see a piece of paper with writing scrawled out in cursive. This disinterested him though, when he saw what was laying next to it. It was his rapier from his dorm, complete with his sharpener and sheath! He instantly grabbed at it and held it in his hands, grasping the only thing that resembled home. He could hardly believe it. He stood up slowly, uncertain of where the ceiling was, and strapped the sheath to his belt loop. Afterwards, he picked up the note and a book that had also been laying beside it.
Little had he known that that note would send him to where he was now, the games. The book had been a guide to the world he was in, now known to him as minecraft, and though it was strange, he still marveled about the simple natural beauties around him. He'd walked quite a bit after recalling the events of his arrival and decided to take a seat on one of the nearby benches. Even the simple bench intrigued him, as it had to be made from wooden fence posts, stairs, and signs to fit its purpose. So many things had to be restructured to fit their earthly counterparts here. Perhaps that's what made this world so fascinating to him. After all, he had always loved thinking "outside the box" when it came to solving problems. The straightforward way always seemed so dull to him.
He looked up at the whole in the cavern that exposed the mid-afternoon sky. The sun was half visible from the angle the hole provided. He smiled and closed his eyes, relaxing on the bench. It was so peaceful. The thought of this peace, however, made him think of the upcoming challenge. He should probably meet with the rest of his team sometime to discuss a basic plan for when the time came. Which meant that he would have to find Zyeke and the rest of them soon, preferably before night.
Some casted a quick shadow over his eyes. He opened them immediately and scanned the air. Thankfully, he heard no scream, to which he sighed mentally. He had acquired a major disliking to those floating creatures, which He now knew as ghosts, and did not wish to encounter another one for as long as he lived. Although, what he saw still almost sent him running again.
Way up above him, he saw a small thing floating about in the air with white tentacles drifting behind. Ramirez nearly freaked out, but he realized that the thing up above was much too small to be one of those creatures he saw in that god forsaken place. He had to squint, but he could just make out the shape of a girl in a white dress moving around in the sky. The tentacles he had seen came from her head, or so he had thought, until he realized it was a weird hat of sorts. That was all he could make of her from his level.
He assumed that the girl must be Charlette, the princess of the ghasts. Well, so long as she didn't shoot fireballs at him, he was content with her flying through the air. He closed his eyes again, going back to his relaxed state. He was fairly sure he'd be alright, but he made sure to keep his ears open, just in case.
"Come and get it." Hilda said with a smirk.
Now I really was in a pickle. My direct means of escape had taken an…unexpected route, one I couldn't follow. Damn it. Now I had to choose one of two options. Fight Hilda and attempt to get the lever piece to fall out of its holding place, or think of another way out of here. Unfortunately, I already thought of another escape route. I could use my newly powered staff to try and break down the bookcases, but there were two problems with this plan. One was that I wasn't sure that I would be able to break them down fast enough before Hilda could stop me. Two, I really didn't want to use my weapon, for concern of breaking the diamond mechanism. It was a bind any way you looked at it.
"Well, what are you waiting for Zyeke? Scared of a little foreplay?" She asked in a slightly teasing tone. "If you don't make a move soon, I promise you. I will."
I was disgusted, but it appeared that Hilda was becoming impatient with her little game. I needed to think of something quick, but my brain kept drawing a blank. I'd truly never encountered a situation like this before. Not in movies, not in games, and certainly not in real life. How was I going to get out of here with my weapon, body, and soul still intact? No solution was apparent.
Hilda smiled. "Time's up." She said as she dashed toward me.
She was fast! I reacted just quickly enough to block a punch from one of her gloved hands. She quickly turned her body for a left hook towards my face. I ducked down, putting my right foot behind hers and spinning around behind her. At the same time, my hands mimicked my leg's spinning motion and with a controlled burst of energy, I slammed my two palms into the side of her ribs.
She gasped out loud and fell to the floor. I backed away quickly, just in case she could actually get up after that last hit. Much to my shock, she bounced right back up and sent another playful smile at me. Unbelievable! I had directed my hit right in between her ribs, which would have likely broken at least one from a normal person. I didn't exactly expect that result, but I least thought she'd be at least a little injured. She was definitely a lot stronger than she looked.
"You're going to have to do better than that Zyeke." She said. "Or else this will be over very soon."
She came at me again, this time much quicker than before. I was ready though. She threw a flurry of punches, aimed at just about any vital area I had. I focused on her torso and upper arm more than I did her fists, blocking and dodging consistently, making sure not to run up against a wall when I moved. While she continued her onslaught, I took the time to examine her moves quickly. Her style of fighting relied on speed and not so much on power. Meaning she focused more on deliver quick blows to either multiple vulnerable areas or to one area in particular. Her feet hardly moved, queuing me in that she was more of a upper body fighter.
I saw my opportunity to counter in an instant. I moved at a forty-five degree angle, not even bothering to lift a hand to block the left jab she had aimed at my nose. Moving my hands in a clockwise circle, I landed two hard hits with the back of my hand on the same spot of her stomach. She winced and I hopped forward slightly to deliver a side kick again to the same spot. She let out a grunt as she was pushed back a foot or two.
I moved in for an attack of my own when Hilda did something I wasn't prepared for. With a flick of her hand, I saw an thin expanse of black energy erupt into her palm. She threw it at me and I threw myself to the side to avoid it. I wasn't fast enough. The edge clipped the side of my shoulder. The black energy clung to my shirt and almost immediately I felt my left shoulder going numb. I gasped and threw my shirt away from my body, backing away once again, right hand holding my left shoulder. Hilda just laughed.
"That was a taste of my wither energy. I assume you're familiar with the concept? If it touches you, it weakens your body and replenishes mine." She said. "For example, my stomach that you had actually managed to bruise is already healed and back to it's normal state."
Crap! I forgot about that. I let myself get too caught up in the martial arts aspect of fighting that I had forgotten about the princesses's abilities due to their mob affiliation. They were no doubt more powerful than her normal mob minions that I faced in the nether before. Very much so, in fact. My left shoulder had almost gone numb and weak. In a way, my shirt probably had saved me. If that had struck my shoulder directly, I'd hate to think what might have happened. I shook my left arm to try and get some feeling back into my shoulder. It worked somewhat, but it still felt tingly.
While I was doing so, I caught Hilda looking at me. Or more specifically, my now exposed chest. "Oooh. Somebody trains well don't they?" She said with a dark giggle. "I bet your stamina must be high"
I blushed despite myself and wished now that I'd just taken the hit to the shoulder and left my shirt on. "Damn it Hilda, why are you doing this?" I asked.
"Oh come on." She cooed. "I just want to have a little fun is all."
I narrowed my eyes at her and readied myself once again to fight. "Well, I don't!" I said declaratively.
She giggled at my bravado. "Zyeke…who said you had a choice?"
She charged at me again, right hand going straight for a right hook for my head. I wanted to move my left hand to block, but I couldn't make my shoulder react fast enough! I threw my head to the side, not moving my body at all, narrowly avoiding the punch. It landed on the hard stone with an audible thud, making it crack significantly. My eyes widened and I backed away as fast as I could from Hilda. She'd been holding back her real strength. And it was terrifying.
She moved right up with me, forcing me to block her blows, each block making my body shutter a little. But, she had slipped up when she showed me her true strength. I had an idea.
I moved to the back wall to the left of the enchantment table and taunted Hilda to come and get me. She responded with a smirk and charged at me again like she had before. She used another right hook, trying once again for my head, but I made sure to move it only at the last second. It worked and she slammed her fist against the stone harder than she had before, producing the exact result I wanted. The stone block popped away, leaving a cobblestone miniature in its place.
I went to snatch it and was successful, but I failed to dodge a second punch to the gut from shifting my focus. It was like being hit by a bulldozer! I fell to the ground, clutching my stomach, breathe coming out in short gasps. I don't know how I managed to keep my grip on the block, but I did. Only I felt as though I had crushed it, if that sounds possible, into the one thing that I needed to get out of here. Only, I couldn't move!
Hilda laughed at my defenseless position. "Oh my, don't tell me that was all? Can't take more than one measly punch?" She chuckled and grasped at my neck, lifting me up and shoving me against the wall. Hard. My head smacked against the cold stone, causing my vision to blur and my head to throb. I let out a pained shout. Hilda lessened her grip a little. "It seems that I've won." She said. "Now, let's…"
I didn't let her finish her sentence. In a last ditch effort, I placed my hands on the wall behind me and pushed off, slamming my forehead into hers. Believe it of not, there is a proper way to preform a head but to where you don't get injured that badly yourself. However, I wouldn't recommend doing it against a wall,nor in this case a princess, after receiving a head injury already. My head pounded with my heart beat, but Hilda did let go of me, falling to the floor due to my surprise attack.
Disoriented, but still determined, I rushed over to the wall and doubled checked that I was in front of the right block. I threw what was now a cobblestone button against the spot where the lever had been. I heard Hilda gasp and start to get up, but it was too late. I slammed my hand against the rough cobblestone surface and the book cases parted for a second. In that second, I dove out, the cases slamming back behind me with a thud. I knew I wasn't out of danger yet though.
Running on nothing more than my last reserves of adrenaline, I took off towards the library doors. By the time I reached the end of the book cases and the main section of the library, I held an angry yell and a loud crash from behind me. Hilda was out. That only prompted me to run faster.
I burst through the library doors, thanking God that they'd been left ajar. I don't think I would have had the strength to push them open. I ran down hallway after hallway, only half sure of where I was going. I could only pray that I was headed where I thought I was. And to top it all off, I could hear Hilda running behind me, trying to catch up. Except, her footsteps sounded much further back than my own and getting fainter the longer I ran. She may have been stronger, but I was faster.
I ran for what seemed like hours, but was probably only a minute or two. And mercifully, I had reached my destination, the front entrance. This was where I had to lose her. I could still hear her ever faint footsteps growing closer even now. Quickly, I decided to take the hallway straight in front of me and duck behind the corner of a pillar, out of sight from the main room.
Hilda's footsteps became louder and louder until I could tell that she'd made it into the front room. She stopped though, uncertain as to which way I'd gone. I stood in my corner, silently praying. Praying that she would go anywhere but straight. Please, God, anywhere but straight! I held my breathe and waited.
After nearly ten excruciating seconds, she decided to head upstairs, figuring I had gone back to my room. Once I heard the door slam, I breathed a sigh of relief and slumped to the floor. My head was pounding, my chest was heaving, and to be honest, I felt like total crap. But I had escaped. Right then, that was all that mattered to me.
"Oh there you are Zyeke!"
Well. There's the next chapter. Hope you all enjoyed! Please remember to follow and favorite. And if you haven't already, please leave me a review to let me know how I'm doing and boost popularity for the story. Until next time.
