Hey guys, I'm here again. So, this is supposed to be the final chapter of The Struggle For Survival, and it is on another website where I uploaded the story. But good news, I will continue to post more from my second book as if they're all the same book. I've gotta start uploading less though so I can catch up with my writing. So, I'll probably start uploading once every two days from now on. Thanks for getting this far, and don't forget to leave a review! Peace out!
I opened my eyes and saw sunlight shining through the windows, the notches in the door, and a hole in the roof. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I knew I had experienced yet another dream last night, but I couldn't recall what it had been about.
After a moment of thinking to myself, I realized that I had relived my worst memory. And after that, I couldn't take it. I felt tears stream down my face as I recalled the memory, thinking about everything I did wrong. I shouldn't have let Alex head out to harvest sugarcane that night. At the very least, I should have gone with her. I could have done more to protect Alex. Her death was my fault.
"Steve?" Howard's voice snapped me out of my miserable thoughts. I looked up at him, he had been helping himself to a loaf of bread at a table on the far side of the library. He looked to be in a much better mood this morning than he had last night-well, not a better mood, more like less upset. "Are you crying?"
"N-no! Nothing-it's nothing…" I snapped, quickly wiping away the tears.
"What happened? What did you dream about?" he asked.
"How do you know I was dreaming last night?" I questioned.
"You were… very distressed in your sleep. Kept saying Alice or something like that, and then a whole lot of nos." he revealed. "Plus, you were tossing and turning a lot. Who's this Alice? Is she someone you know?"
"It's Alex. And she was my sister…" I explained.
"Was?" he noted.
"Yes…"
"Oh wow… I'm terribly sorry…" he apologized.
"Don't worry about it… I just need a moment to straighten myself…" I told him.
"Go ahead, we aren't leaving until midday." he assured in a much kinder voice as he went back to munching on his loaf of bread.
Immediately, my hand went into my inventory and I pulled out the necklace. It had been the last thing she had ever given me, and it held such great value to me, I hadn't even put it away into a chest in years. It had belonged to both my mom and my sister, and I was never going to let anything happen to it.
I missed my parents. I missed Chief. But of course, most of all I missed Alex. During those years we spent on our own together, we were so close. I still felt incredibly responsible for everything that had happened on that night. I wished I could have gone back and relived that night outside of the dream world, just so that I could have saved Alex and Chief. But no matter how many times I had begged the Creator to give me a second chance on the nights following the traumatic tragedy, I had never gotten a response.
After several long minutes, I had finally let all my grief out in the form of tears and felt somewhat better. I was grateful that Howard wouldn't judge me. I had realized Joey wasn't in the building.
"Where's Joey?" I questioned. He looked back at me.
"Your pig wanted to go outside early this morning, so I let him out. I hope you don't mind…" he replied.
"That's alright." I responded and headed out the door to look for him.
The village was the exact same as it was yesterday-completely devastated. There were no more fires though, and the smell of sulphur had since gone away, or maybe I had gotten so used to it that I couldn't smell it anymore. I spotted Joey sitting over by the church, or what remained of it. He was looking around at the destruction caused onto the nearby houses with a distant look in his eyes. I began to approach him.
"Hey, Joey…" I greeted once I walked by him. He looked up at me. I could still see a lingering sadness in his eyes.
"I really wish we could've helped everyone…" I muttered with bitterness, "Whoever did this deserves to die." Joey nodded in agreement with his angry face.
"Very bad things have happened, but I'm just glad we still have each other." I pointed out. Joey oinked passively in response. I heard my stomach growl hungrily.
I brought my hand back into my inventory, reaching for something to eat. My hand came out with a baked potato. I went back through my inventory and pulled out a carrot, holding it above Joey's head. He quickly noticed and began to jump for it, squealing excitedly. I smiled lightly and let him snatch it out of my hand. As he ate his carrot, I munched down on my baked potato, looking at the sun as it rose in the distance.
"There's something weird going on with this 'Herobrine' guy." I said. "He calls himself the king of mobs and seems to be very powerful." Joey snorted while he was munching. "I have a theory that he might've had something to do with this…" I suggested.
"Whatever caused this, one thing's sure. We need to find this new village." I explained.
"Steve, are you ready?" I heard Howard's voice behind us call out. Joey and I quickly scarfed down our breakfast, then headed over to him.
"Actually, I'm going to need a sword first before we go." I pointed out, recalling that I had no weapon.
"Is that all?" he asked as he went through his inventory. I nodded. He pulled out an iron sword and handed it to me.
"There you go." he said as I took the weapon. I blinked in surprise.
"You just carry an extra weapon on you?" I questioned and he nodded.
"Of course! I always carry a second sword. You never really know when the first one's going to break." he replied.
Over the many years I had been on my own, struggling to preserve my weapons, it somehow had never registered that I could just bring extra weapons with me. I could even remember some moments when my sword broke and I decided to use an axe that I had on me, and now I felt dumb that I hadn't learned from those times.
"So, now are you ready?" he asked, and I shook my head.
"Hold on... I just had a serious idiot moment right now..." I said as I sat on a cobblestone block and felt both sides of my head with my hands. Then, once the shock and disappointment went away, I jumped up and turned to look at him. "Okay, ready."
"Good, now let's head for the next village. I have a good friend there that is the leader of his village much like I was. Together, we can unite the Council of Leaders so we can launch an investigation into these unusual skeletal leaders." he promised.
"Wait, what's the Council of Leaders?" I asked him.
"It's basically an alliance circle between the leaders of many villages. Even though the Mob Revolution destroyed countless villages, our villages have remained strong because we have vowed to protect each other's villages. And when one of our villages are struggling, the whole council pitches in to help them out. I, myself have made friends with most of them. Whoever that skeleton was, I'm going to make him pay." he declared angrily.
We soon left the crumbling remains of what was once the village. I knew we had to find this next village. We also had to find out who the skeleton that had ordered the destruction of the village was. I had my own theories, but I didn't want to tell Howard just yet in case I was wrong.
Herobrine's POV
I sat in my throne from within my own impenetrable fortress in the Nether. My four skeletal servants kneeled before me, their heads bowed in a respectful manner. They were the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse-the four highest generals of my armies.
"My lord, you have called for the four of us. Why is that?" questioned one of my horsemen, Skulrein, with his deep, deceptively non-skeletal voice.
"Witanos was with me, so he knows why I have summoned the rest of you. You see, today I encountered the one chosen by the Creator." I informed. "He had been brought into the Nether by Witanos, but then managed to escape." I said, giving the horseman a harsh glare. He stayed silent. The three horsemen beside Witanos looked up at me.
"What happened, my king?" Withros asked in his raspy rattle. I sneered.
"The pitiful boy cowered in fear! I must admit, I was not expecting for the human to be so submissive." I chuckled. Skellian rattled.
"My lord, you are a very intimidating being." he clattered.
"And rightly so! All humans should fear me. My power knows no bounds…" I chuckled as I willed a charge of fire to form from my hand.
"You are correct, Lord Herobrine." Skulrein agreed. I willed my eyes to flash brighter and turned to Skellian.
"Now then, Skellian, what is the status of the second one?" I questioned. He kept his head down.
"Still alive. Unfortunately, she is very cautious, and so it is near-impossible to find an opportunity to ambush her with my forces. But, good things come to those who wait, my lord." he assured. I scowled.
"I am not concerned in the least, as long as they do not possess the weapons that can harm me. But do not make me wait much longer." I ordered.
"Understood, my lord. The first opportunity I find I will take." he promised.
"Good. Now, Skulrein." I faced him. He brought his head back up to look at me straight in the eyes, but in a way that was not challenging.
"Have you found the stronghold yet?" I questioned.
"Yes, my lord. The stronghold has finally been discovered. I intended to tell you privately, but you called for this gathering, and so this was a perfect opportunity to inform you in front of the other horsemen. I can lead you there first thing tomorrow." he promised.
"Good." I imagined the vision of the mystical black dragon plowing through villages. The dragon was the final element my army required before I would finally invade the Overworldians, and it was said to lurk within the dark realm of the End. Once I had it, victory would be guaranteed.
"Very well then, Skulrein, we will head out first thing when the day rises tomorrow."
"Yes, my lord." I looked up at the ceiling, where I had a feeling he was watching.
"There is nothing that can stop me. No mob, no man can hope to stand in my way. Foolish Creator, even with the hero you have crafted to defeat me, I will not be stopped this time!" I bellowed with a triumphant laughter.
End of Book One