Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from THE GLITCH. First off, I would like to thank all of my faithful viewers for sticking with me, because today I reached over 1,000 views (my story is relatively new, so that's kind of important to me).

Anyway, last time on THE GLITCH we watched as Norman and Lizzy began their new life on the Mushroom Island. They built a successful bakery and were already on their way to success. Although, now that night has fallen we watch as Norman and Lizzy awake to a not-so-happy life.

Now, let the story commence!

Chapter 11: Survival of the Fittest

Norman awoke to the sounds of a shriek. Norman jumped out of bed and whipped out Shatter to see that Lizzy was being attacked by a zombie. He smashed the face of the zombie a couple times with Shatter and it fell to ground, crumbling into smoke. It left behind a piece of rotten flesh, which Norman hastily picked up. Lizzy was backed up against the wall where the zombie had cornered her, and she looked like she was about to cry. She looked over at Norman after a few seconds and wiped the forming tears in her eyes, slightly embarrassed.

"Um, thanks." she murmured.

Norman suddenly heard another scream. He heard more and more, and all of them were coming from outside. Norman and Lizzy hadn't installed windows to their bakery, so Norman punched a hole in the side of their room until he could see through to the outside. He couldn't see very much, and immediately a skeleton looked through a hole and shot at him. Thankfully, Norman jerked his head back and instead the arrow lodged itself in the wall behind him.

Norman couldn't reach the skeleton to kill it from where he was, so he ran past the hole towards the door to their room. Before exiting into the main area of the bakery, he looked back at Lizzy, who was still standing there. He pointed at the chest they shared beside her bed and said,

"Lizzy, grab Shine and follow me. We need to see what's going on outside. Oh! We should probably get our armor on too."

Norman and Lizzy equipped their sets of unused diamond armor and held their weapons tight. Norman walked slowly towards the door again and looked through it. He didn't see any mobs, but as soon as he and Lizzy had entered the main room, they heard a banging noise. The two entrance doors were being broken down by about ten or so zombies.

Norman ran up to the doors and jabbed at the zombies through the door, but he was only able to damage a few before both doors broke open sending zombies streaming inside. Norman and Lizzy had to work together to beat all ten zombies at once, and after about three whole minutes of brawling they had killed every zombie. But sadly they could not save the cakes from being eaten.

Norman stood there, panting and catching his breath. Lizzy was doing the same, but when Norman looked over at her she was grinning.

"That was awesome! We should do that again!" she declared, thrusting Shine the diamond sickle into the air.

Norman rolled his eyes and headed towards the open spaces where the doors used to be. Norman sneaked outside as slow as possible, but he stood back up when he saw the mayhem that was taking place. The entire town was being overthrown by an army of hostile mobs. Norman saw groups of zombies breaking into houses and looting them, he saw Creepers blowing up everything nice and orderly within sight, and when he looked far up into the mountains where the town ended, he saw lines of skeletons shooting volleys of arrows at random into the city streets. It was pure chaos, and Norman knew that it was the work of the Glitch. Mobs weren't supposed to group together and form armies much less work together!

As Norman looked around at the scene before him, he muttered only two words.

"Oh, Notch..."

Lizzy snapped him back into focus by grabbing his arm and pulling him back towards their looted bakery. When Norman was pulled back into their bedrooms, he jerked his arm out of Lizzy's grip.

"What are we going to do?! How is it that the city is being attacked if we're located in the middle of the ocean nowhere even remotely located to other islands?! And of all the civilizations this army could pick to attack they choose this one?! Why?!" sputtered Norman, all his thoughts spilling out at once.

Lizzy shook her head and began to look even more frantic.

"I don't know! I say we just put all our things in our inventory and make a boat for each of us. We're gonna have to leave the island if we want to stay alive!" she suggested.

Norman agreed with her and punched away his bed, which he put in his inventory. Lizzy did the same and also took back the empty chest. Once they had their few supplies put away, Norman looked over to see Lizzy starting to break up the birch wood planks using a stone axe. Norman stopped her and said,

"Lizzy, forget about the bakery! We just need to leave!"

Norman and Lizzy headed back out of their bakery and saw that zombies had somehow all gotten a flint and steel, because they were setting whatever was left of the houses and buildings on fire. Norman looked to his left to see that only about thirty residents of the town had escaped and that they were zooming across the water in boats. Norman and Lizzy zoomed down the landscape of mycelium, and as they got closer to the water they noticed that at least ten people had been shot down by skeletons, their bodies pierced with arrows and sinking into the water.

Norman didn't have time to feel sickened or sad, because he looked back and caught a glimpse of four Endermen running towards them in long strides with their mouths agape. Norman quickly turned around and began to sprint in order to stay safe. Once he and Lizzy reached the shore of the Mushroom Island they both placed their boats and jumped inside. They were able to start zooming through the water just as the Endermen had caught up. As he was speeding towards the crowd of boats holding the twenty other survivors, Norman looked back to see that groups of all different hostile mobs were gathering at the edge of the shore.

Endermen were waving their arms angrily along with the zombies, and skeletons were still trying—and failing—to shoot at them, and the Creepers were hissing so loud that the sound echoed through the cold nighttime air. Norman almost did a double take when he noticed that a skeleton was looking directly at him. His stomach did a back flip when he realized that the mob was smiling at him. He shuddered for a moment before turning around. He was glad he had turned around in time, because he almost ran into the back of someone else's boat.

Norman only nudged the boat a little, and immediately he regretted his actions. The person in the boat he had bumped whirled around to glare at him. It was Danny Bedrock. Once realizing that he was bumped by Norman, Danny growled and made a nasty face.

"Hey! Noobman, I am so gonna kill you when we find shelter! You made a dumb move back there by embarassing me before the trials, and now you're gonna pay!"

Norman gripped tight onto his boat and tried to turn away when Danny began to slam his boat, trying to break it apart. Danny would have destroyed Norman's boat entirely if it wasn't for the person who shouted angrily at him. Norman looked up and saw that his friend Jeff Ironblock had backed up next to Danny.

"Hey you! What's your name, son?" asked Jeff.

Danny looked up instantly and pulled his hand back into his own boat. He looked over at Jeff's impatient expression and smirked.

"I'm Danny Bedrock. What do you want?" he said curtly.

Jeff put on a scowl and replied to his rude tone of voice.

"I want you to stop beating on Norman and focus on driving your own boat! Got it?" he demanded.

Danny snickered a bit as though Jeff's reaction was amusing.

"And why would I do that? You're that Jeff Ironblock guy, aren't you? Didn't you lose to a Creeper that one time? Sorry bub, but I'm a bedrock champion, so if you don't shove off right now you're gonna be spending a week trapped in a box of bedrock, so shut it." replied Danny.

Danny would have looked very intimidating if he had been paying attention a little more, because while he was talking he had smashed into the person in front of him and his boat was destroyed. The entire group had to stop for Danny so that he could hold his breath and find his boat at the bottom of the ocean. Norman found it very amusing to see Danny come gasping up for breath every time he didn't find it. While Danny had been wasting time, Mayor Mushroom—a short and plump man who always carried with him at least twenty porkchops—declared that they would set up camp by building a floating area out of whatever they could use.

Some survivor named Hilary Sponge had used his powers to build a tower of sponges from the bottom of the ocean—another thing about gaining block powers was that you could place and take away blocks from any distance—so that they could build a large platform of sponges to camp out on. Unfortunately, none of the survivors had the power of Dirt Block, Grass Block, or Farmland, so they weren't able to make a farm. Once everyone had broken their own boats and put them away, they all came onto the sponge island to rest. Norman took the liberty of finding out who all survived the overthrowing of the town. He figured that he would want to keep track of who survived on their whole trip, so he killed a nearby squid so that he could make a book and quill. He opened it up immediately and wrote...

List of Survivors

1. Bailey Creeper (And Butterball)

2. Cherin Redstoneore

3. Danny Bedrock

4. Esmeralda Ironblock

5. Francis Goldblock

6. Hilary Sponge

7. Jeff Ironblock

8. Jonah (No Last Name)

9. Kelly Fern

10. Lizzy Cake

11. Mason Mushroom (The Mayor)

12. Norman Cobweb (Me)

13. Olivia Dandelion

14. Palma Sand

15. Quinn Dragonegg

16. Stephanie Flowerpot

17. Tammy Torch

18. Victor Enchantmenttable

19. Yesinia Air

20. Zeke Squid

When Norman looked over his list, he decided that when someone was to die or leave the group he would cross their name off so that he kept track a little better. Norman realized that they had two Mobwhisperers in their group, so that was good news. Unfortunately, Norman also realized that Patrick was not among them, and he tried not to imagine what horrible things Patrick might have experienced. Norman turned around to see that Lizzy was trying to look over his shoulder.

"So, you're gonna keep track of everyone here? That's kinda weird, Norman." she muttered.

Norman was taken aback at this comment.

"I just... I don't know why I'm writing a list, I just feel like I should." he replied, his cheeks burning.

Lizzy shrugged and went off to talk to Jeff, who was standing with his wife and son near the edge of the floating sponge island. So much had happened in one day, and Norman was completely exhausted. The night had gone from his and Lizzy's bakery being ambushed to him living in a sponge-crafted refugee camp. Norman found that everyone was putting their beds on one end of the little sponge island. Norman did the same thing and flopped onto it instantly.

Norman might've fallen asleep immediately if it hadn't started snowing violently. That night was the longest and coldest he had ever experienced, and it was deadly as well. Norman awoke to a late morning to find that someone didn't make it through the bitterly cold night. It was Jonah.

Little Jonah froze to death very early in the morning because of how little body heat he could preserve. Jeff and Esmeralda had gone into a deep depression because of their loss, and Jeff would have drowned himself if it weren't for Kelly Fern, who fished him out every time.

Norman flipped open his book and quill to the list of names and crossed off Jonah's. He then said a prayer to not Notch, but God. His real life was still on Earth, so he hadn't decided to change his religion. He prayed that God would help Notch up in the Aether find a place for Jonah and that he would forever rest in peace. When he was finished, Norman put away his book and quill and stood over the edge of the sponge island and watched as the squid that Zeke had called up carried Jonah's small body away. In his head, Norman thought,

"I know I'm going to die on this long journey..."

Norman lived for weeks with his fellow survivors, and many events happened in that time. On the first day only about three hours after Jonah's body was sent away, an elder by the name of Tammy Torch—who was at the age of 79—also passed away but because of hunger. She hadn't been supplied with very much food before the attack as well as after. They only had one source of food on their sponge island, and that was Lizzy's cakes.

Norman hadn't been in the camp for even a day and already two of their group members hadn't made it. Norman spent his free time writing in a separate book and quill as a journal. Besides the first two deaths within the day, nothing else significant occurred, so that night Norman didn't have very much to write. He heard the mayor shouting something aloud, but he was too concentrated in his writing to hear correctly.

Day 1: June 23rd, 2415

Today was my first day living on this sponge island. This morning my good friend Jeff Ironblock's son died of the cold, and not three hours later an elderly woman by the name of Tammy Torch died of hunger. I pray to both God and Notch that they find a place where they should belong; specifically the Aether.

Food here is scarce, and unfortunately no one was able to save any during the attack. Lizzy is our only supplier of food, and though her infinite cakes are filling, the taste is beginning to become bland. If every day becomes like this one, I don't think that anyone will make it. We have to find other civilization if we want to live.

~Norman Cobweb

Norman shut his book and stored it in his inventory inside his Blockpack, which he had managed to spare from the previous events. He sat down on the soft sponge surface of the island. He looked up and realized that people were packing away their things and clearing the island of anything leftover blocks. Norman spotted Lizzy far away on the other side of the sponge island punching up her bed and putting it in her own inventory. Norman quickly stood up and ran over to where she stood.

"Lizzy, why is everyone packing up? Are we going somewhere?" he asked as he approached.

She glanced over at him for a few seconds before looking around their makeshift sponge island.

"Well, the mayor declared that we would be moving on and traveling to find actual land again. We can't just stay here and die, so the best thing the mayor could do was declare that we would only make an island to rest on at night if we didn't find land. I have a bad feeling that this is going to be one LONG road trip." she muttered, groaning at the idea of steering a boat for hours at a time.

Norman quickly hurried back to his spot where he had set up his own little area. He didn't want to be left behind, and he hurriedly stuffed everything he had into his inventory except for Shatter, which he held in his hands. After everyone on the sponge island had packed up their things—which wasn't much—they all placed their boats in the water and entered them. Hilary Sponge used his powers to remove the entire sponge island at once, leaving a big patch of randomly flowing water.

Once again they headed out for land. The entire day was spent traveling, and they only stopped to set up camp when the sun had dipped below the horizon. Every night Norman recorded in his journal, and for three full days there was nothing in his notes but bad news...

Day 2: June 24th, 2415

Today was our second day of survival, and it was just as bad as yesterday. A middle aged woman by the name of Yesinia Air had gone crazy because of the events. She had previously lived as a pampered rich woman who worked for the mayor, and she wasn't able to get used to this sudden change. She drowned herself along with another poor victim who tried to stop her—Francis Goldblock.

We've lost four people within two days, and I'm thinking that if this keeps up we'll all be dead within eight days. Lizzy has grown tired because of the amounts of cakes she has been producing, and if she dies too I'm not sure who I'm going to stick with. These events make me wish I was back in my real home on Earth. Part of me thinks that getting home is hopeless now, but the other half wants me to keep going. I'm not sure which to listen to.

~Norman Cobweb

Day 3: June 25th, 2415

Thankfully, there weren't any deaths today, but still there were many victims of the sad and terrible events that had occurred. Several people have gone crazy, and Danny had to put them in lit prisons of bedrock to keep them from hurting others. The mayor hopes that these victims—who were Olivia Dandelion, Palma Sand, and Victor Enchantmenttable—would regain their minds soon. Mayor Mushroom had terrible thoughts himself, but he has been able to stay a strong leader throughout these events.

I will say that I am surprised I have lasted these times. Several moments in this survival period I have felt like I was going crazy. I think I am starting to hallucinate, because for some reason I keep hearing voices in my head, just random little bits and pieces of words. I'm just going to say that I'm glad I've made it this far, and I thank both God and Notch for this.

~Norman Cobweb

Day 4: June 26th, 2415

This morning the mayor hosted yet another funeral for the victims of the insanity. All three of them were overcome by their maddening feelings, and now there are only thirteen of us left. I'm so sure that I'm going to go crazy myself, and I don't look forward to that day. I think that our only hope was and still is finding land and fresh plants for food. If I have another slice of Lizzy's cake I'm going to throw up.

The majority of these past four days have been spent traveling in boats. My arms and legs are numb and my butt is constantly falling asleep. I don't know what I wouldn't give for a few minutes of sprinting through the tall grass of some open plains. That sure would be much better than sitting in a boat.

There has been only one good thing about this whole survival trip, and that's how I've changed my body. I've admitted before that I wasn't very fit like Lizzy, but after spending these few days roughing it out, I've found that I'm in a much better shape than I've ever been. I may not be perfect, but now I don't mind some physical exercise. I now realize that I shouldn't have ignored all of Lizzy's nagging comments about my physical shape, because if I had gotten in better shape before I'd be great right now. These skinny limbs of mine have gained a lot of muscle, so I'm proud of myself. Hopefully I can maintain this; otherwise it'll all be wasted.

~Norman Cobweb

Norman woke that next morning to someone screaming. Norman jumped out of his bed and looked around. The sun was just beginning to rise, and Norman looked all around to find the source of the scream. He looked far at the other side of the island to see that Cherin Redstoneore—a fourteen year old girl with long red hair—was hacking away at a spider with her stone sword. Norman began to sprint towards her to help. Unfortunately he did not get there before Danny did, and the great lug came down hard on the spider with his diamond sword.

Norman looked around to see that other people were waking up. Soon all of the survivors were crowding around Danny and praising him for his deed. All the while Cherin was blushing noticeably and constantly thanking Danny for what he did while Danny grinned smugly. Norman was quite annoyed with Danny for this, because he could have gotten all the attention if it weren't for him. The mayor got the attention of the entire group and made an announcement as he gripped the shoulder of Danny.

"Everyone, I believe we owe this brave hero something. Danny Bedrock, I declared you the lead fighter of this team and I give you nine diamonds for your gracious deed! Three cheers for Danny Bedrock!"

Everyone cheered for Danny as the mayor gave him nine free diamonds. Norman was sickened beyond comprehension at this sight, and he felt like exploding.

But Norman just calmed himself and walked away. He couldn't go back to bed, so he began to wonder what to do. Just then his thoughts were interrupted by the mayor's shouting. Norman whirled around to see him standing on a podium made of sponge—courtesy of Hilary.

"Everyone, I believe we all know just how that spider got here! All mobs—except for squids—need land to spawn on, and that can only mean one thing! There must be land somewhere nearby! I'm going to send out groups of three facing in every direction to find where this new land is! Now then, any volunteers?" he asked.

Many hands shot up at that moment; everyone wanted to find the new land. Norman felt butterflies form in his stomach. There was land nearby! Norman quickly packed up his stuff so that he was ready to leave—he knew he'd have to do it later anyways. Mayor Mushroom sent out the four search parties in those next few minutes. Within about three minutes the search group heading north came zooming back towards the island.

One of the members of the North search party—Zeke Squid—called to the mayor when he and his group came close.

"Mr. Mushroom, sir! There is an enourmous desert with an equally large jungle just under ninety blocks north from here! The reason we didn't see it is because we are just barely out of sight of it! We rode all the way to the shore and made a quick survey, and we found a desert temple far off in the distance in the desert and a jungle temple right on the border of the jungle! Those places are probably bursting with loot!" sputtered Zeke.

The mayor ordered everyone to get in their boats soon after hearing this, and within a minute the entire group of survivors caught sight of the new land. Norman had a good feeling fill his mind. They had found a home.

Finally, they've found land! What exactly will happen to them now that they've found land? How will they handle fighting monsters after going over four days without any practice? And WHY is it that the mayor is such an idiot?! Find out next chapter in THE GLITCH!

Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven...