I woke up to the loudest thunder clack I had heard in a while. Springing up out of bed, I noticed that Jamie wasn't beside me anymore.
"She must be downstairs or something…" I thought, taking a look out the window. There were dark clouds outside, but it hadn't started raining yet. I decided to head downstairs to see what the others were up to. They were eating breakfast.
"Morning…" Jamie greeted me. "Sleep well?"
"Yeah… that was actually my first good night's sleep in a while." I responded.
"Hmm, I wonder why…" Erik teased.
"Erik, it's too early for this shit." I commented, sitting down across from him. "Now, Walter… you mentioned that we have to vacate or something, what exactly were you talking about?"
"If your base is located where I think it is, this place is likely the next they will hit." Walter explained. "And it will not end well, because they will probably try and mine all the sand here to smelt for glass."
"The hell would they need that much glass for?" Josh asked.
"Most likely for their base." Walter replied. "Nobody knows where the base is actually located, but everyone knows it's huge."
"That's what she said…" Josh replied. Me and Jamie looked at Josh in disappointment.
"...really?" I commented.
"Anyways, I know of a village further out from spawn. It's our best bet for now, I know many of the people there, and it should be safe for a while." Walter explained.
"Uh, okay…" I responded. "How many people are in it?"
"It's one of the smaller player-built ones. It only has around 10-ish people in it. I used to live closer to them and everyone knew me for my Walter White skin."
"Hah!" I commented. "Those villagers sure are cultured."
Another clap of thunder sounded, shaking the floor of the temple.
"Well, it's gonna start raining soon, so we better head out soon before it starts downpouring." I suggested. "There's no umbrellas in minecraft."
"No, I suppose you're right." Walter replied. "Well, I'm going to have to pack up all my valuables n stuff, so I'll be a minute. Now's the time to get your stuff in order as well." He said, heading back into his room.
"Does everyone have their stuff?" I asked.
"I believe I left all of my stuff in my inventory when I went to bed." Erik replied.
"They drained my inventory, so all I have is the stone sword you crafted me." Josh answered.
"I think I left my stuff upstairs." Jamie added, heading up the stairs.
"Shit… I think I left my stuff up there too…" I said, following her.
"Nie excuse…" Erik teased, again.
"Say one more thing and I'll shove the fucking diamond sword up your ass." I threatened. Erik had a huge grin on his face.
"And wipe that wide ass smirk off your face." I said as Jamie entered the room first, giggling.
Approaching the chest, I pulled out all my belongings. Jamie was across the room, grabbing hers. Pulling out the diamond sword again, I inspected it. Looking at Jamie, I approached her with it and held it out towards her.
"Here." I said.
"What?" Jamie replied, confused.
"This is still technically your sword." I answered.
"Bullshit." Jamie replied. "You stole it for me, and you paid for the enchanted book I used on it."
"Okay, first of all, I HELPED pay for that book, I didn't completely pay for it. Second of all, I stole it FOR you, so take the damn sword back."
"You know what…" Jamie said, grabbing the sword, but not ripping it from my hands like I'd expect.
"From now on, this is OUR sword." Jamie replied. "Happy now?"
"Soooo… you're a communist now?" I joked.
Jamie laughed. "That was so out of pocket… I like it."
"So uh… how are we gonna do this…" I asked.
"Taking turns, duh…" Jamie replied, now taking the sword from my hand. "Since you're so desperate to give it back to me, I'll take mine first."
"Alright, that settles it then." I said, starting towards the door.
"By the way, you got any arrows?" I asked.
"No, but I'm sure if you asked Walter he'd give you some…" Jamie suggested.
"Great, I'll do that." I said, walking out. Going down the stairs, Walter White was already downstairs with the others.
"Hey Walter, you got any arrows you can spare me?" I asked.
"Yea, sure. Take some." He said, pulling some out and tossing them to me. Another sound of thunder rocked the house. The sky was so dark it seemed like it was still night time.
Walter opened the piston door. "Let's head out. I'll lead the way."
As he, me, and Jamie walked out of the base, Walter placed blocks in front of the door as Erik and Josh walked out. Walter proceeded across the desert, as the thunder continued to roar. Erik and Josh were following behind me and Jamie.
"I know what you two are doing and it isn't funny." I commented towards them.
"Oh I can't wait till they start making stupid excuses to leave us two alone…" Jamie joked.
"You're in on this too?" I asked.
"No, but I enjoy watching their efforts." Jamie replied.
"Yeah, I suppose so… we'd be in a room all four of us and Erik would probably say some shit like "Be right back, I gotta go wash the grass and mow the walls…"
We all laughed.
"I actually would…" Erik added, making us all laugh harder, but the laughter was quickly interrupted by a lightning strike nearby, assaulting our eardrums with the loud bang of thunder.
"Damn that was loud…" Walter commented. Just then, it started sprinkling. Soon, the sprinkling turned into light rain, then downpour.
"Welp…" I commented. "What do we do now?" I asked.
"You guys wanna keep going?" Walter asked.
"I suppose we should, if we don't, who knows what's lingering here to find us." I replied, continuing to follow him. Lightning was striking more frequently now. Several strikes were just a couple of blocks from our path. Nearby, we saw a singular creeper. It was far enough not to pose a threat until…
Boom.
A lightning bolt emerged, connecting directly to the creeper, turning it into a charged creeper, its eyes now glowing a bright blue.
"Son of a bitch…" I said.
"What?" Jamie commented. I pointed towards the charged creeper. It started to look around, and made direct eye contact with me. We all stopped in our tracks, as the creeper began to pursue us.
"Hang on…" I said, pulling out a bow and arrows. Taking aim, I fired my first shot at the creeper. It was a direct hit, setting the creeper back a bit. It wasn't enough to stop its pursuit.
Getting ready for my second shot, another lightning strike occurred nearby, startling me and causing me to miss. As the creeper got closer, I realized it was now too close to us for bow range. Pulling a backup iron sword out, I ran towards the creeper, slicing it in the chest, whacking it back a bit.
"Stay back…" I said. I knew the dangers of a charged creeper, but I surely didn't want this thing to kill all of us. I figured it would be better to lure it away and let it explode.
Taking a few more swings, the creeper was pushed back further, as it started to expand.
"Here it comes…" I said, standing back a bit, as the creeper continued to expand. As the creeper became wider and wider, I started to regret my decision.
"Welp…" I thought to myself. "I'm about to get myself killed over two dumbasses, Walter White, and a goth chick… this is my reality now…"
Just then, someone pushed me over to the side, and I landed on my face. Whoever pushed me landed on top of me, and the charged creeper exploded, making my eardrums ring. Turning around…
"Jamie?" I said, confused. "I told you guys to stay back!"
"Rule number 4, Mike." Jamie reminded me, picking herself up.
"Yea… that's what I was doing." I explained.
"Well, that rule goes both ways, you know." Jamie replied. As I got up myself, we started walking again.
"We will probably have to stop for a food break on the way there at some point." Walter explained. "The village is decently far away."
"Cool." I responded, walking close behind him, on the lookout for more mobs.
As we kept on walking, the sky brightened up a bit, and the rain stopped. In the distance, I could see a few zombies that were up in flames.
"Good…" I thought to myself. "We won't have to deal with those anymore…"
"How much do you know about them?" Josh asked.
"About who?" Walter White replied.
"About the people who just invaded us…" Josh added.
"Well… they have a real name, but everyone calls them the "Pumpkin Heads" because every time they hit a base, or hit a village, or anything for that matter, they are ALWAYs wearing pumpkins on their heads." Walter explained.
"The people attacking us didn't have pumpkins on them when they first went in guns blazing…" I commented. "You sure about that?"
"Every story that I have heard about them, except yours, have been told that they were wearing them the whole time."
"Hmm…" Jamie joined in on the conversation. "At first, I thought they would wear them to conceal their identities…"
"That's still a possibility." Walter explained.
"I think they didn't wear the pumpkins at first, because they wanted us to think that they were just regular invaders. At first, at least." I reasoned. "Once they fired that first shot out of the TNT cannon, they must've figured we knew by then."
"I don't think they wear them to conceal their identities." Walter inferred. "I think they wear them more so as a status symbol."
"I guess that makes some sense." I replied.
As we continued walking, Walter took out some food and passed it around.
"Do they specifically target people?" Jamie asked.
"No, however whenever they launch an attack on someone, or a small civilization, they usually hit whoever is nearby next, and basically take over the entire area."
"So… spawn is next…" I guessed.
"Yes." Walter replied.
"Hmm, I guess we should have warned Miles about that other village nearby that was cratered." I said to Erik.
"He wouldn't have believed you…" Jamie stepped in.
Eventually, I saw a beacon in the distance.
"Is that the place you're talking about?" I asked.
Walter looked further. "Yep…" He replied.
"Great, my legs are killing me…" Josh said.
"Bro… this is a game, how are you tired…" I commented.
As we were approaching the village, Walter looked around.
"When we get to the village, stay with me, I have to make sure the village people don't think you outsiders are members of the Pumpkin Heads." He explained.
"So, basically we're going to have to go through Minecraft customs?" I said.
"Actually, yes. They will search your inventories." Walter answered. "In fact, give me all your swords."
"What?" Josh said, as we all emptied our inventories to give to Walter. I saw Jamie taking out the diamond sword and glancing at me before giving it up.
"When they search your inventories, they will look primarily for weapons. If they find swords, bows, armor, or anything that can pose a potential threat they'll detain you and question you the whole day." Walter explained.
"What about TNT?" Erik asked.
"Not a chance." Walter explained. "If anyone that tries to get into this village even has the MATERIALS to craft TNT, they'll be killed on the spot."
"Well, at least we'll know we'll be safe from the griefer kiddos…" I said.
"Oh, one more thing. Do NOT, under ANY circumstances mention anything about where you came from, what happened to your base, or anything." Walter explained. "They won't let you in if you're a refuge from a previous base that was invaded."
"Because they fear they may have led them here?" Jamie inferred.
"Bingo." Walter explained. As we approached the beacon, we could see a giant cobblestone wall surrounding a bunch of…
"Buildings?" I commented. "I thought you said this was a village…"
"Well, it's considered a village, but it's a very large village." Walter replied.
As we approached the wall, I could see the indent in it, as well a piston door.
"These people sure have a bunch of resources…" Josh commented.
As we approached the door, there was also an iron trapdoor to the side, and a regular 2x2 piston door on the side. Walter motioned for us to stay back a bit, as he approached the trapdoor. It opened, revealing someone I assumed to be the gatekeeper. After a few seconds, th piston door opened, and Walter walked through, pointing to the other door as it closed.
Sure enough, th piston door to the side opened, and the gatekeeper came out, motioning us to come forward. As we entered, they searched our inventories.
"Where do you guys venture from?" The gatekeeper asked.
"We're new to this server." I answered. "We befriended Walter a while ago."
"Hmm, may I ask you how you met him?"
I took a moment to think.
"We came across him while we were in a desert biome collecting some sand to smelt into glass."
The gatekeeper raised an eyebrow.
"Glass?"
Jamie paused as well. She quickly realized the mistake she made.
"We were getting the glass to help Walter with the modifications to his desert temple." I quickly added, in an attempt to relieve some of the gatekeepers' speculation.
"Hmm, I guess that checks. Yall can go through." The gatekeeper said, leading us to an iron door, placing a lever beside it and pulling it down. Walter was waiting for us on the other side.
"Good to have you back Walter White!" The gatekeeper commented as he destroyed the lever and the doors slammed shut.
"Just follow me, and you'll be fine." Walter said. "We're gonna head to where I used to live here."
As I looked around the small town, I took a look at the townspeople, and found like 3 or 4 players with a dream skin.
"What the fuck is this place…" I said, pointing to them. "Dreams fanbase?"
Jamie pointed to the beacon and big tower sitting next to it. "Nope, it's a knock off of Aincrad." She replied. We both shared a laugh, as Walter made his way to the house. Looking at the sky, the sun was already beginning to set.
"Well, you weren't lying about how long it would take to get down here…" I commented. "It's already close to night time…"
"Well, a good thing about this village is it is lit up very well at night, so you can actually be out at night with little to no risk, as long as you're within the wall." Walter commented.
"May I ask, why did they build a wall?" Josh asked.
"They're Donald Trump fans…" Walter joked. "Nah, I'm kidding. They built it because there were lots of mobs in the area at night and they wanted to make sure none of them got too close."
"Man, I don't know about you guys, but as soon as we get to whatever house Walter's talkin about, I'm laying down and passing out…" Josh commented.
"Yeah, same here…" Erik commented.
We approached the house just as the sun was going down, and entered the house Walter was talking about. It was decently large, with three floors. As we entered, we were greeted with what seemed to just be a bigger version of Jamie's house.
"Wow, this place is amazing!" Josh commented. "How could you ever leave this place?"
"I like living alone." Walter commented. "I just started off here so I could have colleagues in case."
Reaching into his inventory, he pulled out our stuff. "I almost forgot…" He said. "Erik, your sword, Josh, your stone sword, Jamie and Mike, your bows… and the diamond sword." Both me and Jamie approached it, grabbing it at the same time.
"Uh…" Walter started.
Jamie let go of the sword, letting me grab it. "Eh, have it for now." She said.
"You two share this thing?" Walter asked.
"I guess you can say that…" I stated. "I stole it from someone trying to kill us, then helped pay for an enchanted book to enchant it. But Jamie insists that I keep it, but that defeats the point that I stole it for her…"
"Hmm." Walter said. "Alright, I won't judge."
As Walter led us upstairs, he showed us to our rooms. Similar to the temple situation, there were only three.
"I call the room on the left…" Erik said, opening the door. Josh followed behind.
"Night lovebirds!" He commented. I rubbed my hand across my face.
"Say, I need to stock up on supplies again since I left everything at the old house, where is the storage place here?" Jamie asked Walter.
"It's not just a storage shed like your village." Walter explained. "You have to pay for stuff."
"Oh… well, never mi–"
Walter tossed Jamie some emeralds. "Buy whatever it is you need." He said. "The store should be somewhere down the street."
"Well, thank you!" Jamie said, walking down the stairs.
"Say Walter…" I started. "I think Imma go on a walk to clear my mind up a little bit…"
"That's fine." He said. "I'll likely be asleep by the time you two get back, so do me a favor and lock the door when you get back, will ya?"
"Sure…" I replied, walking down the stairs. By the time I went outside, Jamie was nowhere to be seen.
"Cool… finally, I have some alone time."
As I walked across the cobblestone pathway, I took a look around the various different buildings and towers. The scenery was brilliant, it reminded me of the kind of stuff I'd build back in the days when I still no-lifed this game. Looking at the sun as it was touching the horizon, the sky began to darken. Sure enough, the street and outside of the houses were all illuminated enough so mobs would not spawn. I saw a few players walking around, but they didn't pay too much attention to me. With nothing better to do, I figured I should head over to the store Walter was talking about to see if I could get some food. As I went the way Walter described, I noticed Jamie in a corner near the shop, with two players keeping her from leaving. I listened in on the conversation.
"You look nice, really."
"Are you lost? We can help ya!"
"I'm not lost… Now please get away from me…"
"Oh come on…"
"We ain't gonna hurt you, why don't you hang with us for a while?"
"You afraid of the dark? Don't be! This place is 100% safe, that's what the wall is for."
One of the players put their hand on Jamie's shoulder. "So, what do ya say?" He intrigued.
"I have to shut this down…" I said to myself.
"Hey…" I said, approaching the two players.
"Who the hell are you?" one of them asked.
"I was about to ask the same thing." I replied.
"Why are you so concerned? This ain't your business…" the other player said, blocking Jamie from view. "Why don't you piss off and mine the floor of your house…"
"Actually, it is my business…" I said. "She's with me."
"Pfft, that's bullshit, this is the first time I've seen you." One of the players commented.
"Yeah, and it's gonna be the last time you see me. Leave."
"Oh, so now the blue hoodie kid is threatening us!" The player commented. "Get a load of this!"
"Yeah, he's just mad that we're pulling the girls instead of him…"
"Yeah, buddy. Let me give you a tip. That skin makes you look like a loser."
I had enough of their shit. I pulled out the diamond sword.
"Beat it, or I'm gonna kill your ass."
The two players held their hands up and stepped back.
"Damn bro, it's not that serious!" One of them said, "if you wanted her that badly you should've just asked."
"I did, politely." I replied.
"Come on man, let's just get out of here… he has a diamond sword and we left all our stuff at our house…" the other guy mentioned.
As the two players made a run for it, I put away the sword and approached Jamie. She had an empty look on her face.
"Are you okay?" I asked. "Did they do anything to you?"
"Yeah… I'm good." Jamie replied in a monotone voice, walking towards the stand.
"Hey, don't "I'm good" me, I know damn well something is up, tell me."
"I told you I'm okay, they didn't do anything to me." Jamie replied, approaching the stand. I approached beside her.
"Could I just get a couple of…" She paused, taking out the emeralds and placing them on the table.
"Some steak, please."
She was breathing more rapidly than usual, her eyes widened a bit.
"Jamie?"
The store guy came back with a stack of steak, taking the emeralds.
"Thank you." Jamie said, taking the steak and hurrying back to the house.
"Jamie, wait up!" I said catching up to her.
"Mike, I told you I'm okay, you don't have to follow me."
"Jamie, you're hyperventilating. You're not okay."
Jamie stopped to turn around.
"Why do you care?" She asked. "It's not like its going to kill me…"
"I just want to know what's wrong?" I answered. "I swear, if those two people did anything to you, I'll"
"For the LAST TIME, THEY DIDN–"
She stopped herself, tears forming in her eyes.
"I–"
"That one guy that put his hand on my shoulder…"
"Alright…" I said, pulling my sword out again. "I'm going to kick his a–"
"No, don't… that isn't why…" Jamie interrupted. "I—It's…"
"It's hard to explain."
"I have all night. Go for it." I said, putting my sword away again.
"W-well… when he was trying to make a move on me, it uh… it r-reminded me of…"
"Your ex forced you into doing a bunch of shit you didn't want to, didn't he…" I assumed.
Jamie broke down.
"Yes…" She replied. "A-and… I n-never stood up f-for myself… I didn't s-stand up for myself that time e-either… I was just gonna l-let them…"
"Jamie…"
"Y-yea?"
I came around to look her in the eye.
"Do you love yourself?" I asked.
"What?"
"Do you?"
Jamie paused for a second. I quickly realized the answer to that question.
"Look, we should try and focus on bettering your self-worth and self-esteem." I suggested.
"Oh so you're a mental health specialist now? You can magically solve all of my problems?" Jamie lashed out.
"Jamie, I'm no specialist, but one thing for sure is that guy took a severe toll on your mental health and it has affected you in the long run."
"Y-yea?"
"Look, I want you to love yourself for who you are. You shouldn't be letting your past experiences hold you back from achieving that."
"But I hate who I am…" Jamie commented. "I'm nothing."
"Bullshit." I replied. "You're enough who you are now. You're you, and that's all that matters. You don't need to change to please others. If they can't appreciate you for who you are, then they can go FUCK themselves."
"I-"
"I mean it. You are enough." I replied. "Now, it's getting late, why don't we go get some sleep."
I led the way back to the house, making sure there was nobody nearby. As I entered the house, I went upstairs and opened the bedroom door for her.
"If you want some space, I'll sleep in the living room."
"N-no, it's okay." Jamie said, calming down.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
As I entered the room, I set my diamond sword back in the chest and Jamie laid down into the bed. I closed the door, and laid down beside her.
"Hey… I'm sorry if I was a little too prying."
"What?"
"You shouldn't have to tell me stuff you don't want to."
"You weren't prying at all. Just concerned, I guess."
"You really have to take care of yourself more mentally." I said. "Don't let yourself go."
"I know I should, I just… don't know how." Jamie replied.
I turned to her.
"Surround yourself with caring people." I suggested.
"Like who?"
"Like the guy laying next to you numbnuts…"
Jamie wrapped her arms around me, again.
"Thank you." She said.
"Don't mention it."
As I stared blankly into the ceiling, Jamie also wrapped her legs around mine, her warmth spreading to me. That made me think…
"What are we?"
"What do you mean?" Jamie asked.
"Like… our relationship… what is it.?"
"I dunno… you tell me…"
I didn't have a direct answer to that question anymore.
