Chapter One: Winter
Steve never liked winter very much. It was cold, it was miserable, it snowed, ice formed over the rivers, and worst of all, the sun was hardly ever out. He hated the cold, he hated the lack of animals, he hated the silence, sentient and pressing through the air, like a predatory cat and not a lack of sound.
Unfortunately for him, Alex liked winter. She and Rex both. Pumpkin was with Steve in the 'I hate cold' boat, which meant that Steve and the cat were sitting on the porch, watching Alex and Rex play in the snow.
Laughing, Alex packed a snowball and held it out to Rex. He sniffed it curiously. Steve adjusted his hat and sighed. Pumpkin meowed and shifted on his lap.
Alex threw the snowball across the clearing, and Rex ran after it, his gray body nearly blending into the white blizzard. He nosed the ground, whined, and pawed at the earth, confused as to where his snowball had gone. Alex laughed at his confusion.
Steve sighed. "Don't tease him too much, Alex."
Alex stuck her tongue at him playfully and packed another snowball. "Okay, I'll stop…" She finished her snowball. "...Throwing them for Rex!" She whirled about, kicking the snow up in a powdery cloud and hurled the snowball at Steve. It smacked into his shoulder with a piff! noise, surprising him.
"Wha… Oh, you're on!" He shouted, leaping up and startling Pumpkin, who scrambled to the banister, meowing angrily. Steve darted into the clearing and tossed a snowball at Alex, who ducked and ran at him, tossing another snowball. He ducked, watching it fly into the side of the house. Laughing, Steve leapt forward, kicking a wave of snow at Alex, who stopped abruptly, startled. Steve took his chance and tackled her into a snowdrift on the side of the house. They wrestled for a bit, before, finally, cheeks red from laughing, the couple had to stop for air.
Gasping and giggling, Alex sat up slightly, resting on her elbows. Steve glanced at her, watching her skin through her wispy red hair. Rex ran over to bother Pumpkin, who was being the pretentious queen she was, licking herself on the banister.
He barked loudly, and Pumpkin leapt off the balcony with a yowl. Frightened, she ran off into the woods. Still gasping for air, Alex and Steve ran after her.
They had no such luck in catching the runaway cat.
Searching the woods, Steve split up from Alex, heading in the direction of the mines. "PUMPKIN!" He shouted loudly, looking around for the escapee cat.
Glancing towards the mines, Steve shuddered, but seeing as Pumpkin's pawprints lead directly into the caves, he headed down after her. Walking through the cool mines, water dripped and torches flickered. For a while, Steve could follow the wet pawprints on the floor,but eventually, they dried out, and he was walking blind.
Searching the corridors, Steve eventually came upon the place where he and Alex had tunneled into the stone to find the mineshaft. But… he was sure they'd patched up the wall after they'd adventured into it last time. With a swallow, Steve stepped inside the mineshaft.
Standing at the end of the tunnel was a boy.
He was a teenager, 16 years old, holding a mewling Pumpkin and grinning at the cat. He was wearing a penguin hoodie.
"Who are you?" Steve called into the darkness, and the boy whirled around, starting when he caught sight of Steve. Pumpkin leapt out of his hands and ran to Steve, meowing incessantly. He backed up anxiously, eyes wide.
"Are you… lost?" Steve approached him, trying as hard as he could to look non threatening. He relaxed his muscles, especially in his face, and smiled genuinely. He just had to get close enough to help the kid.
The boy shook his head violently, backing up further.
Steve took a deep breath. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you, buddy, I just want to help you-"
"I'm fine!" the boy spat out, panicked. He sprinted off through the tunnels, disappearing into the darkness. Pumpkin meowed angrily, wanting her new friend back. Steve stood in shock for several minutes before what had happened finally registered. That boy wasn't a villager. He was… Minecraftian.
He looked like Steve and Alex, and he must have parents or siblings, or… which meant… he and Alex were not alone.
Head spinning, Steve scooped up Pumpkin and made his way through the tunnels before coming to the surface. Trembling, he stumbled through the cold wood in a daze, the image of the boy still fresh in his mind as he wandered back towards his home.
Stepping into the clearing, Alex greeted him. "Oh, you found her. Where was she?"
Steve set Pumpkin down who went back to acting pretentious on the porch as before. He sighed heavily. "In the mines," he glanced around their home, suddenly wary of the woods that they lived in and relied on for resources. They seemed… ominus… somehow, like the trees and plants were hiding secrets that could never be discovered. He met Alex, who was watching him, looking concerned but puzzled. "Hey, can I talk to you? Like, inside?"
Alex looked around briefly. "Sure, we can go in. Is… everything okay? Did you get attacked in the mines? I swear, if some stupid mob tried to hurt you I'll-"
"No, that's not it," Steve interrupted her. "I just don't feel safe out here right now."
Alex nodded sternly, and took his hand as the two of them walked back to the house, the snow crunching underfoot. When they reached the porch and opened the door, Pumpkin and Rex ran inside, seeking the warmth of the house. Alex stratened he shoulders after they walked in, and shut the door.
"Start some stew," She told Steve. "I'm going to block up the windows."
"With what?" Steve asked, suddenly concerned for her safety.
"Diorite," Alex shrugged. "We have too much of it anyway."
That much was true. With all the mining and exploring Steve and Alex did, you had to expect that they would end up with ridiculous amounts of diorite, andesite, and granite, which were only good for trading with villagers, and even then, sometimes Stonemasons didn't even want them.
Steve moved to the crafting table, pulling some mushrooms and bowls from the chests nearby, and quickly crafting the soupy stews. Fragrant mushrooms were the star of the dish, while warm, flavorful broth added a sense of calmness while eating. All in all, it was one of Steve's favorite dishes. Alex didn't care too much for mushrooms, but would tolerate them for Steve's sake.
Alex came downstairs, finished blocking up the windows and doors, and came to sit across from Steve. She smiled. "So, what was it you wanted to talk about?"
Steve took a sip of his soup and sighed. "I was in the mines and… well… I didn't catch Pumpkin."
"Oh," Alex looked at Pumpkin for a moment, who was relaxing in front of the fire. "So you're telling me we have to exorcise the cat?"
Steve couldn't help but laugh at Alex's blunt sense of humor. Alex grinned at him proudly, obviously happy that he was laughing.
"Not exactly," Steve answered, wiping his eyes. "What I mean is, I wasn't the one who grabbed her."
Alex's brow furrowed in confusion as she comprehended what he'd said. "So… someone else caught Pumpkin?"
"Exactly," Steve answered. "There was this boy, he was wearing a hoodie that looked like a penguin, and I caught him holding Pumpkin. When I tried to talk to him, however, he just ran away. It was… really weird."
"You sure you didn't see a ghost?" Alex asked. "Not that they exist, but still…"
"No, he was real," Steve answered. "If you don't believe me, you could check over Pumpkin…" He sighed, but to his surprise, Alex walked over and picked up Pumpkin, who stretched, and then almost immediately started meowing. Steve cocked his head. "What are you…?"
Alex put Pumpkin down. "She doesn't like being held for too long. If someone's been holding her, she'll react. So, yeah, I believe you."
"That's the thing," Steve answered. "That kid… we aren't the only ones out there."
"Good," Alex answered. "I was not looking forward to repopulating our entire species."
Steve shook his head, smiling. "Okay, okay. I get it, having babies sounds like no fun. But-" he froze suddenly. "Did you hear that?"
Alex fell silent, and the only sound in the entire room was the crackling of the flames.
Then clear as a bell, came the sound of a knock at the door.
Review Replies:
Rhshsjheiisjw: I am planning to.
Elbert the Cookie: I can't wait to write more ;)
JimmyPenguin421: Yeah, Withers suck :/.
The Mayor Of Ninjago City: Here you go!