Chapter Five: Reunion

Alex couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. All she could do was stand and stare at the woman in front of her, her mother.

The woman- no, her mother, stepped forwards, holding out a hand gingerly.

Alex took a deep breath in, staring at this woman's hand, before reaching out with her own, placing it inside her mother's.

Her mother's lips were trembling, and her chin was doing that weird crinkly thing, and Alex could see she was barely holding it together.

Her mother sniffled. "Oh, baby, I thought you died."

"The skeletons," Alex whispered. "I thought-"

Her mother nodded. "I know."

And suddenly they were both crying and whimpering and clinging to each other and crying and everything was getting better now that they were together. Alex felt Steve wrap his arms around her from behind, and she could tell that Elli was gripping her mother.

After a long moment, the two of them pulled apart to stare at each other, before they both sighed softly.

"I thought I'd never find you," Alex whispered, her green eyes still brimming with tears.

"I thought I'd never find you," Her mother whispered, finally taking notice of Steve. "Is this…?"

"Oh, yeah," Alex took Steve's hand. "Um, Steve, this is my mom. Mom, this is my husband, Steve."

"Husband?!" her mother exclaimed. "I wasn't at my baby girl's wedding?"

"You still have me," Elli joked, poking her mother's shoulder.

"I suppose," Her mother playfully rolled her eyes at Elli. "If you ever find someone!"

Steve blinked. "Pleased to meet you, Mrs. … um…"

"Spring," She nodded. "Sarah Spring."

"Wait, but Alex's last name is-"

"I know," Sarah sighed. "I remarried after Alex's father died in a mob raid. He was a kind man, but I just needed to forget."

"Wait," Alex looked at her. "Elli and I are… Stepsiblings?"

"Half-siblings actually," Sarah responded, nodding to the cushy stair blocks that made up the couch. "Please, take a seat. How far away were you?"

"At least a week's ride from here," Steve answered, plopping down on the couch beside Alex. "Why?"

"We looked everywhere for other survivors," Sarah sighed, passing out bottles of warm, sweet, sticky honey. "I didn't realize you were so far away."

"We came here several months ago," Alex answered. "We were so close."

Sarah nodded, smiling at her daughter. "What happened to you, Alex? After that terrible man took you, I thought you'd died…"

Alex and Steve glanced at each other, and Steve opened his mouth. "Well, see, it all started after I found her fighting a zombie with a log underneath a tree…"

"...Jimmy and Elli burst through the door and tried to kill me!" Steve exclaimed, finishing off the story, his hands out and grinning. "Obviously, we fought those little rascals off, and convinced them to take us here. Which leads us to now."

Sarah wiped her eyes, finishing laughing. "Goodness, I didn't expect my son-in-law to be so funny. Did you two really take out Herobrine and Entity 303 by yourselves?"

"Steve killed Herobrine," Alex answered. "But I killed Entity 303 by myself."

Sarah shook her head in admiration. "Fascinating. You two are heaps more accomplished than anyone else in this village."

"Speaking of which," Alex started. "Why do you guys do the class-"

"It works," Sarah answered, cutting Alex off. "It's worked before and it'll continue working for a long while."

"But… some of the lower class kids are going hungry," Steve backed up Alex anxiously. "Shouldn't you-"

"We don't," Sarah answered. "If they're going hungry, then obviously they did something to deserve it. We can't have a society if everyone doesn't pull their weight."

Steve opened his mouth, but shut it again, sighing.

Alex laid a hand on his thigh, an 'I'm here for you' gesture. He touched hers gently, but his shoulders slumped sadly. Alex didn't quite understand Steve's innate way with children and animals, but if these people were making him sad, she would do whatever she could to change that.

"May we stay with you tonight?" Alex asked Sarah, trying to be polite.

Sarah smiled. "Of course. You're still my daughter, even if you've been gone for a while. Let me show you to our guest bedroom."

Down the hall, and a sharp right turn later, Alex and Steve were standing in a small bedroom, decked out in calming furniture. The beds had light gray blankets, there was a clock on the wall, as well as several lanterns, and along one wall was a massive oil painting of a creature with three heads.

"What's this a picture of?" Alex asked as Steve plopped down on the bed happily, feeling the softness of the sheets.

"A mythical being known as the Wither. You should ask Elli and her friends about it, they're really into that sort of stuff," Sarah answered, touching the spruce rim of the frame. "Fascinating."

Alex nodded, observing the hideous being. "Thank you for everything."

Sarah smiled back. "You're welcome for everything."

They both laughed.

Alex could feel the chilly dew against her bare legs, the furry rims of her boots doing little to shield her legs from the cold. A handful of sweet berries, partially smushed, were gripped in her tiny, pudgy fist. Her three-year-old body was gleefully giggling, running along the earth.

The mist forest of her home was a wonderful place to play while her father worked lumberjacking with the other men. Glancing to the side, Alex saw a dappled mare with a teenage boy galloping towards her, unaware of her presence.

Laughing, she ran towards the horse, and it reared up in fright, the boy in the saddle panicking. But instead of what normally happened in this dream, he grinned at her.

Then, in a chillyingly familiar voice, he spoke.

"No one's ever really gone, Alex."

Herobrine.

Review Replies:

JimmyPenguin421: Yeah. The class-system is something I simultaneously love and hate. It serves the story, but I really hate it. Like, really, really, really hate it. Also, Steve's mom is dead, but I kinda forgot about his dad, so I'll have to go reread Fall To Darkness to see what I did with him.

Moatazabou4: The system doesn't care if someone goes hungry. That's their problem. And besides, the lower class would have to sell Redstone in order to eat for a day anyway.

Elbert The Cookie: I'm glad everyone feels the same about the class system :)