Hemming has always felt inferior to his older brother. Markus was talented, sure, and plenty popular. Deep down, Hemming knows that's never going to change; he also knows that, with his inexperienced influence or not, Minecraft is going to soar higher than any other game on the charts. He can't help but feel happy for Markus.
But Markus isn't happy with him.
Just in the last fifteen minutes alone of playing Minecraft, Hemming's demonstrated just how terrible he is with online games. Instead of listening to his brother's words of advice, he mutes the webcam audio and builds tiny pyramids in the sand near "Notch's" house. He strips all of Notch's trees of their leaves and plants the resulting saplings far too close to the original tree trunks where they will never grow. And Hemming wonders why his new pickaxe's "damage level" - Markus calls it - is under half.
Notch suddenly hits Herobrine hard, iron sword smashing into Hemming's avatar with brute force. Hemming wails and unmutes the webcam. "Markus, stop!"
The sword stops swinging, stops lunging toward him. The ten red hearts dotting Hemming's screen are all nearly dark: only half of the last heart remains candy-red. Hemming breathes hard into the mic, eyes wide. "Glitch..?" he whimpers, slumping down in his chair. His knuckles are white, gripping the edge of the warped, wooden desk with jagged fingernails digging into the wood grain.
"Sorry," was his only reply. "No glitch. I was trying to get your attention, Hem." he sighed. The exhale of breath buzzes through the webcam microphone makes Hemming cringe away.
"But you almost killed me!"
"I was also trying to get you to unmute the webcam and listen to me."
"Oh." Hemming pushes himself up straight in his chair, blinking wearily. A headache is beginning to blossom and pound in his head without relent. He's not used to staring at a screen with a constant gaze yet. "Well then, what is it you wish to tell me?"
"Before you waste anymore of that pickaxe, we really should get going on that mountain if you want to crack it open."
"Really?" Hemming's tone is hopeful and excited. "Really, Markus, really?!"
Markus grimaces and readjusts his headset. "Yes. Stop yelling in my ear!" he scolds, then laughs. "Of course, really! Now come'on, I'll show you how it goes."
Twenty minutes later, Hemming was beginning to rethink his status as a terrible online gaming player. He smiles with glowing pride as his brother's praises resurface and echo in his mind: a joyous ring of laughter, a shout of pleasure. He was a natural, possessing valedictorian mining skills that rival that of the game's creator himself.
The two brothers were halfway into the mountain, digging out a 2x2 tunnel extending deep into the stone, when Hemming started to get frustrated. Markus insisted on leading, giving Hemming the wonderful task of placing torches thrown to him minutes earlier. While digging out a mountain, he explains the "mere basics" of Minecraft mining. An explanation lasting thirteen minutes. Finally, Hemming got sick of listening to his brother and shoves Herobrine up front, digging side-by-side Notch. "I get it already, Markus. We're looking for diamonds. Let ME lead now!"
Hemming smiles. I bet Markus didn't regret that decision, he thinks as he shifts Herobrine's gaze briefly to glance at Notch behind him; then, when he knew his brother was still following him without complaint, continues digging steps down, down, deeper into the mountain's heart like the dwarfs in the book Hemming cherishes.
Herobrine breaks the four blocks in front of him. Hemming yelps and eases off the arrow key, gasping. A wide, yawning ravine cuts off their determined tunnel, the teetering edge directly in front of Herobrine's square foot. Notch slams into him, not seeing the ravine and Herobrine's abrupt stop in time, and pushes his brother's avatar clean off the sharp cliff face.
Hemming barely had time to think before Herobrine crunches, rock-bottom, with a "UH!" Markus's end of the webcam audio crackles. Herobrine's items - his near-broken pick, the stacks upon stacks of cobblestone, the coal, iron, and extra wood - are spread out around the ominous death message prompted front-and-center of his suddenly red-stained screen.
Hemming's throat rips out an incomprehensible sound as he leans across his desk to stare deeper into his computer and Minecraft. He sees Notch dig his way down and land directly in front of Herobrine's corpse, sucking up - stealing - his items. The younger brother's lower lip trembles as he slowly, painstakingly, leans back in his chair and draws his legs up, burying his face behind his bony knees. His thin shoulders shake as he wraps his arms around himself in an attempt of a self-inflicted hug.
"Hem? Hem? Hem, it's alright, just click 'respawn'! It's alright!"
Silence.
"Hemming, I know you're there. I can hear you crying."
"Jus' shut up." Hemming mutters quietly, not caring whether or not his brother really heard him.
"I don't know why you're so upset, Minecraft's just like any other game." Markus sounds confused. "When you die, you just respawn at your spawn point. That's all."
"I've never played any other game."
Markus jumps and peers concerningly at the little camera embedded above his laptop's screen. "Hem? It's alright."
"I'm not upset over that... Markus. Or the... T-the..." Hemming sniffs hard and wipes away tears. "...spawn thingy."
"Then what..?"
You pushed me. You pushed me, and you don't understand. You didn't even mention it, or even think about it. Think about ME for once, Markus. Not your game. Just... Please...
Hemming sighs shakily and lowers his feet back down to his crusty ivory carpet. Sniffling, he navigates his trembling hand to his mouse and tentatively jerks the little arrow to the small grey "respawn" button. His screen blinks white, then immediately a light blue wash covers it, the chunks of Markus's world loading and lagging.
Abruptly, the green grass, sand, and trees of the outside spawn point flick to darkness. Hemming's breathing becomes quick, shallow. Herobrine swings around frantically, and - if he had a heart like his human counterpart - his heart beats like a rhythmic bass drum; it pounds and echoes in his ears, amplified by the complete. Utter. Silence.
Then suddenly a groan sounds. One, two groans. A clack. A hiss.
"M-Markus..?" Hemming whimpers, nerves flooding through him. "Markus..?!"
"Hem, where are you? You did click 'respawn', right? You should be here by now." Markus frowns and moves Notch's gaze back up to the top of the ravine.
Herobrine grunts and recoils as his hearts - his now-full hearts - darken by two. Another grunt. An arrow whizzes by and slams into his chest, darkening more hearts.
"MARKUS-!"
