Chapter 2

Nightfall on the Western Plains

By the time that I had finished crafting the Diamond axe night had nearly fallen. The sun was just now setting on the horizon. I picked up my axe and walked over to one of the windows in my room. I could see some of the village huts in the distance, behind them the sun was just starting to set. I looked over at the clock again.

"Not much more time left," I thought. Now it was close to five thirty.

If I made a good effort I might be able to cut down at least one tree by the time night fell.

I took my axe and left the house heading into the meadow.

There was a lot of tall grass around the house. I cut my way through it. Every once and a while I would find seeds in the grass. I collected them; they would prove useful to trade to the farmers in the village, maybe for some iron. There has not been much iron found here lately. Not since the king of this region took it all.

"This one will do. I said looking up the truck of an average sized tree. I lay the axe down and spit in my hands to lubricate them and then I grabbed the handle of the axe again and lifted it over my shoulder. I swung at the tree multiple times for a good while until I had made a sizable gash in the trunk. I then started swinging at the opposite side of the tree. I continued to smash and cut away at the thick oak wood until my blows broke through the trunk and met with the other gash I had made on the other side. The tree made a hissing sound as what was left of the trunk snapped and the tree collapsed under its own weight, falling to the side of me. I stepped out of the way, even though I was already far enough away not to be hit, I was just making sure. The tree came down and hit the ground with a hard thud. It bounced a little and then settled where it lay.

I spent the next thirty minutes or so cutting the tree apart. By the time I had finished hacking up the tree I could tell that there was more wood here then I would be able to carry tonight. Looking back at my house I could see that the sun had already set in the distance. The last bit of pink and orange light was brimming on the distant hilltops, beginning to fade away.

"Time to go," I thought.

I figured that I would just leave the wood here for tonight. There was no one around who would be stupid enough to stay out at night and possibly take it. Besides, most folks around here were pretty good people and they didn't tend to do the wrong thing often. Like the priest always said in church on Sundays, 'Few men are truly evil, most are simply confused nad misled.'

Well I agreed with him for the most part aside from perhaps one individual that we had a run in with a few years ago. Herobrine. That… thing… was evil to its core. I had seen him once in the time when he ran free, wreaking havoc on all he touched. Those were the darkest years that the five kingdoms had ever seen. Fortunately, Herobrine is no longer a threat thanks to the Aether warriors who rose to fight against his hordes of evil. They say that Herobrine was defeated and is now locked away in a prison of some kind, another dimension called the 'End'. Or so they say.

I was getting close to being back at my house now, I could see it just past the next color field, not but a few hundred yards more and I would be home.

Suddenly I heard something rustling around in the grass near me. I stopped running and turned to see what had made the sound. I expected to see a bore or snake or maybe a wild sheep, but it was none of those. In the shadows lurked a figure resembling a man. It was now to dark to see the face of the thing I was looking at. I couldn't see any part of it clearly.

"Hello?" I called to it.

It turned slowly until it saw me, then it froze for a moment.

"Hello…?" I said again, squiting my eyes trying to tell what I was looking at.

"It didn't reply, but it did start to walk towards me.

As it came into view I could now tell what I was looking at. This was no man, this was what they called a creeper. I had never seen one before in person, only read about them. But it was an abomination, no arms, with a green scaly body and jagged sharp teeth covering its bulging mouth. The thing looked like some kind of huge green upright worm, with four spiny legs, and dark black eyes.

I had no idea what this thing was able to do, I had never seen a monster like this one before in person, I tried recalling what the reading material I had observed said about this creature, but I couldn't remember. There were not even supposed to be monsters out here this far away from the mainland. The only thing that I could decipherer from this creature was from what my father had once told me about them. 'They are an explosive monster', I recalled him telling me, 'One that commits suicide on its enemies.' I think he said that they kill by exploding and throwing corrosive acid onto their victims.

"This is not good…" I thought backing up slowly.

I raised my axe ready to strike in case the thing tried to come any closer. It did. I slashed it across its chest with the axe and jumped backwards hoping that it would not explode.

The Creeper roared making a terrifying hissing sound. Grey powered blood ran from its womb.

"Gunpowder..."

The creeper gnarled its teeth and retreated into the shadows.

I could either be a hero and follow after the thing and kill it to save someone else from the fate it intended for me, or I could be intelligent and run the remaining hundred meters to my house where I would be safe.

Well, I couldn't stand the thought of allowing that monster to roam the villages looking for unsuspecting innocent people to ambush, and I was feeling just a little bit stronger than usual today.

"Idiocy it is!" I shouted running into the darkness to peruse the Creeper. "Now where did you go to," I thought scanning the darkness.

There were several trees limiting my vision further. I stepped lightly moving around them through the shadows, pushing my way through the branches while listening intently for any sign of movement.

There was utter silence. Nothing moved. Only the sounds of the birds and the snakes could be heard through the darkness.

Suddenly I heard something break a twig behind me. I spun around driving my axe into the flesh of what was little more than a wild boar.

My axe had hit it in the head and become imbedded in its skull. The boar squealed and fell to the ground dead, bleeding profusely from its head, with the axe still lodged inside.

"Ahh," I sigh. "This is no Creeper, but then, were did the Creeper go?" I wondered pulling my axe from the boars head.

Just as I thought this my question was answered. From the shadow of one of the trees behind me came that hissing noise again. Chills ran up my spine knowing what stood right behind me. I could feel the Creeper's breathe on my shoulder, but I did not turn around. Instead I tightened my grip on the handle of my axe and took a deep and sudden breath. With a swift and sudden motion I swung the axe around at the creeper.

I did not stop my swing when I hit it. I swung as hard as I could all the way through, slicing my axe into a tree where it deeply imbedded itself into the trunk. I swiftly looked back at the Creeper I had hit. Its neck was sliced. It staggered backwards clumsily and toppled over. It hit the ground with a thud and lay their bleeding gunpowder for a moment. Then its body began disintegrating into dark smoke, and fading away into the Earth, leaving behind a large pile of gunpowder from the spilled blood.

Feeling rather proud of myself I let go of my axe and knelt down to scoop the gunpowder into my pants pockets when I heard another hissing noise from behind me.

My heart felt as if it had just stopped. A chill ran through me and my heart began pounding as I looked slowly behind me. There stood another Creeper. It was larger than the first and bulking outward as if about to explode. Instinctually I covered my face with my arms and gasp not having any time to reach my axe.

"No!" I heard my brother yell. He ran out from the shadows and tackled the creeper to the ground, furiously slicing into its throat and chest with his iron knife. He must have stabbed the thing twenty times before he was convinced that it was dead.

Like the first, its body faded into smoke and disappeared from underneath him. He looked sternly at me, a displeased look in his eyes.

"You could have gotten yourself killed just now! What were you thinking going after that thing!?" he reprimanded.

"I did manage to kill one…" I chuckled still breathing hard in a semi panic state.

"You think that you're so smart tough guy? Maybe you should take note, Creepers always, and I mean always, travel in pairs of two! The first lures you into a trap were the second is always waiting! That's how these things kill! You're lucky I came looking for you and made it over here in time!"

"Yeah… thanks… I said taking his hand and he helped me stand up. "What the heck are these things anyway?" I asked brushing myself off.

"They were humans once. They were infected and mutated into explosive monsters. Their stupid as can be, but incredibly dangerous, especially in large packs. You're lucky to have even killed one on your own."

"You've fought these things before?"

"I've killed them before too. And I've also watched them blow men in two, comrades, and fellow soldiers, ripped to pieces by their acid. They're dangerous, and I want you to promise me that you won't ever do something this stupid again!"

"Alright, I promise," I said pulling my axe from the tree it was imbedded in.

"I trust you actually managed to cut down at least one tree before all this happened?"

"Yeah, I did, its cut up a few hundred yards that way," I said pointing into the darkness.

"That's good, we'll get it tomorrow. Come on and help me pick up all this gunpowder. Shame to let it go to waste," he said bending down and scooping the powder into his shirt. "What's with the boar?" he asked noticing the dead pig beside me.

"I thought it was the Creeper."

"Ha, and your telling me that you actually managed to kill one of them after mistaking a pig for a Creeper? Wow, that's amazing bro. Well, at least we will have dinner for a while," he said standing up holding his shirt up with one hand and grabbing the boars hind legs with his other. "Come on, dad's home and waiting inside, and mom's been worried sick about you. But more importantly then either of those things… dinners ready."

"Your priorities are interesting Turk," I chuckled finishing scooping the reminder of the gunpowder into my pockets and taking up my axe.

"Nice moon tonight huh bro?" Turk said as he dragged the boar behind him as we headed back to the house.

"Yeah, beautiful…" I said looking up into the stars.

"Hey Turk?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell dad about this, alright?"

Turk grunted. "Fine I won't say anything to him."

"Thanks…"

"Well, he wants to talk to you I think. He has something to tell us both, but I didn't get a chance to ask him about it before mother sent me out looking for you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he didn't say what it was. But I have a feeling it's important… Best to be prepared. After all, who knows what they saw down there in those mines?"