Hello readers! It's time for Chapter 7 of Saga of Survival.

Looking back, I wish I'd called them Episodes, not Chapters. Maybe I'll edit that someday...

Also, forget what I said about diamond pickaxes at the end of Ch. 6. Never mind that.

Chapter starts in 3...2...1...

Chapter 7

The Beginning of the End

The heat is intense in the chamber of lava. I wipe my forehead with my hand, already sweating profusely, while Bacon emits a light sizzling sound next to me.

Belligerence points across the pool of lava, her eyes reflecting the fiery light. "Shiny!" she squeals in a shrill voice, and I realize that Bellove has returned to us.

Niegel follows the pointing finger. "Excellent!" he exclaims. "That's diamond ore. Do you see it, Will?"

Looking across the pool, I can make out a vein of light blue material.

"That's the hardest material in nature, isn't it?" I say to nobody in particular.

"Yes it is," says Niegel. "We'll need diamond pickaxes to chip out some obsidian."

Bellove pouts. "But it's way over on the other side of the hot stuff! How do we get over there?"

Niegel chews his lip. "Yes... maybe we could..."

"Way ahead of you," I say, pulling some string out of my pocket. I tie the ends together as I did that day by the stream, and imagine a rope. A strong, sturdy fiber lies before me.

I tie one end into a lasso, then take careful aim. I can see my target- an outcropping on the other side of the pool, just above the ledge containing the diamonds.

I say a quick prayer, toss the rope, and... bingo! It falls neatly around the jutting rock. I tie the other end to a stalactite hanging down on our side, and test the rope. It seems to hold up pretty well. "You guys coming?"

Niegel stares at my makeshift bridge. "Isn't that kind of... extraordinarily dangerous?"

I nod, feeling kind of reckless. Ever since I met the Enderman, I have been consumed by a drive to reach the End by any means necessary, to escape as soon as possible.

Bacon oinks in fear and backs away from the rope.

"Fine, stay here, porkchop. Go grill yourself," I mutter, and begin moving hand over hand toward the diamond.

Dangling above the lava, the heat is almost unbearable. Several times, charred scraps of material splash up and land on my pants, almost burning through them. One particularly dangerous instance sees a spark fly up and land on my shoe. I feel heat on my foot. Quickly shaking it off, I continue my arduous journey.

I finally make it to the other side, and drop down from the rope onto the ledge holding diamonds. I turn around to see Niegel inching his way across the gap, a pained expression on his face. Bellove watches from the other side, biting her nails.

Just then, I hear a familiar sound.

SSSSSSSsssssssssss...

Is it the hiss of the lava? No, it's too high-pitched.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSssss...

It gets louder...

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

Bellove screams.

I watch helplessly as a scaly green creature emerges from the cave. It has a pained grimace on its face, and steadily hisses like a snake. Or a teakettle. It has four curved legs, and no arms.

Desperately looking for some course of action, I root around in my backpack. I spy a stick in the largest pocket.

I don't want to break my blade, but I can't think of any other action. Without thinking, I smash Tamerlein against the diamonds in the stone, cleanly snapping off the blade. I throw the blade down to the ground, and horizontally line it up with my stick. "Javelin!" I shout. A perfectly formed throwing spear lies before me.

Looking up, I see the creature creeping its way toward Bellove. She cowers against the wall, shrieking. I want to shout You have a bow! Shoot it! but I know that Bellove's mind would restrain her from any aggressive action.

I whip my spear with a baseball-style throw. It zooms past Niegel with a rush of air, and buries itself in the creature's side.

The momentum of the javelin throws the creature back into the darkness of the cave. I see a flash of light, and hear a muted explosion.

I slump back against the diamonds, holding Tamerlein's useless hilt. I gave up the only weapon I had. It was only made of stone, and I'm sure I can craft a stronger sword, but it just won't be the same.

Bacon slinks out of a corner and gives a cautious oink.

Notch and the scientists observe the battle from the safety of the laboratory.

"Wow! That was really something!" exclaims Notch. "Did you see that Creeper go? Kaboom!"

The unnamed scientist silently celebrates Will's survival. He involuntarily glances toward the closet, and wonders what would have become of the boy within if he had been in range of the Creeper's explosion.

Notch pauses for a moment. "One thing I did notice, though, was the way that one beta tester crafted the javelin. Are they allowed to make anything, anything at all that they need?"

"Yes," says one of the scientists. "The simula- ah, game is designed to test the creativity and survival skills of the players."

Notch pensively adds, "I think it makes the game a little more skewed in the players' benefit. We should limit the crafting mechanism to a preset amount of items, in my opinion.

The unnamed scientist thinks, He's insinuating himself into this operation, without even knowing what it's all about!

"Fine," he says through gritted teeth. "Take it away."

Notch grins and steps up to the computer. Whistling, he types in a series of complex commands.

Once we are reunited on my side of the lava, we examine the diamonds buried within the stone.

"We need some sort of tool to extract the diamond," I say, stating the obvious.

Niegel raises his hand. "Pickaxe?"

I shake my head. "There's got to be an easier way... how about a drill?"

Niegel looks at me quizically. "You can make a drill?"

I hope, I think but don't say. I take a small iron chunk out of my backpack, and a pair of leather gloves. I hold the iron out over the lava to heat and soften it, then twist it into a corkscrew. I bend a stick into a handle shape, and manage to make something that looks very much like a drill.

Drill. Drill, I think, focusing on the image of the exact tool I want.

Nothing happens.

I try again. No result.

I look up at my friends. "I guess we'll just stick to the pickaxe..." I mumble.

We manage to successfully extract several diamond pieces from the rock. Summoning all the focus I can, I manage to craft them into a set of pickaxes without trouble. What has happened to my crafting ability? Was the drill escapade just a fluke? I can't shake the feeling that my power has been reduced, that I am not as strong as I was before.

As we wander through the pitch-dark tunnels that riddle the earth's crust, I walk in the front, with Bellove behind me and Niegel bringing up the rear. "So, Niegel," I call back to him, "are we getting close to any obsidian?"

Silence reigns behind me.

Icy cold fear shoots through my body. "Niegel! That's not funny! Say something!"

The echo of my voice mocks me in return. Say something... something... something...

"Bellove? Did you see Niegel?" I ask.

See Niegel... Niegel... Niegel...

"SOMEONE ANSWER ME!" I scream, feeling like my lungs will rip apart.

Answer me... answer me... answer me...

I sink to me knees, holding my head in my hands. "I'm lost," I mutter to myself.

Lost... lost... lost...

Well, that's Chapter 7. The end has begun! It won't be for a while, though.

Please review, and don't forget any questions, critiques, or comments you may have.

See you later! SuperWuppy out