[Chapter VIII]
[Herobrine]
It has since been a few days that have passed when Melz came to Steve about a sudden strange feeling the man couldn't seem to get rid of.
When he visited with the merchant to see what the Elder had to say, Melz told him he thought he was just tired and over thinking. And that he would be alright if he could get some rest. So that's why he planned on keeping his stand closed for a few days and spend some time working around the Inn and being with Glorenda.
Steve, of course, did not believe him. But he thought it best not to question the man. Even if it felt like he was hiding something from him.
Wanting to try and find a way to ease whatever has been bothering the older man, Steve went to work building a creature he had mainly heard about and seen only once.
After days upon days of nearly nonstop mining, the young man had finally dug out enough iron ore to smelt into the required material needed to craft the large giant's body. And once he successfully built it, after tinkering with the mechanics to the creature, Steve was standing before a perfectly crafted iron golem.
The creature slowly blinked down at the human, before holding its hand up to gently touch Steve's shoulder. Smiling widely, Steve led the protector into the center of the village, telling everyone about the creature and that he was going to help him protect Sanderlorum.
And it was very successful with protecting the village.
As time continued on, Steve took notice of Melz becoming more and more at ease, filling the young miner with relief as he sat under the tall tent of Melz's stand, laughing about something the merchant had told him. "Haha! Oh, man… I think that's probably the only good thing that can come from Creepers! Anyways... it's really good to see you back to normal, Melz. You had me worried." He smiled.
Melz calmed his own laughter down while looking slightly away sheepishly, "Yeah. Sorry there, Steve. I didn't mean to make you worry. But I gotta say! That golem is pretty impressive! And the children love him!"
"I'm glad. Not going to lie, at first I was concerned they would be afraid of him." he confessed with a soft sigh.
"Hmm." Melz hummed. He was quiet for a few moments until he blinked, tilting his head to one side, "Say, Steve? Didn't you say you were waiting for someone?"
"Hmm? Oh yeah! Tey, Faen and I are going to take Hugo mining today. He's been really interested in it lately and wants to help." He smiled.
"Really? Well, it's good to see that boy showing an interest in something! All he ever wants to do is stick by Kelsa's side and protect her. I mean, I can understand why that is but… Anyways, you don't think he's too young?"
"Nah. He's strong and smart. And it's not like we're going super deep underground. We're honestly only going no more than one floor beneath the surface. Plus, he's about the age I was when I first started mining—." Steve explained with a smile before abruptly cutting himself off.
"What?!" Melz interrupted him, causing Steve to jump slightly. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. But you were seriously that young?"
But Steve chuckled with a wave of his hand, "It's alright, Melz. And yeah. Though I… wasn't really given much of a choice…" he began but quietly trailed off.
Melz wanted to push the topic as he was so desperately curious about this man's still mysterious past, but saw it in Steve's violet eyes the pain it brought him. So he remained silent, watching as Steve began to preoccupy himself by looking over his wares he currently had for trade. It wasn't too long after when Hugo's voice could be heard calling out to Steve, catching both his and Mel's attention.
"Ah! There you are. You ready to head out to the mine?" Steve asked with a wide smile.
Melz frowned, by now the vender being able to tell Steve's fake smiles from his rare genuine ones.
This one was very fake and forced.
But it fooled Hugo perfectly. "Yes! I'm so excited!" he exclaimed while fist pumping the air, a look of pure determination spread over his features.
The three of them continued talking until Tey and Faen joined them, the five of them conversing for a short while until Hugo's over excitement began to annoy the adults, causing them to wave Melz off while heading leaving the village and traveling through the desert towards the direction of the large mountain that had long ago been dug into and transformed into a resourceful mine.
Hugo's excitement quickly left him the instant they entered the mines and were greeted by two zombies, the teen crying out and weakly lifting his sword up to defend himself from their attacks… while hiding safely behind Steve as the other two adults took care of the Mobs.
Steve struggled to keep from chuckling at Hugo's over reaction towards just two zombies. "H-Hugo. You're alright now. It's safe to let go of my leg." he choked out between muffled snickers as he patted the teen's back. He was beginning to lose feeling to his left leg the kid had such a strong grip on it.
Hugo shyly peeked around from behind Steve, his body trembling as he watched the second Mob fall dead after Tey successfully killed it. "I-I'm fine! R-really!" he then pouted while pulling himself off and away from Steve's leg, the other three men at last laughing but all in good nature.
The rest of the trip went without any other surprises or hitches as they found a healthy supply of coal and iron ores. Looking down at his clock while wiping the sweat from his brow, Faen sighed as he looked over his shoulder towards Steve and Tey, "It's about time to head back. Sun down will be in about three more hours." he warned.
Tey, Steve and Hugo all stopped mining before looking up at Faen. "It'll take us just a little under that time to get back to the village." Tey spoke in a low voice as he pulled his worn iron pickax from the block of coal he was in the process of digging out.
"Time to call it a day then." Steve smiled down to Hugo.
By the time they reached the surface with all their spoils, the setting sun's beams filtered golden rays of fading light through the leaves and branches of the trees that were just on the outskirts of the woods that was the neighboring biome to their desert.
They began their trek home almost in silence, their bodies aching and feeling fatigue from the hours of mining they just forced their muscles to endure. Lifting his head up and looking over his shoulder to watch the large mountain they had all just left slowly growing smaller and smaller, Hugo faced forwards again and lifted his gaze up, "What's on the other side of the mountain?" he asked while following closely behind the three adults.
"It's the other side of the woods where our village goes to do the hunting. It's not too big, but it has plenty of healthy game." Tey smiled over his shoulder to the teen.
Hugo's mouth opened and lips formed and 'O' but otherwise remained silent.
Suddenly, Faen paused and turned towards Tey. "Actually, we're making great time. Why don't we try to bring home some dinner too while we're at it?" he offered after double checking his clock.
Hugo's eyes grew wide, "R-really? You guy's will teach me how to hunt?"
"We're really not too good at it. But Steve is! If that's alright with him of course." Tey smiled over to the younger male, who simply nodded his head with a chuckle.
"Sure. I think Hugo can handle learning to mine and hunt all in the same day."
Hugo smiled widely, "Awesome!"
"Well then? Come on. The best place to hunt is on the opposite side of the mountain." Faen began leading the way opposite of where they were all heading.
As they continued further into the woods and just barely passed the mountain, a strange sensation came over Hugo so suddenly it caused the teen to pause with a questioning sound leaving him as he looked over to his left.
His curiosity began steadily rising as his green eyes spotted not too far in the distance what looked like a set of decrepit stone steps.
Slowly approaching the moss covered steps, he jumped with a shriek as a hand quickly grabbed his shoulder.
"Shh, Hugo! For Notch's sake it's just me." Tey laughed as he released the now borderline hyperventilating teen. "What's gotten you so worked up? We were calling your name but you were ignoring us." Tey then questioned the teen as Hugo slowly began calming down.
Swallowing to dampen his dry throat, Hugo looked up at them and apologized before turning and pointing over towards the stone steps; "Sorry. I guess I was too wrapped up in my thoughts. But look over there! What do you think those are from?"
The three adults all looked over to where Hugo was pointing, surprise filling them as they all saw the seemingly randomly placed steps. Walking up to them to get a closer look, Steve took out a torch and lit it as the trees in this particular area were far too thick to allow much sunlight in.
Faen bent down and began brushing the dirt and grass away from the upper level where the steps were leading to, surprised hitting him as he began uncovering a stone pathway. "There was some sort of building here I think at some point." he pointed out the stone when Steve brought the fire closer.
Holding the torch up, they all saw what little of the pathway that was still exposed leading towards an opening into the mountain, the area being so horribly overgrown with vines and weeds it was rather difficult to get to it.
Upon reaching the area however, confusion spread amongst their small group as they came to find the opening barred off, a simple wooden sign that was blessed to even still be standing that served as a written warning; "Danger. Keep Out." Steve read the sign out loud before walking up closer to the iron bars, trying to peer inside the man-made cave.
His human curiosity was beginning to rise up as the light from his torch barely exposed the expertly carved stone steps that were leading deeply underground and into the mountain.
"They say that temples were built back in the days to enshrine the entrance ways into other realms. By the looks of the method used to carve this stone… I'd say that this place is in fact one of those temples." Faen whispered while studying the chiseled stone around them. "They must have used the natural formation of this mountain when building the shrine. Who knows how deeply it is hidden underground."
"Other realms?" Steve asked with a raise of a brow, lifting his head skyward and taking in the site all around them.
The trees seemed to be much taller than in the rest of the wooded biome. Vines overgrown and taking over much of the land and remains of what was obviously once a man-made structure.
"Yes. It is believed that this world has many different realms and that we humans only live in one. In fact, some people even believe that the number of realms that exist is limitless. Many realms often spoken of are like the Aether and The End." Fey smiled.
"So you do really believe that one of those entrances is down there?" Steve questioned while giving the dark steps one last look, a sudden cold chill hitting him and causing him to step away from the bars.
"I'm not sure. But clearly whatever is down there, someone wanted to make sure no one gets there by the looks of these bars and that sign." Tey frowned while turned his back towards the new discovering and beginning to walk back towards their village. "Anyways, this place unfortunately took the remains of our spare time. We must now hurry back towards the village if we wish to make it back before the sun sets and the Mobs begin to wander."
Everyone began following after him, Steve resisting the urge to look over his shoulder as he suddenly felt like he was being stared at.
"You guys, don't forget about the Nether." Hugo frowned.
Steve paused in his steps and gave the teen a puzzled look, soon turning his attention to Faen when the older man snapped at the younger, "Hugo! You know not to speak of that hell!" he whispered in an angered but hushed tone.
"The… Nether?" Steve repeated Hugo's words with a tilt of his head, shuddering as the feeling grew stronger as he glanced down to see goosebumps crawling across his arms.
The other three all paused and looked over towards Steve, the two other miner's giving each other unsure looks before Hugo spat out, "It's the realm buried deep beneath the bedrock underground, where evil and hate-filled souls are banished upon death. Kids today are told tales of it by their parents in an attempt at behavioral control. Telling them that if they misbehave too much, then the white-eyed sightless demon which rules over that world will come and steal them away at night, dragging them into the Nether where he will forever torment their souls."
Steve swallowed thickly at the apparent horror story the parents here were telling these children, causing that same damn cold chill to run up his back.
"Hugo! Enough of this now. Please. Steve… he is right about where it is believed to be located. However, much of this land no longer speaks about it." Tey whispered softly before turning his back to the younger miner and beginning towards the village once more, soon the other three following close behind.
About nearly out of the woods and back into the dessert, Hugo suddenly let out a mild curse, causing both Tey and Faen to scold him while Steve raised a brow. "What's the matter, Hugo?"
"The sword you crafted for me, Steve! I left it back where we saw the first set of stairs!"
Tey sighed, "Hugo, we can get it in the morning. I highly doubt anything will happen to it."
"No! I have to go back for it!" the teen insisted.
Faen sighed before shrugging his shoulder, "Well, it's just right around the corner. I guess we can quickly go back and retrieve it?"
"Better, yet… you guys just wait here. I'll go get it and be right back." Steve smiled while handing over his torch before digging out a new one and lighting it from the first one's flame. He then waved to them before jogging off where they had just come from.
Looking around the slowly darkening woods, a heavier uneasy feeling slowly began creeping into him despite the bright light coming from his torch. He hadn't been outside alone like this in a rather long time…
Trying to ignore his returning paranoia, Steve let out a loud sigh of relief as the weapon suddenly came into view. "There it is. I was beginning to fret it was going to be hard to find it."
Approaching the weapon with a shake of his head, Steve bent over to pick it up. The instant his hand gripped the hilt, he suddenly stood bolt upright as a now frigid chill ran down the length of his spine;
"Steve…" a soft, male voice whispered quietly into his right ear.
"Who's there!?" he called out while whipping around and holding the weapon up high in self-defense. The voice sounded like the person was literally right behind him!
But he saw no one.
Taking in deep breaths to try and calm himself while holding the torch up high to see if anybody was around, Steve at last let out a shaky sigh. Shrugging his shoulders upon coming to the decision he was just overly tired, Steve quickly made his way back towards the others that were waiting for him.
After making it back to the village safely, Steve waved everyone off for the evening before leaving for his own home. The day had been a long and tiring one what with having to keep up with Hugo's over enthusiasm. But it was still a rather pleasant day compared to some.
Finally making it back to the safety of his own home, Steve went inside after talking to Melz and Glorenda for a short while and accepting the freshly brewed bowl of mushroom stew Glorenda had made for him.
Yawning heavily once inside and while stretching, Steve placed his worn iron pickaxe down on the cabinet next to his crafting table. Glancing out his window, he smiled fondly while witnessing one of the youngest children in the village taking a bloomed red rose from the iron golem as the gentle giant offered it to her. She sniffed the flower and giggled, throwing her arms around the creature's thick leg in a hug before running off to show the gift to her mother.
Turning away from the glass, he rolled his shoulders to loosen them, cringing slightly at the popping sounds that came from the motions. After finishing the delicious stew as he tried to break his normal routine of skipping out on meals after Glorenda worriedly pointed out he was losing weight and was beginning to look sick, he walked over towards his bedroom, kicking his shoes off just inside the door.
Striping himself of his soiled clothing, he entered the small room adjacent his bedroom and approached the cauldron he had set up in opposite the doorway. Glad to see he had filled it with fresh, clean water that morning before heading out; he quickly cleaned himself up before washing his shirt and pants and hanging them up to dry overnight.
Leaving the door to that room cracked, he made his way over towards the bed, slipping into the pair of plain black shorts he had lain out before leaving that morning.
He sat down on the mattress, trying to will his nerves to relax so he could get a decent night's worth of sleep… but for some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched. He had felt it the moment he step foot in his house and it was the same feeling he was getting back in the woods when they came across that sealed off cavern.
Shaking it off as just years' worth of paranoia still pent up within him, he stood to his feet long enough to pull back the blanket and settled down with a content sigh. Eyes slowly shutting closed, he soon managed to drift off into a light and troubled slumber.
Something was weighing him down. He couldn't move very much. Nor could he breathe normally. Something was constricting his chest; uncomfortable though not painful. Mind slowly waking up upon the stressed signals his body was sending it, unfocused violet eyes fluttered open—
—only to snap wide open the instant a warm palm slapped over his mouth, silencing any attempt of noise.
Heart pounding against his ribcage and in his ears, mind racing a thousand miles an hour, Steve began struggling against the hold on him that felt similar to a person sitting on him, anger slowly starting to arise within.
Had Telzaah broken into his house again?
The room was unusually dark. The moonlight seeping in through the window did very little to bring any form of lighting to the area... which was very unusual. However, a dim almost eerie red glow illuminated the room weakly and the silhouette of a person in fact sitting on top of him.
Looking over to his right without turning his head, Steve was able to see a strange looking torch that had been set up on the bookshelf by his bedside, taking the place of the flower pot that had been sitting there as it was now lying shattered on the floor.
It was a… redstone torch? That was strange… Faen, Tey and himself were the only ones within all of Sanderlorum with access to enough redstone to craft into torches.
Again, with the faintness of the lighting coming from it, he was able to see what the force was that had woken him, bringing his violet gaze back in front of him but now in a narrowed glare.
Somebody was in deed sitting on top of him—but it wasn't Telzaah…
A man was sitting atop of him, straddling his hips while holding his right hand to his mouth to keep him quiet. The man's other hand was pressed firmly against Steve's bare chest, guessing that both hands were there prior to his waking as the moment the hand appeared to cover his mouth, the pressure against his lungs had lightened up slightly.
Steve tried to bring a fist up to punch the person or at least shove him off and away from him, but he found he couldn't move his arms. A quick glance down had him finding the reason why. The intruder was keeping Steve's arms trapped by his sides by using his legs, keeping his arms firmly in place while straddling him.
He couldn't see the man's face—almost appearing as if he had no face… He wasn't heavy, maybe close to his own weight perhaps? And his figure looked rather lean in the darkness. The palm that was still pressed against his lips was warm but calloused. Like his own brought on by working with many different tools and weapons over the past few years.
Steve stilled his struggles and remained lax while staring, still wide-eyed, at the intruder. Though no face could be seen in the darkness of the room, he was able to see his eyes. And it was the man's eyes which caused fear to take a cold and hard grip on his body…
Colorless and pupil-less, the chilling white glow bore into him. Almost as if this man was staring straight into his soul.
Suddenly, a dark chuckle came from the figure atop him, his shoulders bouncing slightly by the force. "So… after all these years… you've finally come." he spoke slow and careful. Calculating. "It's about damn time…"
'What?!' Steve gasped mentally. 'Why does this guy sound like he's been waiting for me?'
"All in due time, little Hero." the man released another chuckle at Steve's expression.
'Shit!'
"Now… I will take my hand away but only if you do not make a sound. Understand?" he paused, waiting for a response from Steve. When he received nothing but a glare, he grinned while chuckling, the young miner he had pinned beneath him being able to make out the intruder's mouth now that his eyes were adjusting more. "You see… if you make any sort of distressed sound… then this entire village will come flocking at your feet. That means that would bring them all here. Where we are. And we can't have that. I'm a very busy man right now, so I can't afford having any… interruptions. You understand now, right? I'm wasting precious moments of my time just to see you. Well… alright, it's not really wasted. I will always find the time to see you. And if a group of weak villagers interrupt us… well then I will just have to waste more of my precious time by dealing with them. And we don't want that, now do we?" His voice was low and chilling, and just as mysterious as he was.
But his message was very clear.
With a deep intake of air through his nose, Steve slowly nodded his head, not once taking his eyes off the other's.
The man grinned while licking his lips. "Very good." He then slowly began to withdraw his hand from Steve's mouth-only to slap it back over his lips the instant they parted to question who he was, effectively silencing him from uttering even the first syllable. He then leaned in real close, their noses nearly touching, "I said not. A. Sound. That includes talking FYI."
Steve's glare gained renewed strength, trying to turn his head to the side but the man gripped his jaw, keeping his head still and forward.
"Ah, ah, ah… why are you struggling?" he cooed before leaning back again. He pivoted all his weight back, causing a small amount of pain in Steve's hips that pulled a grunt from him, eyes screwing shut while his jaw clenched. The man stared down at him, his blank eyes void of any sense of life or feeling. The glow from them did little to lighten up the area, despite their blinding whiteness. However each time he blinked, the area dimmed, proving that some light actually did radiate from them.
It wasn't until the intruder shifted, managing to position himself perfectly between Steve's thighs and taking both of Steve's wrists into his now free hand and pinning them down on the pillow and above his head, did the miner take notice of the absence of his blanket. Eyes cracked opened and glancing to the floor, he was surprised to see that sure enough the thick red comforter was bunched up on the wooden floorboards.
His attention was snapped back to the other while he swallowed an unintentional moan when the man wiggled his hips into a more comfortable position for the both of them, seeming unaware that the action caused some slight friction between Steve's legs as they lifted slightly, knees bent and feet flat against the mattress. "I've been waiting… for a very long time… for you to arrive." he chuckled with a grin, white eyes narrowing dangerously.
Steve tightly squeezed his eyes shut as the man leaned over again, only now pressing his chest flush against his own and lowering his head so his mouth was right next to the pinned miner's left ear. Growling while trying to calm his nerves down, Steve cracked his eyes open into a narrow glare as he stared at the man just before he moved to be next to his ear.
This guy certainly had no regards to a person's personal space!
A low chuckle heated Steve's flesh as the intruder pivoted his hips once again, earning another groan from the miner as the motion instinctively caused him to tense his thighs and squeeze the man closer against him before relaxing.
Panic filling him as an overpowering wave of adrenaline surged throughout his system, Steve began struggling against the other more violently, trying everything in his power to dislodge the man.
However, the faceless figure simply began laughing at his attempts while leaning back to look down at him. "Such a fight in you! I like that! But there really is no reason to struggle. I only wish to be friends…"
Steve halted all his struggling and opened his eyes to stare up at the man, a brow slowly being cocked upwards in suspicion. He didn't believe him. Not even in the slightest.
"I understand you don't trust me. But give it time. I have a feeling we're going to become the best of friends." he chuckled. "As much fun as this is turning into… sadly, I'm out of time and must leave you. But before I do… you should know this—" he whispered before leaning back over and hovering his lips right over Steve's ear once again, his grip on the other's wrists tightening to a painful degree that earned him a sharp intake of air and a strangled squeak as the body beneath his tensed up painfully.
He paused for a few moments, feeling how Steve's body was trembling from the strain on it as he resisted the urge to pick up his struggling once more while sensing the mounting anger rising within the human. Letting up on his hold against the miner's wrists only slightly, he continued at last in a soft whisper, grinning widely while chuckling darkly as Steve's body seemed to shuddered in a natural response to his hot breath ghosting over his skin; "I know where you are… you can't hide from me now. You can try. These villagers can try. But I'll find you. And when the time comes… I will come for you. Let it be known by all… that Herobrine is returning and knows you have arrived." He then chuckled darkly while leaning back, glowing white eyes narrowing as lips spilt apart in a wide tooth-baring grin; "I'm coming for you, Steve."
Steve shot straight upright while gasping out loudly, bare chest heaving while cold sweat trailed down his being despite the warmth of the blanket and night. Eyes wide and alarmed, he looked everywhere. Looking for those eyes.
But he was alone…
No one was in the room with him. Had it been a dream?
Quickly whipping his head to the right, he let out a shaky breath upon seeing the flower pot that the man had apparently knocked over and broken to place a redstone torch sitting perfectly intact where he had placed it the day his home was completed.
It was a very realistic dream if since that seemed to have been the case. His heart still pounding against his ribcage, Steve let out another shaky breath he hadn't been aware he was holding. Tired eyes glancing up, he saw it was still dark outside. He could also hear the golem taking out a few zombies that mindlessly entered the village despite the iron creature defending it restlessly.
Sliding backwards so his back was resting against the wall just beneath his window, he ran a hand through his messy and dampened hair before looking down at his palms, seeing his hands trembling rather violently. "Well… I won't be getting anymore sleep tonight I'm afraid." he sighed to himself. He was too shaken up from the all too vivid images of that man and his eyes! Balling his hands up, he narrowed his eyes, not taking them off his now trembling fists. "Why am I shaking so badly? It's not like that dream was even that scary. I've had worse nightmares… if that could even be called a nightmare." he began questioning himself.
He didn't want to admit it, but something about the eyes of that man… really left him shaken up. "Herobrine… Herobrine, Herobrine… Why does that name sound so familiar...?" Suddenly, as if he were hit with the actual book itself, Steve gasped while blinking, his eyes growing wide as he remembered. "That book! The one about the ghost story!"
That thought suddenly had his heart speeding back up, beating against his ribcage painfully as a cold chill fell over him. 'Wait… T-then was I really…? Was I really just visited by… a ghost? But what would he want from me?'
Scoffing at himself for even thinking of such a ridiculous idea, Steve sighed while finally taking his eyes off his hands, allowing them to drop into his lap.
With nothing much else to do, he pushed himself out of bed and walked over to one of the double chests lining the wall opposite the door that led to the cauldron. Opening it, he rummaged through until he found a clean pair of pants and blue shirt. He wasn't sure why he liked the color so much. He just did? And Glorenda was sweet enough to make him a rather decent supply of the same outfits after he had fully recovered from his wounds he had received the night he saved Kelsa from all the Mobs.
Slipping his shoes on and taking up one of his many iron swords to protect himself if need be, he went outside; pulling the door shut tight behind himself.
Though the Mobs still roamed nearby, the lights coming from the many torch lamps he built throughout the village did wonders keeping the monsters at bay. Plus the creatures (excluding the zombies of course) were wising up on the presence of the Iron Golem, learning to stay clear of the giant protector.
Making his way through the night, he came upon the stables he crafted, looking over at all the animals. Most were sleeping, while the few who were awake were grazing on the left over wheat from dinner time.
A smile came to his lips as he leaned against the wooden fence, his mind calming as the breeze attempted to ruffle his hair dampened from sweat.
So caught up in his thoughts, he jumped slightly when Melz called out to him, turning to smile at the older man. "Steve? You still awake, or wake up early, boy?" he chuckled while joining the miner.
Steve chuckled with a weak roll of his shoulder. "Woke up early. Had a really strange dream that kind of shook me up a bit is all…"
"Really? Care to talk about it? Might help ease the trouble from your mind?" he offered, taking a sip of his steaming cup of hot cactus tea.
With a shrug of his shoulder, Steve went into minor details of his dream, "I woke up having difficulty breathing. Like something was constricting my chest. When I fully awoke… a man was sitting on top of me, pinning me down against my bed so I couldn't get up or move out from beneath him. I couldn't see his face but his eyes… scared me. Nothing like I've ever seen before. He covered my mouth so I couldn't call for help or even ask him who he was, telling me if I woke up the villagers they would all come to check on me. He said he would kill everyone if that happened… that he didn't want us to be interrupted. The way he spoke… sounded like he's been waiting for me." He paused, deciding it best to skip over the awkward and bizarre… intimacy… that the man seemed to have displayed towards him. "He then said he had to leave, but that he knew where I am now. That he's returning and I can't hide from him no matter how hard I try. He said… he said he was coming for me."
Those last couple of sentences had Melz slowly lowering his cup from his lips, a look a realization and pure horror paling his otherwise tanned face.
Missing Melz's reactions, Steve continued; "Just before he left, or when I woke up for real I guess, he said that it should be known by all... that Herobrine knows I have arrived, and that he's coming for me. What do you think that could mean? I've never even heard of that name before save the one time I caught a glimpse of it in one of the Elder's old books. But I didn't bother reading it since it seemed to be just a ghost story." he continued before jumping at the sound of the clay cup shattering on the ground. Whipping his head towards the man, Steve saw the vendor visibly trembling, green eyes wide and fearful as the color drained from his face.
He looked like he had just seen a ghost as he stared straight at Steve.
"Melz? Hey, what's wrong? Are you alright?"
Without a word, Melz took an almost violent grip of Steve's wrist, dragging him urgently and painfully towards the Elder's home.
"M-Melz! W-what's gotten into you?! What's wrong!?" Steve struggled against the firm hold on him, sighing as the other began pounding his fist against the wooden door of the Village Elder's residence.
About three minutes passed before the faint glow of a candle being lit filtered through the windows. "What in the world is going on out here?" his old and tired voice filtered through the aged wood before the door slowly creaked open. "Melz? Steve! What has happened?" he asked, concern both heard in his voice and seen in his eyes.
Before Steve could say anything, Melz blurted out, the amount of fear that could be heard in his voice started to cause alarm to settle over Steve. "He's returning! He's returning and knows! He knows he's here! Elder! W-what do we do!? T-this wasn't supposed to happen!"
"Melz. Please calm yourself. Who? Who is returning and knows who is here?" he asked calmly, placing a hand to Melz's shoulder in an attempt to calm the frightened man. He was caught off guard upon feeling how badly the younger man was trembling.
Swallowing thickly while breaths came in short, labored gasps, Melz hissed out, his voice cracking while tightening his hold on Steve as if the mere contact with the man would be enough to protect him;
"Herobrine! Herobrine is coming for Steve!"
The idea that whoever this Herobrine is was a big deal became crystal clear upon seeing the expression that overcame the Elder as his gray eyes focused on Steve, the simple sentence the old man breathlessly gasped caused a huge weight to fall through Steve, nausea and fatigue crashing over him all at once as he suddenly became dizzy—
"May Notch save us all…."
To Be Continued…
A/N - YAY! Herobrine has FINALLY made his (well, somewhat) first appearance! Shit's gonna get real now!
I also want to throw out there a huge thank you for such wonderful reviews this story has been getting! I was really quite nervous of how this story would do considering it is rather a different take on Minecraft vs the many that share the same-like genre of keeping it game-based. :) Your reviews help make it so much more enjoyable to continue working on this story and others! I thank you all and love you so much!
*Again a huge special thanks to slingading for the fantastic cover art for this story! Thank you so much and much love to you!*