The Minecraft Story: The Beginning: Chapter 26
Marcus awoke about two minutes after his fall to the sound of moaning coming from his right. His brother, Franz was slowly trying to get up. Marcus sat up and looked down at the dent in his armor left by the flying knight.
That thing must've thrown him at us. He thought. He looked around and behind him, he found the knight. He struggled to get up, his body was sore and the wind was knocked out of him. Every movement shot pain throughout his body, but he had to check on the knight. When he finally reached the knight, a quick inspection determined he was dead. His neck was snapped and his arms appeared to be broken, likely from being grabbed by the mutant zombie.
"Marcus," Franz said with a wheezing breath, "are you okay?"
"No," Marcus replied, his breath just as weak, "I'm still not okay." He could still hear the thumping of footsteps and saw the beast in the distance. He was running straight towards the fortress. "I think it's following Connor Squad." It was the only reason Marcus could think of as to why it was running away.
"Yeah," Franz agreed, "most likely."
"There's no way we can stop it, isn't there?" Marcus asked. Unless. He thought. "HEEEEEYYY!" His screams ran through the valley. "OVER HERE YOU UGLY SON OF BITCH!"
Franz made a move to shut up Marcus, but he stopped. He figured it would be best for the beast to come after them rather than the fortress, but it paid no mind to them. The mutant zombie kept running. It either couldn't hear them, or didn't care.
"HEEEEYYYY! STOOOOP!" Marcus continued to scream, but he knew it was pointless. "Shit!" He sat down in the soft grass in defeat.
Franz put a hand on his shoulder, "Come on, lets see if there were any other survivors."
"Like you care," Marcus said in a monotone voice. "You wanted to leave them."
"I didn't want to leave them," Franz responded in an annoyed tone.
"Then why did you say we had to get out of there?" Marcus's voice was more angry now.
"I was going to call for a full retreat," Franz answered, "I just wanted you to get a head start."
"Yeah, sure you were," Marcus's was monotone again.
"Fine, whatever man," Franz threw up his arms in defeat, "Believe what you want. That's how it's been since you arrived." He began to walk to the battlegrounds.
"Fuck you," Marcus said under his breath.
Franz stopped in his place, "What did you say?" Marcus looked over slightly and then at the ground. Franz walked over to Marcus and kelt down to his level. "Go ahead brother, say it again."
Marcus looked over to his brother and gritted his teeth, "Fine," He paused. "Fuck, you." He said while pointing at Franz. "I don't have to hold myself back, I'm not the one who got those knights killed. I'm not the one who stood in the back from a battle. I'm not the one who let our own people be slaughtered!"
Franz punched Marcus in the face, his head hitting the ground.
"You think I wanted any of this!" Franz yelled while standing over Marcus. "You think I wanted to be a soldier!" Marcus opened his mouth to speak. "NO!" Marcus stopped. "I became a soldier for you! I did all this for you, and for mom, and for dad! You were all were starving!"
Marcus got back on his feet, "What are you talking about?"
Franz scoffed, "Yeah, of course you didn't know. You didn't know because our parents and I worked to make sure you were fed. But mom and dad, they sometimes went days without eating because of this damn war." Franz looked down. "I joined the military because they promised more food for our families. We didn't want you to know how bad our situation was, so we told you that it was my dream to be a soldier."
Marcus could barely find a response, "I… I"
"I've always hated this. I hate the army. I hate who I am, what I've become. That's why I became an archer, I didn't want to have to see their faces, but I do anyway!" Marcus took a step back at Franz's yelling. "I never wanted you to join, I didn't want you to become like me."
"Then why did you encourage me?" Marcus asked.
"All you talked about since we were kids was how much you wanted to be a soldier, to defend the holy lands," Franz answered, "You never shut up about it. I know I should've done more to stop you, but I always hoped you'd fail the tests and they'd send you home." Marcus could see tears forming in Franz's eyes, "I became a knight because I wanted an easier life for you and our parents. But that will never happen now because you're here and our parents are dead."
Marcus was caught off guard, "What, what did you say?" Marcus had never heard of his parent's death.
"I never told you, because I didn't think you could handle it," Franz said.
"You told me they moved into the capital city, I thought they were safe," Marcus said, tears starting to form in his own eyes.
"No, they never left the village, they never stopped working all day on those farms. And about a year ago, while you were still in training, they were killed in a heretic raid." Marcus dropped back to his knees and started crying.
Franz walked up to him and got down on his knees. "I wanted to keep you safe, that's why I shot that monster's arm and why I told you to run," Franz felt a lump in his throat, but he continued to speak, "I do all this because I love you brother. I want you to live." The brothers both cried and they embraced each other.
They didn't have time to console each other for long. The familiar sound of booming footsteps interrupted them. They looked for the beast, but something was strange about these footsteps. They didn't sound like the rhythmic, repetitive thumping of the mutant zombie. These footsteps sounded rapid and random.
In the distance, running in the field, they saw it. A giant creeper. Its elongated neck stretched as tall as the mutant zombie. It had a body that resembled a spider with four long limbs sprinting in the direction of the zombie. Around the mutant creeper were several pigmen running alongside it.
There was no doubt in their minds, these creatures were heading for Fort Deepslate.