The Minecraft Story: The Beginning: Chapter 37
The Sun was beginning to set over the remains of Fort Deepslate. The Miter Knights had been hard at work setting up barricades for the night. They had no choice but to take refuge at the fort. The decision was widely unpopular with the remaining knights but it was necessary. Soon, it would be nighttime and the knights would have to fight without any secure location to hide in. Sweat dripped off Marcus's face, not just from working all day, but from sheer anxiety. The Miter Knights were the only ones who had a chance at stopping Herobrine, they were the only hope for humanity. However, they could all be slaughtered by the monsters of the night. Marcus stared off at the setting Sun, Notch standing right beside him.
"I hope our plan works, I don't want to die tonight," said Marcus.
"After all that talk about saving the world, it sure would be a shame to lose my army in one night," Notch laughed, however, Marcus did not reciprocate. "I'm sorry son, bad joke. I'm sure we'll be fine."
A few hours earlier…
Notch, Marcus, Franz, Thomas, Zacharius, and some older knights held a meeting in one of the few remaining buildings in the fort. They had managed to find a map from the corpse of a captain and laid it out on a table.
"Are you sure you wanna stick with us Thomas?" Marcus asked.
"Yes we're sure, for now at least," Thomas answered, "We want to stop these things just as much as you all do."
"And if these monsters are on their way to Redwater, you bet your ass we're not going to turn tail now," Zacharius exclaimed, "Especially me, my home was Redwater, before I was put in chains." Zacharius shot the knights a dirty look. The knights reciprocated with their own dirty looks.
"That's great," Marcus said, trying to alleviate the tension, "If you're from Redwater, then you must know the fastest way to get there."
"I sure fucking do," Zacharius answered, "I've been planning my escape for years."
Thomas looked over to Marcus, "I just want to let you know, we'll help you reach Redwater. If we manage to beat those mutants, we're done. We'll go our separate ways from there."
"I understand," Marcus agreed.
"Now, are you sure we can't leave today?" Notch asked.
"I wish we could, but take a look at this map," Franz answered, "We only have a few hours until nightfall. The closest town to Fort Deepslate is Zamafar, but we can't stay there."
Zacharius scoffed, "I wonder why,"
Franz kept his head down, "The second closest town is Coalfell, however, we'd never make it there in time. If we're caught out in the open during night, we're dead. Even if we could get to Coalfell before then, it doesn't have any external wall, which means it's likely fallen by now."
"But we don't have time to waste," Notch argued, "If Redwater is in the south and the mutants left towards the southern forest, then wouldn't they get there before us?"
"That's what I was thinking too, but I think we have more time than we believe," said Marcus, "I saw how badly wounded the mutant zombie was. And according to the knights who witnessed the attack, the zombie was the first one to charge in. I think the zombie is meant to act as the vanguard to weaken the initial forces while the creeper comes in from the rear to deal the final blow. Redwater is a well defended location. If it tried to fight now, it would be killed. I believe we have at least a few days while the mutant zombie recovers before they attack."
"Do you know this for sure?" Thomas asked.
"I, don't, it's going to be a gamble," Marcus defeatingly answered.
"A gamble?" Thomas rose with the help of Zacharius, "You're going to risk the safety of one of the most populated cities in the Southern Territories on the hopes this monster stops for a little smoke break?"
"If you have a way to get us to Redwater without being massacred in the night, I'd love to hear it," Marcus retorted.
"You're lucky we're even helping you at all boy," said another knight.
"The hell did you just say to him you pompous bastard," Zacharius defended.
"That's enough!" Marcus yelled while slamming his fist down on the table, "I will not tolerate that type of speech in this army, do you understand holy knight!" Marcus pointed towards the knight.
The knight was surprised by the outburst and stuttered, "Y-yes sir,"
The room was silent for a moment before Thomas spoke, "I understand we shouldn't be out in the open at night, but what about right now. The fort is gone, we don't have walls to hide behind tonight."
"That's why we'll make walls," Franz said. The room went silent once again, confused by Franz's suggestion. "I know you all won't like this, but I have an idea. As we were walking back from the entrance, I saw there was a chunk of the wall next to some of the Deepslate Garrison's troops huts still intact. There is some debris left from the wall, but most of it's too small to create an effective barricade. However, we do have plenty of bodies around."
Everyone's eyes widened.
Franz continued, "I remember from Morzen, while we were fighting those monsters in the town square, we created a bottle neck. As we killed more monsters, a barricade of the dead began to halt the monster's movements. Over nine-hundred knights were killed in the explosion. With these deceased knights in iron armor, combined with debris from the wall, we can create an effective barricade for the night."
Marcus tried to speak, "That's-"
Franz interrupted him, "I know it's disgusting, but it's our best chance at surviving the night. I've committed a lot of sin in my life. Just throw this one onto the pile. Let these men give their service to Notch one last time."
There was silence again. Franz braced himself to be kicked out of the room and exiled to the forest. However, Marcus said, "I suppose it's the best plan we have. I still don't like it though, these men should have a proper burial."
"You're right," Franz agreed, "They should. But time isn't on our side. But once we kill Herobrine, we can come back and bury the dead. It's the least we can do."
"Agreed," Marcus said.
"I can help fight the monsters," Notch exclaimed, "I've been training for centuries, I'll lead the fight."
"Thank you Notch," Marcus said, "Gather the knights, we only have a few hours of daylight left, go!"
A few hours later…
The Sun had set. The barricade of human corpses made Marcus want to puke, however, it seemed sturdy enough to defend against the monsters. The other knights hated the plan. Notch decided to take responsibility for the plan. Franz was not on great terms with the knights for killing General Ausmin.
The dim moon rose and so did the monsters. Marcus had almost forgotten what they looked like. Fort Deepslates walls had spoiled him. But seeing them now, emerging from the western forest, coming towards them with nothing but bloodlust, he felt that fear he felt from Morzen. He looked over to Notch, standing with confidence, the black cloak blew in the wind like a flag. This was it. They had to prove they were worthy to fight with Notch. Marcus had to prove that he was worthy of assuming command from General Ausmin.