The Minecraft Story: The Beginning: Chapter 42
Marcus kept a close eye on Anthony as they traveled as fast as they could to Coy. The further they got, the worse he became. The small green patch had already encompassed his whole hand by the first thirty minutes and it continued to spread throughout his arm. It was disgusting that Marcus could see the virus spread throughout the body.
After the first hour, Anthony's forearm now matched the color of the zombies they had slain the night prior. They picked up the pace, but with so many injured and having no horses, it was still a slow journey.
Marcus was still paranoid he might see that purple-eyed creature again. Everytime he looked at the trees, he expected to see it staring at him. Anthony tried to distract himself from his arm as much as possible by talking about his family back home. His parents were waiting on him, proud that he made it into the Miter Knights. His three little sisters were also waiting for him. Marcus tried to give hope that he'd make it, but the more the green overtook his arm, the less hope Marcus had.
Talking about the people back home got him wondering about the state of affairs on the homefront. He knew most of the unwalled villages were likely abandoned. However, he wondered how long the walled cities could last. With so many refugees leaving the unprotected villages and moving toward the walls, there likely wouldn't be much food or resources to go around. Not to mention the fact that the unprotected villages were mostly farming villages that supplied these cities. The cities were also operating with a skeleton crew of knights since most of them were sent to Fort Deepslate. They needed to stop Herobrine and kill these monsters. It was only a matter of time before these cities fell, whether due to an outbreak of monsters, or the people killing each other over resources. Time was not on their side.
When they finally reached Coy, Anthony's entire right arm had turned green. They needed a doctor, immediately. However, they found Coy was completely abandoned. It was a large farming village with no walls to protect the people from monsters.
I should've known. Marcus thought. The houses had been smashed in and blood caked the streets. Memories of Morzen came flooding back. This village had likely been empty for a while now. However, Marcus held out hope that a group of villagers might've holed up somewhere and were just hiding.
"Everyone, look inside each of these houses. See if you can find anyone that can help us. And be quick, Anthony doesn't have much time." Marcus ordered.
Marcus and Franz teamed up and searched together. The search for survivors was depressing. Each house they looked in either had nothing in it or it had what remained of some poor soul who couldn't escape the monsters. One house had an entire family inside, two adults and four kids. The house was a bloodbath. Body parts and intestines were strung all along the floor and walls. Marcus inspected their injuries and suspected that a group of spiders had gotten in. This was backed up by the fact that there were cobwebs all over the house.
Marcus then thought back to Morzen again. He remembered that family he had stayed with that night. The ones he'd forced to let him stay. He remembered telling them to stay put when the attack started. He prayed they didn't listen and made a run for it.
Marcus and Franz went up to another house and immediately heard pounding on the door. Relief shot through Marcus and he ran to open the door. Franz tried to warn him, but it was too late. He flung open the door and a zombie tackled him to the ground. Marcus didn't have time to put his hands up and was almost bitten. Luckily, Franz grabbed the zombie and threw it off just in time. They both prepared for the second attack, but the zombie burst into flames from the Sun. It writhed around on the ground, shrieking like an animal before it finally succumbed to the flames.
"Be careful you idiot," Franz chastised.
"Yeah, no shit," Marcus agreed.
The search ultimately turned up nothing. Every single house was either abandoned, a graveyard, or was infested. Not a single living person remained. When the search concluded, they found the green was halfway across Anthony's chest.
They considered taking him to the next village when he spoke up, "No, I can't go on anymore, sir. Just leave me here." His voice was weak and could barely whisper.
"Don't talk like that soldier," Marcus interrupted, "You're gonna get help and you're gonna go home and see your family again."
"You know that's not true, sir," Anthony protested, "Please sir, don't let me slow you down. Leave me here."
"No, we're not leaving, you can still make it," said Marcus.
"Sir, look at me, look at this," Anthony lifted his head to reveal the green was crawling up his neck. They could see the virus moving up toward his head. "I can feel it, I don't have any more time. We don't have any more time. Please, leave me here." Anthony pointed behind Marcus to the back of the village. "Look, there's a pasture over there with horses, you can use them to get to Redwater faster."
Marcus looked back and saw dozens of horses outside. He had been so preoccupied with searching for survivors, he never noticed them.
"I'm okay with dying, sir. What I'm not okay with, is burdening the rest of you," Anthony could barely get the words out.
"Are you sure, are you really sure you want to die here?" Marcus asked.
"Yes sir, just promise me that you'll kill that son of a bitch," Anthony laughed. Marcus reciprocated the laugh and ordered his men to gather up the horses.
Marcus and Franz helped lift Anthony and they brought him to the cleanest house they could find. Thomas followed behind. They laid him on a red, fluffy bed. The line shined through the windows onto Anthony, like an angel coming to take him away.
"Goodbye soldier, thank you for your service," Franz said.
"I'm sorry we couldn't help you Anthony," Marcus said.
"Thank you Anthony," Thomas said.
They left the room and locked the door behind them so that zombie Anthony couldn't get out. When they left the house, the horses and extra food had been gathered up. There had been enough horses for everyone.
Marcus settled his new steed and then gave the order, "We ride out for Redwater! Advance!