The Minecraft Story: The Kingdom: Chapter 4
Steve jolted awake when he heard the violent explosions. The cell shook around him and dust fell from the roof. In a daze, he fell off the bed onto the hard stone floor.
In the dim torchlight, he saw Titus rise from his bed, "What the hell was that?"
Titus gazed at Steve who was still lying on the floor, "I don't know." They both turned to Rolf to find he was still asleep.
Annoyed, Steve stood up and tried to look out the window. He found nothing but the same stone walls of the cave. However, they seemed more illuminated than before. He stared at the light on the wall. It didn't appear to be the light of a passing soldier holding a torch. It seemed to be illuminated by a distant fire.
That's when the screaming started. The sounds of distant shouting were faint. Steve could feel the slow sinking feeling in his stomach.
"Do you think there was an accident?" Titus asked. As if to answer his question, the town bell began to ring.
DING! DING! DING! DING!
Four bell strikes. It was the signal for an attack.
"What the hell? Did a horde breach the wall?" Steve asked.
"Did you feel those explosions? That wasn't any creeper," Titus dismissed as he shook Rolf awake.
"Urhm, whats is its," Rolf groggily asked.
Steve sighed, "Still out of it."
Steve stood closer to the window, trying to hear what was happening. Along with the screaming, he could hear faint sounds of clashing metal and burning buildings.
"It has to be bandits, what else could it be?" said Steve.
Titus scoffed, "Maybe you shitting the bed earlier worked out for us after all."
Steve turned and glared at Titus.
"Don't you look at me like that," Titus growled, "At least now we don't have to be dealing with whatever's out there."
BOOOOM!
Another explosion erupted and shook the cell again. Outside the cell, they could hear the guards running out of the detainment center.
Rolf laughed, "Big boom."
"We should be out there too," said Steve.
"Are you nuts man, do you not hear what's going on out there," Titus argued.
"Think about it, if we go out there and help fight, they'll have to let us back into the Defense corps," Steve retorted.
"I know you want to feel like a hero, but I still don't feel like getting killed out there," said Titus.
"We'll just stay back during the fight, make it look like we're doing something. It can't be that hard to avoid a couple of bandits," Steve responded.
"I wants to go fiiights some people," Rolf laughed, "Leeet the wilds man out."
"See, the drunk asshole's in, how about you?" Steve asked.
"Are you sure this can get our jobs back?" Titus responded.
"Oh I'm sorry, does sitting here and spending the next ten years in the mines sound preferable to you?" Steve spat back.
"I guess not, let's go," Titus said unenthusiastically, "But how are we actually going to get out of here?"
Steve lifted his arms up, gesturing to the entire cell, "Look at this prison, it's nearly a hundred years old." Steve then pointed to the door, "And that door is barely being held up with rope, spit and sunday prayers."
Titus laughed, "Good point there."
Steve lifted Rolf out of bed and pointed to the door, "Hey buddy, you see that door there?"
"Yeah I sees it," Rolf slurred.
"Well that door called your mother fat and stupid," said Steve.
"What, no ways," Rolf slurred again as he eyed the door.
"Yes ways, and you know what you should do?" Steve asked.
"What?" Rolf responded.
"Go fuck that door up," Steve smirked.
"YOU SONNUVA BITCH!" Rolf yelled as he charged the door. Using his right shoulder he barreled into the door. Dust filled the room as the iron door broke from its hinges and fell to the floor. Rolf quickly mounted the door and began to punch it with all his strength.
Titus acted quickly to keep Rolf from breaking his hands, "Woah man! You got him." Titus pulled Rolf up to his feet.
"Hell yeah brother!" Steve said while patting Rolf on the back, "Now, there's more people out there who've been talking trash on your mother."
"Thus bastards," Rolf slurred.
"But don't you worry, we're gonna go get them," said Steve, "But first, let's get some weapons from the guards room."
The trio made their way to the guards room. When they arrived, they were surprised to see the door had been left wide open in the chaos. Feeling lucky, they marched inside and grabbed some iron swords. However, there wasn't any armor for them, they'd all been taken by the guards.
That's alright. Steve thought. We're not gonna be right in the action anyway.
"We got everything?" Steve addressed. Titus and Rolf held the swords proudly in response. "Then let's go get our jobs back!"
They charged out the door, yelling and cheering. Upon exiting the detainment center, they stopped in their tracks and fell silent.
It was like a scene out of Hell. Nearly the entire sanctuary was on fire. People were desperately running past them to get deeper into the cave. Soldiers in full iron armor charged into the flames, but the only sounds that could be heard beyond the flames was metal clanging and the sounds of soldiers drawing their last breath.
"Heyy guyss," Rolf slurred, "I'm nut so sure bout this."
"It can't be that bad," said Steve with a tremor in his voice, "We can do this!"
Before Titus or Rolf could object, Steve ran through the fire. The burning was intense, Steve had never felt pain like it before. However, it was nothing compared to what he saw beyond the flames.
Several grey creatures with elongated noses were running around. Some carried crossbows, some carried iron axes. The soldiers were desperately trying to fight them off, but the grey creatures were too powerful. They barreled through groups of soldiers and plunged their axes deep into their chests. Several soldiers lay dead on the ground with arrows poking out of them. Beyond the violence, three large holes in the wall. The same wall that had protected them for over two-hundred years had fallen in one night.
Steve nearly decapitated Titus when he grabbed his shoulder from behind, "Holy shit man! What the hell have you dragged us into?"
"What do we dos?" Rolf yelled.
Steve couldn't say anything, he watched his comrades being slain. Suddenly, he noticed several creatures breaking into homes.
Steve stuttered, "L-Let's go through people's houses and make sure they got out. Come on!"
The trio ran past the major fighting in the center of town and began to enter people's homes. Most had already been kicked down and had no signs of life. These homes had been torn apart. All of their personal items and furniture had been ransacked and thrown all over the ground. A few had the dead bodies of families that tried to fight back. Steve nearly puked several times.
This is madness! Steve thought. Why am I here? Why did I want to come here?
As he continued to run into houses, he noticed Commandant Eversaw in the middle of the town square. His remaining units had been cornered and they had been encircled. They were stuck between the creatures and the statue of Thomas Brines.
"Don't let up, men!" The Commandant screamed, "We're the last line of defense between our families and these pillagers!"
Steve stared through a window. Adjacent to his house, he noticed Titus and Rolf inside another house. They too were staring through a window.
I need to be out there. Steve thought. Go…Go…GO! Steve tried to move, but it was as if his legs had been turned to stone. Why can't you go?
Suddenly, he noticed a door swing open and Rolf drunkenly barreling out of his house. Titus tried to stop him, but he was too late. The pillagers were closing into the Commandant and his men, slowly gaining ground. Rolf ran up behind one of the pillagers and stabbed it in the back. It let out a scream and fell to the ground as he pulled his sword out.
"ROLF NO!" Steve screamed as another Pillager caved Rolf's skull in with an axe.
Steve fell to his knees and began to scream uncontrollably. Suddenly, he noticed Titus running out of the house as well. Tears had begun to soak his eyes as he rammed into the Pillager that killed Rolf. Titus quickly slit the pillagers' throat. He watched as an arrow pierced Titus's leg and he began to limp away.
Three pillagers began to pursue him when an abrupt roar echoed through the cave. Everyone stopped. It had come from the direction of the entrance. Heavy footsteps began to barrel their way towards the town square.
As the footsteps got louder, the pillagers began to chant, "Ravagers! Ravagers! Ravagers!"
Ravagers? Steve thought. In a split second, the pillagers cleared a path and a giant beast sprinted past them. It was all with the head of Pillager and the body of a cow with elongated legs. It had a saddle on its back where a lone Pillager rode it toward the statue.
Before Steve could process what he was seeing, the Ravager slowed its head and charged straight through the soldiers and the statue. They were all sent flying in the air like ragdolls. A piece of the statue flew all the way to where Steve was hiding and burst through the wall. Bits of cobblestone and bronze crashed into Steve and sent him to the ground.
His ears rang and his vision was blurred and bloody. He lifted his head to face the battlefield again. The pillagers were finishing off the survivors and the ravager had something in its mouth. It flung it around like a puppy playing with a bone. Except when Steve looked closer, he was that it was a person. It was Commandant Eversaw being thrown around like a chew toy for the ravager.
Get out of here. Steve thought as he slowly stood up. He hobbled out of the house. It was only sheer luck that none of the pillagers had noticed him. He turned to the direction of the detention center and the wall of flames. The pillagers had already begun to run through the wall of flames and started killing the civilians on the other side.
Suddenly, Steve heard some footsteps to his side. He jerked his head in the direction of the footsteps, expecting to see an axe or a straw arrow. Instead, he saw a horse running away from a burning shed.
I can't stay here, I can't. Steve thought. This is my only chance.
He sprinted for the horse, managing to catch the attention of some pillagers who gave chase. He could hear their grunts and laughter behind him. Some had crossbows and a few arrows whizzed past his head. When he got close enough to the horse, he jumped onto it and turned it in the direction of the wall.
"Steve!" A voice called out, "STEVE!" He turned around to see Titus limping towards him. A new arrow poked out of his shoulder as he hobbled toward Steve. He was about to turn around when he noticed how many pillagers were on his tail. A dozen pillagers were chasing after Titus and the pillagers that were chasing Steve were still following him.
Steve stopped the horse and stared at Titus. He then looked back to the wall and then back to Titus. The pillagers were getting close. I'm sorry Titus. He thought as he turned the horse and rode for the wall.
"STEEEEEVE!" Titus called out, but Steve didn't dare look. All he could bare was to listen to screams of death as a tear slid down his cheek.
Steve maneuvered the horse through the fire, dead bodies, and pillagers. At this point, dozens of pillagers and a few ravagers were chasing him. As he got close to the gate, he noticed an odd looking pillager. He had an eyepatch over his left eye. He carried two diamond axes in his hands. He was draped in a red wool cape.
Suddenly, a pillager called out from behind him, "Chief Boruzo! He's trying to escape!"
Steve rode past the pillager. He stared at Steve and the two made eye contact. In that brief moment, Steve saw nothing in his black eyes. There was nothing but hate and malice painted all over the pillager's face.
From behind him, he heard the pillager calmly speak, "Evoker, take him out."
The ground from beneath the horse suddenly opened up and a row of jaws came out of the ground and bit the horse in half. The horse screeched as its lower half way pulled into the ground. Steve and the top half of the horse plunged to the ground. He could taste the dirt in his mouth. He quickly looked up and down at his legs…the jaws had barely missed them. Behind him, he saw a pillager in black and yellow robe waving his hands in the air. His hands had particles coming off of them. Steve knew it was him that did that.
Steve quickly got up and began to run away as the other pillagers continued to chase him. He sprinted as fast as he could, faster than he'd ever sprinted before. He made it through the wall and into the field. He could hear the footsteps of dozens of pillagers from behind him.
GO! GO! GO! He thought. DON'T LOOK BACK! DON'T EVER LOOK BACK!