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Kent got out of bed and stretched as the sun’s rays flooded his room with light. His bedroom was not much to look at. It was small with one window and only a bed and a large chest to furnish it. The walls were made of oak wood planks, the same as the rest of the house. The floor was bare spruce wood. Though it was not fancy, it was still one of Kent’s favorite places in the house. He could sit on the bed and read, or look out the window and watch the farmers working in the fields.
Kent had medium length, brown hair, brown eyes, and a light tan complexion. He was a little under two blocks tall and average build. He was a likable and honest fellow, good with his hands and smart. He enjoyed solving puzzles and riddles. He had many friends and few if any enemies.
As he stood there looking out of the window, he remembered that it was his birthday. He was turning sixteen, becoming a man in their community. He would get a house of his own and be allowed to work a job. Kent wanted to be a farmer. The work appealed to him. He liked tending to his mother’s garden, weeding, watering, and planting. It was not easy work, but he got to see the literal fruits of his labor every harvest.
He could choose an easy job like librarian. It paid pretty well and you didn't have to do much. He was educated enough, that was certain. He had been attending school since he was six years old and now had ten years of grammar, literature, math, science and history under his belt. But he was not the lazy type, looking for the easiest way to get the most profit. He liked doing things with his hands.
He knew that his father Nathan wanted him to become a priest. They were respected and could get anything for free. He could easily get that job if he wanted it. He knew all about Notch creating Minecraft and his assistants, the Mojang. He knew how to perform all the religious ceremonies involved and he also knew how to heal using the power of Notch. He only needed to be accepted into the priesthood to gain the power of Notch.
But he did not want to become a priest for several reasons. One was that most the members of the priesthood were greedy, proud people and he did not want them as his friends. Another was that priests could never marry, and he did not want to commit to that. Also, he did not like taking what he did not earn. He was an honest person. People trusted him. It he became a priest, people would trust him as much as they trusted any other priest.
Kent’s thoughts were interrupted by a knock in the door. “Kent? You awake?” His mother. “Yeah. Be right there.” “See you in a minute,” said his mom. “And happy birthday!” He smiled and changed into his clothes and put on his favorite hoody, the brown one with the cow face on the back. He had gotten it for his fourteenth birthday from his friend Emma and it still fit.
He found his mom taking some mushroom stew off the stove and he smelled bread in the oven. His father and brother Jimmy were sitting at the table, his father reading a brochure for “The Priests of Notch”. Jimmy was thirteen years old with light blue eyes, blond hair, and light skin like his mother. He was trying to keep a spoon balanced up and down in his finger.
Kent sat down opposite his father and breathed in the good smell of breakfast. His father looked up “Big day today, eh Kent? Becoming a man, getting a job.” As he said the last part, he lay the brochure down next to his bowl, making sure Kent would be able to see it. “So many good choices out there.” “That there are,” said Kent. “When you move out, can I have your bed?” Jimmy asked without taking his eyes off the spoon. “Jimmy!” His mom walked in with the stew. “Sorry mom,” said Jimmy, though he didn't sound sorry.
"Help your selves to the stew, I’ll get the bread,” his mother said as she walked back to the kitchen. She came back and they all took a slice of the warm bread, thanked Notch for the food, and dug in. The stew was delicious and the bread was great. When they were done eating, Kent got up to clear the table. “Whoa, it’s your birthday! I’ll do that today,” Jimmy interjected. Kent started to protest then stopped and sat back down. He knew better than to argue with Jimmy.
After washing up, the family went out to the town square where there were already a good number of people gathered. Kent and his family sat down on a bench and waited. Fifteen minutes later, most of the town was present and the mayor – a very fat, friendly fellow, - stepped forward. He cleared his throat and began speaking in a loud voice. “Greetings, citizens of Marpoton! We have gathered here to celebrate Kent Ashwood’s sixteenth birthday. Many of you remember when he was a wee tyke…”
The mayor began recounting Kent’s life and Kent mostly stopped listening, “Hi,” whispered a voice in his ear as someone sat down next to him. “Hey, Emma.” “Happy Birthday,” she whispered. “Thanks.” The mayor droned on and Jimmy fell asleep. Finally, the mayor said, “and I would like to invite Mr. Ashwood to come up and say a few words before the foo- I mean gifts are given and the meal prepared.”
Kent waited for his father to get up but he didn’t. “That’s you, Mr. Ashwood,” Emma whispered to him. He shot to his feet and walked up to the mayor who took Kent’s strong hand in his meaty one and shook it. Kent looked around and tried to think of something to say. His mom caught his eye and smiled.
Looking around again, Kent started talking. “Hi. Most of you know me. Some don’t. I’m Kent. Kent Ashwood. I’m turning sixteen today, becoming a man. I’d like to thank you guys for coming here.” Here he paused, wondering what to say next. Behind him the mayor coughed, but in the cough, Kent thought he heard the word “job.”
“I am supposed to pick a career today. I like reading, and working in my mom’s garden. I could probably be a librarian or a priest of I wanted to.” His father nodded, smiling. “I’ll pick my career before the end of the day. Again I’d like to thank you guys for coming here. Back to you Mister Mayor." Kent sat back down and sighed. That had been awkward. He had had no idea that he was supposed to make a speech. His father nodded at him, his mom smiled and Jimmy started snoring. His friend Pierce grinned at him and gave him a thumbs up.
The mayor was talking again. “…now be presenting Mr. Ashwood with his gifts and showing him his new house” And then with a slight smile, maybe of anticipation, “and then we’ll eat.” Everyone cheered and led Kent to a small house with a bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a living room. He liked it. The house was a lot like his old room in some ways.
Then came the gifts. An old farmer gave him a new hoe and some seeds, saying “so you can start a garden of your own here. His teacher brought him a book and a set of new pencils. The weapons master gave him an iron sword, “to beat up zombies with.” His father gave him a book of Notch, his mother gave him some recipes, Jimmy gave him “a hearty handshake” and Emma gave him a hat she had made herself. His friend Kevin gave him a bow and some arrows. There were many more gifts, but I won’t list them all here.
The food was good: cake, steak, and a sliver of golden apple per person. During the meal, the mayor pulled him aside and grinned at him. “Right good speech you made back there. How all good speakers do it: tell the audience what they already know, thank them, and hand it off to someone else. Not that I minded,” he added, seeing the apology forming on Kent’s lips, and waddled off. Kent smiled and went back to the feast.
Afterwards, he, Kevin and Emma went out to try out Kent’s new bow. To everyone’s surprise, Emma was the best shot of them all, and Kevin was not bad. Kent sucked. “You just need some more practice,” Kevin told him. They spent the rest of the day in the lake in a couple of boats.
“You know what job you’re going to take?” Kevin asked him. “I think I want to be a farmer. My dad wants me to become a priest.” “Don’t do that!” Emma said. “You’d have to hang around with the other priests.” Kent nodded. “I’m just worried about what my dad will say.” “It’ll be fine,” said Kevin. “Last one back to short has to put the boats up!” Kevin came in last and had to put the boats away.
Everyone was gathered back at the square for the end of the birthday party. After a little talking, the mayor asked Kent if he had decided on a profession. “Yes. I have. I’m going to be a farmer.” His father looked stunned. Then he seemed to resign himself to the fact that Kent was not going to be a priest. He nodded at Kent and gave a little half-grin. Kent was put under the instruction of Steven Primitus, the old farmer who had given Kent the hoe and the seeds. “I’ll want you at my place at seven o’click, got it?” “Yes sir,” replied Kent. “Seven o’click sharp.”
For the first time, Kent slept in his very own house. He went to bed as soon as he got there and fell asleep almost instantly. Tomorrow, he would start his first job under the oldest man in the town. He would finally become a farmer. Right before he drifted into dreams, he realized that “Primitus” meant “First” in the old tongue. Funny, he thought, his name’s Steve.

Kent woke before first light. As he threw off his blankets, he was struck the biting chill air in the hour before dawn. He donned work jeans, a blue undershirt and his sweater. He ate a quick breakfast and stepped outside, blinking at the first rays of the dawn streaking through the cloudless sky. He walked to Mr. Primitus’ farm, enjoying the quiet. Even the cold was not enough to bother him. It was just too fine a morning to be grumpy on.

When he arrived at the farm, he found that Mr. Primitus seemed to agree with him. “Good morning Kent. Right on time.” “Morning Mr. Primitus,” replied Kent. “Fine day, isn’t it.” “That it is. A little chilly though. Come in. I have some fresh bread coming out of the oven and you might as well have some. And you can call me Steve. 'Mr. Primitus' makes me sound like a priest. I hear that your father wanted you to enter that profession by the way.” Kent sat down at the table and gratefully took the warm slice of bread that was handed to him.

“Yeah, I just don’t like the priests all that much. I believe in Notch and all, but maybe he should appoint better people to be his priests. Sure, there’s the prestige and all, but people trust me right now. I don’t want to change that.” Steve took a seat at the table and began to eat as well. “I saw your father’s face last night. He seemed to think that you were going to enter the priest hood,” he said between bites. “He was quite surprised when you announced that you were going to be a farmer.”

“I never exactly told him that I wasn’t going to… But I never gave him any reason to believe I would. Do you think this will shake his trust in me? Does that count as lying?” Steve looked at Kent and thought a moment. “I don’t think so. Your father probably already thought through this and decided that you were not trying to deceive him.” Kent was relieved.

A knock sounded at the door. “There’s the paper. Would you mind getting that Kent?” “No problem.” Kent opened the door and picked up the newspaper lying on the porch. As he did, a headline on the front page caught his eye. “Look at this, Steve! It says that Brockton was ‘destroyed by creatures of the underworld.’” Steve looked up. “Let me see that.” He scanned the article. “This basically says that Ghasts, Blazes and Pigmen have escaped from the Nether and have destroyed Brockton. It speculates that they are serving a magician who is plotting to take over the world. What a load of rubbish.” He tossed the newspaper onto the table. “Come on. Let’s get started.”

Kent followed him outside to the farm. “So pretty much we’re looking for weeds growing in the wheat.” He walked over to a small green shoot. “This is the wheat. Don’t pull it up. That over there,” he said, pointing to a weed, “is a weed. Our job is to eradicate them.” Kent already knew this, but he did not interrupt. “You can’t just pull out the visible part. That won’t accomplish anything. You’ve got to pull it up by the roots, see? If you don’t, it’ll just come back.” He took out a spade and dug up the weed. “Like so,” he said. “Now you try.” He handed the spade to Kent who quickly dispatched another weed. “You’re a natural. You start over there and put all the weeds into this sack.” He handed Kent a small, rough sack. “We’ll burn them tonight.”

Kent nodded and started weeding, enjoying the work, not because it was fun, but because it was monotonous. It gave him a good opportunity to think. He thought back over the last day. It had been fun, and he had enjoyed the party. He grinningly wondered if Jimmy had slept in Kent’s old bed. Kent continued weeding and thinking until he realized that there were no more weeds in his section, and it was after twelve. He looked back over the rows and found a few he had missed. As he dug them up, he noticed Steve watching him, nodding approvingly. That made Kent feel good. He had done well. When he finished, he walked over to the old man. “I’m done. What next?”

Steve shook his head. “I had nothing planned, cause I figured it would take you the whole day to finish the weeds. Anyway, I was about to call you in for lunch. I’ve got some pulled pork in the icebox and we can heat that up.” He walked off, still shaking his head. Kent heard him muttering, “The boy’s wonderful. Five hours. Amazing.”

Steve dismissed Kent after lunch, but invited him to stay over and talk. Kent accepted and the sat down with a plate of cheese and crackers on the table. “You completely amazed me. The fact that an amateur like you could weed that much so quickly somewhat blew my mind.” Steve took a slice of cheese and put it on top of his cracker. “I’m not completely inexperienced. I tended my mom’s garden more than she did, so I have a vague idea of what I’m getting into.”

“I knew that you liked gardening – that’s why I gave you the hoe and seeds – but I didn’t know how good you were. Is that why you decided to go into farming?” “One of the reasons, yes,” said Steve as he started constructing a small house of crackers. “Another reason is that I like getting things done, seeing the literal and metaphorical fruits of my labor, and I like doing things with my hands. How long have you been a farmer?” Steve thought for a moment. Finally he answered. “I’ve lived off the land my whole life. If that’s what you’re asking. If you mean how long I’ve grown crops, I’d say most of my life.” “How old are you?” Kent wondered. “Old as the hills.” Kent thought he heard the old man say “literally” under his breath, but he couldn’t be sure.

Changing the subject, Kent asked “did you ever think about becoming a priest?” “No. Priests are foolish. They have deceived everybody into thinking that Notch is some sort of god or something, and that the Mojang are angels of sorts. That’s just not true. Yes, he created Minecraft, but he was no god. He was one of the elder race. It is said that they never died and never got old. If they were killed, they would simply respawn. Some is true, some is not. But nobody knows if there are any left on Minecraft. Maybe they all went back to where they came from.”

“But you do,” guessed Kent. “What makes you think that?” asked Steve, raising an eyebrow. “Your name. In all the history I’ve read, I’ve only seen the name Steve applied to one person. The original Steve, child of Notch. And I’ve studied the old language. I know that Primitus means ‘the first’ in the old tongue. At first I thought you didn’t answer my question when I asked your age, but I think you did.” “Yes?” “I think you were telling the literal truth. You spawned when Minecraft was created. Notch created you, so that is why the books say that Notch is your father. You are one of the elder race. You’re the original Steve. You just made up the name Primitus and used it because it amused you.”

“Very good,” said Steve. “You’re the first one to guess that, actually. I am Steve, first of the elder race to walk Minecraft. And the last. Notch and all of the Mojang left to wherever they came from. My brother Herobrine was taken with them to be imprisoned for his crimes. I am the only one left. As I said, many of the stories are true, but not all. Unfortunately, I do age. That is why I look like I do.” There as another knock at the door. “Kent?” It was Kevin. “Sorry,” Kent told Steve, “be right back.”

He went to the door and opened it. Standing there were a few of his friends. Kevin, Pierce (who they all called Person for some reason), Fred (a small boy who was freakishly good at imitating voices), and Emma. “Hey guys, what’s up?” Person stepped forward. “’Sup, man? Never got to tell you Happy B-day yesterday. Happy B-day bro!” “Thanks. You guys came over here to wish me a happy birthday?” “B-day man! But no. We would like to formally invite you to come upon an excursion with us into…“ He was cut short by Emma. “We were just wondering if you were done, and if you were, if you wanted to go to the woods with us. We were going to go without you, but Person pointed out that you might have finished already.”

“Sure. Be right with you guys.” He closed the door and went back to Steve. “Hey, I gotta go. That alright?” “Go on. It’s fine. But take the Villa de Cheese and Crackers with you. And do me a favor. Don’t tell anyone about me. I find the priests of Notch… trying.” “Sure thing. See you tomorrow?” “Same time. I’ll have more planned for then. Later.”

Kent left and joined his friends. “How was it man? The old guy seems pretty cool to me,” Person asked. “Great. A lot like Mom’s garden. Want a cracker?” Person eagerly took down part of the roof and are it. “How was the house?” Kevin asked. “Great. I slept like a rock.” They reached the woods and messed around some. Fred tried imitating birds, and even made an owl hoot back once. Evening came and they headed back to the town. “See you tomorrow,” he told them as they reached his house. “See you tomorrow,” Fred said in a perfect imitation of Kent’s voice. “Night,” said Kevin.

Kent treated himself to a nice juicy steak for dinner from the steakhouse and had leftover cake for dessert. He washed his own dishes, a novel experience for him, and changed into his creeper face pajamas. He found his bed how he had left it that morning – the covers clumped at the bed’s foot, and the pillow on the floor. It was different, living by himself. Nice in some ways, and lonely in another. He realized all of a sudden that he hadn’t visited his family that day. “I’ll do it tomorrow,” he told the empty room. And went to sleep.

Kent woke, but he did not open his eyes. He was still tired, and a little sore from the day before. He groaned. Seven o’click. Why so early? He opened his eyes. There was a little bit of light filtering in through the window, illuminating the room. He rose and dressed in the same outfit as the day before, and remembering that night, he made his bed. He ate a hasty meal of toasted wheat (a favorite cereal in the town), and rushed out the door. It was already six fifty-five and he jogged all the way to Steve’s farm, arriving there right as the clock struck seven.

Steve was waiting on the porch, reading the newspaper from the day before. “Good morning Kent,” he said. “Sleep in?” “Yes sir, sorry sir,” panted Kent. Steve looked amused. “You don’t have to call me sir. If I was mad at you, being polite wouldn’t make everything better, so just keep calling me by my name.” “Yes si- I mean okay.” Steve looked back down at the paper, which was opened to the sports page. “The Ingots beat the Pigmen again by four. It was a close game until the very end. Do you follow spleef?” “A little. I like the Victors.” Steve nodded approvingly. “Yes, yes. Very good spleef team. Also good in CTF.” He folded up the paper. “Today I’m going to teach you the fine art of potato farming.”

Steve then spent half an hour teaching Kent all about potato farming. When and when not to plant, the best time to harvest them, and the best types of soil. “When you go home today, I want you to plant the potatoes I gave you and then we’ll see how that goes. I know you already understand how to grow carrots; I saw them in your mother’s garden, but I did not see any melons.” He then gave Kent another lecture on the subtleties of growing melons. They worked in the fields until noon, when they had grilled cheese sandwiches. Steve let Kent go after he had answered some questions about potatoes and melons. “Don’t forget to plant those potatoes,” he called after Kent as he reached the road. “Don’t worry! I won’t. I’ll also try some melons!” Steve nodded and walked back inside.

Before going to his family’s house, Kent headed home to wash up. As he approached, he saw something lying in front of his door. When he reached it he bent down to see what it was. It was a newspaper. On the door was tape a note: Hi Kent! Thought we’d get you a subscription for the newspaper. Jimmy made sure it had a page with puzzles on it. Missed you yesterday! Love, Mom, Dad, Jimmy. Kent smiled. He took the note off the door and went inside. Before he put the newspaper down, he briefly glanced at the front page. As with the day before, a headline caught his eye. “Fire and terror spread! Is the end of the world at hand?” He quickly scanned the article. It said that creatures of the abyss had risen and were now destroying the towns around Brockton. Still going with the story huh? Steve had said it right the day before: ‘What a load of rubbish.’

Kent washed up and put on his “Enderman Moving Company” shirt. He had always found it amusing. His mom opened the door when he knocked. “Kent! So good to see you! How is your new house?” He gave her a hug and closed the door behind him. “It was good. A little weird living on my own. Did Jimmy take my bed?” he asked with a grin. “As a matter of fact, yes,” said Jimmy as he walked into the living room. “Hi Kent. You get any puzzles done?” “No time,” Kent replied, “I just got the paper before I came over here. “That’s too bad,” said Jimmy. “There’s this one that involves redstone repeaters that I couldn’t get.” “I’ll help you in a minute. Where’s Dad?”

“Not here,” said Jimmy. “He left on a business trip to Brockton last night. He’ll be sorry he missed you.” “Brockton?” asked Kent. “Yes. What’s wrong?” “Nothing,” said Kent. “There’s this bogus story in the news about creatures of the Nether rising and destroying Brockton and the surrounding towns. Mr. Primitus says that it’s a load of rubbish. I believe him. So what’s that puzzle Jimmy?” Kent spent the rest of the day with Jimmy and his mom. When evening came, Kent said his goodbyes and went home. Before he went to bed, he went behind his house and planted the potatoes and melons.

The Next day was Saturday, so He didn’t have to go to work. It was ten o’click when he was awoken by a knock on the door. “Coming!” He dragged himself out of bed and opened the door, yawning. It was Emma. “Morning Emma.” He invited her in and asked her to have a seat while he changed out of his pajamas. When he came out, she was halfway done cooking some eggs.

“What?” She asked. “You were taking a while and you haven’t had breakfast yet judging by the state you were in when you opened the door. Now go sit down while I finish these eggs.” He sat down and breathed in the delicious smell of the eggs. They were good eggs, much better than anything he could have done.

“So did you come over to wake me up or what?” She smiled. “No, that was an accident. I was going to tell you that the Victors are in town. The other guys and I were going to go to the Spleef game. I came to invite you.” “I’ll come,” he said. Be right out. He put his dishes in the sink to wash later and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. As he left the house, he noticed that the dishes had disappeared from the sink. Emma must have washed them.

Person, Kevin, Fred and Emma were waiting outside for him. “Look who finally decided to join us,” said Kevin with a playful punch. “Don’t push your luck Kevin. I only decided to grace you with my presence because of the first class meal that Emma made me. I could just go back to bed.” Kevin grinned. “Come on, let’s go. They took the Subtericart (basically the subway) to Boshun where the Victors would be playing the Miners.

They followed the flow of people to the giant spleef arena. After buying tickets and finding their seats, Fred spoke up in the voice of the mayor. “So, would anyone care to explain the game of spleef to me? I never did understand quite how it operates. Mister Hill,” he said, addressing Person, “Would you be so kind as to enlighten me on the subject?”

Person grinned. “No prob Mister Mayor. So you see, you got two teams of nine players, right? And they start on opposite sides of that arena down there. The floor is one block deep and made of dirt. Point of the game is to mine the dirt under the other team’s feet and make them fall down to below you see? The game is scored by how many players are left on the winning team. See that scoreboard? Both sides have nine. As a spleefer gets eliminated, they remove one from that team. You think you got it?” “Thanks bro,” said Fred, sounding just like Person, “I think I do.”

The game started. The Victors quickly took the lead and won by nine. A complete blowout. Person was talking about it the whole ride home. He was in the middle of a sentence, describing an epic play by one of the Victors’ players, when the cart jerked to a stop. The redstone lamps flickered, and went out. Emergency lighting was quickly provided by torches being revealed from behind the walls.

“What happened?” asked Kevin. “I think the power was somehow cut off.” “How,” Fred started, but Emma shushed him. “Listen,” she said. In the distance, Kent heard a rumble. “What’s that?” he asked. “I don’t know,” Emma replied, “but if it’s an earthquake, we don’t want to be stuck underground.” Everybody agreed and they ran along the track. Unfortunately, the rumbles grew louder as they ran and soon formed into the sounds of explosions.

“Is it just me, or is it getting warmer?” asked Kevin. “Oh, that’s me,” panted Person, “sorry.” Nobody laughed. They reached the end of the tunnel where it started sloping up to the Subtericart station and stopped. Where there should have been a roof and walls, all the group could see was the blue sky and a reddish tint around the edges. “That doesn’t look good,” Fred noticed. They were about to go up when something large and white with nine tentacles floated into their field of vision.

Out of its mouth shot a fireball, quickly followed by an explosion. They heard a yell, and the monster spit another ball of fire which left their view, and then came hurtling back and smote the monster. The horror screamed, and the group covered their ears to try to keep out the noise. It spit more fire and the same thing happened. This time the monster fell to the earth and sank into the ground.

All was quiet except for the sound of fire consuming the wooden town. Then a man’s voice echoed through the village. “CURSE YOU GHAST! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO COME HERE?” They heard sobs and the cracking voice of the man saying, “Dead. All dead. I thought that the news was lying. Now I see I was wrong. Dead. All Dead. Curse you Ghast.”

Kent climbed out into the burning ruins of what had once been the thriving town of Marpoton, and was instantly struck by the searing heat and the smell of sulfur. Kneeling among the wreckage was an old man with his head bowed and a sword in his hand. The only building still sanding was Kent’s house, and that was starting to burn as well. “Steve,” Kent said, “Steve is that you?” The old man’s head jerked up revealing that it was Steve.

Seeing the group seemed to bring the old man back to his senses. The first thing he said was “you planted the potatoes in a good spot.” Then he collapsed. Kent rushed forward and grabbed him. “Guys,” he said to his friends who were standing there in shock. “Guys!” Emma blinked and shook her head. “It’s all gone,” she said. “Hey, snap out of it.”

He gently lay Steve down and marched over to Emma. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he looked into her eyes. “Emma. I need help.” She looked at him and opened her mouth. Then she nodded. She turned around and slapped each of the boys across the face in turn. “What was that for?” asked Kevin. Emma pointed at Kent. “I need your help guys. Water. Put out my house. Hurry.” They did as they were told, finding water and extinguishing the blaze on Kent’s house.

He carried Steve in and lay him on the bed. Then the full weight of what had just happened hit him and he collapsed. Emma, who was closest to him caught him steadied him. She was looking at him with concern. His other friends stopped what they were doing and came over. “Hey man, what is it?” asked Person. Kent eased himself into a chair and slumped. He looked around at his friends. They were all on the verge of despair. They needed him to be strong, and he was not doing a very good job of that at the moment. He straightened. “Nothing,” he said, though lying to them like that went against every fiber of his being. “I’m fine.”

Fred, the youngest burst into tears. “They’re all gone. Mom, Dad, Mister Mayor, all of them. Gone. Dead.” “Hey, it’ll be fine,” said Kent. “We’ll figure something out.” Emma and Kevin took Fred over to a corner where he collapsed and cried himself to sleep. Person stood swaying, on the verge of breaking into tears himself. Kent stood up. “Hey. Person.” No response. “Pierce. Hey. Snap out of it, or do I need to get Emma to slap you again?” Person shuddered, swallowed and nodded. “I’ll be fine for now. Thanks man.”

It struck Kent how quickly their places had been reversed. A moment ago, it had been Person being concerned for Kent. Now Kent was the one keeping Person going. Emma and Kevin came back over. They seemed to have recovered from what had happened. Emma went over to Steve’s bed and checked his forehead. “He seems to be fine. No fever. Maybe he just needs sleep.” She swayed, then caught herself. “Maybe I do too.” Kent nodded. “There should be extra blankets in the closet.” She thanked him, threw a blanket on the floor, and collapsed on top of it.

Kent and Kevin went back out to the living room to check on Person. They found him fast asleep on the couch. Kevin made sure he was asleep before speaking. “Thanks for keeping us going back there. I’m fine now, but I know that you’re not.” Kent opened his mouth to protest, but Kevin cut him off. “Don’t try to lie to me. You were never any good at it, though you almost had me fooled earlier. I really appreciate what you did, but you need to find a way to get yourself together. The others need you, and so do I.”

Kent nodded mutely, his terror threatening to consume him. “Sleep. That should help,” said Kevin. “Take the other couch, to next time, don’t make the lady sleep on the floor. I’ll stay awake for a while and wake you if anything happens.” Kent gratefully dropped onto the couch and soon passed into a fitful sleep in which he saw the Ghast spitting a fireball at his old house, and his mother and Jimmy were burning. The Ghast turned to him and opened its mouth, but instead of spitting fire at him, it spoke. “Wake up Kent. Kent.”

He woke up. “Kent.” It was Kevin’s voice. “Wake up.” Kent opened his eyes. Kevin stood there. It was the middle of the night. “What is it?” asked Kent. Something banged on the door. Hard. Kevin held out Kent’s new sword and pointed grimly at the cracking door. “We have company.”

The door rattled as another bang resounded through the house. “Who is it?” asked Kent. There was no reply, only more banging. Kent walked over to the door. “Who’s there?” Still no answer. “No! Don’t!” shouted Steve as he ran into the room, but it was too late. Kent had opened the door, letting in a stench so powerful that he stumbled backwards.

It was a good thing he did. A zombie barged in, swinging its arm through the space Kent’s head had just occupied. Yelling, Kent swung out wildly with his sword, but only managed to hit the zombie with the flat of the blade. That would have been the end, and there would be no story to tell, but Steve appeared out of nowhere and leapt at the monster, swinging his own sword in a deadly arc, and sliced the monster’s left arm off at the elbow. That drew its attention to Steve, who stayed calm and struck again. The blade whistled though the air and the zombie’s head fell to the ground, quickly followed by the rest of the body.

Steve kicked the corpse out the door and shut it. Then he turned to Kent. “Never,” he said, “let a stranger into the house if he might be dangerous. That,” he said, pointing to the door, “was dangerous. You could have died right there.” Kent bowed his head in apology. “I was lucky to avoid the first blow, and I’d be dead now if it wasn’t for you. Thank you.” Steve nodded. “I’m going back to bed. Wake me if anything else happens. Don’t wait for the noise to wake me.” Kevin acknowledged him and put down the bow he had been trying to string. “You should get some sleep,” said Kent. “I’ll keep watch until morning.” Kevin thanked him and took the couch where Kent had been sleeping.

Emma looked walked out from the room Steve had just walked into. “I miss something? Steve seems to have woken up” Kent nodded. “A little,” he said, “A zombie tried to break in and almost killed me. Would have if Steve hadn’t saved me. I’m surprise you slept through the noise.” Emma looked over at where Person still lay snoring. “Looks like I wasn’t the only one,” she said with a slight smile. “But a zombie? I thought those were extinct!” “The definition of a zombie is being undead,” replied Steve. “They just never came here before.”

“True.” Emma seemed to have mostly recovered from the previous day. Kent realized that he had too. He had accepted that his family was dead, knew that there was nothing he could do to change that, and decided to try to keep himself and his friends alive. They sat for a while in silence. Finally, Kent spoke. “I had a dream last night. It was the Ghast. It was burning the town, and I saw my family.” He stopped there. She didn’t answer, only looked down. They stayed that way until dawn came and the sun rose as if nothing tragic had happened the day before.

Kent volunteered to make breakfast and asked Emma to wake the others. “I don’t know if I can trust you in the kitchen,” she said. “How about I cook and you wake the others.” He agreed, partly because he had liked the last breakfast she had made so much. As she rummaged around in the refrigerator, Kent woke Person. “Hey, man,” he moaned, “what time is it? I had the strangest dream. What are you doing here?” Kent looked down at him. “It wasn’t a dream, Person, It actually happened. It’s about seven o’click in the morning.” Person closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them. “Bro… I wish it was a dream. I really, really wish that.” Kent turned to the other couch. “Hey Kevin, time to get up.” Kevin opened his eyes. “So tired,” he said, and stretched. “You guys go sit down,” Kent told Kevin and Person.

Fred did not want to get up, but Kent finally managed to convince him to come to the table. There, he slumped forward and rested his head in his hands. Kevin looked at him and grabbed his arm. “Fred, come over here a minute,” he said, and spoke to him for a few minutes. When Kent returned from Waking Steve, Fred looked better. The smell and sound of bacon sizzling on the stove reached them as they sat there. A minute later, Emma walked in with a plate of bacon and scrambled eggs. They all helped themselves and ate in silence.

When they had finished, Steve asked the question that they had all been thinking. “So, what are you going to do now? Your town is destroyed, and you have nowhere to go.” Kent thought a moment. “I was thinking that maybe I’d try to find my dad. Mom said that he went left for Brockton two days ago. He might still be alive. But you guys can do whatever you want.” “My whole family is dead,” said Kevin. I’ll come with you. Like Steve pointed out, I have nowhere else to go.” “I’ll come with you,” said Emma. “Same here, man,” said Person. “I’ll come with you.” That left Steve and Fred.

“I’ll go with you. You guys are the only people I have left,” Fred told them. They all looked at Steve. “I’ll tag along,” he finally said. “You’ll need someone to save your butt next time a zombie tries to eat you. Plus, I’ve not been on an adventure in a very long time. I have some supplies cached near my farm. Assuming, that is, that they weren’t blown up.”

“Thanks so much guys,” said Kent. “You can take what you need from here. I won’t be using this place for a long time, if ever again. I’ll get some bags. Kent packed some extra clothes and his new hat in a backpack, along with the notebook and pencils from his teacher and other miscellaneous items. He took his sword and bow and grabbed some perishable food and a couple water bottles. When everyone had taken what they needed, they followed Steve out to what remained of his farm.

The group stood by the road as Steve searched the ruins of his house for a shovel. He finally found the blade of an iron one and came back to them. “I buried the stuff in the wheat fields. Follow me.” He led them into the scorched earth of what had been a field of healthy green shoots less than a day before. In the very center of the field and started digging. About two blocks down, He hit the lid of a chest. “In here,” he said.

After taking a look in the chest, Person whistled. “Wow, dude! It’s like you were preparing for the apocalypse or something. The chest was stocked with food, armor, weapons, clothes, and a hairbrush. “What’s with the hairbrush?” asked Kent. “You never know when one might come in handy,” Steve told him. “You would not believe how many times I’ve needed a hairbrush and not had one.” Everybody took an iron sword. Kevin and Emma each took a bow and some arrows. Person took a small knife, and Fred took a slingshot. Steve kept his sword, but he packed the hairbrush.

“What should we do about the armor?” Kevin asked Steve. “I’m not wearing that all day.” “You don’t have to.” Steve picked up an iron chestplate. “The armor is designed so that it easily fits into most bags like so.” He demonstrated. “Cool!” said Person, as he packed a full set. The rest of the group followed his example.

“Looks like we’re set,” observed Steve. “I think Kent is the leader of the group, so you decide when we should leave.” “But you’re the oldest,” objected Kent. “I don’t count,” Steve replied. “I’m just tagging along to make sure you don’t kill yourselves.” Kent started to argue, but Kevin stopped him. “We’re all following you, remember? That automatically makes you the leader. But even if that weren’t the case, I’d still choose you. You’re smart, you’re a natural leader, and I trust you. No offence Steve, but I’d take Kent’s word over yours.” “So would I,” murmured Steve. Kent looked at his friends felt lucky to have them. “Well, I guess if you all say that I’m the leader, then leader I am, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I see no reason to delay, so let’s get started. Brockton is to the north-east, so it’s that way we’ll go.”

Kent took out a compass. “That way,” he said, pointing towards the woods. He started walking and the others followed him. They left the charred ruins of Marpoton behind them and reached the woods. He entered without looking back. Fred paused for a moment, then followed after the rest of the group. It would be a long time before any of them saw the burnt rubble of their old home again.

As Kent walked through the woods, he breathed in the fresh smell of the trees. It was a pleasant change from the smell of ashes and sulfur. The trees provided a shade from the sun, making it a little chilly, but that was also welcome, as the heat from the fires still lingered in the village. He could hear his friends walking behind him. They were probably appreciating the fresh, cool air as well. They passed most of the first part of their trip in silence, each thinking their own thoughts. They continued walking until dusk. As the sun touched the horizon and lit the western sky up red and orange, the group stopped under a large oak tree.

“I’m guessing we probably shouldn’t sleep on the ground tonight,” Kent said. “You’d normally be right,” said Steve, “but I can build you a shelter.” “How?” asked Kevin. Steve then told them his secret. He told them about the elder race and revealed that he was the Steve. They were doubtful until he punched down a tree and made a small shelter. That convinced them that he was telling the truth. By that time, the sun had disappeared, and they all gathered into the shelter. “I’ll take first watch,” said Person. “I slept through the whole zombie thing last night. I don’t want to miss anything.”

The rest of them lay down to sleep on the hard floor. “Wake me at midnight,” said Fred. “I did the same thing last night.” Person assured him that he would. Kent stayed awake for a while, thinking over the past few days. He finally fell asleep, waking only when Fred got up to take his turn watching over his friends.

They broke camp early the next day, literally on the part of Steve, who took town the shelter in less than sixty seconds. They continued walking through the woods, chatting about the different tree types or the pig Emma saw, of listening to Fred talk in their voices. They stopped to rest and eat at noon, and spent the night in a shelter similar to the previous one, with Steve and Kevin taking the watches.

They continued traveling like this for several days. At noon of the fifth day, they left the woods behind them and struck out across a plains biome, avoiding the wreckage of another town. It took them three days to reach the next town. This one looked perfectly fine from a distance, but Kent didn’t want to take any chances. Kent asked Fred to accompany him to the village tomorrow and Fred agreed to go. They spent the night a little ways away from the town. Person and Steve took the watch that night to let Fred rest for the next day. Right before he fell asleep, Kent heard Steve humming a tune he didn’t recognize. He liked it though, and it played all throughout his dreams that night.

Kent woke before the others. Kevin was sitting in the corner, watching the faces of his friends. When he noticed Kent looking at him, he nodded his head in greeting. Kent quietly rose, his body slightly sore from days sleeping on the hard ground. He stretched, and carefully made his way over to where Fred was still dozing. Kent knelt down and gently shook him awake. When Fred opened his eyes, Kent motioned for him to follow, and went outside. A few moments later, Fred emerged from the wooden shelter, belting on his sword. Kent quietly closed the door, and rummaged around in his backpack for some energy bars. They weren’t very tasty – if Kent knew about cardboard, he’d say the bars tasted like it – but they kept a body going.

The duo reached the village as the sun finished its climb over the horizon. The streets were empty, but Kent got the feeling that they were being watched. He made his way to the town square, and stopped. “Hello?” he called. He waited, but the only answer he got was the echo of his voice resounding off the walls of the houses. He tried again. “Hello? Is anyone home? We come from the ruins of Marpoton, seeking shelter. Is anyone here?” No reply. He was about to give up and leave, when a voice came from one of the houses.

“Don’t move, unless you want to become a human pincushion. You lie. We know what happened to Marpoton. There were no survivors. The newspaper said so.” Another voice, rang out. “You can’t trust everything you hear in the newspaper, Saul. I’ve told you this before.” “I don’t trust them,” said the voice belonging to the man named Saul. “They might be working for the magician.” “I don’t trust them either,” replied the second voice, “but I don’t think we should stick ‘em full of arrows before we hear their story.” “Test us,” said Kent. “Ask us something about Marpoton.” “Did any of you know anybody from Marpoton?” asked Fred. “I did,” said Saul. His name was Jeremiah Hill.” “Mr. Hill was the father of one of my companions,” Fred said in the voice of Person’s father. Saul was silent a moment.

“That’s his voice all right, though how you can speak in it, I have no idea. Lay down your weapons and put your hands in the air. Then we’ll see about shelter.” Fred looked at Kent, who nodded. They both laid down their swords and lifted their hands. A door opened and a man - Kent assumed he was Saul – stepped out with a drawn sword. “Keep your hands up and follow me.” He led them into the house and motioned for them to have a seat at the table. “Start talking,” he said. Kent started relating what had happened to his village, how he had escaped, and what had happened since. When he finished, Saul sheathed his sword. “I believe you,” he said, and walked out.

Kent relaxed. “I thought he was about to kill us,” said Fred in Saul’s voice, which made Kent jump. He nodded and followed Saul out the door. There was a crowd of people waiting for them and at once he was drowned in a flood of questions, asking what happened, about friends and family, and all sorts of other questions. “Let me go get my friends,” said Kent, “then I might be able to answer some of your questions.” The crowd parted to let him through, and he left to town. The sound of conversation behind him started as he walked toward his the shelter.

When he reached the shelter, he found his friends awake, discussing what to do. “I think we should go in after him,” Kevin was saying. “He’s been in there way too long.” “Dude, chillax. He’ll be back soon. He wouldn’t get into no trouble, you know Kent.” Kent walked in, and the conversation stopped. Kevin was in the midst of pacing, and everyone else was sitting on the floor. Person, who was lounging against the wall with his hands behind his head, looked up. “What did I say bro? Here he is!” Kevin looked relieved. “I guess I was wrong,” he said, “I watched you go in. After a while, I saw a bunch of people pour out of the houses, most of them armed, and I woke the others. I was trying to convince them you were in trouble, but Steve said you were fine.”

Kent nodded. “I’m fine,” he said, “and I was just coming back to fetch you guys. But be prepared, they have a whole lot of questions.” “I hate questions,” Person complained, “unless it’s me that’s doing the asking.” “Yeah, well let’s pack up and head back,” said Kent. They gathered their supplies, took down the shelter, and started off towards the town. When they reached the village, the crowd became silent. Then, about half the people raised their hands. Kevin and Kent glanced at each other, not sure what to do. Then Fred stepped forward and pointed to the person whose hand had gotten up first.

He was a man of average build with a slightly crooked nose and short red hair. He lowered his hand and asked, “What happened at Marpoton? I mean what really happened. I’ve heard all sorts of rumors, but none have been verified.” Steve stepped forward. “I’ll answer this one. We can get through all the questions much more quickly if we all go off to different parts and answer the people there.” This was said to his companions. As Kent walked off, Steve began answering the man’s question. “What happened… well, I’m not entirely sure what did happen. I was sitting in my house when I heard a rumble, and the temperature went up dramatically. I ran out of my house, and there was an army of Nether creatures. I drew my sword…” Kent pointed to an elderly woman with white hair and piercing blue eyes, and was carried off in the questions of the crowd.

Later, he saw that it was getting dark, and decided to find a place to stay. “We need a place to spend to spend the night.” He was about to offer money, when a man stepped forward. “I know of a woman who has a large house and might let you stay there. Follow me.” So Kent followed him over to another woman. By that time it was too dark to make out what she looked like. “These people are looking for a place to stay.” They made the arrangements, Kent got the address, and went off to find his friends. The first one he found was Fred, who was busily answering the questions of what was left of his crowd. Kent joined in and they quickly answered the rest. Then they moved on to Steve’s group. Where they were joined by Emma. After the last person had left, they made their way to the address and met the woman she gave showed them where to sleep.

That night, Kent slept in a real bed for the first time in weeks, and when he woke, it was almost noon, and the smell of stew filled the house. The room he was in was on the second story of the large brick house. The woman who owned it had gladly taken them in in exchange for the full story and a few coins the previous night. The room he was in was not large, but it was cozy, with a light gray carpet on the floor and a few paintings on the walls. He was lying in an average sized bed with red covers. Light curtains covered the windows.

Groaning as he forced his sore body to move, he climbed out of bed. His back ached, his legs were sore, and for some reason, his right pinky toe was throbbing. He stretched, yawned, and got dressed. Downstairs, he found a pot of mushroom stew on the stove. The house’s owner was sitting in the corner making a quilt. She didn’t notice him at first, and he had time to study her features. She had gray hair done up in a bun, and gray eyes. Surprisingly, her face didn’t seem to be all that old, maybe twenty-five or so.

When she noticed him, she put down her quilt and stood up. “Good morning, how was your rest,” she asked. “I slept great,” he replied, “but I’m sore all over.” “I see,” she said. “Have a seat at the table. You’re actually the first one up, believe it or not. I wasn’t sure any of you would ever wake! Here, have some stew, you must be starving.” While she had been talking, she served some of the stew into a wooden bowl and now set it down in front of Kent. “Thank you,” he said. At the mention of food, he realized just how hungry he was. He hadn’t eaten since the energy bar the previous morning. He had been too caught up in the questions of the villagers, and finding a place to stay, that he’d forgotten to eat.

He lifted a spoonful of stew to his mouth and sipped it. It was still uncomfortably warm, but he blew on it and gulped it down. It was the best meal he’d eaten since Emma’s breakfast before the spleef game, and the chaos afterwards. “Delicious,” he said, and ate another spoonful. The woman had been watching him, and finally asked, “How old are you? I can usually tell pretty easily, but with you, I can’t tell.” Funny question, he thought. Aloud he said, “I turned sixteen about two weeks ago. Why do you ask?” “Just wondering,” she said. “You seem older.” He took another bite of stew. “I never heard,” she said, “who won the spleef game?” That took him by surprise. “What?” “The game you went to before your village was destroyed.” He was silent a moment, surprised that he couldn’t remember. “Right,” he said as it came to him. “The Victors won nine-zip. Weird it took so long to remember.”

Emma walked into the kitchen. “Morning,” she said as she sat down. “Good morning,” the woman replied. “How did you sleep?” “Great,” said Emma. “Thanks for letting us stay here. I don’t think I know your name.” “I’m Diamond,” she said. “But please call me Di. I don’t know why my parents decided on Diamond. I don’t even have blue eyes.” Di slid a bowl of stew in front of Emma, who thanked her and quickly devoured the delectable dish. Fred and Person came in together and barely said a word before they started on their stew. Kevin came in as the other two were taking their first bites. “Good morning ma’am,” he said. “Call me Di,” said Di. Kevin blinked. “No offense, but when I first saw you I thought you were like my grandma’s age.” Di smiled. “I am often mistaken for an elderly woman. Really, I’m only twenty-five.” Steve came in last and finished his stew before Fred. Di watched them eat for a little, then went back to her quilt.

Kent washed his bowl, and went back up to his room to wash up. When he came out of the shower, he plopped down on his bed and happened to look over at his bag. It seemed to be glowing slightly. He reached over and picked it up. It stopped glowing, and Kent realized that it had merely been sitting in the sun. He opened it anyway and took out his armor. He looked at it for a moment, then tossed it onto the bed next to him. He glanced at the dried golden apple bits, then tossed those next to his armor. Next he took out the book his teacher had given him for his birthday. The cover was dark red leather, and when he opened it, the pages were blank. A journal he thought. I might write in that later. He was about to put his stuff back in the bag, when something in it caught his eye.

It was the hat Emma had made for him. He pushed the dents out of it and plopped it on his head. It fit perfectly and was quite comfortable. He took it off again and studied it. It was made of a light brown leather, with a dark brown band around the base. It had a short rim all the way around, to keep off the sun. Perfect for gardening he thought, realizing that it was probably this that Emma had in mind when she made the hat. He put it back on his head, repacked the bag and went downstairs. Kevin and Emma had also showered and were sitting at the table talking. Kent took a seat in between them.

“Nice hat,” said Kevin. “Thanks, Emma gave it to me for my birthday,” said Kent. “She always gives you clothes,” Kevin complained, “and she gives me a knife. A kitchen knife.” Kent laughed. He remembered the year before, when Kevin had gotten the knife. The look on his face had been priceless. “And I always love the clothes,” he agreed. Emma smiled.

“So,” said Kevin, changing the subject, “what are we going to do? Are you planning on moving on today?” Kent thought a moment. “No, not today. We need rest, and this is a good place to do it.” “If Di will let us stay,” Emma pointed out. “True,” said Kevin. “I’ll talk to her about it later. So what do we do while we’re here?” “Just whatever I guess,” said Kent. “I was going to walk around the town some.” “I’ll come with you,” said Emma. “I doubt Fred and Person want to do much except rest,” said Kevin. “I’ll stay here with them. While I’m here, I’ll talk to Di about staying here again tonight. Steve will do whatever.” Kent nodded, and looked at Emma. “Want to go now?” he asked. “Let me go put some shoes on, I’ll be right there.”

She joined him a few moments later, and they set off through the streets. It was a beautiful town, with trees everywhere, and a park in the center. The houses were mostly made of wood or bricks, with a few stone scattered throughout. They made their way to the town square, where all the shops were, and browsed the displays. They paused outside a clothes shop, where Kent saw the same “Enderman Moving Company” t-shirt he had worn to his parents’ house. He bought them each a golden carrot from a street vendor, and they ate them on a bench in the park. When the sun neared the horizon, they turned back towards Di’s house.

Kent knocked on the door, and was let in by Fred. “Brought you half a golden carrot,” Kent told him, and handed it to the boy. “Bro, wassup?” said Person as Kent entered the living room. “I haven’t seen you since, like, breakfast, dude. Or was it lunch. Where you been?” “Just around the town. Have a golden carrot.” “Thanks, man.” “You bring me one?” asked Kevin. “No.” “Good. Otherwise I would have had to eat it and I’m allergic to gold foods.” “What?” Emma asked. “Dude, sucks for you,” said Person, biting into his carrot.

“So I talked to Di, and she said we could stay here for as long as we need to,” announced Kevin, “free.” “That’s great!” Kent exclaimed. “By the way, where is she?” “She’s in the Kitchen cooking steaks. Steve’s showing her some sort of easy way to make great steaks. She seemed a little skeptical,” said Kevin. “We get to stay here free, and we get steaks? That’s crazy!” Kent exclaimed. “I know, right? These chairs are first class, bro.” Steve walked in. “Steaks should be ready in about an hour. Make yourselves comfortable.” “Already done,” said Person. Kent sank onto a couch. Person was right, the couch was awesome. He closed his eyes and tried to take a nap. He had never been good at getting to sleep during the day, but the couch did it. Kent drifted off to sleep, and slept until dinnertime, when Emma shook him awake.

He sat in the same seat as earlier and watched as Di served him a huge steak and a few pieces of bread. The steak was well cooked, but still juicy, just the way he liked it. He forced himself to cut small pieces so he wouldn’t choke himself. They talked about what they had done that day and what they planned to do the next day. “I’m thinking we head out tomorrow,” said Kent. “Sounds good,” said both Kevin and Emma. Person shrugged, and Fred looked disappointed. “You don’t have to come,” Kent reminded him. “I know,” he said, “but I don’t want to leave you guys. I’ll come.” Steve nodded. “You guys should try to sleep as soundly as you can. What time are you planning on leaving?” Kent shrugged. “Sometime around Eight o’click. Not too late.” Di had been watching them the whole time. “Well, I’ll make you a good breakfast tomorrow, and pack you some more food. Sleep well.”

Kent headed up to bed soon afterwards. He lay in bed for a little, thinking over the day’s happenings. Then, he rolled over and let his full stomach and the soft bed pull him into a deep sleep. He had no dreams that night, and slept until Di woke him up the next morning. “Wake up,” she said with a grim expression on her face. “You need to see this.” He climbed out of bed and looked out the window to the North-east. The sky was bright all around, but on the horizon, there was what looked like a thick bank of black clouds. Every now and then, it would flare red, and Kent heard a distant rumble. Steve joined them by the window. “The Nether has awakened. A few days ago, I believed that I had long ago sealed the last portal. There is only one way this could have happened.” “What’s that?” asked Kent. “My brother Herobrine has escaped and built a portal. All the Nether has broken loose. We have to stop it.”