Climate Change

Rising waters

[JSCHLATT'S POV]

We had just gotten up the first part of the mountain and were now collecting more resources. Wilbur and I were a pretty good team. Once we cleared a small platform on the mountain, Will and I were just casually conversing about shelter.

"Schlatt, have you ever built a house in Minecraft before" Will asked benevolently.

"No I haven't, I just let other people do it." I told him slightly laughing.

"You want me to build the entire house?" I looked at him quizzically.

"I want you to be the architect this time, lets see what you can do dude!" he replied looking at me with a smile plastered on his face.

I began working on the house, it was smaller than expected and could really only house myself so far, but it was a start. The house was a four by four birch-wood room with one oak door, and a slab roof. Every wall but one had a two block hole in it for a window. I called Will over to see what I had created.

"C'mere!" I shouted to Wilbur.

"Yeah?" Will said, walking out of the cave and through the trees.

I called to him again as I saw him walk through looking at the house.

"ooooooh look at that!" He said pleasantly surprised at what I had built.

He looked at me through one of the windows.

"Hey!" I said happily smiling, and glad that my first house wasn't such a failure.

"Hey! This is nice." Will replied still in awe with my little shelter.

He walked through the door, closing it behind him as night time fell, the sun giving out to the hills. He looked around the room inspecting it, as I stood quietly watching him by the crafting table.

"Although Schlatt, I do have a question. Lean in for a second." Wilbur spoke softly, as we got closer to one another.

"Yeah?" I replied questioningly

"You do the water levels are rising right?" He said worriedly

I looked out the window to see the water had in fact, gotten closer and practically consumed spawn. This was worrying, but we could make do. I wondered how long we had until the water consumed our little home.

"What do you mean?" I asked Will

"Where are the fucking windows?" Will said, laughing softly at my stupidity.

"I like water." I replied, letting out a breathy giggle.

We pulled away from each other, slight pink tinting both our faces, and we went outside.

"You're telling me I gotta go down there and get sand?" I looked at him with wide eyes, not at all drawn to the freezing waters below that had previously consumed our spawn.

"You've gotta go down there and get sand dude, off you go, on your bike mate!" Wilbur said giggling at my apprehensiveness.

"But what if the water level rises and kills me? Like Climate Change!" I say worriedly, my eyes pleading for me not to go down there and risk it.

"Then you swim up, you swim up dude!" Will joyously replies, quiet laughter still leaving his mouth.

"Wait! We just found the fix for global warming dude, Just swim up!" Wilbur tells me laughing harder than before.

"Just swim up." I say falling into a laughing fit along with Wilbur.

While I was laughing, I lost my footing on the treetop and began to fall. I called out to Will, but it was too late.

"Oh shit." I say before I hit the ground and fall to my death.

"Wha-?" Will looks at my corpse, laughing thankful that we have extra lives.

I respawn in cold dark waters, and began doing what Will told me. I just swim up, gasping for air once I reach the surface. I collect sand from the small beach and began climbing upwards to our home again.

Wilbur begins building an attachment room to our little home, rambling on in our conversation.

"-a little area for a credenza, you know?" Wilbur tells me.

"I don't know what that word means, that's a weird British word." I jokingly reply, teasing him.

"What other words do you have?" I question Will.

"Uhh, Skirting board. Do you know what that is?" Wilbur asks me, smiling.

Just then the ground shakes a small bit and I see the water rise closer to our home.I gasp nervously, calling out to Will.

"Oh my god dude, that is terrifying." I tell Will, wishing he were next to me.

Wilbur walks through the trees and I see him come to me. I give him a small hug, which he returns before walking off and pointing out that the river that we spawned near has been consumed.

I flashed him a worried smile as we walked back inside our home.

[763 words]