Minecraft Story Mode: The Unknown Tales

Chapter 1: Bleeding

Pain. Everyone is familiar with it in some form or another. Whether it be physical pain, like slamming your hand into a door, or emotional pain, like hearing your best friends spread nasty rumors about you behind your back, it's likely that either yourself or someone you know of has experienced it in their lives. Find anyone who claims to have never felt pain in their lives, and you have either found a liar or someone who isn't even remotely human.

Alex knew pain all too well. To her, feeling Thomas' fists ramming into her face over and over again was a normal thing. To her, having Annie spit in her hair and call her horrible names was nothing to be surprised at. Did she ever have a life when pain was not as common and recurring? She could vaguely remember one, but it was a long time ago...so long...

Alex had to bite back a scream as she felt another lash on her back, followed by the sound of tearing skin. She had been beaten before, but never like this.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!," Thomas yelled, even though Alex didn't make a peep. "I'm teaching you a lesson right now! Count yourself lucky I'm even putting in the effort!" Needless to say, Alex didn't feel so lucky. She heard a loud, whistling noise in the air and squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself. CRACK! The wooden stick in Thomas' hands came down again and again relentlessly. Each smack of the stick meant another tear on Alex's wounded back. The poor girl wanted to shout. She wanted to scream, holler, and let out all the pain she was holding in.

But she was not that stupid. For a guy who yells a lot, Thomas didn't like loud noises from other people. They made him angry. Well, angrier than he usually is.

CRACK! How long has it been? It had to have been hours, right? Alex glanced at the clock on the wall and felt like crying. Five minutes? Was it only for that long?

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! She felt something other than searing pain, some sort of warm, thick liquid running down her back and soaking her bedsheets. A foul, coppery scent filled her nostrils. "Look at you, you're fucking bleeding," said Thomas, his voice filled with both amusement and contempt. "Why the hell don't you fight back, huh? Are you some kind of masochist?" The abusive teenager chuckled at his poor joke and continued raining violent blows on Alex's back with his stick. It was a wonder it hadn't snapped in half by now.

Already, the coppery stench made Alex want to throw up. Each blow made her teeth rattle and her back screaming in pain. Finally, after what felt like forever, Thomas stepped back and dropped the stick, which made a loud clang on the wooden floor. Alex could hear him breathing heavily. "Clean yourself up," he muttered before leaving the house and slamming the door behind him. It's over, Alex mentally cheered. It's finally over!

Then, she began sobbing into her pillow, ignoring the blood leaking from the wounds on her back. She knew the truth. It wasn't over. Far from it. Maybe it was over for today, but what about tomorrow? The day after that? And the day after that? Was this really her fate? To be someone's literal whipping girl for the rest of her life? She didn't know how much more she could possibly take. Suddenly, she felt something tugging inside of her. It was as if something... or someone...was calling out to her. Ignoring the pain, she dragged herself across the bloodstained bed, reached into a nearby chest, and pulled out a dirt block.

"Hello, Billy," she whispered, too weak to speak any louder. She was glad that neither Thomas nor Annie had discovered the dirt block yet, otherwise they would have laughed themselves hoarse before crushing it under their feet in front of her. She brought Billy to her chest and hugged it lightly, making sure not to squeeze too tightly or he'll crumble. "I love you, Billy," she whispered, tears running down her face. "...I love you too," Billy whispered back. "Huh?!," Alex cried, staring at the dirt block in her hands. She waited for another response, but there was none. The wounded girl decided that it was just her imagination.

But first thing's first. She was going to clean herself up like Thomas said, then she was going to clean her bed. She wasn't about to give up on life just yet.

After all, Endercon is only a few weeks away...