Hero's Bane

Chapter 7: To Nether and Back

Steve was running and he knew exactly what he was running from too. The footsteps that followed his lightly echoed through a dark narrow cave and the disturbing thought of Herobrine running after him really got his adrenaline flowing and legs going.

His dim torch was like his hope, it was also diminishing in it's glow and making the light of his situation fade. He decided to make a daring move despite his fear, not because he wanted to but because his only source of luminosity was on it's last dying ember and he couldn't move forward without seeing the possible dangers that lie ahead. Hordes of mobs, gaps in the ground, cliffs, and possible dead-ends.

Steve boldly stopped and stood there in the darkness as the ember finally died out, he closed his eyes and listened for anything, any sound especially that of boots. But he heard nothing to his relief. Nothing but the sound of his thudding heartbeat and droplets of water pattering against the ground nearby.

He let out a sigh of relief and it echoed oddly enough. Steve suddenly got an idea, he experimentally stomped his foot onto the rocky flooring as hard as he could and it echoed all the way down the stone hallway. Perhaps he wasn't being followed after all. He wasn't sure if letting his guard down was a possible trap or not but he wasn't about do that. He couldn't afford to so he focused and the path before him and listened carefully, holding his sword close and with a tight grip.

Steve readjusted his chest pack and blindly reached an arm back into it and rummaged though the materials. His hand landed on the thin object and he pulled it out and clipped the pack back up. He then pulled out his flint and Steel from his pocket and struck the pieces repeatedly together to create a spark.

With a fresh torch now glowing brightly, Steve began to walk to conserve energy. The thought of being followed though- it never left his mind. At least the cave was small and enclosed, it lessened the chances of being flanked by mobs which gave a him a small feeling of security. It's what could be in front of him that really concerned him, he wasn't even sure which way to go with so many branches of caves connected to the one he was currently trekking in. There was nothing currently to worry him at the moment. Well except for the demon that could possibly be right behind him again, matching his footsteps. That unnerving thought automatically made Steve whip his head back in paranoia.

There was nothing.

He let out another sigh and then slapped himself on the forehead with a light grimace. If Herobrine was still toying with him then turning his head back was probably the most stupidest thing he could of done. It could of got him killed if the ex-hero had been there. He had to keep the warnings given to him in mind, while fighting the paranoia and instinct to constantly want to look back as well. This was going to be one difficult journey.

Steve continued to kept up his slow and steady pace, it seemed that this tunnel would never end and it was maddening. It was like a never ending channel of stone, dirt, and gravel, just open enough for Steve and one other person to comfortably walk side by side. He started to wonder if Herobrine dug it out and made it lead to the other side of the ancient land, but then that'd take forever to cross and with limited resources-? "It could be a trap!" He absentmindedly thought aloud. "But then- if it does go on for a very long time then I'd eventually starve. Ugh." He frowned deeply at the thought, but Herobrine would probably kill him before that happens. Besides, now that he thought about; he was sort of hungry, but now was not the time and so he'd have to wait a while. At least until he knew he was safe.

Another thought struck him quickly. He had little rations and was already drained of energy, he'd fall victim to Herobrine or any mobs patrolling this tunnel if he couldn't find a way to the surface soon. Steve's legs seemed to move on their own now, pushing the miner into a light sprint. The tunnel just kept going on and on and Steve was quickly loosing his breath going up and down over stone slopes. The thought of dying in that dark and cold place just made him shiver, the nightmare of being killed by that monster made him move faster.