Minecraft: The Marvelous Adventures of Steve: The Invasion Trilogy

Crossing Paths

The sun was setting over the horizon, casting shadows into the small valley. It was quiet. Well, mostly. A lone man, Steve, had spent the entire day working in his small forest, chopping down trees and collecting apples. To help remain sustainable without having to leave the valley, he always replanted the trees back. It wouldn't take long for them to grow.

With his ax dragging on the ground, he walked back to his simple house. He rubbed his nose from the flowers wafting their sweet scent into the evening breeze. His house-front garden reached for the remaining sunlight that was leaving the valley. He touched the blades of wheatgrass that he had grown from harvesting scattered patches. A while ago, he had encountered a carrot that he fished out of the stream running nearby. He was happy to have something else to grow. The sprouts of green were refreshing to see.

He went through the wooden door into his house. He kept a chest of his harvests next to the door to offload when it got late. He yawned after he put his apples, saplings, and oak wood inside. He would store the food in his small kitchen when morning rolled around. Anxious to get some sleep, he walked slowly upstairs where his bedroom was. He leaned his ax against the wall by his bed. He crawled under the warm covers and almost immediately fell asleep.

~~~

There was another man, though he was in a much dire circumstance. His name was Sam, and he was running for his life. The setting sun had allowed for mobs to spawn, and he was caught off-guard in the midst of them all spawning in the forest. They flooded his direction, and he took off. He dodged past zombies, creepers, and spiders.

He leaped past a skeleton with its bowstring pulled back, ready to fire at its new target. Sam, in a panic, banged his head against a branch, knocking him to the ground. The skeleton released its arrow, which sunk into the branch. It had saved his life. Dizzy, he picked himself and started sprinting. He made sure to avoid low-lying branches, but he was disoriented. He had no idea where he was or where to shelter. He was running out of time. It was almost dark by now.

Then, the trees opened up to a small pond suddenly. He didn't have time to stop, so he hoped for the best and launched off the ground. He hit it hard with one foot and sailed over the still water. Without warning, a zombie reached out of the water to grab him. It barely grazed his foot as he landed on the other side. Without looking back, he kept sprinting, hopefully to safety.

~~~

Back in his home, Steve was having a strange nightmare. He was outside his home, battling zombies in the bright daylight.

Wait... Zombies?

Zombies, like other nighttime mobs, are supposed to burn in daylight. These were somehow immune to the sun's rays. Steve had a diamond sword in hand and continuously slashed at the zombies, without leaving so much as a mark. The two zombies just kept coming after him. His body in the dream was breaking through to reality, tossing and turning in his bed, his nightmare having a tight grip on his mind.

~~~

Sam wasn't sure just how he was going to make it. He escaped death twice within a few mere moments, by the grace of Notch. Then, he saw an opportunity open up ahead, seeing a break in the trees. He broke through the foliage, seeing the valley open up just below him. He glanced back to see dozens of mobs scramble over one another to reach him. He knew he had no choice but to jump. He took a deep breath and hurled off the edge as far as he could go, and he plunged down hard.

*SPLOOSH*

He plunged down through the riverbed that ran next to Steve's house. He lost his breath in the impact, and his lungs burned for it back. He furiously kicked and grabbed at open water. Panic wasn't helping him. After what seemed like an eternity, he broke the surface. Gasping with air and water in his mouth, he swam toward the riverbank.

The loud noise had alerted a nearby creeper, drawing its attention to Sam, who was now on solid ground. It walked up to Sam, but he was leaned over, forcing his lungs to suck in air. He left his guard down, thinking he was safe. The creeper ignited. Sam heard the sizzle, but it was too late.

*BOOM*

The explosion sent Sam flying through the air. He slammed into Steve's upstairs window. The impact knocked Steve back into consciousness. He sat bolt upright, grabbing his ax out of reflex. He was expecting to see a zombie clawing at his bed, but he turned to see Sam on the window for only a second. With a short squeak, Sam slipped and fell to the ground in front of the house. Steve ran downstairs, not really believing what he just saw. He opened his doors to find Sam on the ground, stuttering his words. He placed his ax on his belt, listening to Sam's mumbling.

"There were mobs... Creeper... I..."

He couldn't say more. Exhaustion took over, and his vision faded to black.

Steve put his hand on Sam's head and, flooded with relief, saw he still had half a heart left. He brought him inside, a temporary escape from the mobs that try to kill them night after night. He prayed to Notch that he could nurse the poor man back to health.