Destruction: The Hacker and the Spirit

8: I have a conversation with a guy who can't talk

No one else's gifts showed up for the rest of that day. At dinner-time, we all headed upstairs, physically tired. I didn't bother with dinner, deciding instead to go straight to my bedroom and flop onto my bed. The smell of cooking food came wafting up the stairs and my stomach growled but I was too tired to bother moving. Someone knocked on my door.

"Come in," I said, my voice muffled by the pillow. When I didn't hear an answer, I turned to see who had come into my room. It was Sub, and he was holding two plates of food. He offered one to me and sat next to me on my bed. 

"Thanks Sub," I said, taking the plate.

We started making our way through the mashed potato and lamb. It was perfectly cooked and delicious. 

"Sky made this didn't he?" I asked. Sub nodded. "I can taste the butter in the potato."

Sub smiled but didn't laugh. I had found him quite interesting; he never made a sound, so it was very easy for him to fade into the background and to be forgotten about.

"Sub, can you actually not talk or is it that you just don't like to?"

He shook his head and took a notebook out of his pocket. He started scribbling on it with a pencil, his hand almost a blur as he wrote down words. I looked around my room and finished off my lamb while I waited for his response. A tap on my shoulder told me that he was finished and I read what he had wrote.

I used to be able to talk, but I was very shy so I didn't. There were only a few people who I talked to, and Sky was one of them. Back at home, he was the first one who I was open with. Then I got a cold. It was nothing at first but then it started getting really bad. I went to the doctor but they said that it would pass. It did eventually but it permanently damaged my voice-box. I haven't been able to talk since.

"That sucks," I said, not wanting to do the whole 'Oh, that's really sad, I'm so sorry' approach. Those words had always sounded fake to me. "How long ago did that happen?"

He scribbled down some more words. 5 or 6 years ago I think.

I nodded, not really knowing what to say. He finished eating his dinner, picking up his plate and mine to take them back downstairs.

"Hey Sub?"

He turned at the door, a questioning look on his face. I smiled.

"Thanks for telling me."

He nodded, and if he could talk I'm sure he would have said 'You're welcome'. He left my room and I heard his footsteps going down the stairs. I slowly stood up and got on my pyjamas, then went to sleep, exhausted and full.

I woke up suddenly, knowing that something had woken me up. By the light in my room, I guessed that it was really early in the morning, maybe about 2 am-ish. I lay still as I tried to figure out what had woken me up.

"I'm not going to get to sleep unless I figure out what it was," I muttered to myself. So I got up and started walking around the castle. I went past Sub and Jerome's room (which were near mine) before going downstairs. I saw Sky and Bajan's room but I ignored them. I was sure that the thing that had woken me up came from the kitchen. Or maybe the entrance hall.

I check both places but saw nothing. Because I wasn't feeling tired at all (and because I still didn't know what had woken me up), I had a bit of an explore, going though different doors and walking up stairs and getting completely lost. The hallways became darker and I began to shiver. Walking past more doors, I found one that was slightly open. Opening it more, I saw a room with a single door set in the wall on my right. This door was slightly open too and white light came from inside. I carefully went up and peeked in the opening. Herobrine stood in the centre, in front of a desk with some glowing thing on it. I went to step back but he turned and saw me.

"Riley? What are you doing here?" he asked, uncrossing his arms.

"I, uh....I woke up for some reason," I said, opening the door a bit more. "I'll just go."

"No, no. It's okay. I was just checking on stuff," he said, turning back to the thing that I now saw to bee a basin full of white glowing liquid.

"What is it?" I asked, my curiosity aroused. I walked into the room.

"This is how I see what's happening around Minecraft. The liquid in the basin acts like a window or a camera. Come look."

I went and stood beside him. I looked into the basin, not seeing anything at first but the white liquid. Then it solidified and I saw a wooden house on an island. There was a man dressed like Herobrine walking up to it, opening and closing the door behind him. Herobrine answered my question before I could ask it.

"That's Steve. He helped me a while back when Entity first became a problem. I've been watching him ever since, making sure that he's alright," Herobrine told me, his voice soft. "He has a few kids now. I would doubt he thinks of me anymore."

"Does he know that you're watching him?"

"No. And I'm not planning on telling him." Herobrine waved his hand over the basin and the image faded, taking the white glow with it. "Come on. You should be getting some sleep."

He walked me up the stairs to my room. I tried to ask him about how Steve had helped him but he wouldn't answer my questions. He stopped at my door.

"Goodnight Riley," he said before walking off.

"Goodnight," I called softly after him. He half turned but didn't stop walking.