Tales of Minecraft: The Curse (Remake)

3: Strangers

???'s POV

I crouched in the tree branches, completely hidden in the leaves. Below me, monsters stalked. They never noticed me and even if they did, they couldn't catch me. I could move faster through the trees than they could down on the ground. I was watching the skeletons in particular. With what I had seen over the past month... well, I was getting a bit worried to say the least. I really hoped that those skeletons hadn't worked.

I stretched and clambered up to the top of the tree. It was full dark, time to head home. I knew that Wolf would start to fret if I was away for too long. I ran across the tops of the trees, lightly leaping from one to the other with the ease only years of practice and experience brought. These trees were the only home I could really remember. My two diamond swords were strapped to my back so they didn't bounce or fall out as I jumped.

Then I froze as I heard a voice yell from far away.

I started. It had been a long time since I had heard another person. This voice sounded panicked and female. I hesitated. Should I go and investigate? Or should I go home where it's safe? I was torn for a moment, but then I shrugged. I had always had an adventurous spirit anyway. I ran back along the tree tops, heading towards where the voice had come from. Below me, I noticed a stream of monsters all heading in the same direction. I turned and headed in the same direction that they were, reasoning that they could be chasing the owner of the voice. After several minutes of running and jumping, I saw glimpses of people in between the leaves. There appeared to be several of them.

I ran above the group, keeping up with them. We left the mobs behind and they paused, catching their breath. I waited above them, hidden in the branches. Now that they had stopped, I could get a good look at them.

Only one was a girl. I assumed that she was the one who had called out before. She had black clothes, brown hair in a plait and had an iron sword and a bow with arrows. Beside her was a boy who also had a bow. He was the only one with blond hair and he had a red shirt on. He was glancing around, watching the forest but he never looked up. People never do.

The next two boys were so similar that I guessed they were twins. They both had black hair, although one of them had a green streak in it. They wore matching green jumpers, black/ grey pants and they both had a stone sword. The last boy also had black hair, tied back and with blue highlights. His blue shirt and black and red pants stood out from the clothes of his friends, and he had a stone axe at his side. He was also carrying a full sack.

One of the twins, the one with the green streak, leant against the lever. I winced as the lever cracked, sending him sprawling. I wasn't quite close enough to hear what the girl said to the boy, but I could hear the monsters reacting to the sound and saw the arrow flash towards the group, thudding into the ground. The cave door opened and they ran inside, shutting the door behind them. I sat in the tree as the monsters milled around the open space, confused. After a few minutes, they dispersed, heading back into the forest.

I sat in the tree, watching the cave and thinking. They had obviously found the cave by accident, not on purpose. As far as I knew, I was the only person alive who knew about the existence of that cave. Although, I guess that now they knew about it too. They were also young, older than me, but not adults. If I had to guess, I would say they were about 16 years old, 4 years older than I was. And if their weapons were anything to go by, they were warriors. But I doubted any of them were better than me. I had been fighting since I could hold a sword and was probably stronger than anyone else my age. Not that I had met many people my age.

They weren't a threat to me, I was fairly sure about that. We were far away from my home, so there was little chance of them stumbling across it. Still, it was possible. I wouldn't feel safe until I knew that they were heading back to wherever they had come from. In the morning, I would come back and watch them, just in case. I stood, zipping up my blue jumper. I took one sad look at the cave, memories flickering through my head. Then I turned and ran back across the trees, to home.

Chapter in original book: 4