Tales of Minecraft: The Curse (Remake)

5: Fire

Lots of POV changes in this chapter, watch out.

Alex's POV
I woke up before anyone else did. The first thing I noticed was the blue light that came from a small ball next to Zip's hand. The second thing I noticed was that Luke had climbed into the same bedroll as his brother at some point during the night. They were lying with their backs touching. The fire had died down during the night and was now only a bed of slightly glowing coals. I sat up as quietly as I could and reached for the book that was lying next to me. I had brought it yesterday before setting out for the hunt. It was called Legends: Fact or myth? and it had some very interesting stories. I had already read it forwards and backward at least six times already, but I was reading it again anyway. The only problem was that there wasn't enough light to read it. I put it in my jeans pocket and stood up, making as little noise as possible, opened the cave door and went outside.

Dawn was just breaking in the east. The sky was a range of beautiful colours like orange, pink and light blue. There were no sounds in the tranquil air and no living animal could be seen. All the monsters had disappeared with the night, just like they always do. It was a beautiful start to the day.

I heard the cave door opening behind me and I turned to see Zip. She was rubbing her eyes, obviously having just woken up. "Oh, there you are Alex," she said. "How are you?"

I shrugged, indicating that I was okay. She came and stood next to me, looking up at the coloured sky.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked.

I nodded. She turned to me.

"You don't talk very much Alex," she said. "I know you can talk because I've heard you a few times back at the village. Why are you so quiet?"

I shrugged, not exactly willing to tell her why. It's not that I didn't trust her, it's just that it was pretty personal. I sometimes had trouble admitting it to myself.

"What do your parents think?"

I froze. My parents. What they think. I wonder what they would think so much.

"My parents are dead," I told her. "They died a few years ago."

Zip immediately put her hands to her mouth. "I'm so sorry Alex."

I shrugged for the third time that morning and looked down at the ground. "You didn't know."

I felt Zip's arms hug me and I stiffened for a moment. I hadn't been hugged in years and I hadn't hugged in years. No one at the orphanage I lived at cared enough about me and I didn't care about them. A bit awkwardly, I hugged her back. She was a little bit shorter than I was, meaning that I had to put my head beside hers. She broke from the hug, stepping back a bit.

"Do you not talk much because...."

She faded off, looking at something in the sky over my shoulder. I turned, trying to find what had captured her attention. In the distance, there was a thick plume of dark clouds, rising from the ground into the air.

"Smoke," I muttered. "And where there's smoke, there's fire."

"That's in the direction of the village," Zip said, her voice deadly serious. "We need to wake the others up and we need to get home. Now."

???'s POV
I had come back to the cave in the morning. I saw the plume of smoke in the distance, but I didn't worry about it. It was too far away to cause me any trouble. I watched as the boy who had the bow came out of the cave, with the girl coming out a few moments later. I stayed hidden in the leaves, too far away to hear what they were saying. They noticed the smoke and both went back inside the cave. Minutes later, the entire group ran in the direction of the smoke, all armed.

I hesitated. There was obviously something about the smoke that was significant for them, and I wanted to find out what it was but I didn't want to get too far from my home. I still didn't know exactly who these people were or where they had come from. Sighing, I followed them, jumping on top of the trees and silently cursing my curiosity.

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Alex's POV
We ran through the forest, sprinting towards the village. The smoke seemed to grow larger and darker with every step, and the smell grew stronger. I watched the ground as I ran, and I dropped down as I saw tracks.

"Zip!" I called, pointing to the tracks.

Zip came over and looked at the tracks. "Monsters," she said. "Heading towards the village."

"That's not good right?" Luke asked.

No one answered. We just kept running, following the tracks and heading back to our village. Or at least, what was left of it anyway. The gates into the village were hanging off their hinges, the walls were blackened and in pieces and bodies littered what we could see of the streets.

We slowly walked into the village. The fires were still burning, not that there was much left to burn. Monsters and humans alike lay dead on the ground, but there were much more of the latter than the former. Unconsciously, we split up, each going to where their home had stood. I slowly walked down the street where the orphanage used to be. I tried to ignore the bodies that lay on the path, carefully stepping around or over each one. Sure enough, the orphanage was nothing but a pile of sticks and ashes. I felt tears prick my eyes, but it was not because I was sad that the orphanage was gone. All these bodies, the houses that had obviously been exploded, it reminded me of my parents. I tried not to think of them, but the memories crowded me. My mum's smile, my dad's books, their laughs, their deaths.

I couldn't go any further. I slowly sat on the ground, pulling up my knees in front of me.

Zip's POV
I walked down my street, my eyes darting everywhere. I tried not to look at the bodies that lay on the ground, but I couldn't help it. So many people that I recognised. I looked up instead, trying to determine from the smoking husks of houses where I was. My home was just to my right. And it was gone.

I walked into the house, my feet dragging and kicking up the ashes. I knew that there was no one left. I knew that there was nothing left for us here. I knew that it was hopeless. So why was I here? Why was I even trying? I couldn't help, they were gone. My parents were gone. I was an orphan. I sank to the ground in the remains of my room, pulling my knees up to my chest.

It was gone.

Jade's POV
Luke and I ran side by side down the streets to the left of the village. We had run this way so often when we were out late at night, stealing apples from the orchard. But the smell of smoke and burn bodies was all too real, and the small fires that were scattered popped. I knew that our house would be gone, but some part of me clung to the hope that it had somehow survived. That Mum and Dad were still alive.

I wasn't wrong.

Only a half collapsed wall remained and the shell of our door frame. Luke and I stopped outside the door, not wanting to go inside but wanting to at the same time. Not wanting to know what happened, but longing to. We slowly stepped forward at the same time, walking into our house. Nothing was left.

"Why are we even here?" I asked softly.

Luke didn't answer. His smile was non-existent. We stood there in the house, lost and alone.

Tim's POV
I ran along the wall of the village, my axe banging at my side. The wall at my left was unscathed in some parts, but most of it was charred or destroyed. The houses that stood here were made of stone, with wooden roofs and floors. They were just empty shells now. Some had even fallen over from the intensity of the flames. People's bodies lay on the ground everywhere.

I prayed that my sister and mum had somehow survived. I prayed that they would be okay. I had promised to my dad that I would look after them. I had promised to protect them. I couldn't fail them. But when I reached my home, I saw them. They were gone. There was no hope left. I had failed.

Chapter in original book: 6 and part of 7