Tales of Minecraft: The Curse (Remake)

12: Adlucinatio

Tim's POV
The mountain range grew bigger and bigger as the day wore on, rising up to touch the clouds high above. I shaded my eyes as I looked up at it.

"How high do you think it is?" I asked no one in particular.

Zip looked up at it. "High enough."

"Are you sure this is the right place Fury?" Jade asked.

"Well, it's a mountain range, it's roughly in the right place and there's a valley right there," she said, pointing to a valley that disappeared into fog several metres down the track. "I'd say this is it."

"We're going in that?" Luke asked, looking warily at the thick fog in the valley.

"It's the fog or the goat trail," Fury said, nodding her head to a barely visible trail that went up the mountain. "Personally, I'll take the fog." She gently kicked the ribs of her horse and set off into the valley. "Stick close, the visibility won't be great."

We quickly urged our horses forward to catch up with her before she was lost from sight. We fell into single file, our horses moving at a walk. The fog grew thicker and thicker the deeper we went into the valley. I barely had time to duck under hanging tree branches that materialised out of the white blanket that was now covering everything. I peered to my left and right, trying to see something, then realised that I couldn't see Alex who was in front of me. I urged my horse forward, softly calling his name.

"Alex? Alex, where are you?" I called.

"Tim? Is that you?"

The voice came from my left, not in front of me. I slowed my horse to a stop, squinting my eyes to see into the fog. "Hello?"

"Tim! It's me! You remember me, don't you?"

A little girl materialised out of the fog, her bare feet stepping lightly towards me. I blinked, trying to clear it, thinking that it was fake. But she wasn't. Her shoulder-length blond hair, the complete opposite of my black hair, her piercing blue eyes that matched mine perfectly and the little smile that was always on her face. I would recognise her anywhere.

"Hanna? Sis?"

She smiled at me, a smile that I thought I would never see again. "Hey Tim."

"How... how are you alive?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper. "The mobs, they... they destroyed the village. I saw you..."

"You must have seen someone else," Hanna said. "Mum and I both ran when the mobs came. We made it here."

"Mum's here too?"

As if waiting for my words, Mum stepped out of the fog, her blond hair showing grey at the roots. She stopped right behind Hanna, just to the left.

"Mum," I breathed.

She grinned. "Hello Tim. How are you?"

I got down from my horse, who was nickering with fear, but I didn't understand why. I couldn't take my eyes off my mum and my sister, both of whom I thought were dead. Mum opened her arms.

"Give me a hug, Tim," she said.

I stepped towards her, near the edge of the path. "Come with us," I told them. "We can be safe."

"Who's 'us'?" Hanna asked.

"Zip, Alex, the twins, you remember them. We're all here."

Hanna slowly shook her head. "Tim. There's no one here but us."

"No, there's...." My voice trailed off. The fog around me had cleared and I could see across the entire valley, from end to end. There was no one there except me, my little sister and our mum. "They.... they wouldn't just leave...."

"We're safe here Tim," my mum said. "No monsters come here."

"But... they..."

Hanna opened her arms. "It's okay Tim. Give me a hug."

I stepped towards her, my hand leaving my horse and dropping to my side. I walked towards the edge of the path, closer to my family who I thought were dead.

"Tim! Tim, stop!"

I turned, but I didn't see anyone. The voice had come from nowhere.

"Ignore the voice Tim," Hanna said.

"It sounds like Alex," I mumbled. I took another step, just on the edge of the path.

"TIM!" Something slapped my face and I jerked, almost stepping off the path until someone grabbed me and pulled me back. Hanna and my mum disappeared as the fog reappeared in a flash. I looked around, trying to see them. "Tim, snap out of it." Alex was beside me, holding my arm tightly.

"Alex! You didn't leave!" I started but Alex cut me off.

"Listen, this fog isn't fog. It does something to you, makes you see people that aren't real. We have to get out of here, now. Get the others, don't go off the path and don't look up at the fog. Get Zip, she was behind you." Alex ran off in the other direction.

I stood there, confused. I saw Hanna, and mum. They were real... but they were dead. I knew that. I ran back down the path, trying to find Zip. I didn't want to be in this fog anymore. Voices called to me from off the path, voices of Hanna, Mum, Dad and other people I knew. I ignored them, pushing past and trying to find Zip. I ended up almost falling over her. She was huddled on the ground, her eyes shut and both of her hands clamped on her ears. I knelt down next to her, gently putting my hand on her shoulder.

"Zip, it's Tim," I told her. "Don't listen to the voices, they're not real. Just stay on the path and you won't get hurt."

She squinted her eyes at me. I stood up and held out my hand.

"Come on. Alex is getting the others. We need to get out of this Nether-damned fog."

She grinned slightly and clasped my hand, letting me pull her up. I didn't let go of her hand as we half ran on the path, looking for Alex. The voices around me grew stronger, but I squeezed Zip's hand, focusing on the thing that I knew was real.

Someone stumbled out of the fog just in front of us, just managing to right himself before he crashed into us.

"Tim, Zip?" he asked.

"Luke?" I asked back.

Luke glanced down at Zip and my hand and he raised his eyebrows, grinning. I glared at him.

"Don't say a word, it's just so we don't get lost," Zip growled at him.

"Suuuuuuure," Luke said. "Anyway, we need to get out of here, come on!"

We followed Luke at a run further down the path till we came to the rest of our friends. Jade instantly stood next to Luke when we came and Fury was hugged herself, fear written on her face as her eyes darted to each side of the path.

"The horses have disappeared, we need to run," Alex said quickly.

"No arguments here," I said.

Zip had let go of my hand and was now holding Fury's, giving it a small squeeze. We started running out of the fog infested valley, strung out in a bunched line, trying to ignore the voices that tempted us to leave the safe path. I fixed my eyes on the back of one of the twins, focusing only on that as we ran until our sides ached and our breath came in haggard gasps, but we didn't stop running. After what felt like hours, the fog slowly became thinner and the moon beams stroked the ground as we finally got out of the valley. Our legs shook as we collapsed to the ground, at last able to relax. I looked up at the smiling moon above, briefly wondering how long we had been in that valley for. A few hours at least. I closed my eyes, taking deep breaths.

"Guys, don't make any sudden movements. Very slowly, get up and get your weapons."

Fury's voice was low and warning. My eyes flashed opened and I glanced at her as she stood, but my eyes became fixed on the things just beyond her. One by one, we very slowly stood up with our weapons, grouped in a circle, and faced the horde of monsters that had us surrounded.

Chapter in original book: rest of 15 and 16