Tales of Minecraft: The Curse (Remake)

13: New faces

Zip's POV
The monsters were in a ring around us, their variety of weapons raised threateningly. There were too many to fight, even if we weren't tired. I felt my shoulders brush those of Alex and Jade. I instinctively started forming a plan, but I didn't see how we could get out of this one. We certainly couldn't fight them and win, and the only possible escape route was back into the valley, and I did not want to go back there.

The ring of mobs slowly started closing, getting tighter and tighter. They talked to each other in their strange clicks and hisses as they advanced.

"Well, it's been nice knowing you guys," Luke said. "We'll have to catch up again later."

"Are you ever serious?" Fury asked, her eyes narrowed as she scanned the mobs.

"Sometimes."

"If possible, try to run back into the valley," I said. "We can hide in the fog until they leave."

"That's not a good idea Zip," Tim warned.

"Well, I think it's the best option we have right now," I told him.

The monsters got closer and closer. We stood still, waiting for them, not breaking our defensive circle.

"I hate waiting for a fight," Fury muttered.

The skeletons raised their bows, arrows ready. Alex loaded his bow as well, aiming at the skeletons. But before either of them could fire, someone else did. Arrows whistled over us and slammed into the heads of the skeletons before they could fire. A yell echoed from the far side of the monsters and I caught the flash of a blade.

"Incoming!" Fury yelled, her swords beginning a flashing dance as the monsters around us suddenly charged. On guard, I quickly blocked the strikes of the monsters as they attacked us. Out of the corners of my eyes, I saw arrows still falling out of the sky and slamming into any skeleton that dared to raise its head.

The monster numbers were quickly dwindling as they were attacked on three sides. I caught glimpses of the other party who were attacking the mobs: there seemed to be four of them, and one of them had a flashing double-bladed axe. They carved their way to us, hacking at the monsters. Finally, the monsters broke and faded into the night, leaving nothing but their dead behind. We let them run, and I lowered my sword, my arm aching more than it normally would.

"You guys all right?" the man with the axe asked.

I quickly glanced at my friends. Tim has a small cut on his arm, but apart from that, everyone was unhurt. Even Wolf was fine, calmly sitting and panting at Fury's feet. I nodded at him. "Yeah, we're fine. Thanks for that."

The man smiled. "No problem." The other three of his group gathered around him, their weapons lowered. They all looked to be about 21 or 22. The one on the far left was tall with very dark skin and hair, and he used a long sword. The man next to him also had black hair, but his was long. His hands were resting on the hilts of the two daggers in his belt. On the far right was the only man who didn't have black hair. His blond hair was slightly curly, his blue eyes were bright and his sword was normal length. The man who spoke was standing second to left. His double-bladed axe was low, his black hair was long and combed over, his skin was a light brown and his brown eyes shone with humour.

"I'm Aaron," he said. "These are Andrew, David and Jameson." He indicated the men behind him from left to right. "Our friend Dax was shooting the arrows."

"Where is he?" Luke asked.

"Dax is a she," Aaron said. "She was shooting from a platform on the cliff up there. Should be coming down now."