MC:SM Rewritten: Book 1

Chapter 8: Treehouse Trouble, Take 2

Come to think of it, I think my titles are getting a little better. JUST A LITTLE

Jesse's POV:

After Axel vanished into the portal, Jesse offered to go next. He walked through, seeing the hypnotic swirls curl like flames he couldn't feel, and back out into the Overworld. There, he saw Axel getting massacred by a zombie! Taking quick action, he shoved it off, then drew his stone sword and killed it.

"Oh, man," he gasped. "That was close." Axel stepped out from behind the boulder he'd retreated to, shivering.

"I'm never going first again," he vowed. They pressed on as Nikki, Olivia, Reuben, and Lukas hopped out of the portal.

"Where are we?" asked Lukas.

"In the dark, in the middle of nowhere," Jesse answered.

"If my common sense is working correctly, that's not good," Nikki said. "We need to find that temple ASAP, and I don't see nothing."

"You're right," Lukas agreed. "Ivor said--"

"Oh, 'Ivor said,'" huffed Axel. "Well then maybe this is the temple."

"The Order wouldn't lay down all that track for nothing. It's gotta be here somewhere," Jesse tried to keep his team's spirits up.

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," Lukas was in the same with Jesse.

"Um, I was agreeing with you, so now I don't know what you're talking about," Axel was insistent on cutting Lukas out. Jesse found that rather annoying.

"Well, in case we don't find it, we need to build a shelter," Nikki suggested.

"I say we build a treehouse," Olivia knew Nikki had the right idea.

"Nah, that'll take too long, and we'll be exposed while we do it" Axel objected. "We just need a quick and dirty hut."

"Let's go with a treehouse. We live in one, after all," Jesse reminded Axel.

"Yeah, fine," he sniffed, not entirely in a good mood.

The rest went to work, mining up wood and stone and everything else they needed for their temporary shelter. The group worked in complete silence, so quietly it was almost painful to Jesse. When they were done, they had an oak wood platform with a fire circle in the middle, and a fence post safety rail, and a gazebo-style roof to cover it all.

"If I wake up with a spider on my face, I'm going to expect YOU to deal with it," Axel demanded.

"Lower your expectations, Axel. I doubt any spider will be hungry enough to make the climb," snorted Nikki.

"Well, maybe if we built into the tree a little more--" Lukas began, but he went against it. "Never mind. This is fine—it's good!"

"Looks good, guys," Jesse tried to compliment everyone, but soon saw that no one was listening.

Lukas' POV:

A little while later, they got a fire going. A wolf howled in the distance to the same full moon above them. No one moved or spoke, but sat still. Jesse and Nikki rested in one corner as Axel stood a little way from them, arms crossed, next to Olivia. Lukas sat in a corner all by himself, thinking it would be best if he kept his distance between the group. Axel's hostile glare said it all.

"Oh, man!" Axel finally piped up.

"What?" Olivia asked.

"If I tell you this, you guys have to promise not to freak out,"