Minecraft: a Novel

Chapter 40

"No. I trust everyone here. They wouldn't betray us!" Ben said unbelievingly.

"What's important is that he's gone," I said. "And that he took the DBR with him."

"Who would betray us?" Jane asked. "Or do you think an enemy could have sneaked in and released him?"

"An enemy who wants us alive?" I asked.

Jane shook her head, confused. "Nevermind. That doesn't matter because it has to have been one of us."

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"No one could have gotten past Xiro and the Wither.

Ben, Jane, and I let the thought sink in. That one of us was a traitor. That one of us was willing to allow my father to destroy the world. All of Minecraft.

"Not that I want to point him out," I said, "but Ridge has betrayed people before."

"No," Jane said, dissmissing the thought instantly. "Ridge wouldn't do that."

"Well aren't you quick to run and defend him?" Ben said.

"Are you suspecting him too?"

"I'm not saying that Ridge let my father go," I said. "Listen, let's call everyone together. I don't care that it's the middle of the night. I feel bad that we're all talking about this in secret."

"That's a good idea," Ben said. "Let's call ourselves a meeting."

I watched as the sun rose over the trees. It took that long to explain their ideas to everyone else. I leaned against the cabin. The morning reminded me of home. My dad showing me a new contraption, my sister talking about the cakes from the bakery down the road. My mother scolding me for leaving my room a mess. The thoughts of home made I feel young, as though I'd aged 10 years in the past week. I wasn't old enough to help save the world.

"How can it be one of us?" Grace asked.

"We've studied the evidence," Jane said. "Someone untied him. With the DBR I might add."

"The question is, why didn't he kill us all once he was free?" Ben asked. "It wouldn't take him very long."

"I don't know the answer to that," Xiro said. "But I do know a few things. Gregor's father never left the HSP. He lied to us all. And you all are in grave danger."

"Well yeah," Preston said.

"I mean from me," Xiro said sadly. "Herobrine is my master. He controlled me so that- so that I would release him."

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