A Rising Dawn

Chapter 2 (Part 3)

"This has got to end soon..." I mutter bitterly. And if Connor heard me, he showed no sign of it. I look down, watching my feet again. But as I look more closely, the ground is beginning to change colour... it's turning a purple black... Obsidian... I think with awe. Connor must have seen it as well, he stops abruptly, causing me to bump into him and drop my torch.

"Hey!" I growl. I pick it up again and look over his shoulder. Is that.... Light!? I push Connor to the side, forcing him into the wall. I dash towards the bright, inviting light. "Brody! Wait!" He calls, but he is too late. I burst through the light to find a large stone chasm.

The entire place was illuminated by glowstone and lamps. The tunnel entrance was decorated with obsidian and fancy stone bricks. Water streamed from a large hole in one of the chasm's sides. The water emptied into a pool which... Other players could be seen drinking from it... More players!! I think with satisfaction and excitement. I look down and notice that a gravel pathway had been laid out and weaved its way around many houses. The houses were built in a very medieval sort of way. Cobblestone at the bottom, logs as beams, wool for the walls, and hay for the roof.

Connor nudges me out of the way so he could step into the beautiful area. I stay where I was, but I continue to look around, amazed. On another side of the chasm seems to be something... like a mine? I stop staring and look strait ahead. I notice many cold, confused, and scared eyes staring at us. A player with a strange skin walks up to us. His clothes were a stained sort of white, and they seemed like they were... medieval clothes. Is everyone here wearing the same thing?

As the man steps closer, my eyes widen in shock. This player... was much larger than Connor and I. He was about 3 blocks high. Larger than a regular player, smaller than an enderman. We look up at this strange man. He opens his mouth to speak. "Who are you?" He asks. His voice was deep and masculine. Making me sort of uncomfortable.

I instinctively nudge Connor forward. He turns and glares at me, then he turns to the player standing infront of him. "I'm Connor." He started. "And this is my best friend Brody." He gestures to me. I wave slightly. The player's gaze rests on me for a moment, then turns back to Connor.

"What is your business here?" His voice was grim. I shutter. "You see... We stumbled across a shack, then we descended into a cavern-" Connor begins, but is quickly cut of by the player. "I said, 'What is your business here?'" His voice rang throughout the cavern, his voice was loud and I couldn't help but flinch. Connor backs up a little, squinting his eyes as a gesture of pain. I guess the guy did basically yell in his face.

"Uhm, sir." I begin, taking a shot at explaining, "We were kicked out of our old base, so we looked for a suitable environment to make our new base at. And that's when my friend and I stumbled across the tunnel. Y'see, we're being chased by a deranged psychopath, or Herobrine. And when we saw the redstone torches we..." I hesitate. I actually have no idea why we went down the tunnel it was Connor who went charging down the tunnel. "We...?" The player prompted. His cold eyes glaring at me, making me burn under pressure.

"We felt the need to follow them. I thought I felt something a little off about it. So we went down the tunnel." Connor finishes the conversation I had started. "You should really space your torches out evenly. They don't look convincing enough to be a Herobrine tunnel." Connor commented.

The player looked at him with a sort of impressed, but smug look. "How do you know we intended it to be a 'Herobrine Tunnel?'" The player asks. And he served a good point. Maybe they just put redstone torches down because it didn't provide much light. "Sir, may I ask why you put down redstone torches instead of regular torches?" I couldn't help but raise my hand and ask the question.The player narrowed his blocky eyes at me. After a few moments, he spoke.

"We put them down because we are all running from something. The people behind me are running from killers, hackers, griefers, and Herobrine. I assume you already know what happens when you are killed. So imagine being killed repeatedly. Forgetting every important memory that was put in your blocky head. Some were killed so many times that they can't even remember their own name!"

His eyes were soft this time. "Many people lost their homes because of griefers or hackers. But this is the one safe haven for them. The hackers and griefers come into the caves a lot, but when they see the cave, the first redstone torch, they run. The killers are even more terrified of the tunnel." He continued. I look at his eyes once more. They were a bright blue. And as I examine his face even more, I notice a scruffy sort of beard. "Sir," I began, "is your name Steve?"

"Yes." He replied. "I am Notch's creation. The name's Steve."