A Virtual World Turned Real (An Unofficial Minecraft Adventure)

chapter fifteen: The Swarm

I chose the path that seemed to have a lot of torches along the walls and followed it, with my four partners following close behind. I figured every group needed an armoured person, so every group got two of my armoured friends except my group where it was just me.

I followed the torches wherever they went, came across several rooms, but none of which were the portal room. I don't know why, but the torches seemed to draw me their way, almost as if they were trying to guide me. With no better option other than to blindly walk the stronghold, I simply followed the torches.
They led me down a spiral staircase, through some hallways lined with prison cells, around libraries, into and out of rooms with fountains in the middle and back up a cobblestone staircase so we were on the same level of which we stated our hunt. Eventually I thought this was pointless and that we were getting nowhere quick.
Until I saw a room out of the corner of my eye that had stone brick stairs in it. That was it.

We had found the portal room.

I charged into the room and swept it for monsters. Nothing. Regardless of no immediate threat, I switched to my pick and went up the stairs and broke the silverfish spawner always found there to destroy that threat before that happened. Once we were clear, I figured we should go find the others, but that shouldn't be hard.

I told the other four to stay at the portal so we don't get separated or lost. I drew my sword again and went back out into the stony labyrinth. It wasn't long before I found the team led by Dom and Lily. I was maybe two corridors down from the portal room when I ran into them. I took them and led them to the portal. Once we were there, I told them all that I was going to go find the last team, which was led by London and Kelly, and once again left the portal room.

I worked my way down the passageways, trying to find our entry point so I could work from there. I placed torches on the ground as I went so I had a trail of breadcrumbs to follow back to the portal. I arrived at the entry way into the stronghold after a short walk down a few corridors. Funny how the portal room was actually pretty close to the center of the stronghold and yet we wandered around the whole place as if it wasn't even around.

I turned and looked down the hallway I remember Kelly and London's team going down. I figured I might as well try that, and started down that path. I was no more than a dozen steps down the hall when I heard a muffled boom! float down the passage. I frowned. Explosions in a stronghold were rarely a good sign.

Spurred on by the noise I ran down the halls, wanting to find the last team quickly before anything nasty showed up. I was so caught up in my own thoughts I nearly ran smack dab into London's back when I turned a corner, but managed to stop just before I did. Her and the others we standing next to a large crater carved into the hall before them.
"The hell happened here?" I asked between breaths.
Kelly looked up from the crater and regarded me. "A freaking creeper appeared out of nowhere and blew up. Nearly took me along with it too."

That would explain the explosion and the crater.

I replied gently, "lucky that it didn't though." Kelly looked a bit shocked from the incident, but she should be fine. "I found the portal room," I added, "It's back this way. Come on, the others are waiting."
We all turned to leave, except London, who stood transfixed staring down at the crater. "What is that?" She asked as she pointed down into the hole. I looked into the crater, curiosity piqued. At the bottom it looked like the floor was moving. No. The floor wasn't moving.

Something moved on the floor. Many Somethings.
They were small and blended in with the gray stone almost perfectly. And there were so many of them. So many that they looked like a writhing and squeaking sea of gray.

"Silverfish." I said, my voice cold. Alone, a silverfish barely posed a threat. But silverfish rarely traveled alone. And in the numbers at the bottom of that crater, even my luck wouldn't hold. "We need to go. Now."

But then the squeaking increased in volume. I looked back down and saw the silverfish start to rise rise out of the depression. They must've noticed us. Not good. I turned to run, but London stood her ground and drew her sword, likely out of fear. "NO! DON'T HIT THEM!" I yelled, and went to stop her--

-- too late. Her blade hit a silverfish and it squeaked in pain. The injured silverfish let out a cry and the walls began to crumble, and in their place came more silverfish. Dozens more spawned in around us. I grabbed London by the collar of her armour, pulled her back away from the gray swarm and said only one thing.

"Run. RUUNNNNN!!"

We ran back the way we came, hoping to outpace the silverfish swarm that now chased us. They squeaking coming from the tide of gray horrors has deafening. "Where do we go?!" Kelly yelled over the din of noise.
"Follow the torches on the ground!" I yelled in response, "They lead to the portal!"
I took a glance back at the swarm behind us. There must've been hundreds of them, scrambling over each other, eager to find their prey.  They nearly filled the hallway top to bottom. I had never seem so many before in one place. A pang of fear surged through me at the sight of so many silverfish.
Spurred on by my fear, I ran harder. I did not want to find out what hundreds of silverfish teeth felt like.

As we ran, one of the non-armoured people in the group tripped and fell. We zoomed past as they struggled to rise again. But they were too late. I saw him disappear under the gray tide following us and knew he was a goner.

London had also looked back like I did and was horrified. "NOOO!" She yelled.
"DON'T STOP. KEEP GOING!" I yelled to her. We went this way and that, following my torch trail, everyone running at a full sprint, not wanting to join our dead friend. When we arrived at the portal chamber, the others that were waiting there were quite startled when five poeple came rushing in at full speed.

We had managed to put some distance between us and the swarm by the time we got there, but they were still coming. Once we were sure everyone was in the portal room, I pulled out some oak planks I had on me and sealed off the chamber from the hallway. Silverfish can burrow through stone, But not anything else. So we were safe. For now at least.

"Everyone alright?" I asked breathlessly. Hesitant nods were what I received from those around me.
The five of us that just came in were out of breath from out run, but seeing as we were safe, we could relax and rest before proceeding on. We would need to be at full strength for what we had to do next.

When I finally had my breathing under control and heart rate down a bit, I climbed up the stone stairs at the center of the room and stood before the portal. It wasn't active, as it should be.
The portal was five blocks by five blocks horizontally, but with the corners missing and the space in the middle was where the portal field would be so there were only twelve blocks that made up the portal. Underneath was a bubbling pool of lava, the heat from which blasted my face when I looked down into it. The portal blocks were odd looking: green and black with holes in the middle on the tops. I knew that each hole needed an Ender Eye for the portal to activate.
I pulled out the Ender Eyes I still had left and began to place them in the portal blocks. I had to carefully walk across them as to not fall in the lava. I've come too far to go and get killed now.

When I placed the last Eye, the portal activated. A black, galaxy-like void filled the space in the middle of the portal blocks. When I stared into it, it looked like the space beyond it stretched on forever. Hence the name: the void. My friends and classmates gathered around me, standing before the thing that would take us to the last place we would ever want to be.
"This is it." London said, staring into the endless black of the portal.
Yes, I thought, It is. This is the end. One way... or another.
I turned around and faced my class. I knew that not all of them would survive the battle that lay just beyond us. But no one would actually die, so I wasn't needlessly worried.
"Are you all ready to follow me to the most dangerous place you'll ever visit in Minecraft?" I asked the crowd before me.
Silence. But then London spoke up.
"Jace, whatever happens," She put a hand on my shoulder and nodded,  "I'm with you."
"I'm with you too." Kelly added.
"And me!" It was Ally.
Then everyone chimed in, voicing how they would stand with me. I smiled.  It made me proud to have friends like these.
"Then let's do this." I said confidently.
They all cheered and drew weapons, preparing for war. I drew my own weapons, my sword and shield. I turned around and looked down into the portal. For a second I though I heard a faint roar eminate from the blackness. I knew what was beyond this portal. And I was ready for it.
"Alright dragon," I whispered so only I heard, "Let's dance."

And then I jumped into the portal.