The Plague

To Team Crafted, the world of Minecraft was nothing unusual. In fact, as their eyes adjusted to the familiar scenery, a feeling of calm settled over them. They were used to it, after all. They saw it everyday.

But this time, when they focused, something just seemed wrong. Maybe it was how none of the leaves on the trees moved slightly in their normal animated way, how no mobs roamed the area, or how the dark sky didn't show any of the oh so familiar square stars.

Or maybe it was just the feeling that something was wrong. Maybe they were just so comfortable with minecraft that the slightest change could set them off. Maybe.

None of them thought so.

It was quiet now. No mobs. No sounds. Dark and quiet. What could possibly be wrong.

They would spin in a circle, checking behind them for whatever felt so wrong. They would scan the area slowly, taking in every detail but not wanting to move. Again, it just felt wrong.

And then they would face forward again.

And the terror could be felt. It cut across the air even more than the wrong feeling, because this was much, much worse. Terror would fill their pixelated eyes, send their tiny pixelated hearts racing. Their pixelated blood would run cold, and their pixelated brains would freeze.

Minecraft was dying.

The sky, which had been blank and dark mere moments ago, was burning red and yellow. Smoke drifted up from behind the trees, and screams could be heard in the distance.

As one, even though they weren't together, they would run towards the smoke and screams. Pushing foliage aside and leaping up and down the uneven territory, they raced towards the source. Up ahead of them, light was beginning to shine through the trees. It was growing to be uncomfortably hot, just on the edge of unbearable.

The screams were louder now, more plentiful. Light flickered like fire through the woods. Smoke and heat were making it hard to breathe. But still the nine of them would run on, eyes fixed on the same point from different angles.

The fastest crashed into the clearing only to violently come to a stop and gaze at the flames. At the other end of the clearing, another figure would escape from the tree line only to stop as the last had. One by one, they all ran out and froze. That is, the sixth tripped and fell on their face, then proceeded to look up at the flames wit hthe same terror as his team mates had.

It was a town, a large town. Burning. None of them recognized it. Figures flitted about in the flames, some fast, some slow. Some fell.

Those that fell would stand up again and move slowly around the flames, waiting for another to fall. Helpless, the team could only listen as the screams gave out. They paced in front of the flames, never making contact with the flame or one another.

Unnoticed, the sky slowly began to let light shine across it. It was a sickly light however, an ugly yellow so far from it's usual bright blue.

Just when the ugly sun had reached halfway thought the ugly sky did the flames die. Several of the figures made as if to race into the town, but seemed to think better of it when the shapes they had seen in the fire came to greet them. Mutilated flesh, black eyes, and tattered clothes that hung loosely from their emaciated bodies.

Reaching a silent agreement, they all turned and sprinted off into the dark cover of the trees once more. They sprinted as fast as they could, all moving at exactly the same pace.

Then one of them disappeared. Simply vanished, as if flicked off by a switch. Another disappeared after that, and then two more at the same time. They would all vanish before the others reached them.

*

Adam leaped out of his bed, panting heavily. It took a moment to register that he was in his room, safe. He sighed.

It's getting worse.

Pausing only to pull off his sweat-soaked t-shirt, he turned on his computer and impatiently waited for it too load before starting the program. Biting his lip, he dragged his mouse across the pad and clicked twice.

The screen loaded, displaying the normal, pleasant minecraft he was familiar with.

Just like the dreams.

He rotated his avatar around slowly, pausing it when he faced the opposite direction. Ever so slowly, he faced it forwards.

And blew out a sigh of relief.

It was just a nightmare. Just one of the stupid nightmares you've been having lately. That's all.

Except one thing didn't add up. There had been others. He was sure of it. Others in his dream. He had seen them, near the fire. He had paced around it, avoiding them for reasons he didn't know. He had been running, getting glimpses of them as he had. Then he had woken up.

There was a muffled thump from down the hall and loud cursing. He heard water running, and the creak of the stairs.

Glancing at his clock, he checked the time.

10:22

The team would normally all wake up around the same time, considering the house could grow quite loud when people started waking up.

Shooting one last wary look, he pulled on a clean shirt and swapped his pyjama pants for jeans. Just a normal day with Team Crafted. After all, he had been having these nightmares for a while. No need for anyone to know. They'd just call him a kid, being afraid of nightmares. He froze, his hand on the handle.

Afraid. I'm afraid of the nightmares.

Wow.

Shaking the thought off, he headed out and down the stairs into the kitchen. Mitch, Jerome, Jason and Ian had already congregated in there, slowly eating their breakfast. To Adam's surprise, they all looked just as exhausted as he felt and probably looked.

Maybe they had nightmares too.

He nearly brushed the idea off as stupid, but it just seemed so comforting to him for some reason that he wasn't the only one who suffered from nightmares. It probably was stupid, nonetheless.

He managed to get a bowl and snag the last of the cereal from Mitch, who had been eyeing the box. With a sigh, Mitch got up and left, now that he had no cereal to stay for. He briefly considered going back to bed. Those freaking dreams had left him feeling even more exhausted than before. He splashed some cold water on his face, trying unsuccesfully to shove aside any thoughts of the dream.

Try as they might, no one in Team Crafted seemed to be able to focus that day. Their eyes always blank, drifting, highlighted by the dark circles under their eyes.

The realistic dream couldn't seem to let go.

___________________________________________

So, this is going to be a collab book between the talented bloxiegirl123 and I. We will both be posting the chapters on our accounts, so there is no need to move between books just to get the next chapter.

Anyway, hope you enjoy. I pass you the pen, bloxiegirl. I do hope you enjoy what I have started for us.

Happy Reading, everyone.