War For Minecraft (Book 1)

Chapter 3: Caves

"Are you sure I'm a creeper? I thought I was a fish." I stared at her in fear, this girl was a creeper!?

I readied my sword but she noticed my fist grip the hilt. Immediately her face darkened and she began to hiss. "I have one question..." Her eyes narrowed. "If your a creeper why haven't you, ya know exploded?" I said. This girl scares me, she didn't seem to have an aura of electricity like most lightning creepers do, but if there was any truth to her words I couldn't help but be on guard.

Cupa and I stared at each other in silence for ages till she answered y question with a huff. "We creepers don't explode at least us females don't, that's insane! Females carry this," she says while pulling out a stick of TNT from her hoodie pocket. "The idiot males kill themselves, not us." she said as she put the TNT back.

"I won't kill you." Cupa said. "But if you attack me like that fool did, I won't hesitate to destroy you." She said turning her back to me and walking away.

"Who was he?" I muttered.

"What was that?" Cupa stopped walking and looked over her shoulder at me.

"I said who was he! The man you killed!" I shouted.

Silence filled the air. "The Royal Guard of King BajanCanadian." She said.

My eyes widened at those words. I looked at the man who laid dead on the ground. "You're one of Bajan's men?" I mumbled.

"Bajan huh? Pretty informal of you to use a nickname to address a king. You're in The Divine Jungle, wearing all blue like a weirdo, and you didn't piss yourself when you met a creeper." She smirked back at me. "So you must be him, you're Steve?" She said turning around.

"Yeah." I said. Cupa walked over to me and began to hiss again.

"The famed outlaw of Minecraftia. Wanted for breaking and entering villagers' homes--" she said.

"How else am I supposed to get into a blacksmith's chest?"

"Mass crop theft--" she continued.

"A man's gotta eat, besides they grow back in like two days." I shrugged.

"Regular theft--" she continued.

"Well I mean if I see diamonds in a blacksmith chest then I'm going to take it." I reasoned.

"Deforestation without replanting saplings--" she continued.

"Look, I've gotten much better with that." I admitted.

"Unlawful mining, and hording of ores." She continued.

"That's a bullshit crime and you know it." I retorted.

Cupa chuckled after every response I offered. "Still, that's a pretty hefty list against you man."

"Creepers hiss when we sense danger, it's a natural instinct that normally is enough to ward off foes." She said until she was a foot away from me.

"Ssssssssss..." Here we go again..

"This hiss however, is fake, you don't strike me as a criminal despite your offenses," she stopped hissing at me. "You're not a dangerous person at heart, are you Steve?" She said.

I huffed. "Depends. None of those crimes are legitimate, I won't say I haven't done them, but villagers give their crop to me, it's not like I'm actually stealing it. It's part of the hero gig I guess."

"I know~" she giggled. "For whatever reason, the King wants you dead and was willing to make up ridiculous accusations to have the people on his side."

I lowered my guard. "You don't agree with them?"

Cupa chuckled. "I'm a creeper, your silly human laws never applied to me. But no, which is why I'm here! If you want, follow me, we have much to talk about~"

*******

"So this is your cave?" I asked.

Cupa's so called 'cave' was nothing more than a house built into the side of a mountain. It was more hut than house. Built out of jungle wood planks, webs, and vines. To the right of the broken iron door was a hole big enough to fit someone into it. That has to be how she gets in the house. In front of her home was a little fire camp with a dim flame. Inside the house was worse though. No furnace for food, nothing but dirt and bugs. Plus a mound of cow pelts as a bed.

"Yeah... This is my temporary home. I'm not happy with it but it keeps me safe." She said with a smile.

"The elevation keeps you safe not the house." I said shaking my head.

"Well then," Cupa suddenly threw herself onto my arm, and with the best damsel in distress voice she could muster, "OH STEVE! WoNt YoU hElP mE bUiLd A bAsE??"

"Is that why you brought me here? I'm more than strapping good looks and muscle you know."

"That remains to be seen." She chuckled. "I was just kidding by the way, I don't plan on staying here much longer."

I looked out over the jungle. Night was falling, and I could see my house in the distance. "It's becoming night, would you like to spend the night?" She said with a slight blush. "You can stay with me if you want." My heart skipped a beat."

"Uh yeah! Sure! Thanks! I'll take first watch!" I said trying to hold back the blush forming on my face, all this time in isolation is killing my social skills-- it's as if I'd never talked to a girl before.

I looked out over the land. I couldn't help but look back to check on Cupa. The thought of her being a Creeper lingered in my mind. How was that even possible? The thought of this adorable girl being a creature of death was insane, and if it was true, how'd she get like that. In all my years living in Minecraftia I'd never encountered a humanoid creeper.

Cupa whimpered in her sleep which forced me to smile. I turned my back to her, and the longer I thought about her the mores I began to respect Cupa. Living on her own in this crummy hut as a creeper, outlaw, and a human? She's being hunted by everything.

I peeked back out at the sky as the moon shined bright I thought of Bajan. That bastard is gonna die. I heard Cupa yawn, I turned back around at her as she stood stretching. "Your turn." She said. I nodded and walked over the bed where she sat.

I drew my sword to place it at the bedside but she began to hiss. I realized my mistake immediately set it down before taking another step. "Please don't try anything Steve... Your the last person I wanna kill." She said before walking to the iron door.

"I won't..."