Virus (A Minecraft Story)

Chapter 27

Ana's POV

We rode across the plains in silence, each person wrapped up in their own thoughts, own hopes, own fears. I could see these private thoughts if I so wished, but these were my friends. At the moment, privacy was the second most thing that we valued - the most important was our lives.

As we rode, I let myself drift in my thoughts, allowing myself a few minutes of contemplation. I thought about the three lives that I lived; the one as the girl in the village, a quiet, peaceful time; my time with my friends, from roaming around to finding a home; then there was the third life, that would never go away.

I thought about it now, at the secrets gnawing away at me, distancing me from my friends without their knowledge. The longer I held it in, the more likely they were going to turn me away. It was what Tash reckoned we'd done to her, right?

Then Lyta suddenly pulled her horse back, and we had to pull hard on the reins to stop. "We're here." She announced, and I raised my head to the skies, only just noticing how close we'd gotten to Fallen Mountain in the last hour.

The gigantic mountain was a steep wall of rock, jagged cracks snaking across the surface. And at the top, almost touching the clouds, was the Dark Soul's temple.

As far as I could see, the exterior was all dark stone, with pillars, large ornate doors and absolutely no windows. I could see figures strolling about, not in a hurry, unaware of the three Realmers far below them.

Lyta swung her head from side to side. "Where's Tash? She's definitely ahead of us." Amber looked up, face draining of colour. "I have a feeling  she's going up there to blow everything up; she was pretty pissed at us."

"You're right," A voice snapped from behind us, "I'm pissed at you." I went to spin around, but I was on my horse so simply leapt straight off, twisting in midair. Tash was glowering at us, hands on hips.

The first thing I said was, "What the hell are you wearing?" She glanced down at herself, only just remembering what she was wearing. "There are female Dark Soul worshippers, apparently, and I got hold of one."

She was wearing a loose flowing black dress, pooling on the floor, golden bracelets encircling her biceps. A thin gold necklace with a smooth obsidian skull hung around her neck, and her hair was neatly combed, falling down her back in silky waves. She turned her head slightly, and I saw a strand of her hair braided with golden thread.

Amber wolf-whistled. "Very nice. You'll attract any kind of guy with that dress." She wriggled uncomfortably. "This neckline's too low, and the sleeves are pretty tight." She folded her arms and scratched the back of her neck subconsciously.

Then she looked up at the mountain, and her expression became cold. "Despite what you guys think, I plan ahead. I don't just blindly charge in unless I know I'm going to win that fight."

She started walking towards the mountain. "Where are you going?" I called out, but she didn't look back. "I'm going to get some answers. You guys can try and find a few victims, but if you go all as one you're dead."

She swept her hands downwards, and she shot up the side of the mountain, fire streaming behind her. We watched her go, then I patted my horse's nose and tied it to a stone pillar made for exactly what I was doing; they must've gotten some visitors. The other two did the same.

Lyta stared at the cliff. "I don't know how to get up this. I mean, I can probably surf up it, but Amber doesn't have powers, so -" I raised my hands while she was talking, concentrating on the mountain, on the fact that it was part of the earth.

There was a crack so loud we all flinched, expecting the ground to split open and swallow us whole. Instead the side of the mountain crumbled like a cookie, and when the dust cleared it revealed a set of stairs now etched into the surface.