The Shipwreck: An Official Minecraft Novel Page 17

  “Go!”

  Emily sinks an arrow into the blaze.

  “You guys…”

  Emily looks away from her screen for a split second. Jake is standing at the window of the computer lab, peering intently outside.

  “Mrs. Jenkins is coming! She’s walking this way from the courtyard!”

  Emily’s taking too much damage, but she finished one—now for the others—Tank, move—

  Tank pales. “Can we disconnect?”

  “We’re under attack so no! Next time you log in we’ll be right back here and probably die and lose everything! Try to get to a safe zone first!”

  Tank darts backward, running back along the bridge and then toward the cliff edge and the first staircase they climbed to get into the fortress. A line of torches leads off over the disappearing horizon, toward their portal.

  “Run, Tank!”

  Emily shoots her last arrow and charges forward, taking down the last blaze headed for Tank.

  “YEARRRGH!” she yells as she slashes at it. “You’re going down with me!”

  RoxXStarRedStone was slain by blaze

  Emily pushes away from her computer, scooting back from her chair. To her relief, she can see Tank is still running. He’s made it down and off of the staircase now and is following their trail of torches.

  “Come on, you can do it!” Emily mutters.

  “Hurry up! Quit the game! We’re supposed to be working!” Jake calls from the window. “She’s almost here!”

  “My escape key is stuck!” Tank tries.

  “Go for the portal. Jake, help Tank unstick his key so he can disconnect when he’s safe at home.” Emily readjusts her ponytail.

  “Where are you going?” Jake asks.

  “To make a distraction.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  TANK

  “Hello? Are you kids hungry? I made you all sandwiches.”

  Mrs. Jenkins’s voice echoes from the lobby.

  “Oh, that’s so nice!” Emily chimes cheerfully. “We finished cleaning up the kitchen yesterday. We can eat in there. How are you, Mrs. J? Did you cut your hair?”

  “Oh. No. I brushed it, though.”

  “It looks great!”

  “The key isn’t unsticking!” Tank fumbles for it. “I can’t quit!” He freezes, alternating between running and trying to disconnect.

  “I’m getting it, you just concentrate on getting out of the Nether!”

  Jake tries to wedge his finger under the key, but the ancient keyboard doesn’t budge. He looks around frantically toward the boxes they packed away.

  “Come on!” Tank whispers.

  “Pens, pens, pens—” Jake rifles loudly through the box of pens and random office supplies until he raises one in triumph. He bends the metal clip at the top of the pen deftly with his fingers, approaching Tank and the keyboard.

  “I see the portal!” Ahead, the shimmering purple portal that he’s always been afraid of is now his salvation. He runs, following the line of torches through the purple-red netherrack. He can’t afford to die now. His friends are counting on him.

  Outside, Emily and Mrs. Jenkins are still talking, but it sounds like the voices are coming closer.

  Jake wedges the pen’s clip under the escape key. “Come on, come on—aaah!”

  The escape key pops right off the keyboard and clatters away. It would be almost funny if Tank wasn’t desperately trying to log out of the computer.

  He reaches the portal and everything dissolves around him. He’s back in Emily’s mine at their base. Tank exhales with relief. “I made it,” he says, surprised at himself.

  “Okay, you’re safe—you can just minimize it.” Jake presses the mute button just as the door opens and Mrs. Jenkins walks in.

  Emily makes an apologetic face and mouths I tried as Mrs. Jenkins sets the sandwiches down.

  “I thought I was a little harsh on you kids yesterday, and wanted to say I appreciated all of your hard work.”

  Tank can’t tell what kind of sandwiches they are, but the smell of fresh baguette wafts toward him. His stomach growls in anticipation.

  “Good work,” she says, her voice gruff. “I thought you might be hungry. You know, you can take a break for lunch if you need to. You don’t need to ask me. You can go home for an hour or go out or whatever. I trust you all to keep coming back and finish this. I’m not going to check on you, either. I don’t really like being here. I think kids your age have the responsibility to manage yourselves, and I trust you’ll be able to figure out a schedule that works for you. You have a key, work out when you want to be here, leave the finished boxes at my doorstep.” She glances at the room and then back at the three of them, her eyes lingering on the computers and then the organized boxes of electronics in the corner. “It looks good so far.”

  “Thanks,” Tank says, trying not to let his chest swell up with pride. The affirmations are comforting, and he likes knowing he’s done a good job. He reaches for one of the sandwiches and bites into it. Bursts of flavor—savory and some sort of herb, like basil maybe? And a sharp tang. There’s a soft, pillowy texture that contrasts well with the crunchy baguette roll. “Wow, this is good,” he says, around a mouthful. “What’s in this? Tomato? I’ve never had a tomato sandwich before.” He thinks this white stuff is cheese. It’s like, really moist and soft and good. Tank likes cheese on pizza but always thought cheese in sandwiches was terrible—the school made these awful dry ham-and-cheese things that stuck to the roof of your mouth, but this is a whole other world. He wants to keep eating this forever.

  “Gross, close your mouth,” Emily says. She wipes her hands delicately on the towel hanging from her shoulder before picking up her own sandwich, taking a small bite. “This is really nice, Mrs. Jenkins.” She closes her eyes, humming happily. “Caprese, right?”

  Jake’s enjoying the sandwich, too, and Tank nods at him. This guy gets it.

  “Yes, that’s right. I grow these tomatoes and the basil on my patio. I used to—that whole lot out there used to be a community garden. Part of the center. We would have fruit and vegetables, and in the summer, there would be so many grapes. Grapes for days. You could eat them right off the vine.”

  Tank follows Mrs. Jenkins’s gaze out the window, where trash lines the lot of dirt and weeds between the community center and the street. He never thought about the land outside the entrance to the building much, but knowing it was a real garden—it makes him sad.

  “Well, there’s no point in revisiting old ghosts. That garden is long dead, just like this place.” Mrs. Jenkins sighs, standing up. “You know, I used to take chances on kids like you all the time. It’s why I built the center in the first place. So kids would have a place to hang out, make friends.”

  “That’s so cool!” Jake exclaims.

  Mrs. Jenkins nods, her eyes sad. She looks back to the window, lost in some memory. It’s clear that she doesn’t want to talk anymore.

  “Why did—” Jake starts.

  Tank elbows him and shakes his head.

  “Thank you for the sandwiches,” Emily says softly.

  “You’re welcome.” Mrs. Jenkins gives them a small smile. “I—I didn’t mean to just walk out on you yesterday. This place—this place means a lot to me. And having memories like that hit you out of nowhere is hard for an old lady like me.” Mrs. Jenkins looks down at her feet. “Well, enjoy. And don’t get used to this. I’m not going to bring you lunch every day,” she adds, returning to her stern tone, but her eyes are still smiling. “I’m going to check on the other rooms and your progress.”

  “Did you quit? Did Tank make it back with all our stuff?” Emily whispers as Mrs. Jenkins leaves the room.

  Tank grins at her, adrenaline still pumping. The Nether, the quick escape, the thrill of avoiding detection—it was scary, but they made it.
It’s over. And it was actually fun. And these sandwiches are great.

  Jake nods, reaching for another sandwich.

  Tank’s already had two. He kind of wants another one, though. “I wasn’t able to quit—the escape key is broken. But I made it back to the base.”

  “It’s fine, it’s fine,” Emily says. “If she says anything, we can say we were testing the computers—”

  “Maybe we should just tell her that,” Jake suggests.

  “No, no, we’ll look guilty! Come on, haven’t you ever done this before?” Emily rolls her eyes at Jake.

  Tank takes the empty plate and gives it a rinse in the kitchen. He wonders now if people used to cook here, if it was filled with laughter and people sharing a meal.

  “I brought you back your plate, Mrs. Jenkins. I washed it and everything. Do you have more boxes? I think we used most of them for the stuff in the storage rooms and office.” Tank pauses, realizing Mrs. Jenkins is sitting at his computer.

  She’s staring at the screen thoughtfully.

  Well, Minecraft is minimized, so if she was looking at it, she probably just sees the desktop—

  “We were checking to make sure those were working,” Tank offers. “So, yeah, they work. So you don’t have to recycle them. I mean, they’re pretty old, I don’t think they’d be worth selling, but you could keep them for the computer lab in the new center.”

  A number of expressions flash across Mrs. Jenkins’s face—sadness, anger—most of all, pain. “I don’t think the new owner is interested in restoring any of the original community amenities,” she says. “All of this is going to be boutiques and restaurants. But—like I said, I appreciate all the work you’re doing.” Mrs. Jenkins glances at Tank. “It looks like you’ve finished this room. You can just box up everything to be donated, but don’t worry about this one being a priority. I can schedule the electronic recycling pickup anytime.” She smiles at him, a different one from the soft, apologetic one she’d had when she brought them the sandwiches. This one feels a little self-satisfied, like she knows something Tank doesn’t, and it makes him nervous.

  Did she see the open game?

  Surely she would say something if she did, like scold them for not working.

  Mrs. Jenkins nods at Tank and takes the plate. “Goodbye,” she says to Emily and Jake behind him as she walks back out of the community center.

  “What did she say? Did she see?”

  “She just reminded us that we can do this room last,” Tank says. “Not that there’s much left to do.”

  Emily jiggles the mouse on each of the computers. “Mine looks fine. Jake, did you have this folder open?”

  “Uh, I’m not sure. I think I was referencing it for the riddles.” The folder full of screenshots of all the things Jake’s discovered so far is indeed open, all the files laid out.

  Tank’s avatar is standing in the mineshaft right where he left him. He doesn’t remember getting so far away from the portal, though. Maybe he did. “Looks okay.”

  Emily collapses on her chair. “That was close.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  JAKE

  “Let’s play first and then close to lunchtime, start cleaning. Just in case she pops by again,” Jake suggests.

  “I brought Carmen’s old keyboard to replace yours, Tank,” Emily says, raising up a black keyboard covered in stickers of cartoon skulls. “Go ahead and laugh.”

  Tank takes the keyboard and raises his eyebrow, but he doesn’t say anything.

  Jake pokes one of the skull stickers. “Does your sister like…death?”

  “And poetry. Don’t ever mention poetry to her, she’ll never stop.” Emily shakes her head. “Let’s go.”

  Jake feels an elated sense of accomplishment when they finish brewing the Potions of Water Breathing. With their new sets of diamond armor and enchanted weapons—they had just enough levels between them to get some basic buffs—he feels ready to take on the next clue.

  He’s so used to just talking out loud with Tank and Emily that it isn’t until he copies and pastes coordinates that he sees the entire chat scroll.

  The message right after the three of them logged in makes him pause.

  TheCrestWizard has joined the game.

  “Uh, guys? We aren’t alone.” Jake looks around nervously, expecting this Wizard character to show up at any moment, but nothing happens.

  “What?”

  “Look at the chat log.”

  “Who is the Wizard?” Emily frowns.

  < MCExplorerJake > hello?

  “Good idea,” Tank says. “Totally forgot about that function because we always play in the same room.”

  Jake watches the screen for a few moments, but nothing happens.

  “Wait, there’s something over there—I think. Look to the east!”

  Jake follows the gaze of Emily’s bouncing avatar.

  Movement on the side of the mountain catches Jake’s eye, and at first he thinks it’s just granite, maybe a rockfall or something, but that’s impossible.

  Maybe not in this world, Jake thinks. Mermaids and mysteries everywhere. Whoever modded this place could have changed anything, even the physics.

  An avatar.

  The Wizard?

  Emily’s already racing toward the mountainside, wading directly into the massive lake and swimming across it. The figure is still moving, a few bricks of gray going up the mountain, moving like—

  “Emily! Where are you going?” Tank drops a boat into the lake before cruising after her.

  “I’ve got an extra one, she keeps forgetting to pack it,” Jake says, following suit. They catch up to Emily quickly, and Jake tosses the extra boat into the water for her.

  “I know I saw something on that mountain,” Emily mutters. “It’s still there.”

  “It could be an alpaca or a chicken or something,” Tank says.

  “I don’t think so. It’s gray. You think of any mobs that color?” Jake looks at the unmoving gray figure at the top of the mountain. “Plus, it didn’t move like an animal.” Animal mobs drift slowly around. This moved like a person.

  “A skeleton?” Tank asks.

  “Why would a skeleton be just hanging out on the side of a mountain during the middle of the day? That would be impossible. It would have burnt up by now.” Emily pushes forward with her boat. “Do you not want to see what it is?”

  “Yeah, what if it’s this other player?” Jake asks.

  Tank gestures at the dusty computer lab. “Wouldn’t it have to be someone in this computer lab?”

  “It’s a server,” Emily says. “As long as they know the address they could connect to it.”

  Jake shakes his head. “Theoretically, yeah. The server is hosted on the local area network here. But I can’t connect to it from my apartment without a password. Whoever made it already installed it on these computers so it works without one.”

  “So someone knows the password. Who else in the building plays Minecraft?” Tank asks.

  Emily shrugs. “I mean, there’re a lot of kids who live here.”

  Tank pauses. “Look, even if it’s another player, we have our own things to do. Let’s just ignore them. We have the map to the next clue, and we have all the potions. Come on, we spent all this time getting ready and we’re going to get distracted?”

  Emily turns her boat around. “You’re right,” she says after a moment’s consideration. “We have our own plans. Isn’t that right, Jake? You want to solve the mystery, let’s do it. We don’t know them and they don’t know us. It’s a big world. Leaving them alone is probably the best idea.”

  “Look, there’s a river going east out of this lake. It’ll be quicker to go by boat,” Tank says.

  They’re already moving in that direction, away from the mysterious figure.

 
“I hate traveling by boat,” Tank says conversationally. “I always get stuck when I try to turn.” He drifts left and then goes in a circle before bumping into Jake, who deliberately pulls his boat to a stop in front of Tank.

  “Look, you both said you wanted to solve the mystery,” Jake says.

  “Yeah. By getting the next clue,” Tank says.

  “The first clue I found was number seventeen. The underwater city, the mermaids, the treasure maps, the riddles—it’s all a part of something, but we need to figure out what it is.”

  Tank shrugs. “Treasure is treasure, man.”

  “I think whatever is on that mountain—whoever is on that mountain—is going to have answers.” Jake starts making his way toward the mountain.

  Emily hums in agreement. “I’m gonna say hi.” She flexes her fingers before typing a few quick words into the server chat.

  < RoxXStarRedStone > hi! We’re having fun exploring this world. What do you know about it?

  Jake watches the question sit in the chat log unanswered as he approaches the side of the mountain. There’s still no response as he stashes his boat and starts to climb. It’s difficult going, especially with the steep slope, but he doesn’t want to risk losing the other avatar. He can see the gray blocky shadow ahead stop, like it’s watching him. From here he can see the still-too-small white text on top of their head.

  “It’s definitely a person!” Jake calls out triumphantly.

  He’s aware of Emily and Tank following behind him, and as he gets closer he can see the avatar clamber over the top of the mountain ledge and disappear from sight.

  “Maybe they just want to play by themselves,” Tank says. “Look, if they wanna run away, we should let them go. We’ve got other stuff to do.”

  Jake reaches the top of the ledge and steps forward onto the plateau. Up here, snow covers everything and trees grow sparse amongst the forbidding rock. From across the rocky expanse, the other avatar stares directly down at Jake.

  He approaches slowly, taking in the other person as he draws close. It’s clear extensive mods were used to craft this avatar: They look like an old-timey wizard, complete with a white beard, pointy hat, and long gray robe. The robe is shimmering with the telltale look of enchanted armor, and the Wizard is carrying a long staff of some sort in his hand. The avatar’s username reads TheCrestWizard.