Minegamer225 stared at his creation. He had been on his computer for months on end, but he finally finished it: an 8-bit redstone computer (redstone is basically a wire).  After a few minutes of staring at it, he pulled a small stick from his inventory and placed it next to him by a trail of redstone. Minegamer pulled the stick towards him and the trail of redstone lit up with a warm, inviting glow. He looked up at the computer screen, waiting for the “booting up” message. After a couple long minutes he sighed and walked away. While he was walking, he didn’t see the strip of redstone in front of him and WHAM! He was thrown to the floor by the electric power of the wire. He stood up, dazed from the fall.

When he regained consciousness he kicked the wire as hard as he could and watched as it went flying. He was so angry, he didn’t realize that the wire was heading in the direction of the computer. At the last second he realized where the wire was going to land. He flinched as it crashed somewhere in the circuit boards. Suddenly the computer flickered to life and the rebooting message popped up on screen. Minegamer’s body filled with excitement as he jumped up in the air and started dancing.

But his joy was extinguished as the computer started sparking and sizzling. Minegamer jumped behind a block at the right time, because just afterward the computer exploded. Blocks started raining from the sky, but he dodged them with ease. He was so upset that months of work were RUINED!!! When the block rain was over he crawled through the rubble to the computer core. He reached out and grabbed the computer chip. He sadly looked at the fried circuit and frowned. “I JUST GIVE UP!!” he said as he smashed the circuit against a rock. He watched as the pieces went flying in different directions. Then he got up and walked out of the rubble pile towards his house. When he reached his house he shoved the door open and stepped inside. At once, his cat, Mittens, started following him and meowing for her food. When Minegamer plopped down on the couch, Mittens jumped onto his lap and started purring affectionately. “Aww, thanks mittens,” Minegamer said appreciatively. Then he got up and walked over to the kitchen. “Here you go, Mittens,” Minegamer said as he gave Mittens a bowl of food. Minegamer watched as Mittens hungrily devoured her food. When she had finished her food, she trotted over to the couch and curled up in the corner, waiting for Minegamer to sit down. Minegamer looked at Mittens and smiled. Then he realized that he was starving!!   

He looked in his kitchen chest for some food and found three potatoes. He placed them in the furnace to bake while he got some butter. When the potatoes were done, he spread the butter on top and then joined Mittens on the couch. When he sat down, Mittens crawled up on Minegamer’s lap and looked up at him with sad eyes. Minegamer understood what she meant. “I miss him too,” Minegamer said. After sitting down for a few minutes, he got up to get some cookies for Mittens and him to munch on. “Do you think about him much?” asked Minegamer.

“Meow,” replied Mittens. Minegamer also understood what this meow meant. This time it was a reassuring kind of meow.

“I remember our last moments with him….”

***

Eight years ago…

“Minegamer, do you have any string?”   

“Yes, Brine. It is downstairs, in my storeroom.”

“Thanks buddy.” he said, going downstairs.

***

Two Hours Later…

“Minegamer, I have a present for you!” he called faintly.  

“Be there in a minute.” Minegamer came down the stairs.

“Okay, I’m here,” Minegamer said excitedly.

“Here is your present,” he said, while handing Minegamer a chest. When Minegamer opened the lid he gasped.

“AN ENCHANTED BOW!! YOU’RE THE BEST, BRINE!” Minegamer shouted.

“Thanks, but without you, I would be a Noob,” Brine answered.

“Come Brine, let’s try out my new bow!!” Minegamer said as he raced out the door.

Minegamer notched an arrow, pulled back the string and released. As soon as he released the arrow its tip burst into flame. It flew out of their vision and hit the middle of the dam, 300 blocks away.

“Hey, Minegamer, do you hear that noise?” asked Brine.

“Yeah, what is that?” responded Minegamer. The both turned and saw the wall of water thundering towards them. “GET TO DA CHOPPA!!” yelled Minegamer. They hurried to their helicopter and put it in ignition. Minegamer was about to fly away when he remembered something…. “MITTENS!!” Minegamer screamed.

Mittens was still in their house!! “I’ll get her!” Brine bravely stated. He unbuckled his restraints. He ran down, kicked open the doors, scooped up mittens and ran upstairs. The wave was feet from the roof. Minegamer was already in the sky with the rope ladder hanging down for Brine to grab. Brine popped out of the trap door and Minegamer was filled with relief. Brine looked at the helicopter, then at the wave. He looked back at the helicopter, took Mittens in one hand, and punted him up into Minegamer’s hands. His eyes locked with Minegamer’s, and he smiled. Then he was swept away by the wave. When the flood was over, Minegamer landed his chopper in the watery remains of his house and frantically searched for his chum.

After 15 minutes he tripped on a loose root. Angry, he turned around to kick it when he realized it was not a root, but a bow, an enchanted bow!! BRINE’S PRESENT!! He carefully caressed the bow and sobbed…

Minegamer stroked Mittens a few times, then he realized how thirsty he was, and went to get some water. He searched around in his cabinet for a bottle of water. “Ah, here it is!” he exclaimed as he downed it. “Oohh, I don’t feel so good,” stated Minegamer. He picked up the bottle and looked at the label. “That’s not water!! It’s a hunger potion!!!”

Minegamer heard mittens meow and turned to go pet her when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shiny, red apple outside. He slid open the door and walked towards the tree, with Mittens trotting along behind him. He climbed up the tree to grab the apple when the tree came loose and fell.

Minegamer popped out of the leafy canopy and took a bite out of the apple. His hunger went back up to full. He looked around and realized Mittens was nowhere to be seen!!! Then, he heard a faint mewing coming from a nearby cave. “I’m coming, Mittens!!” Minegamer bravely said. He drew his sword and raced toward the cave. When he reached it he followed the sound of Mittens’ meowing until he was around the corner from the sound. He jumped around the corner, preparing to attack, when he heard a frightened child’s voice.

“P-p-please don’t hu-u-rt me.”

Minegamer put down his sword and saw a shaking villager child stroking Mittens. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Are you lost? You should be in your village,” Minegamer asked.

“M-m-my village w-was destroyed b-b-by a big wave,” the child said. “M-my name is P-pablo.”

“Well, Pablo, you can live with me!” Minegamer said. “Let’s g-” Minegamer was interrupted by a faint glow at the end of the tunnel. “Stay here,” Minegamer said. He turned the corner and saw a glowing compass on top of an altar. He walked up and saw some strange writing on the altar, the galactic alphabet, a language only minecrafters could read. It said: To Minegamer: If you are reading this, follow this compass to these coordinates; 45-y  754-x  35-z.

“This can only mean one thing… BRINE IS STILL ALIVE.”

To Be Continued…