The Bridge of L'Manberg

Chapter Seven --🥏🦐

I feel my heart racing, my breaths short and simple, as Wilbur takes my hand and leads me through the woods. With our guards high up, and our every nerve on edge, I try to count the rising numbers of monsters that we pass by. It's tricky, dodging the arrows and miniature explosions, while also keeping count, but the last number I scored is nearly two-hundred and fifty. We've only been running for less than ten minutes, which is absolutely worrying.

"Dodge!!!" Wilbur shouts, snapping my focus back to the danger at hand.

I feel his fingers slip through mine as he pivots to the left, seconds before a creeper detonates. I run ahead towards the impact as it goes off. I bound off the ground as high as I can go, as a crater forms below me. I hold my breath as I reach the other side of the impact, my feet fumbling as they meet the grass. Wilbur shakes off the stun from the side, looking at me to check for any injuries. I shoot him a smile, assuring him that -- for the most part? I'm okay.

I mean, physically, anyway. Not knowing what the hell is going on may kill me, though. As the old wise ones say, curiosity killed the cat, and I'm heading straight for that.

Wilbur extends his hand out to me again, and I take it, now in the lead of our headings. I spot a mountain somewhat nearby through the treetops, changing our direction for the base of it. If we're lucky, there may be a small overhang of earth and stone that we can regroup our strategies in.

I fend off a zombie by snatching Wilbur's shield, and then charging the monster at full force. It falls from the impact to the ground, and I smirk victoriously. I pass Wilbur back his shield after we trample over the pale-green foe, the two of us pressing on.

The General glances back at the zombie's limp, boot-printed body before it evaporates. He gives a nervous laugh, turning his eyes forward to me,

"Do you know where we're going??" He calls through the chaos.

I point in the direction of the mountain.

"That way!"

"And why have you chosen this way?"

I kick my boot into a pair of ribs, urging a skeleton out of our line of course. Wilbur tugs back on my hand, dragging our momentum down from progression.

"Because," I snip, glancing back at him, "It'll be a good recovery point if there's an overhang or something to cover us! We can catch our breath and strategize."

"But that's Mayhem-Cliffside!" He corrects.

I stop us dead in our tracks, while there are no monsters in sight.

It doesn't last long though, as two endermen come up from either side.

"Mayhem-Cliffside?" I repeat, stringing my chains into a gathered loop,

Wilbur goes to explain, "Yes, the most infested mountains we've ever had the displeasure of mapping!"

I snap around to get face to face with him,

"Then why did we run off in this direction?!"

"Because the others needed a head start!"

I bonk him upside the head with my wrist.

"You moron!! You've just trapped us to let them get ahead!!" I throw my sickle at one of the endermen, only for them to teleport out of shot.

I grumble under my breath, frantically searching for their new location,

"I get that you'd sacrifice yourself before them, but come on! A little heads up strategy for this grand plan would have been nice!!"

Wilbur frowns, as he grips his axe. He runs forward at the second enderman. He drives the edge of his blade up from the monster's leg, dragging it to it's jaw with a jump. The foe screeches out an ear-piercing cry and disappears from sight-- retreating for its own good. I hear an angry crackling from behind me and turn, tossing my sickling for the target out of instinct. The enderman dodges by leaning to the side, but I tug the chain with a harsh pull, bringing it back. It collides with the backside of the monster, and I force the blade through to finish it.