How To Move Dirt (a Minecraft fan fic)

Day 13: Glimmer

There we were, in a cave we knew nothing about, uncertain of every twist and turn, uncertain of every sound. We just wanted to live and leave Navon and I, I was in there for four days, and Navon perhaps much much longer. The only thing that drove us was the rotten flesh and our will to live, our will to escape. We rested on whatever dirt we could find. We had to settle for that, for stone was much too hard and much too quiet. But neither of us slept, night, day or whatever other time it was. Time was no worry here; it was just this cave for now. This empty dark and dreadful cave… We survived as long as we did, even though we were weak and desperate, we still had our lives. Avoiding danger was our priority and it was keeping together. Though we shared a friendship, I knew that our hearts were set to run away if the other had gone or had gotten lost.  ‘Navon, how did you get in this cave,’ I asked it, ‘you didn’t seem to be exploring like I was.’

‘My village was in siege by an undead horde, many of us were lost since our protectors early death…,’ It explained in a regretful tone, ‘I ran away, leaving my friends and family; Leaving TESIFICATE.’

 So there were more of them, I thought with joy. It was the best news I heard since I heard Navon speak for the first time after I punched during our first encounter. I wished I could’ve prolonged the conversations but given his tone, mentioning his home only brought guilt on him and I didn’t want to push Navon’s fragile limit too far.

As usual I led the way in our exploration, though Navon carried the torch. I didn’t want to risk my friend’s life just because it carried light with it, and having light illuminating from behind me made feel like staring against the sunset. I could live like that for the rest of my life, looking at a frozen sun till time runs dry and all would’ve gone. But I’d rather see the sun and feel its rays rather than have thought ponder in my head. It was if every thought made me move faster and Navons weakness slower. Navon was growing weak quickly. ‘Navon, do you need to rest?’ I asked it but it shook its head in denial and kept moving forth. ‘You’re growing tired my friend, sleep and I’ll watch over you no matter how long you might take,’ I suggested the idea to it, but again it refused by shaking its head. I could see dark rings around its eyes, I could hear its breathing louder than before and I could see its legs being dragged as it walked. I came to a halt, ‘Navon I insist you rest,’ this time I commanded it. Navon wasn’t going to get any better dragging its own corpse to the exit. But all it did was look at me with sad sorrowful eyes. Then it fell on its back, rolling some distance down the cave without a squeal or a yelp. ‘NAVVVON!!!’

Something was wrong and I wasn’t quite sure what it was. Was Navon simply tired? or is there some horrible thing happening before my eyes. I rushed down to it, and dragged it up till I could find space sufficient enough for the two of us. The location I chose wasn’t too far off, but it had two creepers wandering around, awaiting the kill of their lives. I left Navon hidden behind some stone and I confronted the green creatures that no longer seemed invisible behind stone. I roared at them to make my presence aware, so that I didn’t have to charge at them and risk myself a suicide attempt. They both came at me at the same time, complicating my strategy but not by much. I swung my sword first to the one on the left, pushing it away, then to the other on the right. Was this a bad idea? Yes it was, now instead of having to kill my foes at one front, there were two opposite of me, and I could only pay attention to one. They came closer and closer and quickly too, I relied completely on my peripherals, but I knew that wouldn’t suffice. I had to rely on my will once again because I knew that at least one of them would have me in an explosion. I eyed the first one; perhaps if I killed this one fast enough, I could quickly turn around to kill the other. But that chance was one in a million. I relied far too much on chance ever since I first appeared in this world. And when the time to kill came close, chance was my best friend…

A familiar roar came down from ahead of me, that alien and dark roar, the voice of the tall men, the voice of the tall dark men. The Creepers toned down from their bursting color and ran away from the sound, leaving me and Navon to safety… Perhaps.

‘Friend of Ender,’ it addressed me as it appeared out of nowhere, ‘why do seek us?’

I couldn’t tell which from which, was this one of the three I first saw, or is this one entirely new to me. Awe struck me, the very beings I seeked had found me in a time of desperate need. Were they following me in this cave the whole time? Or was this the work of some greater force. ‘What do you seek from us?’ It asked me, this time it knew that this question was the one to be answered. ‘The Pearl,’ I asked it, ‘What is it?’

‘The pearl…,’ it said, ‘what is your intentions?’

I ran through my mind for an honest answer, for this creature could see beyond what I could. It was as if they were eternally wise as one… ‘It has grown dear to me…,’ I said with a beat of my heart trying to pull me down.

‘And It to has grown fond of you…,’ It answered, ‘The Pearls is our souls, friend of Ender. In this world we are at one form… The other seeks The End.’

As a response, I nodded in confusion. I didn’t understand any of what the creature had said, nor did I believe any of it. The End, it seemed like a place they knew very well. Or perhaps it was simply the manner the creature spoke with. ‘How can I escape this cavern?’ I asked it, knowing it probably knew the way out. ‘We’ve been lost for days…’

It grabbed my sides and pulled me up to its eye level, inches from its face, ‘To seek the light, you must embrace the darkness,’ it warmly whispered, immediately disappearing afterwards, leaving me mid air to fall back to the ground.

‘To seek the light, you must embrace the darkness,’ I repeated to myself while kneeling next to the unconscious Navon. I said it again, this time thinking about what it meant. Was the creature simply toiling with my mind? Or was it telling me something about myself; about how I must live my life. Then I looked our source of light, Navons’ torch which I left where we once were. ‘To seek the light, you must embrace the darkness,’ I said once again, now thinking in a shallower perception. I walked down towards the torch and blew it away. My vision adapted and all was only darkness for some time… A glimmer shone in the corner of my eye. It was light from above, it was life…

I once again knelt next to my friend and whispered gently into its ear, ‘we’re getting out of here my friend,’ I was nearly falling into tears. ‘we’re getting out of here…’