Minecraft Hardcore

Chapter 2: Alliances

Jack opened his eyes to an oak ceiling. That couldn't be right. He lifted his head and gazed around, noting the presence of three other beds in the room with him, each with its own crimson sheet and white pillow. Jack took a deep breath and reeled back his mind. He should be dead, as nine out of ten doctors would agree. And though he never saw the wound on his back, it was surely fatal. The wound! He swiftly turned his head to check his back but was instead met with a slobbery tongue that felt like a wet mop on his face.

"Aaagh!" Jack recoiled, wiping his face with his hoodie and gazing at the creature before him. Well, it wasn't a giant tongue, after all. It was a silver wolf pup, with rather large black eyes that looked up at him expectantly. The pup cocked its head at him as if to question the half-scared look on Jack's face. It wagged its tail alarmingly fast for a pup and pawed at Jack's bedside.

"Rufus! Down boy, down." A man in black spectacles called the wolf. Upon hearing its name, the wolf scrambled to the stranger in an instant, any thought of Jack gone. The man smiled, petting the dog as it licked his palms. His eyes shimmered a cool brown, his tousled oak hair falling just above his eyes. He wore a pair of beige pants along with a forest-green button up shirt with the collar neatly flattened. "He's harmless, really," he said, patting the dog on the head and standing to his full height. "I'm Michael." He wiped his stub on his shirt and offered it to Jack.

"Jack." He took his stub, still a little unsure of the situation. "Say, have you seen a girl with red hair around here by any chance?" Michael smiled. "She's in the kitchen raiding my food supply. You're lucky that you two stumbled across my house when you did. I came when I heard the explosion. I was able to patch you up since I had some extra potions laying around, but you should still rest for today."

"Thanks." Jack breathed a sigh of relief. Oh! The wound. Jack flipped off his sweatshirt and was amazed when he saw nothing but a long, white scar left. "What was in that potion?" Michael grinned, opening his mouth to answer, but was cut off by a loud crash that came from another room. Ami's voice rang loud and clear, as well as the cursing that came with it.

"I wonder what that was," Michael mused, not sounding concerned in the slightest. He sauntered through the hallway on the other side of the room, out of Jack's line of sight. Jack could only hear muffled voices and splashing in the distance. Obviously, he had to investigate. So he stood up, stumbled only once, and shuffled through a small, wooden hallway. He wondered why Michael had made the hallway so small. It was making him slightly claustrophobic. It seemed that Michael's entire house was made of wood, that is, until Jack stepped into what he assumed was the kitchen. An ocean blue block coated the entirety of the room, gleaming in the light. Everything was blue! The table, the chair, even a little island that was placed near the fridge (which was unexpectedly blue). It all would have been more wonderful if it wasn't flooding. What seemed like a wave had stumbled through the house and already had gotten at least waist-height. Jack waded next to Michael, who didn't seem shocked that he had followed him. He was watching Ami, who was caught in the bulk of it, holding a loaf of bread over her head and yelling loudly.

"I can't get the bread wet!" she repeated over and over. "It'll be soggy! Who wants soggy bread?!" Michael casually called out to her. "Don't worry, normal physics don't work here. You can drop the bread, it won't get wet. Just come over here so I can patch up the hole." The hole? Jack was exceptionally confused. He looked a little closer and saw that part of the wall was missing, large globs of water gushing out of it. Ah, that would explain it. It was as if he was watching this scene on a television, the way it was playing out between these two. Ami absolutely refused to drop the bread - her reasons were still rather unclear - no matter how many times Michael told her nothing would happen to the bread. Jack could sympathize with her, though. Soggy bread was the worst.