Minecraft: The Diamond Chronicles {Book I}

Chapter 9: Their Journey Begins...

The next morning, I felt refreshed and new. I was actually pleased that I had met Steve: it might be a good thing that 'fate brought us together.' Or at least, that's what he believed. I had some breakfast, and went outside to check on the farm.

"Ah! You're finally awake!" Steve cheered happily as he sowed some wheat seeds onto the fertile ground.
"Wha-? H-how come you're out here?" I jumped, frantically adjusting my hair and clothes.
"I woke up early and decided to do some work to wake myself up more. You actually had quite a lie-in."
"Oh, um...really?" I felt embarrassed. Steve brushed his hands together and headed back to the house.
"Yeah, but that doesn't matter right now. We'd better set off. The journey itself takes about three days or so."

So, we gathered all our belongings and began our long journey. Steve rolled up some blankets and, along with some other objects, stuffed them into a large rucksack strapped to his back. I carried a much smaller bag that was a light green colour; it contained weapons, food and building materials. We were walking through a barren desert, the odd cactus or dead bush lying in the searing hot sand.
Steve was far in front of me, and didn't even seem to be fazed by the heavy bags he was carrying, along with the scorching hot weather. I caught up to him, breathless.

"Wait up! Wow, y...you walk fast!" I said between deep inhales of warm air.
"No time can be wasted. Not in snow, rain, sandstorm or hurricane - we cannot be stopped."
"Wha-? Wait, how can you walk so fast, with that many bags - in this weather?!"
"Believe me, I've been in worse conditions."
"Like what?" I asked.
"I got struck by lightning once."
"Really? What was it like?" I was excited, which surprised me, as the thought didn't strike me that I would be able to experience emotions at this temperature.

"It's like a billion gigawatts of electricity running through you. It does stun you, and knock you out for a while; but it depends on how big the area of the lightning is, and how powerful the bolt is when it hits you. Afterwards you become slightly disorientated - when I woke up, I...uh....fell down the hill I was on - and...fell into the nearby stream."
I giggled, even though it was nearly impossible to catch my breath.
"W-what biome are we approaching first?"
"Forest." Steve stopped and overlooked the view. "And quite a large one at that."

The blistering hot, golden sand Steve and I stood on slowly faded into soft, brown soil, covered with a thick layer of lush green grass. The dead bushes sticking out of the sand contrasted greatly with the colourful flowers that accompanied the grass on the forest floor. My eyes followed the flowers, which led me to the trees - the thousands upon thousands of trees, all varying in size, but they still blocked out the blazing hot sun, providing many cool, shaded spots.

Steve and I found an area to take a rest and have our lunch before setting off again. I had folded my regular shirt up into my bag, replaced it for a thin blue shirt made from rabbit hide that exposed my stomach, and tied my hair up into a high bun.

Steve placed down some tree trunks to sit on, and we enjoyed our rest while it lasted.