Читать книгу Book Three: Part 2 Herobrine’s Message - Sean Wolfe Fay - Страница 10

The holding room was nothing but a giant cube, constructed of cobblestone blocks and taking up a sizable space within the Noctem Capitol Building. Torches lit the perimeter of the room, making it light enough to see and prevent other mobs from spawning. Cutting through the solid wall of cobblestone on the upper half of one wall was a row of glass, through which any curious onlookers could see what the two Zombies were doing.

These two Zombies did not resemble typical Zombies. Rather than the square head reminiscent of a player, they had elongated heads, with bloodshot red eyes and giant, droopy green noses hanging down off their faces. These Zombies, one fully grown and the other half the size of the first, had once been two villagers.

They were once mother and son, named Mella and Stull, and they had lived happily together in their village, which was now long gone. Not that they knew it, though. Besides their names, Mella and Stull had no memory of their previous lives. Oh, it was there, hidden somewhere deep within the layers of instinct and bloodlust that had overtaken their already primitive reasoning upon being bitten by a Zombie.

The two of them lumbered around aimlessly. For the past month, this had been their life. They had spent the majority of their time ambling around this room. Occasionally, they had been pulled out by the players who had put them there to serve as a communication bridge between the players and the mobs, and they had soon after been rewarded by unconscious players, who they would devour with pleasure.

It had been quite some time since they had been utilized, however. The Noctem Alliance’s mobs had been of great use on the battlefield, but now that the fighting was all but over, they served little to no purpose besides controlling the Withers. In fact, Lord Tenebris had made it clear that no tamed mobs were to be allowed into Element City. Only players who had been members of the Noctem Alliance would be allowed to live freely within the walls. Not that the villagers knew this, though. The only thing they knew was that at some point, the iron door on the ground would open again, and it would be time to feast.

Sure enough, the door did eventually scrape open, and Mella and Stull glanced at it. Through the frame marched a player, a bronze skin showing under his black armour, followed by another black-clad player with a thunderbolt across his red face, and around twenty players in soldier uniforms. The Zombies were beside themselves in anticipation. They had never seen so many players in one place before.

“Are you sure about this?” the lightning-faced player asked, turning to face G.

“Hey, don’t look at me,” said G, sounding annoyed as he gave a noncommittal shrug. “I’m just following what General Tess told me.”

“Yeah, but I heard something totally different,” the player replied, sounding confused. “She told me to bring these players to the firing squad, not the Zombie chamber. And it makes more sense to do it that way. I mean, there are way too many players here for the Zombies to eat all of them at once.”

“Look, Zingster,” G retorted, looking Corporal Zingster directly in the face. “I just came down from talking to Tess, and she told me that she wants me to knock out these players and let the Zombies have them.”

“But—”

“But nothing!” G spat at him. “As of today, I outrank you, Corporal, so you’ll do what I say!”

Corporal Zingster stared at G for a moment.

“Yes, sir, Captain MasterBronze,” the Corporal replied, giving a respectful salute before backing out of the room, the door closing behind him.

Wasting no time, G started rummaging through his inventory. He knew that it would only be a little while before Corporal Zingster discovered that he wasn’t really a captain like he had said. G hated that he’d had to lie to Zingster like that; it was just another complication to be thrown into the plan, but he knew that it was the only way to ensure that Zingster obeyed him without question. In any case, it didn’t matter now. If this plan worked out, he would most likely never see Zingster or Tess again until they met on the battlefield.

“Take these!” G said, as the horde of captive soldiers, who had been looking on in terrified silence, now stared at him in surprise. From his inventory, he threw dozens of pickaxes into the crowd, which he had looted from the supply room.

One of the soldiers caught the pickaxe, and looked it over uncomprehendingly before returning his gaze back to G.

“Who are you?” he asked in awe.

“My name is Goldman2,” G replied hastily. “I’m a spy for Elementia and a member of the Element City Council of Eight, and we’re busting out of here.”

Instantly, a ripple of excitement spread throughout the crowd, though, with the discipline of the soldiers they were, they remained quiet. G continued to look through the supplies he had stolen until he found what he was looking for. He held a liquid Potion of Weakness in his right hand, and had a golden apple on standby. G turned to face the two zombies, who had been looking at him expectantly since his arrival.

“Come here, Mella and Stull,” G called out to them like dogs. “It’s time to eat.”

Their eyes flashed red with excitement as they lumbered towards G. Then, when they were a few blocks away, G launched the Potion of Weakness in their direction. The glass bottle shattered on the ground, enveloping the two villagers in a cloud of fumes. The two forms of the villagers stumbled around in confusion within the cloud for a few seconds before falling to the ground. Without hesitation, G took a deep breath and sprinted into the cloud. He shoved the golden apple down the throat of Mella, and then drew a second golden apple and did the same to Stull. The mother and son sputtered for a minute, before falling unconscious to the ground, golden wisps of smoke curling up off their bodies.

G barrelled out of the smoke, and finally allowed himself to breathe in the fresh, nontoxic air. After he had regained his breath, he turned to face the soldiers, who were all looking at him.

“Start digging,” G commanded. He pulled a compass from his inventory, glanced at it, and then pointed toward the left wall of the room. “Aim that way. And hurry up, we don’t have much time before the Noctems discover that we’re gone.”

The soldiers nodded and immediately began to tunnel into the ground, creating a sizable staircase down into the underground in a matter of seconds. G called over to a few soldiers to help him carry the shuddering Zombie villagers, who were slowly but surely becoming less and less green. Two of them hoisted Mella up over their shoulders, while the other scooped up Stull in her arms.

As the last of the soldiers disappeared down into the tunnel, G gave a sigh of relief. He couldn’t believe how well his plan had worked, and allowed himself a moment of self-congratulation. Then, he picked up a handful of loose cobblestones on the ground, descended into the tunnel and placed the blocks back into the floor. The room was now identical to how it had looked just minutes before, save the absence of the two Zombie villagers who were nearly cured and en route back to Element City.

Lord Tenebris looked around the Element Castle council room, upon the stone-brick table of the Council of Operators. He found it odd that when Stan2012 had taken control of Element City, he had not destroyed the throne, which Lord Tenebris now sat on. Perhaps he had kept it as a reminder of King Kev’s rule, so that the decisions that they made should never allow a monarch to rule Elementia ever again. In any case, Lord Tenebris couldn’t help but feel an innate sense of contentedness sitting on the throne. He had waited so long, and worked so hard for this throne, that, no matter who sat on it, he knew that it would always truly be his.

The feeling of satisfaction only lasted for a moment, however, before Lord Tenebris’s dormant rage swelled back up. As relieved as he was that the Noctem Alliance had now conquered the entire server of Elementia, it was still inexcusable that Stan2012 had not been located yet. Furthermore, although the citizen population within the city was locked in their houses under quarantine, it was obvious that not all of them were there. A good number of the Element City citizens had clearly escaped to somewhere.

The five-note doorbell, ringing out through the unseen note blocks, signalled that somebody was at the door. Lord Tenebris reached down to a button on the side of his throne and clicked it. Within seconds the redstone circuit executed its job, and the iron door swung open.

Through the open door frame marched eight figures. The five players dressed as hostile mobs, who Lord Tenebris knew to be called ELM, dropped their jaws in awe. Lord Tenebris was familiar with this reaction. It was typical for players to respond this way upon first laying eyes on him. He hardly cared about them, however. Lord Tenebris was far more focused on his generals, Drake, Tess and Spyro, as they proceeded past the council table and knelt before him.

“Greetings, my generals,” Lord Tenebris said unemotionally as he looked down upon them.

“Greetings, my lord,” all three generals responded in unison, still looking down at the ground.

“First and foremost, I would like to congratulate you on the work you have done,” Lord Tenebris continued. “At long last, after months of planning, of struggling and of toiling, we have done it. The Noctem Alliance has conquered Elementia. The dreams of King Kev have now been realized, and we are on the threshold of creating a perfect server, where those who have earned their place reign supreme, and the weak are in their equally rightful place. I could not have accomplished this vision without your undying loyalty.”

“Thank you, my lord,” all three generals replied again, their voices full of elation. To be directly praised and thanked by Lord Tenebris himself – it was more wonderful than they could have ever imagined.

“However,” Lord Tenebris continued, his voice suddenly full of anger, causing all in the vicinity to look up in alarm, “the fact that we have accomplished so much is irrelevant next to the fact that Stan2012, his military leaders and his council members are still at large! I will have you know that I blame each of you for this failure.”

“My lord,” Drake replied submissively, terror in his voice, “I assure you, I have been doing all that I—”

“Silence, Drake,” Lord Tenebris hissed, and instantly Drake stared back at the ground in shame, shaking in horror. “I shall get to you in a moment.” First, he turned to face Tess. She had been looking up at him in respect, but now she looked to the side, finding it impossible to meet his empty, white eyes.

“I admit, Tess, that out of the three of you,” Lord Tenebris spoke on, “it is you with whom I take the least umbrage. You have done a perfectly respectable job in your rearing of the new recruits, and during your time as a commander on the front lines, you were properly able to keep Element City under lockdown while I prepared the Withers for the final strike.”

“Thank you, my lord,” Tess replied, trying to sound as humble as possible.

“That does not excuse the fact,” Lord Tenebris continued, “that the highway through the Nether has yet to be completed. I’m sure I don’t need to reiterate how much easier it would be to find Stan if our soldiers could easily fast-travel all throughout the server.”

“I apologize, my lord,” Tess replied, sinking into a deep bow, “but it’s been very difficult. The more troops that leave Nocturia to join the occupation of Element City, the longer work will be delayed. I’ve even forced the new recruits to mine for Nether quartz, rather than training them, so that I would have more soldiers available for construction of the highway.”

“Do not expect any lenience from me, Tess. It’s been over a month now!” Lord Tenebris said, not raising his voice, but still commanding enough power to echo throughout the council room. “Either force your people to work faster or I will make an example of you to inspire their work ethic.”

Tess gulped in fear, but still managed to get out, “I understand, my lord. Thank you for your mercy.”

“You, Spyro,” Lord Tenebris continued, glaring down at Spyro, who shuddered as he forced himself to look up.

“I am extremely disappointed in you. The fact that four prisoners escaped from Fungarus and you were not able to stop them is unforgivable. I would think that after I gave Drake what he deserved for allowing the escape, you would do all in your power to ensure that they were captured.”

Drake’s face returned to a grotesque wince as he remembered the sheer agony that Lord Tenebris had put him through as punishment for his mistake.

“My lord … I apologize most dearly. I did send many of my forces out into the ocean to search for them … I would have sent all that I could, if I weren’t preoccupied with the revolution on the Lesser Mushroom Island—”

“That is no excuse!” Lord Tenebris replied, glaring down at Spyro. “Your army should have no difficulty in subduing the ruffians of that island, especially after the Great Purge.”

“Well, there was no trouble at first!” Spyro replied, his eyes wide with fear. “We kept the republic citizens as hostages, as you requested, while we hunted through the remains of the city for those Lesser Tribesmen who had escaped the Purge. But now, the republic citizens and the surviving Tribesmen have begun to fight back! They’ve rallied around a leader who calls herself Goddess Olea, and even though we’ve done all we—”

Spyro cut off in midsentence, and his hands flew to his throat. A small choking sound escaped his mouth, and Drake and Tess, who were watching him in horror, whipped around to face Lord Tenebris, who was leaning forwards and glaring intently at Spyro. The white-eyed demon surveyed his prey with emotionless eyes as Spyro began to levitate into the air, his eyes bulging and his legs flailing.

“Perhaps you don’t understand me,” Lord Tenebris said in a deadpan as Spyro continued to struggle. “The rebellion in the Mushroom Islands will be eradicated in a timely manner. Do you understand, General?”

There was a moment of tense silence, broken only by the continued coughing and sputtering of Spyro. Then, a raspy “yes” managed to escape his throat, and Lord Tenebris relaxed his gaze, leaning back in his throne. The Noctem general crashed to the ground, lying still for a moment before finally raising himself onto shaking hands and knees, coughing and taking in deep breaths.

“Thank you … my lord …,” Spyro croaked, “for your … forgiveness …”

“Enough of your grovelling, Spyro,” Lord Tenebris replied lazily. Then, Lord Tenebris turned his head very slowly, until finally, his vacant white eyes landed on Drake, who cowered in dread.

“General Drake,” Lord Tenebris said slowly. “I’m sure that you remember what I said, regarding what I would do to you if Stan2012 was not in my custody by the next time we met.”

“My lord,” Drake stammered, “I can explain—”

“Tread carefully, Drake,” Lord Tenebris said, in a voice that was nearly a whisper, which was somehow ten times more terrifying than if he were yelling. “You’re one wrong step away from feeling the full extent of my wrath.”

“My lord, I beg you to hear me out,” Drake pleaded, looking up at Lord Tenebris, forcing himself to look into his eyes, only to glance away a moment later before continuing. “I’ve been leading your invasion force during the entire campaign against Element City. I’ve graciously accepted the task of being your eyes and ears on the battlefield, and as a result, the entirety of Elementia is now under your command.”

“That does not change the fact that Stan2012 is still at large,” Lord Tenebris replied, a slight taunting sound in his voice.

“Please, my lord,” Drake simpered on. “I’ve hired the most renowned assassin team in Elementia to hunt Stan2012 for me. If they’ve been unable to apprehend him … well, then I’m not sure what we’re to do.”

Lord Tenebris gave a slow nod and looked down at the floor, as if he were debating something in his mind. The entire room, especially Drake, waited with bated breath for him to speak. Finally, Lord Tenebris raised his head.

“You five, back there … come forward, please.”

The three generals spun around to face the back of the room, and their eyes fell on the five mobhunters of ELM. The jaws of Arachnia, Enderchick and Creeper Khan dropped to the floor. Lord Marrow’s eyebrows raised slightly, while Zomboy’s face lit up, like a teacher’s pet who had just been called on in school. However, none of them hesitated in walking forwards, around the council table, and standing in a line behind the three Noctem generals.

“You are the assassins that General Drake has hired to capture Stan2012?”

“Yes, sir,” Arachnia replied, stepping forwards and keeping remarkably well poised given how terrified she was to be speaking to this monster. “My name is Arachnia, leader of the Elite Legion of Mobhunters, the most renowned bounty hunters in Elementia.”

“Indeed,” Lord Tenebris replied, nodding slowly. “And you have encountered Stan2012 multiple times since you have started hunting him, yes?”

“This … is true, sir,” Arachnia replied, recovering from her horror that Lord Tenebris knew this. “We have encountered Stan2012 twice since we started hunting him. Both times, he was joined by accomplices, and he managed to evade our grasp. As I’m sure you are well aware, sir, Stan and his friends are the highest-calibre fighters in all of Minecraft … regardless, we are still hot on the trail of—”

BOOOOM!

The massive explosion knocked Arachnia to the side and into Enderchick, while Creeper Khan tumbled to the ground. Lord Tenebris’s hand was still pointed towards the spot where, just seconds before, Zomboy had stood next to Arachnia; there was nothing but a cloud of black smoke there now. Slowly, the smoke wafted away, allowing the seven players on the floor to stare in blank shock at the body of Zomboy lying dead on the stone brick floor, his items in a ring around him.

There was a moment of silence as nobody moved a muscle. The four remaining were unable to process the fact that their team-mate, who had been modded to be twenty times as hardy as a normal player, had just been taken out in one shot. Lord Tenebris lowered his hand.

“Your services will no longer be required,” Lord Tenebris said coldly. “Leave my presence now if you know what’s good for you.”

There was no hesitation. Within seconds the room was cleared of the four mobhunters, all of whom glanced down in disbelief at Zomboy’s body before exiting through the door. Not a second after Creeper Khan left and closed the door behind him, the body of Zomboy vanished, leaving only his various items on the ground. However, even when the mobhunters were completely gone, the three generals still couldn’t help but stare at the ring of items, jaws dropped and traumatized looks on their faces. In front of them, Lord Tenebris gave a satisfied smile.

Perhaps now they will take their work a little bit more seriously, he thought to himself.

“We are changing our tactics,” Lord Tenebris announced, causing Tess, Drake and Spyro to turn back towards him. “It’s about time that we ended this war once and for all. Drake!”

“Yes, Your Glory?” Drake replied, bowing to the floor and looking up at him.

“I believe that it’s about time that we reunite the people of Element City. You know where Mecha11, the police chiefs and the rest of the population of Element City are hiding, correct?”

“Yes, indeed, my lord,” Drake replied hastily, as if Lord Tenebris would be more impressed the faster he delivered the information. “They’re located in a cave they dug below the city, and I know where the entrance is. It’s in the side of a hill right outside this castle, as a matter of fact. I’ve known ever since—”

“Silence,” Lord Tenebris ordered, to which Drake looked to the ground in shame. “It’s time for action. Drake, prepare the troops in the city to lead an attack on the underground bunker. Spyro, return to the Mushroom Islands, and put down the resistance there within the next week. Tess, return to Nocturia, and order half your troops to march to Element City. Send the two villagers with them, and I’ll send the third one your way, with whom I will expect you to start to create a massive army of mobs. You will have the troops here by tomorrow.”

“But … my lord!” cried out Tess in surprise, as Spyro stared at Lord Tenebris in confusion. “I won’t be able to transport all my troops to Nocturia in one day. Even if the highway through the Nether was completed, I couldn’t do that! And it will take General Spyro at least three days to make his way to the Mushroom Islands …”

Lord Tenebris smiled. “Don’t fret, my generals … Lord Tenebris would never ask something impossible of his underlings.”

And with that, Lord Tenebris stood up from his throne and stretched out his hands: one towards Tess and the other towards Spyro. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tightened his focus. Then, in one instant, his eyes flew open, and he released all the tension in his body. Tess and Spyro’s bodies flashed for a moment, and then, in the blink of an eye, they were gone.

Drake glanced around wildly, trying to figure out what had happened. The thought that Lord Tenebris may have just killed his two comrades flashed across his mind, but just as he was about to let out a shout of horror, the sound of Lord Tenebris’s voice echoed throughout the room.

“Do not concern yourself with them, Drake. I have merely used my abilities to transfer your two fellow generals to exactly where they needed to be. Tess is now in her office in Nocturia, while Spyro is in the Capitol Building of the Lesser Mushroom Island.”

Drake’s mind took a moment to comprehend what Lord Tenebris had just said, but as soon as he did, he stared up at him, awed by this incredible display of power. Lord Tenebris allowed Drake a moment of marvelling before glaring down at him. The second his piercing white eyes met Drake’s, the general cringed yet again.

“Now, go, Drake, and prepare the armies of Elementia for the invasion of the bunker. The end of the war is near.”

Drake gave a zealous nod of agreement, and with that, he stood up and was out the door of the council room within seconds, the iron door slamming shut behind him.

The stone-block command room was silent as the players filed in. Stan took a seat at the head of the makeshift cobblestone table as Kat, the Mechanist and Commander Crunch sat down around the other sides. Ben, Leonidas, Cassandrix and Sirus stood against the stone wall behind them, while Bob sat beside his brother on Ivanhoe, Rex sitting obediently beside them. Only Charlie, who was getting his leg checked out by a medical team, was missing.

“First off,” Stan said, as he looked around the room, meeting the eyes of each individual player, “I would like to say how happy I am to finally be back here with you guys. You’re all like family to me, and there’s nobody else that I’d rather be defending my home with than you. And even though … we’ve lost …”

Stan took a deep breath, and fought to retain his composure. Although this was the first time that he had spoken to this entire group since he returned to the mines, the knowledge of which of their comrades had fallen since they last met had spread through the group rather quickly. The memories of DZ, Bill and so many more whose fates were unsure still lingered in his memory as he continued his speech.

“… and even though we’ve lost many brave players along the way, it is our duty to ensure that their deaths weren’t in vain. Though it’s true that during the course of this war, the Noctem Alliance has pushed us to the brink of extinction, one crucial fact remains true: we’re still here.

“The republic – the true government of Elementia, which is willing to fight to the death to defend the principles of equality for all – is still alive and well. My friends, we are that government. And it’s our mission to take back our city and once again turn Elementia into the place that its founders intended it to be. We have been hiding, defending and running from the Noctem Alliance for far too long. The time has come, my friends, to fight back.”

There were nods and murmurs of assent around the table, as looks of grim determination took to the faces of all in the vicinity. Everybody knew that what Stan was suggesting wouldn’t be easy … or perhaps even possible. But they also knew that he was right. They couldn’t hide forever, and sooner or later, they would have to retaliate.

“Ben, Bob,” Stan said inquisitively, looking at the two police chiefs. “Do you have a prediction on how long it will be before the Noctem Alliance discovers this cave?”

“Well, I doubt that they’ll find us anytime soon,” Bob replied reasonably. “This bunker is pretty far underground, and it’s far away from Element City’s active mines. When we closed the bunker, the pistons shifted the dirt blocks to make the hill look totally natural, so they’d never recognize it as a mine entrance. You can thank the Mechanist’s redstone designs for that.”

Several players gave a nod of congratulations to the Mechanist, who glanced down at the table, as if he were embarrassed. Stan found this odd; the Mechanist had never had any false modesty regarding his redstone creations before (although he had never been excessively braggy either). In any case, it didn’t matter. They had a game plan to assemble.

“OK, I trust your judgment,” Stan said to Bob, nodding in approval. “If that’s the case, then we’ve probably got a little bit of time to get a plan together. Now, here’s the question: what do we do?”

“Well, where’s the best place in the city to strike?” Kat asked. “We have enough manpower down here to take at least part of the city back by force, and then at least we’ll be above ground and have access to resources again.”

“I don’t think that will work,” Ben replied gravely. “We’ve been sending spies out into the city to monitor the Noctem occupation, and it seems like they’ve formed some sort of impenetrable web across the city. Their military operations run like clockwork; if we try to invade part of the city at dusk, we’ll have the entire force of the Noctem Army bearing down on us by morning.”

“I have an idea,” a voice came from behind the players. They turned around and saw Charlie. He hobbled across the room into his chair.

“What did TrumpetBlaster say about your leg?” Bob asked anxiously, as Ivanhoe gave a grunt from beneath him.

“I didn’t go,” he replied, a dark look on his face. “I heard that you guys were having a meeting to discuss what to do next, and I figured that I should be there. I’ll go see him afterwards. Anyway, did I hear you say that you’re looking for an idea of how to take back Element City?”

Stan nodded. “What’s your idea?”

“Well, what if we at least tried to sneak into the city under the radar?” Charlie asked, his face lighting up. “If we somehow managed to get a bunch of footholds all across the city – you know, like, take over houses in a bunch of different parts of the city – then we could launch an attack from all over the city at once.”

“Negatory, sir,” Bob said, shaking his head. “The Noctem Alliance would never let an operation like that go undetected. Their surveillance is incredible, and they have invisible troops stationed all over the city, on the lookout for anything suspicious. We can only send out one spy at a time because their security is so tight. We’d never be able to carry out an operation that big without them noticing.”

“Now hold on a sec, I think Charlie’s idea could still work!” Leonidas replied thoughtfully. “I mean, maybe if we were extra careful, and only let a few of our guys into the city at …”

“He said it wouldn’t work, Leonidas, so drop it!” Charlie spat, glaring at Leonidas. All eyes in the room turned to Charlie, caught totally off guard by this alarming display of hostility. However, when Charlie looked up, his face showed nothing but crestfallen depression, and there was a collective, unspoken decision around the room to forget that it had happened.

Nonetheless, though the conversation continued, Leonidas found himself staring at Charlie. He had tried to be polite to Charlie, to try to get around whatever it was that he was holding against Leonidas. Clearly it wasn’t working, leaving Leonidas to wonder if his efforts to befriend Charlie would ever pan out.

“So what should we do?” Charlie demanded, an urgent tone in his voice. “We need to get out of this stupid cave, and we have to do it fast! The Noctem Alliance is going to bust in here any—”

“Hold on a moment,” Cassandrix cut in, her eyes lighting up and a smile crossing her face.

“What is it?” Stan asked, as the entire room turned to look at her.

“Charlie, you seem to be experienced in underground navigation,” she said slowly, and Stan could see the gears whirring in her head. “How long do you think it would take to dig a tunnel to the Adorian Village from here?”

“I don’t know,” Charlie sighed, still looking crestfallen. “A couple of days, maybe …”

“Then that’s what we ought to do!” Cassandrix exclaimed. “We should dig a tunnel and invade the Adorian Village! They’ll never be expecting that!”

There was a moment of silence as the idea sank in. Then, Ben spoke up.

“Cassandrix … that’s brilliant! All of the Noctem Alliance’s attention is focused on securing Element City. They’ll never be prepared for an attack on the Adorian Village. And once we take control of the village, we can use the resources stored there to launch an assault on Element City!”

“Hold your horses, Ben,” Bob cut in, turning to face his brother. “I think that this is a good plan, except for one thing. The citizens that we have down here in the mine aren’t all soldiers. Not only that, but being down here for so long has done a number on them. Before we reveal ourselves, we have to be sure that those who aren’t able to fight have somewhere safe to go. The second we invade the Adorian Village, it’s going to turn into a combat zone.”

“Well, why don’t we just have them stay in the cave for now?” Kat suggested. “You just got through saying that the cave is probably gonna be safe for a while, Bob.”

“Uh … guys?” Charlie said slowly, sounding mortified, as if he were on the verge of divulging classified information. “I … um … really don’t think that this cave is safe. I think that we should leave … like … as soon as physically possible.”

“What are you trying to say, Charlie?” Leonidas asked, not sure that he wanted to hear the answer.

He was cut off by an ear-splitting explosion.

The blast shook the walls. Seconds later, the sounds of terrified screams started to ring through the air, followed by a second explosion. Stan leaped to his feet and dashed onto the balcony, his friends hot on his tail.

He looked wildly around the basin of the cave and saw people running around panicking but no visible signs of damage. A third explosion rattled the cave, but yet again, Stan could see no damage.

“What’s going on?” he yelled to his police chiefs, struggling to make himself heard over the sound of yet another explosion.

The two brothers sputtered in confusion, trying to piece together what was happening. Suddenly, a soldier burst onto the balcony through the door. Ben whipped around to face him.

“Private! What’s going on here? What’s the meaning of the explosions?”

The private gulped, took a deep breath, and spoke.

“It’s the Noctem Alliance, sir. They’ve found us, and the Wither is blasting its way in.”