Poisoned

Prologue
Once, in Minecraft, there were two brothers who lived simple lives as miners in a small wooden house. They cared deeply and were loyal to each other, sworn to never commit a betrayal for one’s benefit. Their names were Jonathan and Brian.

Jonathan was the dominant brother, the alpha who was mostly responsible for the decisions the brothers make and the safety of the group. Jonathan had messy brown hair curled and tangled in random directions, and emerald eyes which matched his green shirt, and wore brown pants. Jonathan was half a block taller than Brian, and was a muscular individual for his age.

Brian, on the other hand, was more of a follower to his brother’s leadership. Brian sometimes get tired of being bossed around, but ironically most of the time he would wait constantly for Jonathan to command him, only to be told to think for himself in small situations. Brian had groomed, clean brown hair which contrasts Jonathan’s hair, had sapphire eyes, and wore a light blue shirt and a pair of ocean blue jeans.

The tale of these two brothers would continue happily and peacefully, their trust and loyalty being the building blocks of their success in mining and nothing stopping them in their way.

Yet.

Poisoned
”Brian!”

Jonathan’s call echoed throughout their house, as if his voice was amplified with a megaphone. Brian had fallen asleep from waiting for his raw porkchop to be cooked in the furnace, but the reaction was instant. Opening his eyes, he rushed out of the room to the source of the sound. Outside, Brian thought, and made his way to the entrance. Taking a deep breath, Brian opened the wooden door with a clanging noise. The sight was beautiful. The grass and flowers were dancing in the wind, with the oak trees standing tall, unmoving. The glowing sun stared back at Brian when he looked up, and the clouds slowly moved as if time was decelerated.

”Brian?” Jonathan exclaimed. Brian shook his head, and looked at his brother in front of him. “Sorry.” Brian mumbled, rubbing his forehead. “Didn’t have a good night‘s sleep yesterday.” “Oh, it’s fine, unless you do anything crazy.” Jonathan replied. “Anyways, we’re going to run out of coal soon. If we don’t get enough of them soon there’s not going to be enough power to fuel our furnaces.” “Ok?” said Brian. “So I’m going to ask you a favor to go get coal.” said Jonathan. ”I’ll look for coal from the northern cavern, you take the east.” Jonathan, being the protective brother, asked Brian to take coal from the eastern cavern as it is the safest place for mining, while others such as the West and the North were confusing mazes of death; burning hot lava spewing and deadly mobs awaiting for any human to come, but the price was worth the risk. “Yeah, sure.” Brian answered. “Take care, brother. The northern carvern is pretty dangerous.” “Don’t worry about me!” Jonathan said as he put on his iron helmet, which was dazzling with the sunlight. “Worry about yourself!” And with that, Jonathan grabbed his iron pickaxe and sword, and walked over the horizon on his way to the cavern.

It had been almost night time since Brian left the house to mine coal. He had himself clad in iron armour, and was walking towards the eastern cavern. It was a large gaping hole on the surface of a small mountain, and looked menancing enough to send waves of shivers down Brian’s spine. As scared as he was determined, he walked with caution to the depths of the carvern like to the insides of a gigantic creature. The entrance was already dark enough to make Brian lose sight of everything. Pretty dark and cold in here, he thought, and so placed a glowing torch near the wall. The light illuminated the cave, revealing wild bats hanging from the ceiling and the path to the depths. “Here goes nothing,” Brian murmured to himself and approached the depths, placing a torch in each step he takes, bringing light to the darkness hiding the unknown.

Half past ten. It was clearly night. Brian had still been finding coal, but there were none to be found even in the deepest depths. He was late for dinner, and didn’t even know if Jonathan will be at home waiting for him. Just as Brian was at the verge of giving up, he spotted coal at the edge of his eye. Relieved, he looked at the spot he thought there was coal. It was a spot rich in coal ore, and Brian couldn’t wait to show Jonathan how much he had mined.

Eleven o’ clock. Brian had gained many coal, and was now good to go back home. As he traced back his torches to find the way out, he suddenly faced darkness. His torches were gone, as if they were never placed. Brian was deeply confused and panicked. If he couldn’t find a source of light, he isn’t going to go anywhere. Luckily, he had brought a flint and steel with him, although it wouldn’t last as much as a torch. For the past five minutes, he had been lighting stone on fire for sources of light, and the thick smoke made him cough every time he used his flint and steel. Yes, he thought. There was another source of light ahead. Moonlight. Brian had almost made it. He started rushing, when suddenly, a low growling noise emerged from behind.

Frozen in his tracks, he slowly looked back at whatever caused the noise. A pair of dark thin legs emerged, emitting strange purple particles. Brian looked up, and found out the creature’s head and torso. It was insanely tall for his standards, and its pitch black hide made the creature blend in with the darkness. Its arms were no different from its legs; long and stretched. Whatever this thing was, it was unlike any mob Brian had faced. Quickly, he took out his journal and flipped through the pages furiously to see if the creature matched any information of his data on monsters. None. Suddenly, the creature disappeared, making a low hissing noise. Brian, becoming anxious, turned around to get out of the cave, when the creature reappeared in front of him. Brian, panicking, looked up to its face. The creature had ominous purple eyes that looked like portals to hell, and sharp teeth that could tear flesh and bone apart in mere seconds. The creature stared back at Brian, and found him looking at its face. Seemingly enraged, it slowly opened its jaws and made a low growling noise, getting louder with each passing second.

Brian, unsure what to do, turned to the depths of the cave and ran, his fast footsteps ringing in his ears. The hissing was still behind him, chasing Brian down. Brian had been running with the monster in hot pursuit, until his legs finally take a toll on his body; He tripped and fell. The creature, now having caught Brian, grabbed him by the neck, and glared at him with blazing eyes, as if daring Brian to look at it again. Brian, clearly making a mistake, looked at the creature again. The monster threw Brian against the wall with such power it made him cough out blood. The creature then jumped on Brian, and grabbed him by the face.

Brian was feeling nauseous and dizzy, but he could hear a low hissing noise turn into words in his head:

”''My face is not to be seen, fleshling. Those who have seen are all dead, and you are to repay your mistake with your life.”''

The creature now has Brian’s head in its hands, gripping so tight he felt his skull almost breaking inside. Brian tried screaming for help, but nothing came out of his mouth, only a faint whisper.

”However, you will not die the death you wish for.”

”You will die a slow, painful death.”

And with that, the monster, using its sharp black claws, ripped out Brian’s eyes. Blood rushed out as Brian’s eyeballs are pulled out of their sockets, bathing his face in a crimson red. Brian, overcome with the immense pain, screamed in agony. The creature made a chuckling noise in satisfaction.

”For seeing my face, your sight must be cleansed, so you will never see the light again.“

''”You will die as a pathetic blind thing, a useless creature with nothing to help it. You will not be able to find food, as you will never be able to see one. And now, if you were to ever survive, I shall now rip open your stomach and you will bleed until you are dry like a leaf without water.”''

Brian, gathering all his remaining power, yelled out for his brother, ”JONATHAN!!!”

Suddenly, an arrow shot out from the entrance of the cave and pierced the monster. The monster roared in pain, and looked at the new threat it was facing.

”Get away from him, you miserable thing!” Jonathan stood at the entrance tall and brave, with a bow in one hand and an arrow in the other. The monster approached Jonathan, throwing Brian to the side. Jonathan, filled with anger, loaded an arrow and released the string, making a humming sound. The creature disappeared just as the arrow was shot, and appeared behind Jonathan, trying to attack from his blind spot. However, Jonathan was ready. At the last second, he took out a bucket of water and poured it around him. The water made the creature growl in terror, making its skin sizzle as the water touches it. The creature finally being driven out by water teleported away, leaving floating purple particles.

“Brian! What happened to you?” Jonathan yelled as he came running for his brother. Brian, losing conscious slowly, smiled at his brother’s arrival, which then slowly faded as he fainted.

To be continued...