Steve slowly walked, stifling the groans of pain formed from the wounds that littered his body. Normally, a healing potion would be enough to still his agony, but unfortunately, he had no healing or regeneration potions on his person and while his natural mending was healing his injuries, it did nothing to dull the pain.
Soon, the sand beneath his feet changed to grass and dirt. Looking up, Steve’s heart gave a leap of joy as his home came into to view. It was a the equivalent of a small mansion of three floors, not including the basement Steve had added a while back for storage. It was all comprised of oak planks and logs, with big glass windows, while the bottom floor was comprised of cobblestone to combat wildfires. A large stone chimney was still billowing smoke.
Coming to his front door, he gently pushed it open, walking inside, then closing it behind him. Letting a groan escape his lips, he sank to his knees, then collapsed to the floor. A squeak of fear came from his right, followed by a frantic, sloshing shuffling that quickly approached his spot. Something grabbed Steve’s shoulder.
Opening his eyes, he saw Hank, his resident snow golem, vigorously shaking his shoulder with his wooden limbs. Hank let out a long series of squeaks. Steve’s ears picked up the sound of heavy thudding, and a metallic moan. He found himself being picked up by none other than Bert, the iron golem. Steve’s gaze landed on Berts, and he internally winced at the usually expression-less face, filled with worry. Giving him a pained smile, Steve gently patted Berts iron arm as his consciousness slowly began slipping away and darkness greeted him.
* * * * *
Steve slashed his sword down, cutting the zombie down. Turning, he barely had time to dodge an arrow from a skeleton before an arrow found itself burrowed in it’s skull, causing it to collapse.
“That’s what I call getting the point!” a voice from behind Steve called out. Giving a sigh of exasperation, Steve turned to his companion, giving him a deadpan expression.
“Point? Really? I swear, Shef, your puns are getting worse and worse the longer we’re out here.” Steve admonished, while sideswiping an attacking spider.
“So, as long as I’m kicking, the puns will continue.” Shef responded, firing an arrow that caught a zombie right between the eyes.
“Yeah, yeah.”, Steve conceded. Taking a quick look into his inventory, Steve grinned. “Hey, Shef, got my quota, how about you?” Firing off another arrow, Shef opened up his inventory. After a few moments, he grinned as well.
“Got more than enough! What do you say, we head back to town?”
“You know it! Last one there’s a spider eye!” Steve yelled, already running off in the direction of home. However, his blood turned to ice as he heard a loud hiss and a cry of surprise and pain.
Whirling around, Steve’s gaze locked on the black spider that was chomping down on Shef’s arm. Pulling out his sword, Steve ran and swung his sword, the blade cutting into the spider's face, knocking it onto it’s back. Before it could react, Steve raised his blade, then slammed it down into it’s soft underbelly. It gave one final hiss, then stopped moving, dead.
Steve had barely gotten to his feet when two things happened at almost the same time. One, he heard something, a soft sizzle, almost like a steak cooking in a furnace. Second, Shef let out a loud, “OH SHIT!!”, before a loud explosion knocked Steve off his feet. He flew forward, whirling head over heels before slamming into something hard and he lost consciousness.
When he awoke, it was still dark. Groaning, he shakily stood, rubbing his head, Looking around, he saw a large crater in the middle of the clearing they were in.
“Creeper.”, Steve muttered to himself. “So that’s what that sizzle was. Wait, Shef!!”
Frantically searching around, he eventually found Shef’s prone form, laying on his stomach. Rolling him over, Steve his hand under Shef’s nose, trying to feel any form of breathing.
For one slow, agonizing, heart-bursting moment, there was nothing.
Then Steve felt a small puff of air, causing him to give a sigh of relief. He was still alive, just knocked out.
Getting up, he picked Shef up, then laid him over his shoulder. Pulling out his sword, he slowly began to make his trek back, being careful of his fragile cargo.
* * * * *
Steve’s lungs were pumping, but refused to stop due to his seemingly infinite stamina, which was good, because he wasn’t going to stop anytime soon. His friends lives depended on it.
Leaping over a fallen log, he yelled to his companions.
“Just a little bit further everyone!! We’ll be there soon!” They all gave tired sighs of acknowledgement, but continued on. Not much longer, their destination came into view.
It was a large facility. Comprised of stone, cobblestone and obsidian, Bunker Sam was designed to keep intruders out. Unfortunately for Steve and his group, they didn’t have much choice in the matter, since Lily had been captured and taken there by The Militia. Not only her, but as they had found out, dozens of other crafters had been kidnapped for work and manual labor.
As they neared, one of the group members, John was his name, announced his concern.
“Wouldn’t stealth be a much safer option?”
“Under normal circumstances, no! That place is gonna blow soon, So we need to get in fast! Remember, stick to the plan, and everything should be…!?”
Steve was cut off as an earth-shattering explosion shook the very ground they stood on. Eyes wide, he looked in shock as explosions ripped through the various buildings, fire and smoke already billowing into the sky.
The group stopped, staring in horror at the catastrophe happening before their eyes.
“LIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!”, Steve screamed, his cry echoing out into the night, as he ran towards the fires and the screams, his group following close behind.
* * * * *
Steve fell to his knees, his warm blood dripping onto the warm floor, mixing with the tears that fell. All he could do was look around, staring at the death, destruction, the bodies. He couldn’t comprehend it. It couldn’t be true.
He heard footsteps behind him, but he didn't respond, simply, kneeling on the nether brick floor, a disgusting, blood/tear mixture forming at his knees.
“I’m sorry.”, came a voice from behind him. “I didn’t realize that you… “, the voice trailed off.
A hand fell on Steve’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
Steve didn't respond, choosing instead to sob, falling onto his hands. Silence reigned for a while, save for the burning of distant fires and Steve’s choked sobs.
Eventually, the voice spoke again.
“My time is fading. As much as it pains me to do this, I must leave.” The footsteps start receding.
“Tell me,” Steve spoke, “is there something after this life? Will I ever see them again?”
Silence for a moment. And then.
“Yes. When your time comes, you’ll see your friends and family again.”
Then silence.
* * * * *
Steve sat up, panting heavily. Looking around, he saw he was back in his house in the Everfree forest. Sighing, he laid back in his bed, rubbing his face. Steadying his breathing, he shifted the blanket, and fell back asleep, his soft snores soon filling the small home.