Day 3

Early into the next day I heard Beth’s voice suddenly. She was calling for me. I took off running into the storm, leaving the fire going inside the cave so I could find my way back.

The wind had picked up and almost knocked me off my feet. I remained steady and held onto a tree trunk as I called out Beth’s name. I heard her voice again in the distance. Walking against the wind, I tried to follow the sound.

But the wind was carrying her voice. Any time she called for me, it sounded as if she was in a new direction. The wind was getting so strong that it was howling like a monster in my ear. I couldn’t see the fire from the cave any longer.

I tried calling her name but there was no reply. I took a step forward and then there was a flash of lightning so bright that for a split-second I could see the woods around me. There was a terrible cracking noise of a tree branch being hit.

And then everything went dark.

I started dreaming right after. One second, I was in the woods and the next second, I was pulled into a dream. I was floating high in the sky but the sky was pink like a candy. Below me, the entire Overworld was flooded. I could see the tips of the larger cities poking out of the water – the tall buildings that could make it out of the surface of the water.

How had this happened? I had no answers – I was just drifting across the sky, watching the way the Overworld had changed. There was something in the distance. Some sort of hulking building that was on the top of the water instead of underneath. What was that?

But before I could find out, I gasped for breath and my eyes opened. The first thing I saw was the sky: a bright blue like there had been no storm at all. The second thing I noticed was the sound of the ocean. Curiously, I propped myself up and groaned. I had a wicked headache.

I had somehow ended up on the beach. But I wasn’t focused on that. No, instead I was focusing on what was in front of me.

Out of the ocean was a massive water temple. It floated on the top of the water in the distance, seemingly untouched by the crazy storm that had come through. Water temples weren’t supposed to be on the surface of the water! I had never seen such a sight before. It shone under the sun. It was a dark blue and looked like a sapphire. I wanted to reach out and touch it.

I forced myself to look away from the water temple to try to figure out where I was. I had no idea how I could have ended up here. The storm couldn’t have tossed me on the beach all the way from the woods. That barely made sense.

There was no sign of Beth along the shoreline. I got my feet and rubbed my head. Whatever had fallen on me, probably a tree branch, hurt a ton. Wincing, I shuffled along the beach just to make sure I hadn’t missed Beth somewhere.

But there was no sign of her nor Alex. I was alone. I sat back down and watched the waves roll across the sand and tried to think.

The storm had seemed unnatural, hadn’t it? There were never storms like that this time of year. What if there was something behind the storm? I looked back at the water temple. Could there be something going on in there?

Part of me thought it would be better to stay here. But the water temple having suddenly appeared after the storm was too mysterious just to ignore. There was something fishy going on.

I still had the bag I had brought along with me, including this journal. A bit waterlogged but I could write in it. David’s aunt, Margery, had created a spell on it using a crystal we had found in the Nether. No matter what this journal goes through, it is supposed to stay intact. Sadly, it doesn’t work on creepers – wouldn’t that have been nice?

Well, I can’t waste any more time writing. I am going to that temple.