CHAPTER 1

Will zoomed down the dark tunnel in his minecart, leaning from side to side as the tracks jogged left, then right. He braced himself as the cart climbed upward, slowing to a crawl. It teetered at the top of the tracks and then—

“Will, watch out!”

Mina’s warning jolted Will out of his daydream. He glanced down, realizing he was about to topple into a deep ravine. Yikes! He jumped backward, gripping the branch of a spruce tree for support.

“You’re moving too fast!” cried Mina, her hand on her heart. “We’re in the extreme hills now. You have to watch for drop-offs, ravines, even streams of hot lava. That’s why we left Shadow at your house, remember?”

Will’s cheeks burned with embarrassment. “I know,” he snapped. “I’m fine.” But as the wind whipped through his hair, he glanced back down at the steep ravine and shuddered. That was a close call.

“What were you daydreaming about, anyway?” asked Mina as they picked their way carefully along the path. “Were you thinking about Shadow?”

Will shook his head. Sure, he missed the yellow tabby cat that he and Mina had found in the jungle. But he knew Shadow would be safest staying at home with his brother, Seth.

“No,” he admitted, “I was actually imagining how much fun it’ll be to find an abandoned mineshaft.” He felt a rush of excitement just saying the words.

Mina hoisted up the pack on her back and nodded happily. “I know. The hills up here are full of treasures. I can’t wait to—”

“—ride some minecarts!” interrupted Will.

“—mine some redstone!” finished Mina. “Wait, what? Minecarts? Sure, that’ll be fun. But the caves around here have real treasure, Will. Like the redstone I need to make my potions last longer. And giant slimes, which drop slimeballs. I need those to make magma cream for my potion of fire resistance. And we might find gold and diamonds—even emeralds!”

Will shrugged. Right now, he wasn’t thinking about all that stuff. Maybe he and Mina just disagreed about what real treasures were.

I know Mina’s all about her potion ingredients, he thought as he followed her bobbing ponytail up the trail. But why call this land the “extreme hills” if you can’t have extreme adventures? And a little fun?

“You know, Will,” she called over her shoulder, “if we find diamonds, you could craft a diamond sword.”

That stopped him in his tracks. Will glanced at the iron sword strapped to his side. It was strong and quick, for sure. But a diamond sword? He could battle any mob with that—from zombies and spider jockeys to the Ender Dragon itself!

“Yeah,” he said dreamily. “I guess a diamond sword would be cool.” And with that, he was off in another daydream, battling a winged dragon with his sparkly new sword.

So when Mina stopped to enjoy the view ahead, Will didn’t stop. He walked right past her. Right over the edge.

He felt the rocks slide out from beneath him, and then he was falling! Down, down, down …

Mina screamed from up above. Or was he the one screaming?

He scrunched his eyes shut, pulled himself into a tight little ball, and braced for impact.