We crossed back into the Nether, as we made our way back to the Nether village. No one said a word for most of the trip. Unhappiness was the general feeling in the group, as we had failed twice. We failed to deliver the Copper Block back to its owner and failed to save our friend Zack from peril.
Zack is fighting for his life in this exact moment and here we are, coming back empty handed. I feel ashamed of myself for failing him, I thought to myself.
As we crossed the lava rivers with Paul on my back, we encountered one of the radioactive Hoglins. The beast was roaming freely in the area. It growled upon seeing us, but the creature sniffed our smell and stopped growling immediately.
“That’s strange. The Hoglin did not attack us.” Tom said.
The wild Hoglin turned around and ran away from us.
“Well, at least the Hoglin did not attack. We have got that going for us!” Paul said.
“Hoglins can’t swim in lava, so that would explain it.” Nora rebutted.
“I’m pretty sure they could easily jump over this lava river and reach us if they wanted to. There must be another explanation for his behavior.” I said.
Moments later, we saw a large group of Hoglins coming after us.
“I knew it was too peaceful,” I said. “Here they come yet again.”
“Greetings strange creatures, I see you have returned to my area. What are you doing here? Not trying to steal my Copper Block, I hope?” Fergon appeared amongst the group.
“No, Fergon, we are simply passing by. We are now returning to our Nether village, and we come in peace.” I replied.
“I see.” Fergon said. “In that case, I have no reason to fight or attack those who offer me no danger. You are wise for not coming after the block.”
“Like I said, Fergon, we do not intend to go after it. We want nothing to do with the Copper Block.” I replied.
“Good to hear it. Now go creatures, carry on.” Fergon walked away and his Hoglins followed him.
“Okay, at least we have got a free pass to transverse the Nether. Isn’t that good?” Nora commented after the Hoglins left the area.
“I don’t know what is considered to be good or bad anymore. We might have saved ourselves from the mutant Hoglins but on the other side of things, we have a pack of radioactive creatures who are spreading the radiation through the Nether without any control. Plus, there’s no hope for Zack to be cured without the equipment from Frank. At this point, it feels like everything is bad and there is no good in this world. We are at a loss, no matter how you look at it.” I replied.
“That’s true when you put it that way.” Tom said.
“We should not give up just yet though. Remember that your friend may still be saved somehow. We have to find another way.” Paul replied.
“I like your optimism, Paul. As much as I am disappointed right now, we might be able to find help for Zack somehow. I want to save him!”
“We will find a way as we always do.” Paul replied. “You’ve got to have faith.”
We walked with the help of the speed potion given by Paul, and soon we were back at the Nether village that same day. We were safe and no one was attacked by any Hoglins on our way back.
“Here we are once again, back at the good old village.” Paul replied.
“I want to go home and sleep in Heat Lake, and I also want to see how Zack is doing, but I am too afraid to face him right now and tell him that we failed. I do not want to tell him that the cure might take even longer than expected.”
“I will pay him a visit on your behalf, then. Get some rest now, Morgan. You deserve it.” Nora said. “If Zack is awake, I will let him know how hard we fought for this, but we couldn’t make it.”
“I guess I am also going back to Heat Lake. I don’t feel like going to the hospital right now.” Tom replied.
“No worries. I will see you two back there later.” Nora said.
“What about you, Paul? How is it going to be from now on?” I asked him.
“I must talk to Chief Derek and tell him everything that happened during our journey. It is going to be a huge shock for him once he finds out that Frank Bones refused to pay for the remaining price of the Copper Blocks. He will also be saddened to hear that the equipment is no longer available to us.”
“I’m sure he will be more saddened by the payment but carry on.” Tom replied.
“I don’t know how he is going to react, but it cannot be good. Chief Derek might go crazy. He only got half of the payment for the Copper Blocks, and now because of a single lost block, Frank Bones decided to back down on the deal and refuse to pay the remaining 50%.”
“Yeah, I am sure he won’t take it lightly. Either way, good luck with that.” I replied.
“Thanks. I will see you guys around.” Paul said.
We had returned to the village, but we still felt defeated and unhappy.