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JOURNAL ENTRY: FALSE START

Day 6: Escape

I was very nervous as we traveled through the tunnel. I wanted to trust Thao. I wanted to believe that we’d be safe, but I was worried and doubtful. When we emerged out into the Nether, I felt much better. I knew that we had to trust Thao, that he also wanted to get back to the Overworld. The further we traveled from the stronghold, the more hopeful I became. I imagined being reunited with my friends and enjoying my life in the Overworld. These were the thoughts that filled my mind, when we spotted three Ender Dragons flying toward us.

Thao asked, “Does anyone have any snowballs?”

I didn’t. But Esther had a few. She handed them out and said, “Charles must have summoned these Ender Dragons. He knows we escaped.”

We used all of our strength to battle the deadly mobs. Luckily they were easier to destroy when they weren’t in the End. I hit one with a snowball and used Sean’s diamond sword to strike the side of the scaly dragon. The dragon roared and then exploded.

“One down. Two to go!” Molly said as she threw a snowball at a dragon, destroying the second one.

The last dragon was strong and it was not an easy battle. We used arrows, snowballs, and diamond swords to fight the dragon, but it just didn’t seem to weaken. It seemed like it had super strength. Esther used her final snowball, but the dragon didn’t explode.

Molly shot arrows at the dragon, but it flew toward us and roared. I was ready to give up. I didn’t have very much energy left and this was a pointless battle. We were just going to get destroyed and respawn in the prison again. This was all a part of Charles’s plan.

Thao shot a final arrow at the dragon, and this time it exploded.

“Great job!” I said. “Huzzah!”

We looked over at the End portal that had spawned. Molly asked, “Should we go to the End?”

“We can’t,” I replied. “Our energy is so low that we would be destroyed instantly.”

“We need to go to the Overworld,” Esther reminded her.

“Let’s build a portal,” Sean said.

Luckily we had enough resources to build a portal to the Overworld, and quickly began to craft it. As we stood by the portal, ready to ignite it and finally make our way home, Charles and his army sprinted toward us. Before we had a chance to react, they shot arrows at us, and we all respawned in our prison cells.

When I respawned, Charles stood above me.

He laughed. “You almost made it back to the Overworld.” He laughed again. “Almost.”

“We are going to get out of here,” I replied.

“Well, your friends aren’t here anymore. I have moved them to another place. You’ll never find them. So good luck trying to make it back to the Overworld on your own.”

He let out another laugh and then left my cell. I was alone. It would be impossible to escape on my own. They had been so helpful. Feeling hopeless, I paced around the room and tried to come up with a plan.

A carrot came flying through the small hole in the wall. Nothing had changed.

Grabbing the carrot and chewing slowly, I began to calm down. I thought about the sword and the pickaxe I had in my inventory. I was better off than I had been before I met Sean. Maybe I could do this on my own. But I had to find my friends. Even if I didn’t need them, they might need me. I stood silently and listened. I could hear muffled voices. I was sure that my friends weren’t too far away, but I was shocked when they appeared in the center of my room.

“How are you here?” I asked in surprise.

“We used the potion of invisibility,” explained Molly. “Remember, Thao knows the ins and outs of this place—he was able to lead us back here.”

I looked over at Thao and nodded my thanks. In that moment I began to trust him. He had earned my trust.

Thao smiled. “I know another way out of here.”

I was about to ask about his plan but was distracted when two blazes spawned in the center of the room. We didn’t have any snowballs, and we also lacked the energy to fight them.

Thao said, “Quickly. Follow me.”

We followed Thao through the hole in the wall and narrowly avoided being struck by a fireball. Thao grabbed his pickaxe and banged it against the wall. The next room contained a staircase.

“This way!” Thao said as we climbed the stairs.

There was an opening at the top of the staircase and it led to the Nether.

“We’re free!” I called out.

As two ghasts flew through the sky, I held out my fist. We were together again and, together, we could do this.