The Temple of Destruction: Book One – The Lost Treasures Read online

Chapter Two

  The third floor of the temple was also the smallest. It was seemingly a perfect square. This floor only allowed visitors by requests. Herobrine had a statue here and rows and rows of treasure…although now that Notch had seen the rest of the treasure he couldn’t help but worry that there would be nothing at all.

  There was another door at the top of the staircase but Notch couldn’t budge it and it didn’t fall apart in his hands. He began to use his pickaxe on it but the stone was strong. Clearly it was different from the others but Notch couldn’t tell what type it was.

  He swung his pickaxe for what felt like hours. His palms were starting to blister when he finally swung it for the final time. It cracked through the door and crumbled, the stones falling down the stairs. The sound felt louder than it probably was due to the silence around him.

  Once the stones settled and the noise calmed down, Notch grabbed his torch again. With a deep breath, he stepped inside Herobrine’s shrine.

  The first thing he saw was the emeralds. They seemed to litter the floor as if they were the floor. They shone dimly in the light from his torch and a nearby window. Notch followed the emeralds with his eyes and then saw diamonds. Diamonds! There were so many that he couldn’t believe it.

  In the center of the room was a statue. It must have been of Herobrine. It had jewels in it as well, shining over his armor and his sword. His eyes looked empty – had someone taken the jewels from there?

  Notch began to scoop up emeralds in his hands as he made his way over to the statue. He couldn’t believe how many there were. But he was more interested in the diamonds. How much room did he have to take the diamonds with him? He wanted to take as much as he could.

  Notch stopped in the front of the Herobrine statue. Herobrine – the legendary warrior. How many stories had Notch read about Herobrine? His sword still looked sharp. He would fetch a good price for it…or maybe keep it for himself, as a token of him finding this temple.

  It was too good to resist. Notch reached out his hand and went to grab the sword. His hand wrapped around the hilt firmly and he tugged on it. The sword popped free from Herobrine’s grasp. The diamonds that were embedded in it looked beautiful and clear.

  But now the floor was vibrating again underneath him. More torches? No…Notch could hear something now. Low moans, he realized. Zombies. The temple was full of zombies. The people hadn’t left. They were hiding in the temple as zombies.

  Fear shot through him, a rich panic that almost seemed to fill up and tighten his throat. Zombies! How had he missed them? No the temple had been empty – he remembered not seeing a thing.

  It didn’t matter. Stones were falling behind him and he could hear the zombies emerging. Notch looked back at Herobrine’s statue.

  His eyes were glowing – empty, white, and endless – and Notch took a step back. It was as if Herobrine was alive. The first low moan of the zombie filled the room and Notch spun to get ready to strike it. Its hands were outstretched as it made its way over to Notch. It was incredibly slow. That would work in his favor, he realized as he lunged forward to deal with it.

  It toppled over and didn’t move. Notch turned to look back at the Herobrine statue as the vibrations grew. The moans filled the air and rocks started to crumble. The temple was falling apart.

  And Herobrine was gone.

  The statue was gone. Missing. There was nothing there. Notch could only blink in horror. How could that be? Had he dreamed it? No, the statue of Herobrine was gone. Another zombie burst out of the stone wall and started lumbering towards him. He had to focus! The zombie moved slower than the ones out in the land. Normally this would have given Notch an advantage but instead it made him and the zombie merely equal due to him being so distracted.

  Notch backed up and lost his footing, toppling over the stone where the Herobrine statue had been only moments ago. Notch hit the ground with a thud and the zombie loomed over him, his arms outstretched. Notch threw his shield up and deflected the hit, rolling away quickly. He shoved his sword forward and then used his feet to knock the zombie back at the same time. The zombie fell backward and Notch was able to strike it again quickly.

  But even with those two zombies down, he could hear the low moans of the others filling the temple. He’d be cornered here soon. Even now he could hear them lumbering up the stairs towards him. Notch shoved some diamonds in his bag. There would be no more time to look into the Herobrine statue or the temple.

  The first zombie came up the stairs. He could see more coming. That way was blocked. Notch turned and looked back at the window in the temple. The vines hung down and gave him an idea. Notch darted over, tugged on one to make sure it was sturdy enough. He then swung out of the window, his feet precariously on the temple walls. He started to climb and then dared himself to look down.

  He exhaled. Notch was high up but he didn’t see any zombies leaving the temple. For some reason they were going to stay in there. Fine by him. He started to rappel down the temple. He felt dizzy being so high up but the low moans of the zombies kept him on the temple wall.

  When he got closer to the ground, his palms slick with sweat, he looked down to make sure he could make the drop. Prepping for impact, he hit the ground with a thud. Something whizzed past his head and he yelped. He looked up and saw skeletons coming out from behind the temple, armed with their bows and arrows and setting up another shot.

  Not wasting any time, Notch turned and took off into the jungle. The leaves and vines grabbed at his feet and arrows flew past his head as he took off. He almost fell once but was able to stop himself in time. The diamonds clattered in his pouch and Herobrine’s sword bumped against his back as he ran.

  As he came into a clearing in the jungle, he stopped to catch his breath. He didn’t hear anything. The temple was gone from view and Notch was alone. He slumped against a tree, closing his eyes. What in the Nether had happened there?

  Notch rubbed his eyes and looked up and froze again. It couldn’t be…but it was…Herobrine! Herobrine was a little bit away from him but his eyes were empty, white sockets just peering at him. Notch had to be seeing things. There was no way…There was no way this could be real.

  But then Herobrine spoke, “You took my sword.”

  His voice was low, raspy and sounded as if he hadn’t talked in a long time. Notch backed up, his back now flat against the tree trunk behind him.

  “You were a statue.” Notch mumbled in confusion and awe.

  “Am I?” Herobrine replied, his empty eyes looking at Notch.

  Notch replied, “Do you want…do you want the sword back?”

  “You will feel my wrath.”

  And then Herobrine was gone. In the blink of an eye, there was nothing there. Nothing to even indicate that he had been there. Notch felt the sword pressing into his back from leaning into the tree trunk and all he could think was what had he unleashed?