The Zombie Chronicles, Book 1: The Daywalkers Read online

was determined to work quickly.

  The first thing that I did was move a few fence posts that enclosed Barron’s collections of animals.

  Somehow, he had managed to capture sheep, cows, and chickens.

  The moment I removed a single post the animals started rushing from their pen. I panicked and replaced the post quickly, though a few did escape.

  I wanted to confuse him, frustrate him, and send a message. I did not, however, want to make him angry by releasing all of his precious animals.

  After a long while, I found a solution.

  I removed the single fence post, but replaced it only one block away so that, while the fence appeared to be broken, the animals were unable to escape.

  I will not pretend that I was not extremely pleased with the solution. I repeated the process in many spots along his fence and, when I was finished, the fence appeared to be in complete disarray.

  I had successfully achieved the appearance of chaos without actually ruining anything. I knew at that moment that this is exactly the sort of thing that Herobrine would do.

  I was so excited with how quickly this task of moving items around could be completed that I decided to move as many items of Barron’s as I could in what seemed like a completely random, and pointless, way.

  I removed jack-o’-lantern heads from their lampposts and placed them on the ground.

  I harvested all of his fruits and vegetables, but made sure to replant the seeds so that they would continue to grow. Then, I took everything that remained and stacked each and every piece neatly in a chest on the edge of the gardens.

  I built an intersecting road to the path that led up to his house. The road that I built led nowhere.

  I planted yellow poppies in a neat line all of the way around the edge of his house. Though this was a dramatic change to the appearance of his home, I secretly hoped that he would leave them because they did look very beautiful.

  I was in the process of dying the wool of his sheep bright and unnatural colors, when Devon came running up to me. He was short of breath, as if he had been running.

  “He’s on his way,” my little brother gasped. “He just exited the portal and he will be here any minute.”

  Devon looked around and his face instantly changed to an expression of confusion.

  “What is this? It looks good,” his eyebrows drew together and it was clear to me that he thought I had lost my mind. “I thought you were going to teach him a lesson? I thought you were going to destroy his stuff, or set traps, or something.”

  “This will teach him a lesson,” I laughed. We slipped silently off into the forest to hide before Barron returned home. “Trust me.”

  I desperately wanted to stay and see Barron’s reaction to my changes, but I thought that it would be best if there were no monsters present for him to blame the activity on.

  I did not want him to know that it was a zombie who had done all of this. I had decided that I wanted to convince Barron that Herobrine was defending us. If the monsters knew the story of our great defender, then the daywalkers must too.

  I was counting on it.

  Day 25:

  I heard rumors that Barron was in an uproar the following day.

  The spiders came to report to us that he had been seen walking in circles muttering to himself, clearly confused as to what had happened.

  According to one observer, he seemed more embarrassed than anything. As if perhaps some glitch in our world had caused the alterations. Or, as if he might have had something to do with it but did not remember.

  I laughed when I heard the story. This was exactly the sort of response that I had been hoping for.

  He had no reason to suspect a zombie, or any monster for that matter. We had never done such a thing before and, without proof, could not be held accountable.

  On the second night, Barron was much more watchful. It is for this reason that I had to choose a task that was more covert. Preferably something underground.

  Every monster knew where the entrance to Barron’s mines were. We all avoided them because he had filled them with so many torches that it was nearly blinding for us to walk around.

  I made my way carefully into the tunnels and began to dig my own network of passageways off of his main shaft.

  I dug perfect 2 x 2 square tunnels straight along a single path. Their perfect structure made it clear that they were not natural, while their small size meant that they would stand out to Barron immediately.

  With Devon guarding the entrance to the tunnel, I continued to dig into the early morning hours. By the time I was finished I would have created at least 15 individual tunnels of this type.

  Each one was connected to Barron’s own mining route, and each one obviously did not belong.

  I cannot deny that a part of me was afraid to be down in those tunnels. Barron knew his way around with ease and I, who had never been in a professionally created mineshaft before, was afraid of getting lost or trapped inside.

  Another thought that occurred to me was what might happen if Barron wandered down to the tunnels and found me. I would have nowhere to run.

  Despite my fears I continued to dig through the night. It was important that I stay focused and completed my tasks. I did not know how long I could convince my neighbors to stay in the area. I needed to work as quickly as possible. I had no time to waste.

  My sudden appearance out of the mine scared Devon so badly that he jumped straight up in the air. He had been watching Barron so closely that he had been unprepared for anyone to approach from behind.

  We made our way back home before daylight. I could hardly contain my excitement as I imagined Barron’s reaction.

  Day 26:

  The neighborhood is abuzz with excitement at Barron’s confusion. While they do not understand how it will aid in our ability to share the neighborhood, they are pleased to find that his confusion has distracted him from hunting monsters.

  For the first time in many years all monsters were safe to move freely around the forest. Barron was too busy chasing what he thought was another adventurer who was intentionally causing him grief.

  When I stepped out into the darkness that evening I could not help but laugh at what I saw.

  Barron had posted dozens more of those signs that he had told me about. The ones that we could not read. I can only assume that they were meant to scare away whatever intruder he thought had entered the area.

  His signs meant nothing to me.

  On this third night of activity I decided to take a childhood game of the zombies and use it to confuse Barron even further.

  Zombies spend a lot of time waiting. Since we must avoid the sunlight, and do not sleep or eat, we often play games to occupy our time while we wait for nightfall.

  A favorite game of mine as a child was one in which you use a certain number of blocks of dirt to create shapes for a friend or sibling to identify.

  This game was obviously limited by the size of the cave that your family called home. Ours, being relatively small, meant that we were only able to build the most basic of shapes while indoors.

  I enlisted the help of Devon, as well as some of our friends, to play this game outside at night.

  We had to be very careful this time to make sure that Barron did not see us. Instead of building shapes around his home, where he could see us, we decided to build them up on the hill so that when the morning sun rose it would appear as if the strange creations were looking down on him.

  Some of the formations were as simple as a square or triangle. Others, from far away, might resemble the massive form of an Iron Golem. While still more were meant to resemble tiny houses, bridges, and smiling faces.

  None of the creations had any use at all. Each was crafted simply of dirt or wood. They would cause no harm. They were not technically in Barron’s way. The only thing that was significant about them was that it was clear that they did not belong.

  I returned to my cave that morning knowing exactly what would happ
en.

  Day 27:

  I had been correct!

  Barron saw the structures that we had created and was immediately determined to destroy them.

  He spent the better part of that morning, so I was told, tearing down every last block that we had laid.

  I knew that my plan was working. I knew that Barron was getting close to the point of understanding that if he simply accepted our presence in the neighborhood, all of the silly tricks and games would stop.

  Whatever tasks he had been working on prior to these events, he abandoned completely. He now shuffled around the forest muttering to himself with the determination of a man who needed to find a solution that was just out of reach.

  I enlisted the help of two Enderman for my next project.

  I donned a set of enchanted golden armor that I borrowed from one of my father’s friends and paced in the field a short way from Barron’s home. I knew that he could not resist the draw of winning the armor. It lured him away from his home and I could see the Enderman set to work in the distance.

  Their task was simple. It was difficult for zombie or skeleton to enter the home of a daywalker. Barron’s home had iron doors that would be impossible for us to break down.

  Endermen, on the other hand, can simply teleport in and out of whatever structure they please.

  It is for this reason that I needed their help.

  While I was off distracting Barron, forcing him to chase me through the forest, the Endermen were free to roam his home.

  Endermen have this funny little trait that everybody loves. They like to move things. Anything. Sometimes for no reason at