Creatures of the Void
Chapter Six
"Alex"
"Alex"
The redheaded girl, wearing a light green T-shirt, some brown pants, and combat shoes, stood in my kitchen, wiping blood off a glistening diamond blade.
"What's a corrupt hiss? And who are you? Where's my dog?" I said, not knowing anything about what was going on.
"I'll show you the Corruptis. My name is Alex, and your dog is right there." She pointed to the little area under the stairs, where Doug was huddled unseen.
"What are you doing in my house?"
"Well, this was where my Selvent Configuration was before you tore it down and built up this... this... what is it?"
"I call it a 'smansion'," I said, "and I didn't tear down any configuration. I didn't have any tools. The hill was empty so I put my house there."
"Well, something got rid of it and it was your house I saw here. I hardly think ten thousand zombies broke my fusion chamber. You're welcome, by the way."
I had forgotten to thank the girl. "Oh, sorry. Thank you. How did you do that anyway?"
She tossed me some sticks of what appeared to be dynamite. "They're Obsidian-bound, so they can't break blocks. But they sure do break bones. I got them out of my boat when I got here and saw that army. You did a nice job on the ceiling."
"Thanks?" I wasn't sure whether she saw me fighting the Sky-eel or she was talking about my currently-on-fire roof.
"Well, we can't stay here much longer. I came here to fuse some tools, but there's now nothing with which to fuse them."
I was just here to survive the night and mine. "I don't know anything about dark energy, but I can't leave. I built this house," I said. I couldn't just leave! This was my fortress. "This is my fortress."
"It's a fortress of wood and stone, and we have much better stuff back at the mainland. Come on, let's get going. It'll take us a good portion of the day to boat back."
"All right, can I take Doug?"
"Of course. The boat seats multiple. Grab as much of your valuables as possible, and let's get out of here before something worse happens."
I did so, and followed her out. The outside was much less dramatic now that only a few Bone Wolves and spiders were crawling around in broad daylight.
There was in fact a boat on the shores a bit north of the beach that faced the sunset. We had to walk past quite a bit of forest to get to it and Alex had to shoot a couple trash-talking skeletons aiming their bows at us. The boat was quite large, with a cabin and chests. There were multiple seats and an available spot for Doug. I jumped onto it. Actual collision detection! That is to say, I didn't fall through it like other entities. The chests worked as well.
Doug didn't like the boat, and stayed on shore. No matter what I did I couldn't get him on. So I made him sit, and I committed myself to coming back for him one day. Alex and I left the island, and the boat was a very smooth ride.
"This is much better than the stuff you can make with five wood planks," I told her. One of the many bits of information I'd gained from my forced enlightenment sessions.
"You don't say. I told you we had better stuff back at the mainland."
We? Had she said that before? I must have missed it. "We?"
"Yes, I have other people besides me working. They're probably three hundred blocks across the ocean mining right now. You'll see them when we get there."
"Well, let's go!"
I climbed into a seat on the deck, Alex took the helm, and we were off away from the house that had been mine for a few days. The boat, though grand and small, was not fast. It was only about the speed of a regular boat and it took a while for the forest to disappear behind us.
As the two headed slowly away from the island, an explosion neither of them heard rocked the foundations of the house.