The Accidental Minecraft Family: Book 13 Read online

  She sat back and watched, enjoying her handiwork, as the bees flew back and forth, the vegetables becoming fully grown in no time. “Boy I sure could get used to that!” she said, as she smiled and began harvesting. “I wish I could make it work this well back home.”

  Dad had made sure there was a furnace in every house, and that there was some coal for each one. “You’ll have to find your own coal or stuff to burn when we leave, but it is of the utmost importance that everyone knows how to barbecue. Barbecue is the most important thing you can do!”

  He barbecued up some pork and handed it out, his team of illagers tasting it and smacking their lips with joy. Together they cooked up a large feast of tasty food, and combined with the vegetables from the garden, they ate very well that night. They let off some fireworks again, and Evoker Hudson stood in front of everyone as they sat together in the village square.

  “My friends, we have been through a lot together, and will probably go through a lot more as we learn how to be the best we can in this new chapter of our lives. I think we should make today a new holiday for us, a day that we can remember and celebrate every year, so that we will never forget how we escaped from oppression to finally be free. We will never again be mean to villagers or hurt anyone unless it's to defend ourselves. This will be our Independence Day!”

  Everyone cheered, and tears pooled in Mom’s eyes.

  “What’s the matter, Mom?” Kate asked, hugging her.

  Mom wiped her eyes and smiled at her daughter. “Nothing. It’s just so nice to see people pursuing happiness and a better way of life. I’m so excited for them.”

  Dad hugged her, too, and they watched the villagers cheering over the fireworks and their Independence Day. “You know,” he said, “Rara is the rightful heir to the throne here. I bet if the island villagers came back, they could form a strong kingdom that would be kind and helpful to everyone. They would have a strong defense from the illagers, and plenty of survival skills from the villagers. It could be a win/win for everyone.”

  Mom laid her head on his shoulder. “Rara is a really good person. I bet she would be great at leading this village. We should try to convince her to come back.”

  Dad nodded his head. “We will. We have to go through the village anyway to get back to Esmerelda.”

  Chapter 4

  Dad, Mom, Kate and Jack spent a couple more days helping the illagers get settled and teaching them all the finer points of living like villagers. They told them there was a chance a group of villagers would come live with them, and at first they were nervous, but when Mom and Dad explained how nice the island villagers were, they warmed up to the idea.

  “You trust us, right?” Dad asked Evoker Hudson. “We would never suggest anything that could hurt you.”

  “Yeah... we do.” Evoker Hudson’s shoulders dropped a little and he lowered his voice. “We’ve just been let down by someone we trusted before.”

  Mom put her hand gently on his shoulder. “You’re free of that man now. Life is only going up from here.”

  He smiled kindly at her. Mom and Dad truly loved helping people and just wanted the best for everyone.

  During their short stay, the family finally went through the chests in the village. There were a lot of them- none of which they missed, thanks to Jack’s new skills. They found all kinds of useful things, many of which they kept aside for the illagers. The thing that excited Kate the most- and that it would probably take a week for their ears to recover after her shrill scream when she realized it- were the three saddles they found. Enough for everyone else in the family! “Now we can all get horses!” She danced around, beyond excited at the idea of riding across a savannah with her family. “And do you know how much faster we’ll be able to travel now?”

  “Well, it depends on the horse,” Jack added. “The slowest horses are only a little faster than walking. The fastest horses are like three times as fast.”

  Kate rolled her eyes at her brother. “Regardless, we’ll be moving lots faster and definitely more in style.”

  They also taught the illagers how to build, showing them how to dig up resources and turn it into various things. At first the illagers thought it was some kind of magic, but once Jack explained it was just what outsiders could do, and they could teach it to anyone, they got it really quick. It wasn’t long before the illagers started modifying their houses, adding windows or decorations. Mom beamed with pride at them. Everyone in Minecraft seemed so much happier and more confident when they could change the world around them.

  Eventually, the time came when the family had to leave. Mom was getting antsy to get back to Esmerelda and start their journey home. After a round of hugs and waving and only a few tears, they left, back on the road towards the island village. This time Jack didn’t throw any snowballs at polar bears when they got into the snowy biome. They walked, crunching through the snow, Kate on Lady and Bruce on Dirtymud, when Dad suddenly stopped. He pointed towards a close mountain. “Hey, what's that?”

  “Huh?” Kate asked, looking at where he pointed. “What IS that?”

  Everyone turned their heads to look, but Kate had the best vantage point from up on Lady’s back. She gasped, and then laughed. “Is that... a GOAT!?” She squealed, bouncing in the saddle and clapping her hands.

  “Why are you so excited?” Mom asked. “We’ve seen goats at the petting zoo plenty of times.”

  Kate was still bouncing. “There aren’t goats in Minecraft without mods, which means they must be part of the update! Can we go see it? Can we?”

  “Oh heck yeah!” Dad said, already running off. “Goats are my favorite animal!” he yelled over his shoulder.

  “Stop!” Mom rolled her eyes. “Come on, guys, we have to get back to Esmerelda. Don’t you want to get home? Don’t you miss Amma and PopPop? Your friends? School?”

  “Not school,” Jack mumbled under his breath.

  Mom looked right at Dad. “Don’t you miss your real barbeque and all the different meats and sauces?”

  Dad looked at the goat, then at Mom, then at the goat. “Well... yeah, I want to go home, but... it's a goat, honey. A goat!”

  Mom blew out a breath. “Alright, let's go see the goat.”

  “YES!” Dad and Kate shouted together. They made their way to the mountain, and Dad started climbing blocks, trying to find a way up to the goat. He climbed and climbed, coming to a large flat-ish area covered in snow. There, up ahead, was a goat. But not just any goat. The coolest goat Dad had ever seen. A big, white shaggy creature, with great horns that stuck straight out of its head. “I found it!” he shouted down to the family. “I found the goat!”

  Mom and Jack had stayed at the bottom of the mountain with Lady, Dirtymud, Fang and, of course, Bruce, who was sleeping on Jack's neck. Kate followed Dad but had gone up the mountain a different way.

  Dad crunched slowly across the snow towards the goat. He held his hands out in front of him to show he meant no harm. “Here goat, goat, goat,” he whispered, hoping to coax the goat over to him. The goat looked at him, then looked away. “Come on goat, let’s be friends,” Dad said, getting closer. “You’re my favorite animal.”

  The goat looked up at Dad again, then pawed the ground and yelled at him. Like actually yelled. Screamed, really. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!”

  “What the heck!?” Dad jumped back.

  “AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” The screaming goat screamed at Dad and charged. It rammed into Dad, who was so shocked by the goat’s very human screaming, he couldn't get out of the way. Dad was sent flying back and landed in the patch of snow.

  “Ow!” Dad said as he stood up. He eyed the goat, who eyed him back, and Dad slowly walked toward it again. “AH!” Dad screamed- not much unlike the goat- as he sank deep into a block of snow. “What in the world is going on!” He tried to get out of the snow, but was stuck fast, up to his knees buried in the snow. His hearts turned blue, and his vision was outlined with frost.

  “What is this? HELP! HELP!” Slowly,
his hearts disappeared. “Ya darn goat!” Dad yelled, shaking his fist in the air at it.

  “AAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!” the screaming goat screamed, and walked a little closer and just stared at him. Then it bleated, “Baa-a-a-a!” in such a way that sounded suspiciously like laughter.

  “Are you LAUGHING at me!?” Dad yelled at the goat.

  Dad struggled mightily to get out of the powdery snow, but no matter how hard he struggled he couldn’t get out, and his hearts kept dropping. He pulled out a barbecued piece of pork and just as he was about to take a bite, he looked at it, then waved it at the goat. “When I get out of here, I’m going to see how well you barbecue up!” He munched it down to heal himself a little.

  “Dad! How rude!” A voice came from beside him as Kate finally made an appearance.

  “AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” the screaming goat screamed at her and she jumped high into the air.

  “What the what!?” she yelled.

  “AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” the screaming goat screamed again and rammed her, sending her flying off the mountain.

  “Oof! Ouch! OOF!” Kate bounced down the mountain all the way to the bottom, her hearts low from the fall. “DARN GOAT!” she shouted up at the mountain.

  “AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” she heard from the top.

  Dad was struggling to get out of the powdery snow, his teeth chattering so hard he thought they might crack into a million pieces. He opened his inventory, wondering if he had anything he could use to escape this mess. All the while, the screaming goat laughed at him again. “Baa-a-a-a.”

  “I wish I had some snowshoes,” Dad grumbled. He tried melting the snow with a torch, but it didn’t work. He shrugged and tried putting on different boots to see if it helped. The Gold boots- his favorite- just made him even more cold, but when he put on the leather boots, he found he could walk right out of the powder snow.

  “Hah!” he said as he stepped onto the block he had been stuck in only a moment before, walking over it with no problem now. “Alright goat! I’m gonna tame you! And if I can’t tame you, I’m gonna eat you, so I suggest you cooperate.” He pulled an apple out of his inventory.

  “AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” the goat screamed as Dad got closer and rammed him again. This time when he went flying, he didn’t get stuck in a powder snow block. Dad stood and growled at the goat. He squinted his eyes and squared his shoulders. He switched out the apple to a carrot, and the same thing happened: the goat screamed, the goat rammed, Dad went flying. Dad stood again, shook the snow off and pulled out some wheat. The goat’s neck snapped toward him, his eyes looking curious and... hungry. The goat was interested in the wheat.

  “Oh, you like that, huh?” Dad waved the wheat around. The goat followed it with his eyes, and while it was distracted, Dad pulled out a lead and attached it. “Got ya!” He gave the wheat to the goat, who happily munched it. “This is awesome! Now I have the pet goat I’ve always wanted!”

  “Are you done yet!?” Mom shouted from down below. Even from all the way down the mountain, Dad could hear the annoyance in her voice and see her hands on her hips.

  Chapter 5

  “AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” the screaming goat screamed at Mom.

  Mom didn’t jump like Dad and Kate had. She just looked at the goat, then looked at Dad. “You are not keeping that.”

  “What? Come on! He’s so friendly!” Dad said.

  “He looks like he stinks,” Mom said, making a face.

  Dad tilted his head. “You can’t look like you stink.”

  Kate laughed out loud. “Friendly? Dad, he rammed me off the mountain. He rammed you into a snowbank. He screams- a terrifying scream, I might add- at everyone. I love animals, but not this one.”

  Dad's mouth dropped open and he clutched at his heart. “Kate! I thought for sure you would understand.” He petted the goat, stroking its coarse fur.

  “Even you said you wanted to eat him!” Kate threw her hands in the air.

  “He’s just misunderstood. I’m going to name him Waffles.”

  “Waffles? Why would you name him that?” Jack asked. “He doesn’t look like waffles.”

  “Or smell like waffles,” Mom muttered.

  Dad shrugged. “I don’t know, I’ve just always wanted a goat named Waffles.”

  “AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” the screaming goat screamed.

  Bruce jumped up. “Hiss hiss grrr hiss,” he said to the goat.

  “AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” the goat yelled at Bruce. Bruce did an accidental backflip through the air and landed poorly. He tucked his tail and sulked back to where Dirtymud was, hopped up on the saddle, and started cleaning himself.

  “Get-” Mom started, but the goat interrupted her. “AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” Mom gave the goat ‘The Look.’

  “Get that-”

  “AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!”

  “Get that-”

  “AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!”

  Mom stared down the goat.

  “Get... that...” she started slowly, “thing... out... of-”

  “AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!”

  “OH-MY-GOODNESS-GET-THAT-THING-OUT-OF-HERE!” Mom screamed as fast as she could. The goat just looked at her.

  “Finally, it’s-”

  “AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!”

  “-Quiet.” Mom shook her head.

  Dad smiled. “Aw honey, come on. Give him a chance.”

  “AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” the screaming goat screamed.

  “Fine,” Mom said, “but you’re walking behind us.”

  Fang drooled as he watched the goat. He hadn’t met a goat before. He knew nothing about goats or why it was so loud, he only knew it looked delicious. He snuck up and tried to take a little nibble. “AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” the screaming goat screamed at him. Fang jumped and backed away, leaving little drool spots in the snow.

  “Fang! No eating my goat!” Dad said.

  Fang whined.

  They continued their trek, finally making it to the shore. Kate had hoped to find her fox friends somewhere nearby, but with the goat screaming all the time, she wasn’t surprised when she didn’t. They boarded their boats and started rowing. “AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” the screaming goat screamed at Dad.

  Dad, who rode with the goat and couldn’t cover his ears, winced at the scream. “Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea,” he mumbled.

  Mom rowed next to the kids as Waffles screamed at Dad. And the water. And the air. “Hey kids, I have a riddle for you,” Mom said.

  “Oh cool!” Jack said.

  “I love riddles,” Kate said.

  “Alright, here it goes. Once upon a time, a farmer went to a market and purchased a wolf, a goat, and a cabbage. On his way home, the farmer came to the bank of a river where he had a small boat. The boat was so small that the farmer could only carry himself and a single one of his purchases: the wolf, the goat, or the cabbage. The problem was, if he left them alone, the wolf would eat the goat, or the goat would eat the cabbage. How did he get them all across the river safely?”

  “Oh, that’s easy!” Jack said. “He... uh.... wait. Can he tie the wolf up?”

  “Nope,” Mom said, “he didn’t have any rope. All he had was the goat, the wolf, and the cabbage.”

  “He could take the cabbage over, then come back and get the... wait, that doesn’t work,” Kate said.

  “Can he wear the cabbage on his head?” Jack asked.

  Mom snorted. “No, what if it fell off into the water?”

  “He put a lead on the goat and took him in the water!” Kate said.

  Mom shook her head. “He doesn’t have any leads, remember? Besides, the goat might drown.”

  “Or get eaten by drowneds!” Jack said.

  “This isn’t Minecraft, Jack,” Mom said, rolling her eyes.

  “AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” the screaming goat screamed, and they all turned to look. Dad was so startled he fell out of his seat and splashed into the water. Jack and Kate both laughed, and even Mom chuckled a little. Dad popped back to the surface, spluttering and horking water. Mom sighed and rowed over to him to help him back t
he boat. The screaming goat inhaled deeply and Mom gave it ‘The Look,’ so hard, the screaming goat did not scream.

  Dad climbed back on the boat and they kept floating towards the village. He found if he hummed or sang the goat wasn’t agitated and wouldn’t scream at him. So, he started singing, “Row row row your GOAT, gently down the stream!” He sang loud enough that the kids could hear.

  Jack and Kate ignored him, as they kept trying to figure out how the farmer could get across the river. They couldn’t get it right before Dad pointed ahead. “There’s the island!”

  Chapter 6

  The family was excited to see their friends and to share the news about the kingdom village. They rowed their boats faster, eager to get to shore.

  Right away, they could tell something was wrong. When they got to the island, nobody was there to greet them. They expected Bode to be out on the dock fishing, but he wasn’t there either. They pulled up onto the beach, and Dad let the goat go to do goat things. Dad rubbed his temples. “Go yell at a tree or something,” he mumbled as he sent the goat off.

  “AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” the screaming goat screamed as it wandered away.

  “This is weird,” Kate said. “Where is everyone?”

  “RARA! LALA! BUBBA!” Jack shouted, with his hands around his mouth.

  They walked into the village, and it was totally deserted. There wasn’t a single villager. “This isn’t good,” Dad said.

  “I don’t get it. Where did they all go?” Mom asked, worry thick in her voice.

  They explored every house and found that everything of value had been taken as well. All the swords and tools Bubba and Lala had made, all the books from the library, even the garden had been emptied of food. The animal pens were barren as well, except for a few pieces of floating beef or mutton. Kate frowned. “This is not good. Did they turn all their animals into food?”