Chapter 8

Chapter 8 IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD! IT TAKES A MOE TO RAZE A VILLAGE! As the sun rose the next morning, no new zombies crested the mountain. The mobs that had entered the village had shambled quickly into the forest, lumbering away before the sun's rays could touch them. The five friends had been stuck indoors while an endless parade of monsters passed through town. But now the way back to their beds was finally clear. They returned to their cave, activated their beds, and disconnected to the real world. It had been their longest gaming session yet. And Morgan had been hurt! Jodi was actually relieved to hang up her headset and go home for the night. Homework was going to

be a piece of cake compared to fightingzombies. The next day at school, the Minecraft team gathered in homeroom before the morning bell rang. "We have to do something about those pests," Morgan said. Jodi knew he meant the hostile mobs that had assaulted the village and trapped them overnight. But Ms. Minerva overheard him, and she clearly misunderstood which pests he was talking about. "I know the bats have been disruptive," the teacher said, "but I've been informed that the school board finally has a plan to deal with them." "I love a clever plan," said Ash. "What is it?" Ms. Minerva frowned. "Unfortunately, it's not what I would call a clever plan. They've decided to call in an exterminator. He'll take care of the problem this weekend." Jodi gasped. Exterminator? Take care of the

problem? She knew exactly what Ms. Minerva meant. "They can't just exterminate the poor things!" she cried. "I agree with Jodi," said Harper. "The bats are acting according to their nature. They haven't done anything wrong." "And they're cute," said Po. "They're even cuter than Baron Sweetcheeks." Now Morgan gasped. "How dare you!" he said. "Nothing is cuter than Baron Sweetcheeks." Po made a kissy face at him.

Ms. Minerva held up a hand for silence. "I'm sympathetic," she said. "I wish there was another solution. But we simply can't continue as things have been." She crossed her arms. "Cute as they may be, they are pests." Jodi bit her tongue. She'd been called a pest before. It didn't feel very nice. And she couldn't help but think there was a better way to deal with this problem. As soon as they were back in Minecraft, they got to work. "Grab the beds," Ash said. "We need our RESPAWN POINT to be closer to the village. Otherwise we'll lose too much time traveling back and forth." "Why go back at all?" asked Jodi. "For one thing, I'd like to make use of that enchanting table," said Harper. "It could be a while before we encounter another one. AND EVEN LONGER BEFORE WE CAN CRAFT OUR OWN." "Maybe we'll get lucky," said Morgan. "Maybe the mobs won't attack tonight." Jodi could tell by his voice that he didn't

believe that was likely. The mood was tense as they descended the mountain. "I can make armor and new weapons," said Harper. "BUT WE'LL NEED MORE IRON." "I'm on it," said Ash. "We'll just have to dig and hope we get lucky." "Don't throw anything out," said Morgan. "If you end up with tons of stone and dirt, we can use that to build walls. With walls, we can force the mobs into a choke point." "Smart!" said Jodi. That would make it easier to fight a few mobs at a time. They wouldn't be overwhelmed and surrounded as quickly as could sometimes happen in the game. "We should dig trenches, too," said Po. "That'll get us plenty of dirt for walls." "Good call," said Morgan. "There's not a lot of time. Just do what you can, everyone." Jodi followed Morgan's gaze to the lowering sun. She felt a thrill of dread run through her. The dark and the monsters would be here soon.

Jodi watched anxiously as Harper crafted pieces of armor for them. "THIS WON'T WIN YOU ANY FASHION AWARDS," Harper said. She handed Jodi an iron helmet. "But you'll be better protected now." "It's perfect, Harper," said Jodi. "Thanks." "DON'T MAKE ANY ARMOR FOR ME, Harper," Morgan said. Jodi snapped her head toward him. "Are you serious?" she asked. "You're the one who got hurt yesterday." Morgan nodded solemnly. "I know. But there's something I want to TRY…IF HARPER AGREES it's a good idea. And it's going to require a lot of iron." Jodi and Harper watched as Morgan dashed into the nearby pumpkin patch. He took an axe to one of the pumpkins. Harper grinned. "I think I know what you're up to," she said. "Let me help." She put down four blocks of iron in a T-shape. "I hope this works," said Morgan. He placed the pumpkin on top of the iron. Their new creation came to life immediately.