Chapter 5

Chapter 5 BURIED SECRETS! BUT JUST SO YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE SECRETS IS SPIDERS. They returned to the game that afternoon. Ash breathed a sigh of relief as her blocky avatar took form. She was standing in the desert burrow they'd built the night before. Part of her had worried that the school's tech problems might cause their headsets to glitch. But she was too curious about the desert mineshaft to wait any longer. She could tell Morgan felt the same. His avatar rubbed its cube hands together. "I've been thinking," he said, "about how to handle those vexes. Or rather…about how not to handle them."

Ash nodded. "LET'S HEAR IT." "We keep taking the direct approach," Morgan went on. "BUT THERE'S ALWAYS MORE THAN ONE WAY TO DO SOMETHING IN MINECRAFT. Why walk up to those vexes and get into a fight when we can go around them?" "You want to look for a back door?" asked Po. "I WANT TO MAKE A BACK DOOR," Morgan answered. "Also, why do you look like a rabbit?" Po struck a pose, modeling his new skin. "It was Jodi's idea." "LET'S FORGET ABOUT PO'S ADORABLE BUNNY EARS AND COTTON TAIL FOR A MINUTE," said Harper. "Morgan, you want to dig through the mountain?" "Exactly," Morgan said. "If we dig through the rock, we should eventually intersect the mineshaft. Then we can avoid a fight." "SOUNDS SENSIBLE TO ME," Ash said. "Especially given the state of my sword," Jodi said. She held up a broken iron blade. "It shattered the last time I used it."

Morgan rolled his eyes. "JODI, YOU HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR EQUIPMENT! You should have said something." "I'm saying something now," Jodi said. "Why don't you sit this mission out," Morgan suggested. "You can be our lookout. Hang back and make sure the vexes don't follow us." Ash knew Jodi wouldn't like that. Morgan could be overprotective at times, and it always got under his little sister's skin. If their avatars could blush, Jodi's face would be bright red. "You want to leave me here?" she said. Her

voice was strained. "I THINK WE ALL NEED TO STICK TOGETHER," Ash said, wanting to head off a situation between the siblings. "If Morgan's plan WORKS, WE WON'T EVEN USE OUR WEAPONS." "And I can lend Jodi my bow, just in case," Harper added. "Fine," Morgan said. "Just be careful, Jodi." "Let's all be careful," said Po, his bunny whiskers twitching. "Like always."

"Let's gather our beds and make a few torches," Ash said. "We'll head out in a minute." While the others got to work, she pulled Morgan aside. "HEY, GO EASY ON YOUR SISTER," she whispered. "For someone who wants to avoid unnecessary fights, it seemed like you were trying to pick one." "Sorry," Morgan whispered. He looked like he wanted to say more, but he hesitated. "What's wrong?" Ash prompted. Morgan sighed. "I just don't want anything to happen to her. WHEN THAT WITHER SKELETON ATTACKED HER YESTERDAY, MY HEART ALMOST STOPPED." "But you were there to protect her," Ash reminded him. "Just like she's protected you." She

patted him on the shoulder. "You're a good big brother. But Jodi's a part of this, and there's no changing that." "You're right." Morgan nodded. "EVERYBODY READY?" Harper asked, taking a torch from the wall. Ash and Morgan shared a look. "Let's do it," Morgan said. "ALL TOGETHER." They approached the mountain from the side, staying out of the vexes' line of sight. In the silence, Ash pondered how strange it was to find those mobs here. It wasn't just that vexes weren't supposed to spawn in the desert. They weren't supposed to spawn anywhere. As far as she knew, they were always created by evokers. And they only existed a few minutes before disappearing. Since the Evoker King had named himself after the game's magic-wielding illagers, maybe he had a soft spot for vexes. That made a certain