"Are you ready for this?" She whispered into his ear.

  Gregor grinned. How could he not be? He and Jane were crouched on an outcropping overlooking a town on a lake called Aqua Oppidum. Their job was to wait for the signal, a loud creeper moan. That would mean that Ben and Ridge had found the guards' control office. Grace and Lora were patrolling the streets, taking notice of the patterns Herobrine's guards followed. The plan was perfectly laid out. And soon he and Jane would be raiding the guards' office to take control of them. It had been a while since Gregor had done something as fun as this.

  After a few minutes of waiting, the signal came. The moan rolled through the narrow streets of Aqua Oppidum and up to where Gregor and Jane waited.

  "Okay, so where are they signaling from?" He muttered.

  Jane scanned the horizon and saw a light flashing from a town on the edge of town. "Found it, Gregor."

  They memorized the location of the tower and stood. It was time to go to town.

  They were standing under the tower.

  "So Ben and Ridge are up in there?" Gregor asked. Jane nodded beside him. "So all we have to do is climb up there?" Jane nodded again.

  The office was completely empty besides their friends, they soon found out.

  "How come no one's watching this place?" Jane asked as they looked over the town from their high perch in the tower.

  Gregor saw black figures, the guards, walking around the town. It wasn't uncommon to see one beating up or bullying a peasant. Everytime he witnessed it he would cringe.

  "Time to take control, Gregor, pay attention. You're our watch guy," Jane said, starting to work with the buttons and wires on the control panel.

  "I'm always the watch guard," Gregor complained. "How come I can't work with the panel? I am literally an inventor. I'll understand this kind of this better than you would."

  Ben and Ridge looked like they both agreed, but didn't say anything.

  Jane sighed. "Can't you just deal with it Gregor?"

  "Plus I'm older than you," he added.

  "No you're not. Just becuase you look 15 doesn't mean you are."

  "Actually I am and you're still 13. Now just let me work on the panel please."

  Groaning, Jane unsheathed her sword and walked to the edge of the tower, looking out over the town. Gregor flashed her a grin and winked before leaning over the control panel.

  The buttons and switches all made sense to him. He pushed the one that said "Microphone" and began to speak, just like their plan.

  "All guards report to food cellars. All guards report to food cellars. Call in upon arrival. Repeat, all guards to food cellars. Call in upon arrival. Cease all other tasks and report to food cellars," he said in a commanding voice.

  Hanging up the microphone, Gregor saw Ridge and Ben giving him looks of approval. He leaned against the post that sat in the middle of the town outpost, twisting his sword in his hand.

  "What a nice way to spend a day." He was pretty sure he saw Jane rolling her eyes at him.

  "Hey guys," said a voice. Gregor watched as Grace and Lora climbed up into the outpost, bows strapped over their backs.

  "How was it? Anything we should know?" Ridge asked.

  "Nothing really," said Grace as she stretched her arms. "Those guards just go around bullying the townspeople all day. They seemed to all be heading to the food cellar for the past few minutes. At least, that's where they were probably going, I don't know where it is."

  Gregor nodded.

  "Go ahead and give them further instructions, Gregor," Ben invited.

  He turned on the microphone again.

  "All guards, take the food and distribute it to the townspeople evenly. Do not harm them," he commanded before pressing the button to turn it off.

  "It's amazing how this works," said Lora, looking impressed. "Herobrine's spell really has them."

  Nodding, Gregor looked down and watched as the guards handed out the food to the peasants of the town.

  "Wow," Jane muttered.

  Gregor went back on the microphone. "Do not harm any of the townspeople ever again. When all of the food is distributed please return to the food cellar and lock the door behind you. DO NOT FOLLOW ANY MORE INSTRUCTIONS BY A VOICE OTHER THAN THIS ONE. Repeat. Do not follow any more intructions by a voice other than this one."

  And he turned the microphone off.

...

  We began treking through the mountains again in the morning.

  Maria and I didn't say anything to each other, along with not looking in the other person's direction. And for some reason, I didn't like it.

  The trip across the Mountains of Moran was too treacherous to speak through. No member of the team talked to another as we made our way across. We climbed up cliffs and ridges, swam across rivers, and battled wolves the size of horses.

  My body had never stretched to such an extent. By the time we finally found a place to rest it was screaming in agony.

  The sun was setting over the peaks as I put the gamma tracker back in my inventory. We were standing on an outcropping that looked over the land as it fell asleep. Behind us was what we were sure was a cave.

  But it wasn't.

  "Guys!" Braden yelled, loading his bow. He was standing in front of the cave, peering inside.

  Not knowing what was happening, we got out our weapons also and followed our friend into the dark.

  "Woah!" Bradley exclaimed the second we stepped inside. I'd forgotten he had the radioactive power to see in the dark.

  "What do you see?" Asked Art.

  "I'm not quite sure yet, but I think we'll need guards. You and Maria should go out and watch," he said.

  "But I want to know what's in here!" Art protested.

  "It's okay, we can keep watch," said Maria as she pulled the other girl out of the cave.

  "Okay, so what's up with this place?" I asked as I looked into the complete darkness.

  "There are cells," said Bradley.

  "Excuse me?" Rax asked nervously.

  "Prison cells are surrounding us, and the people inside are staring at us."

  This was too much for me. I lit a torch and took a look, finding that he was right. Tired looking prisoners were crowded inside classic cells, staring at us with their dead eyes.

  "Who put you in here?" I whispered, too afraid to speak loudly.

  "Herobrine," a raspy voice replied, sounding as if it hadn't spoken in years.

  I nodded. Why wouldn't it be Herobrine? What other punk would lock up a bunch of people?

  "Do you know where he is?"

  The prisoners that could hear me shook their heads before whimpering and cowering in fear.

  "Are they afraid of us?" I asked Braden. He shrugged.

  "They seem really scared," he told me.

  That enough was true. They were staring at us and quivering as if they knew something but couldn't tell us because it was too terrifying.

  "What is he doing?" I asked. "Herobrine. What is he plotting?"

  The prisoner in front of me shook like he would go insane if he sat still. "B-building," he stutttered. "W-weapon. Shall d-destroy."

  I was confused, as well as scared. "He's building a weapon?"

  Still shaking, the prisoner nodded. 

  "Do you want us to free you?"

  Instantly, its eyes filled with terror. "No! No! No!"

  My mind began racing and my heart pounding. "Okay, okay." I turned to Rax, Braden, and Bradley, who were all crouched in front of the cell like I was. "Why don't they want to be freed?" I asked, noticing that the other prisoners had recoiled at my words too.

  All three of my friends shrugged. "They look like they know something," said Bradley. He looked at the prisoner in front of us. "Is something happening that concerns us. Is that why you're scared?"

  The prisoner nodded twice.

  "Is it happening right now?"