Kari's POV
After running for so long without stopping, my breathing soon became ragged and came out in short, disjointed gasps. Inhaling was difficult, and exhaling came out with a woosh like the panting of a tired dog. A second later, I couldn't take it any longer and skidded to a halt so abruptedly that the heel of my blue and white sneakers left a small mark in the ground. A tree happened to be growing beside me that I could lean on while I recovered. I almost fell over as the wall of oak wood supporting me disintegrated into clumps of ash piled neatly on top of a blackened stump. I instantly knew that my companion was right beside me.

"Sorry!" Bren hissed apologetically, going almost as red in the face as his fiery hair, which was flecked with streaks of black and yellow. With bright cerise eyes, a cardin and black jacket and orange jeans, you could easily tell that he was a nether being. And being what people called a 'Mainblood', he flames up easily, especially while feeling fear. Which, I have to admit, happens a lot. Most nether beings are hotheaded and as constantly heated as their dimension is, but not Bren.

"It's... fine..." I managed to say amid the gaps, in which I took great deep breaths of air. There was a short silence where I tried to quieten my (incredibly loud) breathing, which was like a cacophony itself in the eerie, foreboding lull of sound pressing down on us. It wasn't the peaceable sort of silence like the sort in a library on a warm, summer day, or an awkard silence that comes after a lapse in a conversation and everyone struggles to think of something to say. It was a dark, cryptic silence that sent shivers scuttling down my spine. It was quiet... WAY too quiet...

"Where the nether have they gone?" I muttered, referring to our pursuers who were just on our tail a few seconds ago. Bren opened his mouth to reply, but there came a sudden rustling that sounded unpleasantly like someone forcing their way through a wall of undergrowth. There was a moment when we looked at each other and after inaudibly freaking out at each other via glance for a few seconds, I looked upwards. The sky was like a massive canvas with a brilliant array of purples and blues bleeding into each other and speckled with brilliant dots of light. A cloak of dark greyish cloud slowly travelled across the heavens, veiling the beautiful, almost perfectly round ivory moon. It was smack in the middle of the sky, signifying the middle of the night. Well, at least our nocturnal cover could remain.

I looked around, seeing another lonely tree standing a few metres away with a few small, flimsy saplings scattered around. It wasn't the thickest, tallest tree in the forest, but it would have to do. I motioned towards it, and Bren nodded. Soundlessly, we made our way towards it. The grass was uneven, short in some areas and having a few patches that reached up to my waist. The entire time I was uncomfortably conscious of footsteps tailing us. I only hope we can make it in time. Luckily soon enough the trunk of the medium tree was in front of me, and I scaled it quickly enough. Living in the wild under constant danger had taught me a few nifty tricks, that was for sure. Bren followed me up, calming down slightly. I could tell he was trying his best not to burn the foliage around us and blow our cover. I could smell just the slightest edge of charring, but kudos for trying.

A minute or so later (the sounds had stopped for a short while), I saw a girl emerge underneath. She had vibrant red hair that stood out like an Enderman in the Nether, styled in curls that bounced everywhere around her vivaciously. I kept silent, not sure whether or not she was a friend or foe. She scanned the area around with bright green eyes cautiously, one hand over the hilt of her emerald sword, which hung from her leather belt. I relaxed a little as I caught a glimpse of a long, bushy fox's tail swishing behind her, and the glint of fangs. A glitch. One of us.

I could tell Bren had reached the same conclusion, but something made us hang back instead of jumping down to greet a fellow ally. Maybe it was the fact that she had stopped still as if sensing danger approaching. If she had rabbit ears, I'm sure they'd be perked up and swivelling around right about now.

Bang! The ear-splitting sound shocked me so much it almost jolted me out of the tree, but I clung on with one hand just in time. Bren winced horribly, as if he had been struck, but otherwise made no sound. The wood underneath one of his hands was slowly turning grey and crumbly. The girl had frozen in her tracks, but only for a second. She collapsed sideways, an expression of fear and shock etched on her face and mouth slightly open as if surprised. A shallow puddle of dark vermillion pooled beside her head swiftly, and we both stared in awe

Just like every Minecraftian, her body dissolved into shreds of code; mixtures of numbers flowing everywhere until they faded. All that was left was the sword, still in its sheath, and the silver flash of a bullet in the sea of grass below. A moment or so later, two men walked into the clearing, one of them picking up the sword.

"Emerald... Not bad." One of them remarked. "That at least is worth my time." The other snorted, rolling his eyes.

"Useless. The girl's not even worth the cost of ammunition." Talking casually as if they had not just murdered someone in cold blood, they walked away. Only many minutes after they were well and truly gone did we relax. I let out a deep breath that I didn't realise I had been holding.

"It isn't safe here." Bren said quietly. There was a small crash as a large part of the tree burst into flames quite suddenly and fell onto the ground, where it almost set the grass on fire as well. Luckily it had rained just last night, and everything was brushed with dew.

"You can say that again." I slid down the tree, one foot on the trunk. Landing lightly, I moved aside slightly as he joined me to avoid a collision.

"We should probably leave while they're gone," he looked around warily as if expecting someone else to leap from a bush with a gun. "In the opposition direction." Without another word, we mutely began running again. Well, you're probably wondering what the heck is going on. As you should. Bear with me here, and allow me to explain. Minecraftia used to be a great place, with lush plains, blue skies, sapphire oceans; the works. The realms were ruled by four of oldest beings in Minecraftia history. They're immortal and blessed with eternal youth, course. I'm not talking about someone's wrinkly old grandma or something. The Nether was conquered by the Wither, and the Enderdragon wreaked havoc upon the End until it was shaped into the barren wasteland of a kingdom it is today. The other two were put under new monarchy with less violent methods. Two brothers, Herobrine and Notch, began their lives as normal, everyday people. But they soon realised they possessed incredible power. It was not a glitch -a mistake- it was like it was meant to be. Now this was a LONG time ago, and back then they didn't have glitches around. Unlike now, the world was perfect, with no split seams of reality and such invading at all. So naturally they sorta worshipped the brothers, who became great leaders. Herobrine was the king of the Overworld, and Notch ruled the Aether. It was all peaceful and such until one horrifying day, a century or so ago.

Herobrine went insane. Without warning, the world had snapped his sanity and twisted his powers into some new, horrific... Well, I don't really know how to describe it. He could summon lightning from the sky, and make explosive fireballs appear out of nowhere that not even ghasts could even begin to compare with. Most unforgettable of all were his eyes. They were glowing white and missing pupils as well as emotion. That was just the beginning. He began destroying large amounts of the Overworld, including their original hometown on the outskirts of Minetopia; biggest and most populated city in Mineraftia. Notch rushed to the scene within minutes of hearing the news, and after hopelessly pleading with his brother, had no choice but to engage in battle. I wasn't there, and the details get a little... Blurred. Some say Herobrine commanded an army of zombies which joined the onslaught, while others swore that Notch fought while riding a white and gold dragon with iridescent scales. Well, the eye-witnesses are all dead, so there's little clarification. But what I can guarantee that it was an epic battle, and close too. But in the end, Notch was forced to kill his own brother, his best friend, his closest companion. Sorrowful and morose, he withdrew behind curtains and bricked walls for quite a while, in which he seemed to have convinced himself that glitches were all pure evil. So... That brings us to now.

There are two types of people. There are hunters and the hunted, or as the hunters call us, the game. Notch has gone to great lengths to bring us glitches to absolute genocide, so much so that he has outlawed us, executed thousands and if that isn't enough already, began hiring bounty hunters for us. So, that's how this started. All the humans formed a sort of revolt and went out for us. Every death of a glitch automatically sends them valuable emeralds and diamonds, which are very rare to come by these days. This is the life of the hunted, I guess. Welcome to my world.
~~~
Author's Note
Hey guys! I hope you're enjoying this story so far, and it isn't too confusing. It's been a while since I've written anything like this, and I'm having fun, so I hope you guys are as well. Please vote, comment, share, etc. Thanks!
-iVesper
PS: The cover is only temporary. I'll be drawing one very soon.