The Armies of Herobrine Read online

  “You mean …?” I said.

  Dad nodded grimly. “We had our minds, but we couldn’t move our bodies of our own free will. Inside my brain I was screaming at myself not to hurt you. However, at the same time, Herobrine was making our bodies and mouths move. He had me saying and doing the most terrible things, and attacking you. He knew that would make things all the more painful.”

  I was shaken by this. “His evil went so deep,” I whispered.

  “That may be, but he’s gone for good now,” Yancy said, swishing his drink around and almost spilling more water.

  Aunt Alexandra stood up, raising her glass. “I’d like to propose a toast as well. This is how you do it, right?”

  Yancy nodded.

  “I would like to make a toast to you remarkable kids,” she said. “The five of you stuck together through thick and thin. Yancy, Maison, and Destiny, even though you are from another world, I’d like to make you honorary citizens of the Overworld. You are welcome to come visit any time you’d like.”

  There was a chorus of excited thank-yous.

  “There’s something else I also want to share with you,” Yancy said when we were almost done with our meal. “I brought dessert.”

  He had his backpack next to him, and now he dumped its contents all over the table.

  “This is …?” Dad said, picking up a chocolate candy bar and looking at it with suspicion.

  “I won the Halloween party contest for best costume!” Yancy said. “And I’d like to share my winnings with you.”

  “You won the costume contest as a surly teenager?” I said, confused.

  Yancy laughed. “No, I won for being the school’s best zombie,” he said. “My zombie ‘costume’ was way more convincing than Dirk and Mitch’s, but I still shared some of my candy with them.”

  Dad took a bite of the chocolate candy bar. “Hmm,” he said. “It’s good. How do you make it?”

  “Uh …” Yancy said. I could see he had no idea how people made chocolate bars. Dad still didn’t understand how people on Earth didn’t make everything themselves.

  It didn’t matter, though. I looked around the table and thought about how these were my favorite people in the world. My favorite people in any world. Herobrine had brought out the darkness that was possible in the world, but he’d also made us appreciate the light and goodness that was there, too. It made us all more aware of how important friends, family, and kindness were.

  I stood and held up my glass. “I’d like to propose a toast, too,” I said. “To many more years of friendship.”

  “And adventure,” Alex cut in.

  “And adventure,” I said.

  “I think we can all toast to that,” Maison said.

  We all clanged our glasses together, cheering.

  Check out the rest of the Unofficial Overworld Adventure series to find out what happens to Stevie, Alex, and their friends!

  Escape from the Overworld

  DANICA DAVIDSON

  Attack on the Overworld

  DANICA DAVIDSON

  The Rise of Herobrine

  DANICA DAVIDSON

  Down into the Nether

  DANICA DAVIDSON

  The Armies of Herobrine

  DANICA DAVIDSON

  Battle with the Wither

  DANICA DAVIDSON

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