><>Steve's POV <><

     I had been running and walking on and off for a while when I heard a river to my left. I turned and saw a creek that widened into a river in front of me. I decided that following a river would be my best way to stay on track and not get lost, so I walked over to it, but not close enough that people could see me through the forest brush. I was destracted from my half terrified state when I heard two girls giggling. I looked to my left and saw it was actually a couple women about my age, but they were playing on their rafts as if they were a couple preschoolers. I chuckled quietly to myself at the sight of them. I could tell they were playing pirates, and a part of me wished that I could play too. However I shrugged it off and started walking again. I didn't have time for a break, nor could I play. I turned around but as I did I had a strange feeling that I should look further down the river. I knew not to ignore this 'special gift' of mine; so I quickly looked down the river and saw a drop off in the distance. I knew it must be a waterfall and my eyes widened when I looked between the waterfall and the two innocent girls with no idea. 

     "Turn around!" I yelled through the brush. I saw them look around for me but I hid behind a tree. I looked back and saw they still hadn't noticed the waterfall. "Turn around!!" I shouted even louder that time. 

     What I feared would happen, happened. Right after I shouted the second time an arrow struck my right shoulder and I looked around frantically but didn't see anyone. But I knew they were there. I wanted to run away so badly but I knew the girls were now in big trouble so I ran down the river towards the waterfall. I looked at the two floaties to see the girl with blond hair pushing the girl with red hair towards the rocky shore. 

     'Woah, she must be pretty strong.' I thought to myself. I saw the blond haired girl fall off her raft and she tried to swim, but she was no match for the roaring waves. At that point I was running, racing the waves that were pushing the blond haired girl to her doom. I was able to pass her -- don't ask -- and jumped over the the cliff area where I could catch her while she fell. I knew jumping in would only cause me to fall in too. 

     I waited for her to fall before I leapt towards her. She looked like she was in an action movie as she fell in seemingly slow-motion looking to the sky while falling towards a fate I wouldn't want anyone to go through. If landing on the sharp rocks didn't get her, she would surely drown after being pushed down by that large waterfall for long enough. Luckily, I was able to grab her in time and we both crashed down on the other side of the river. I took most of the fall damage because I knew I was tougher than I looked. We roller over in the mud and I had a few new bruises and scars to add to my never ending collection. At least I had saved her. 

     I laid there for a few minutes next to her -- just catching my breath. Then I realized that they were still out there. I sat up and put my left hand to my head and focused on an order. 

     'Attack the hunters.' I thought in my head. The message was sent out and I could sense the sudden movement around us. Good thing I had my 'friends' to protect me. I heard the girl groan from beside me and almost forgot she was there. I stood up and looked at down at her. 

     'No wonder there aren't so many cute girls, they're all falling down waterfalls.' I joked to myself but mentally slapped myself soon after. 'That was both rude and weird at the same time.' I grunted in my head. I rolled my eyes.. at myself.. and decided to interupt my own awkwardness. 

     "Are you okay?" I asked the girl in a gentle tone. She slowly sat up and her blond hair was a mess. It was adorable! Wait what?! (keep in mind that these early chapters were written, like, a year ago as of now -in 2020)

     As she opened her eyes and looked at me I started to freak out. 'What if she is just like the others?!' I asked in a panic. 

     "Wh- who are you?" She asked when she opened her stunning blue eyes. I wasn't sure how they could be so blue. I sighed in relief at her question and answered. 

     "My name's Steve." I saw her smile warmly and for some odd reason I liked it. I wasn't sure why she seemed different from other girls but she was definitely different. She stood up, but before either of us could do or say anything - I felt a sharp pain pierce the back of my head and everything turned black. 

><>Molly's POV Again <>< 

     I jumped back in horror when Steve was suddenly shot in the back of the head by an arrow. I looked around for where the arrow had come from and didn't have to look too hard, they were coming my way. 

     "We got 'em!" A guy shouted from the tree tops from the other side of the river as he jumped to the ground from his hiding spot among the tree branches. Before he landed, another guy with dark brown bird-like wings swooped down as well, caught him, and flew to the side of the river that we were on. I jumped protectively in front of Steve and put up my fists up ready for a fight. He just saved my life, now it was my turn. If he was even still alive. 

     "Step away from him, girl! You don't need to get involved in this." The man with wings demanded as he stepped in front of the other. He drew a very threatening sword and pointed it at me as he walked closer. He and the other guy were only a few blocks in front of me. 

     "Why do you want him?!" I asked in a demanding tone, still keeping my fists up protectively in front of me. 

     "Why do you care?! You just met him." He scowled. The man beside him had been holding his bow the whole time but just then decided to aim it at me. I thought I was going down right then, until something unexpected happened. 

     Suddenly, out of no where, a horde of zombies, spiders, and skeletons shot out of the forest. They came out like a hidden army and I ducked just in time to miss some arrows aimed at my head. I used that destraction to escape, pulling Steve with me. It looked like the mobs were mostly going after the two hunters, but several zombies and arrows followed me. Steve was much heavier than I had hoped as I dragged him through the trees away from the mobs and other people. Not to mention that I was already extremely tired. 

     "Molly!.. Molly!!" I heard Anne shouting for me. She must have found a way ashore and across the river. 

      "Anne!!" I shouted back into the woods. "I'm over here!" Anne followed my voice and I saw her running to me. She looked so happy to see me, but once she saw Steve, her smile dropped. 

     "Who's that?!" She asked as she ran over to help me carry Steve. 

     "He's Steve. He saved me from the waterfall." I panted. I was glad Anne was there to help. 

     "He looks dead. He has an arrow in the back of his head, that's like, sudden death." Anne said worryingly as she looked at who we were now carrying over our shoulders. I just hoped she was wrong. There wasn't time to check if he was okay. We needed a doctor, fast! Time seemed to speed up and soon we were at the place where the wedding had been. There were still people there and when they saw us all wet and tired everyone went silent. 

     "Anyone here a doctor?!" I shouted into the crowd. None of my friends had returned from the lazy river yet so these were all people I only partially recognized. 

     "I'm not a doctor, but I know where the nearest hospital is. Follow me!" A slightly older man shouted from the back of the crowd. Me, Anne, and limp Steve followed the man where everyone had parked their horses. The older man got on his horse and we put Steve on there with him and I and Anne jumped onto my horse. The man's horse was midnight black and mine was chocolate brown. I named her Cocoa. We sped off into the small town we all called home and near the center was a large modern-ish building that was the hospital. Once we rode in, people saw what was going on and several nurses and doctors came to meet us and the doors. From there Steve was put on a flat, raised minecart and they rolled him into the emergency room. 

     "Will he be okay?!" I asked one of the doctors nervously. I so desperately wanted to hear good news but everyone's faces were so serious or worried it was hard to stay posotive. 

     "I'm afraid that is unlikely, mam. He has been shot in the head. It is a miracle he has survived this long." The not as busy doctor answered. Though the news was sad, the word miracle gave me enough hope to wish that he would be okay. Me and Anne sat in the waiting room until a doctor came out with a clipboard and a ghostly expression on her face. Seeing her face made me go pale and I felt myself tense up in fear. 

     "I don't care how bad it is, just tell he how he is." I said in a scary cold tone as I stood up from my chair. Anne stood up as well. 

     "I don't know what to say.." The doctor said in a stunned voice, looking at me but refusing to make direct eye contact. "He's.. he's alive." She said as if she had been previously convinced otherwise. 

     "Really?!" I say excitedly. I didn't know why I was worried about him to that extreme. I guess I just wanted to know that the one who saved me would be able to live as well. 

     "Yeah, everything was saying he wouldn't make it and that he would die, but, he's stable and is recovering quickly." The doctor said again. Her last few words also sounded like she couldn't believe it. 

     "Thank you!!" I shouted in excitement as I put my arms around the doctor. She just stood there, confused. 

     "Well, the hospital isn't exactly free." She said as she pushed a paper into my face. My smile dropped when I saw the cost. "We couldn't find a background on the guy so it's safer that you keep this until he wakes up. You don't have to pay it but we wouldn't want someone cruel adgusting the cost to make it anymore pricey." That's what she said, but I heard:

     "Listen, the dude's broke so you are gunna have to handle the check. Okay sweetheart?" 

     My heart just sank more when she walked away, leaving the paper with me. 

     "64 iron!!?.. Can be accepted as other currencies such as; redstone, gold, lapis lazuli, emeralds, diamonds?!..." Anne read over my shoulder. "That will take months for one person to get. And you have a minimum wage job. It could take you years!" Anne said with a dramatic sigh. I just looked down at the paper. 

     "It might take me forever to earn it." I started to say quietly. "But it won't take me forever to mine it!" 

     Anne gasped and looked at me as if I was insane. "Molly, no! The mines are too dangerous! Most have been blocked off from the public! Only hard core survivors go down there, and many never come back out!" My eyes went wide at Anne's warnings. But this thing about mines being so scarry only made me more interested. 

     "Then I guess I'll just have to find out for myself!" I said with a surprising amount of confidence in my voice. I had been wanting to mine for a while,since not many did that anymore. Apperantly mining used to be a thing everyone did. Now we've all become a generation of wimps! And yeah, that includes me.

     I looked at Anne with a lot of seriousness I knew she wasn't used to and said, "Anne, I'm gunna go mining, and it's going to be an adventure!" The rest of the day was spent buying armor, weapons, food, torches, and tools for the long and dangerous adventure ahead of me.