Usually, as I am writing, I have a special chapter dedicated to my notes and ideas for future scenes. This book is no different! Feel free to reread the scenes I wrote MONTHS in advance, before actually putting them in the book, as well as read some bloopers/things I scrapped! ================================

○○○done○○○
A stale slab of meat slammed into (Steve's) back, knocking him forwards a little. His broken and beaten body shivered as the piece of flesh plopped onto the ground and slid into the very corner of his view. He neglected the idea of the substance, turning his head with a grimace on his face. Clutching his stomach as it growled in pain, he knew he needed it. He really did. But he wasn't going to eat anything he was given.. Not after witnessing what they had done to Billy. No sane person would dare allow themself to feel an inch comfortable around monsters like them.

"Human need food. Eat!" The creature demanded in a gruff voice, poking him in the shoulder with a stick as it stepped closer. Steve flinched slightly at the opposite of friendly contact, but otherwise made no attempt to look or sound phased. He couldn't, however, ignore it when that same stick came back swinging at the back of his head. There was a hollow 'tonk' sound on impact, and Steve fell much farther forward than he thought he would. "Eat!" The being demanded again.

"Why don't you make me.?" Steve hissed from his defensive position on the floor. Only moments later, he felt a tug on his hair as he was lifted off the support of his hands, and the stick came again to swat his left calf. Steve yelped at the pain of his still healing bone shifting, opening his mouth wide enough for the hard brick of meat to be shoved down his throat. Strained breaths fought for passage, Steve still refusing to bight down, he felt the stinging pain of a cold, dull knife piercing down on his shoulder and staying there. Only when the blade began rocking slowly inside his the open flesh of his wound did he tighten his jaw on the bitter sustenance, and he was dropped, allowing him to cough up the miserable taste as the creature beside him watched with a scowl.

"Human, eat." It repeated yet again, before leaving the man alone to finish his supper.
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Zombie villagers: their bodies twitching and jolting unnaturally, vibrating even.
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○○○trash○○○
Though his voice was that of someone at the age of twenty to thirty, the way he spoke made him sound as if he thought he were only three, only just then learning how to talk.
○○○trash○○○

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○○○done○○○
"Mm, the thing is.. if I was supposed to be you, but, I'm not.. Then, who am I?"
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○○○done○○○
The man raced quickly after the item as it rolled downhill, towards a steep cliff which dropped into a dark, raging ocean below.

"Steve! Stop! It's just a lump of coal!" Hero called out, eyes widening when he took notice of the sudden drop.

"Lumpy!" But Steve didn't listen. Instead, he dove for the item right as it was tipping over the cliff's edge. "Uhg!" The man was tackled by his friend, sending him off course so he wouldn't fall off himself. The two landed harshly on the sharp rocks at the edge of the cliff face, continuing to tussle as Steve desperately tried kicking and hitting Hero off of him. Hero held onto him firmly, desperately trying to keep his friend from losing his life for some coal, which fell down -- off the cliff -- before the smaller man's eyes. "Nooo! LUMPY!" Steve cried, turning onto his stomach and pulling himself to the very edge of the cliff so that his arms were dangling. Hero had to act quickly, pinning the other as best he could to the ground, not letting him jump, as much as he tried. Steve continued to struggle, not letting his eyes leave his prized item, until, finally, he witnessed it plop beneath the waves. Steve dropped the struggle, panting hard, eyes scanning over the foam of the ocean for any sign of where Lumpy had gone. The two were stuck in complete silence.

"You can't do that, Steve! You- you could have died!. It is probably best that Lumpy is gone anyways. It isn't a good idea to care about an item like that.." Hero finally spoke over the waves. Steve just sniffled, a couple small tears slipping from his eyes. "..Come on.. Let's go back home before things get worse." Hero suggested, watching for a sign of agreement from the other.

Steve nodded a little. "Yeah.. It is probably for the best..." He agreed quietly. Content, Hero got up onto his knees while Steve began standing up as well. But, suddenly, once Steve's feet were fully on the ground, he use them to propel himself forward, jumping off the cliff for the deep blue.

"STEVE!" Hero screamed from the top of the cliff, eyes as wide as they possibly could be as he watched his friend fall into the blue abyss. Right before he landed, Steve aimed downward sticking his arms out in front of him, piercing the water the moment he came into contact with it. Eyes struggling to stay open, the man looked around in all directions for his dear Lumpy. When he did finally catch a glimpse of it, a wave of adrenaline shot through him instantly. The lump of coal was being carried away in a strong current; a current Steve quickly began fighting to enter. Once having passed through and into the current, he knew there was no turning back.

Hero landed in the water shortly after, not as well as Steve, however, and the younger man rushed quickly for the surface, finding unforgiving waves. Waves which constantly slapped him in the face as he tried to take in a full breath of air. Eventually, he had to settle for the breath he had, and dove back down, sighting Steve as nothing but a distant blur, already so far away down the current which only pulled him further and further out into sea.

The current didn't last long, and soon, Lumpy with Steve close behind were dropped into the ocean's open but weary space. So little oxygen left, Steve had to go up for air soon, but Lumpy was so close. He could almost reach him! So he followed the lump of coal as it sank down, down where the dark water was even darker. Down to the place of little return. Steve could feel the pressure on his ears as he swam further and further down. He recognized his situation. He had been in similar ones too many times before, none of them ending pleasantly. But, he had to save Lumpy! He couldn't see the ocean floor beneath him, meaning this was his last chance!

Hero rose from the water, gasping for air. He was so glad the waves further from shore weren't as wild, but they made up for that by being big. The younger man hurried to re-stalk his lungs, bright eyes gaping at the sight of a massive wave coming his way. He finished just in time, ducking beneath the water right as it came crashing down on him, pushing him downward, which would have been bad had he not already been trying to go that way. Because, directly underneath him, was Steve.

The man's strokes grew desperate as the pressure on his lungs began to set in, no oxygen left to burn. Inside, he tried shoving any potential oxygen from his mouth into his lungs, if that were even possible. All he knew was that he needed to reach Lumpy in time, who was falling faster than he could swim. Hopelessness began settling in, and the man's face contorted, pained by any thoughts involving having to let his friend go.

CRACK

A sudden jolt of pain starting at his lungs and ending in his brain, finally snapping him into a realization. His own life was in danger now! And what would the villagers do if they learned he had died?.. How would Hero feel for not being able to save him? Ohh, this was all so stupid! With one last longing look at Lumpy, Steve lost yet another tear into the deep blue, before turning fully around and beginning his journey back up, choosing life!

Hero's eyes lit up when he saw Steve's blue ones meet his. He was so far down, it was almost impressive! Steve's eyes set on the younger one's with a desperation in them he had never seen before, as he began swimming back up. Suddenly, his friend contorted, arms reaching by instinct for his chest, and he quickened his desperate paddling for the surface. For his friend. Hero also hurried, realizing that now Steve was in physical pain: drowning. Hero flinched when he watched his friend convulse a second time, that time accidentally opening his mouth a little to let a few bubbles go free. Hero was already swinging as fast as he could, so it was torturous knowing there was nothing he could do but keep going.

Steve squeezed in on himself, forcing his lungs not to hiccup and swallow any of the salty ocean water around him. He pressed his lips together tightly, hoping that would help a little. As much as he tried to swim, it got to the point where he was needing all his energy just to hold his breath.

CRACK

Steve's lungs burnt as if they were on fire. His body pleaded for air. Something that was seemingly not any closer than it was half a minute ago. Little black speckles began lingering before his eyes. It hurt to think of anything but surviving. It became impossible to think of anything else but smelling that sweet sweet oxygen.

CRACK

Steve's muscles were working as hard as they could, so it didn't help when his arms and legs began locking up, making it even harder for him to swim for the surface. Finally, right when things were looking like it was impossible for him to make it to the surface,

CRACK!

it was impossible...

Hero's eyes widened painfully as he watched the body of his friend give to the pressing ocean, back for the ocean floor, bubbles rising out from his chest.

(Steve convulsed, with desperation sucking in the very water that was killing him.)
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○○○done/trash○○○
"Hey! Lumpy isn't hurting anyone!"

"YES, he is! He is hurting YOU! Items shouldn't be treated like people, especially when you have US, Steve! You don't NEED Lumpy as some support item! You have real people, real friends in your life, Steve!.. You need to let the coal go!"

"No! You don't care about Lumpy, or me! And do you want to know why?! Because you, are FAKE! You're FAKE, HERO! And you know it! You are just as fake as the- the! The! Fake! You are fake!"

"You aren't thinking right here, Steve! You need to realize what about this world is real, and what isn't! I!. I, Steve, AM REAL! The village, Billy, all the other villagers, are all real!. Lumpy, IS NOT REAL!. Listen, I know you have had it tough, and I can't even imagine all you have gone through.. but you need to let this go... Steve... You have real friends now.. Real, friends... Don't throw us away for a silly old lump of coal."

Steve flinched. "...But this lump of coal has been with me a lot longer than you have.. and he has never left my side, not even once.. I can't just abandon him, Hero. You know that.."

"Let's just.. let's just go. The storm will be here anytime now.. We need to at least prepare."
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○○○trash○○○
"The real question is, do we have to learn all this stuff about stuff?"

"Uh, yeah. The lessons we learn are the most important part of life."

"But do they have to be the most important part of my life?"

"..."
○○○trash○○○

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○○○done○○○
"Hero, just because I have lived in this world longer and I may have more experience than you doesn't mean that I have everything sorted like you think I do. In fact, being honest, you have been here a much shorter time than me and I would think you are the one who knows who you are and what you want out of life."
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°°°done°°°
*dandelions briskly fly past face, returning memories of gone friend*
"W-wait, no, wait-wait, no! C-come back!"
*arms extend desperately for the white fluffs soaring away from him*
*jumps out to just barely catch one, before tucking and rolling down the hill*
*once at the bottom he first checks to see if the dandelion is okay*
It is..n't. His own hand crushed it.
*eyes begin to tear up as he looks down at it, broken in his palm*
"...I'm sorry, little one.. so, so, sorry.." *apologizes, hand shaking*
*no more words, broken breath, he holds the small broken fluff in trembling arm, regret filled*
*finally, he drops the seed and puff together, stays on his knees, unsure if he could ever really let it go*
°°°done°°°

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○○○done○○○
*arguing with Hero about Steve being so bRuTaL*

"Yeah but do you know all the things I have gone through? All the challenges, hardships? All the suffering this world has put me through?.. Like you, for example.. You are a product of my suffering. Yeah that's right! If I wasn't captured, starved, tortured.. you wouldn't even exist."
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○○○done○○○
"I was going to just do this behind your back, but then I decided it would be a lot more fun to see your reaction. I could tell you already had thoughts of betraying me anyway."
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○○○done○○○
Author: Steven Chriss / Steve Christopher
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Nether mining:

"Hey! I found some gold!"
"Great! Throw it on the crafting table." (There's a pile of gold nuggets and a couple gold bars on there already) "...Wait.. this isn't gold."
"What?"
"It's just Smoky Quartz. Gold is usually heavier, and feels a bit softer."
"...oh."
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○○○done○○○
Letter:

I am writing today..not because I have finally found signs of recovery here, but... quite the opposite, actually. I am afraid this is where my adventure ends...

I had a dream about this once. About me sitting alone in a cave, struggling to write with a broken arm. For years I have tried to keep myself from such a fate, but...here I am.. finally ready to accept it. Heh.. Took me long enough.

I had a good run. My research has been spread across so much of the world now, waiting for the right hands to pick them up. I still can't help but question how much I have yet to figure out; all the hidden mysteries I have yet to reveal. Oh well... I will just leave those for someone else, I guess. Hopefully to someone who is more immune to the virus than me, I say as it eats away at my broken limbs. I have been fighting that off for ages it seems. Soon, I shall be just as dead as the rest of them... I pray the same fate does not come for you. It certainly isn't the most elegant way to go... heh.

It is likely that my body will never be found, and that what I am writing right now will never be read. But, in the slim chance that it is, and the one who finds it is still alive and well... may the night's grace be upon you. For you are not just a survivor; the last of your kind, but hope. Dear reader of this letter, you are tomorrow's sunrise; our very will to live on. Keep fighting. Show us what a bright future looks like.

-Sincerely, Steven Chriss
4/7/2021
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Singing depths of the ocean blue

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Steve character: driven by fear. Character goal: to make decisions not based around fear.

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Trader's Guild

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°°°done?°°°
'I believe I have finally uncovered the mysteries of that secret structure I stumbled into while exploring cave systems so long ago. It's a portal. A broken portal. A portal I believe can be fixed.'
°°°done?°°°

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○○○done○○○
(I had this whole death thing mapped out even before I introduced Hero as a character, and so I've just been going through all the stages of grief for the past few months, dreading a death that needed to happen! *awkward laugh/sobs*)
○○○done○○○

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○○○done○○○
"The Nether wants its spirit back, Steve. Just accept that you've lost for once; and come back if you have any more questions for us!"
○○○done○○○

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°°°trash?°°°
Steve didn't leave a single clue pointing to where he could have gone, making it impossible for any villager to (track after him.) That was the easy part, however... because he himself had no idea where he was headed, until he arrived.
°°°trash°°°

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"..I honestly don't know why that keeps happening... I think I just accidentally eat their souls or something -idk.."

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°°°trash°°°
"why didn't you- I could have easily caught-"
"Nah... His blood shouldn't be needed anymore... He just needs to run.."
°°°trash°°°

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Parts: "Who, Where, What, When Which, and Why" = 91,288 words, excluding the notes at the beginning/end of the chapters.

I have already written 10k+ in "How" so far, so that would bring it up to 100k+ so far.

Still have some more to go, though.

After done:
105,223 words in all! :D

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Hope you all enjoyed the book! Goodbye! 👋

END
-2/16/2022-

"You just won't give up... will you?"