The Games: Minecraft Alex Journals

By Sierra Burchby

Alex has the greatest life ever. She has a wolf named Snow, and a cat named Congo. She takes care of them, her home, and her farm, and thinks she has it all. But then, a letter announcing she's got to go to battle in the P.V.P. tournament changes everything. She k

• Language: English
• Publisher: SSB
• Release date: Aug 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9798988854319

Sierra Burchby

Sierra Burchby took up the passion for writing in 5th grade when her teacher assigned the class to write a narrative. She has a love for playing Minecraft and reading fiction and fantasies, so she decided to combine the two and write her own book. She lives in Appleton, Wisconsin with her family and her snake.

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Hi, I’m Alex, and I have the greatest life ever. I live on a small slope with wildflowers in the field, and I have a farm a little ways down from my white quartz house. I have a cat named Congo, a dog named Snow, and a view of the sea with a balcony on the top level facing the farm. There's a private beach on the edge of the woods I live next to. Yep, life is pretty awesome. That is, until a letter came that changed the whole scene for me, a letter that could possibly mean I have to arm myself for war.

1

The Letter

One sunny Saturday morning, I woke to the sound of insane barking and meowing. I knew that something was up, so I yawned and slowly made my way downstairs. When I entered the kitchen, I saw Snow and Congo fighting over a piece of leftover fish I had made for dinner last night. I sighed loudly, stepped over to a chest in the pantry, and took out a cooked chicken.

 I gave it to Snow and said, Why do you even want that cold fish? He let the cod fall out of his jaw at once. Congo swooped in and ate the fish right away. She licked up the rest of the slimy thing, then went and rubbed against my heels. I smiled, and went back upstairs to grab the things I would need for the day. 

I put on my armor, then packed my backpack and belt with my iron sword (I leave my diamond sword for emergencies), my diamond pickaxe, and other things I would need for another day of hard work at the farm. Then I went back downstairs for breakfast. When I got there, I saw Congo asleep on the living room rug by the window, and Snow whimpering by the cold empty grate of the fireplace, and I thought they both must be over what happened this morning. I knew he loved the flickering light of the flames, so I grabbed some flint and steel from the chest on the mantle. I ignited the netherrack and the flames burst into life, the dazzling light illuminating Snow’s white coat. He barked in apparent appreciation of the orange glow, jumping around with the same flickering quality of the fire. I walked to the fridge and grabbed two apples and a melon slice. Then I looked at the redstone clock. It was already nine o'clock! I usually get to the farm between eight and eight thirty! 

Saying a hurried goodbye to Snow and Congo, I raced out the door, past the flower bushes that stood on either side of the dark oak entrance, out of the lawn gate, and up the hill to the barn. I threw open the door, panting. Then, with what felt like a knife in my side, I walked to the other end of the barn, and opened a chest.  I grabbed a stack of wheat and fed all the horses in the barn, one at a time. After I fed the last horse, Oreo, I stepped outside. 

In the yard, there stood eight pens, each holding something different. There were sheep, goats, mooshrooms, pigs, chickens, horses, cows, and an empty pen for breeding. I look over and see my chests in front of each pen with the animal's feeding, riding, and harvesting tools. As I checked on my crops in the fenced in area, I noticed I hadn’t checked the mail yet.There was a letter in my mailbox, and it said: 

"Greetings Alex, we would like to have you participate in the official P.V.P tournament. It starts on Thursday, and you are required to be there a day before the games start. You may bring your own tools, but you can only take two of them into the arena. Don't be late, good luck, and see you there!!"

-Niana Cash, Leader of the Games

Beside the letter was a dark green jumpsuit, about the color of the leaves on the trees in the forest. On top of the neatly folded suit, was a note. It said, Please wear this on your journey here, so you don't have to put it on while you're getting ready for your fight.

I'm not quite sure how I got through the rest of that day. All I knew is that in four days time, I would be fighting with people that were older, and probably about four times bigger than me. See, I'm sixteen years old, but I look like an eleven year old. My size is an advantage when I go into the forest to slay hidden mobs because I'm very light for climbing trees, and very quiet for sneaking up on them. I’d be able to sneak up on the other contestants, but I still couldn’t stop thinking about their superior sizes. 

As I walked back to my house with my backpack full of milk, eggs, wool, and crops, I said out loud, "They never said I have to go." 

But then, said a small voice in my mind, they never said I had a choice, either. 

I thought about the tournament all through dinner. Finally, I arrived at an answer, "