Alex's Adventure Book 1: The Search for the Red Stone

By Cube Hunter

Alex had always lived a quiet life with her loving parents; her caring mother and Minecraft-obsessed father. Alex shared the same Minecraft passion with her father, who had her playing the game ever since she was old enough and reading the rule books until she had them memorized. However, this simple life changes on Alex's fourteenth birthday. S

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cube Hunter
• Release date: Nov 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9798869026620

Book preview

Chapter 1

The Girl Named Alex

Alex woke up that morning from another dream. However, this one was a nightmare, and it scared her.

Hey, Alex! Her scared heart skipped when she heard the loud knock on the door. It was her father who always seemed to never sleep. He was always alert to every sound made at night.

So we know when the Enderman comes; he used to say when Alex was much younger. Now that she was older, she was more worried about what her father might have truly been afraid of. Oftentimes, her mind always wandered to money. Though they have comfortable lifestyle, Alex was always worried.

Come in, Dad, Alex answered the door. She sat up in her bed as the door came open.

Her lanky father, Michael, walked into the bed and looked directly at his daughter. Bad dreams? He asked. Alex nodded.             

*****************

Alex was 13 years old and about to turn 14. She was usually full of life and enjoys assisting others, especially those who are in trouble. She would easily give a stranger her meal or help a blind man find his way home. That’s how nice she was. Apart from her academics, the next thing she enjoyed doing exceptionally well was to play her favorite game called Minecraft story mode.

She often wondered if everything she played was real. Since she was a child, her father taught her everything about the game. He would have her sit beside him as he played the game and explain the strategies to her. Whenever it was time to read her a bedtime story, her father would read the Minecraft rule book to her. She literally grew into the game, all thanks to her dad. At age twelve, Alex had already memorized all the rule books, and she could play the game as well as her dad.

Dad, how does the Iron Golem look when attacked? she would teasingly ask her dad whenever she wanted to play a game

Honey, why don’t we go take a look? he would grin at her. They understood each other quite well.

When Alex struggled with arithmetic at school, her father used Minecraft characters to teach her numbers, and she grew to like them. This frequently happens that whenever the teacher asks multiplication questions, she would picture out numbers with piglins, making it easy for her to get the right answers. She often received an A in all her school assignments, but only her friends, Cassandra, Romeo, Sophia, and Raymond, knew her real secret. Since grade school, they had been friends and shared almost everything, especially the thing they have in common, the love for Minecraft. They spent their break time discussing the game and the new power they unlocked the last time they played it. They would talk about their favorite characters for hours, imagining them in real life.

The Enderman is the most powerful character and can easily teleport when attacked, Alex will excitedly start up a conversation.

No, it can’t teleport in the daytime; the creepers, however, can blow up at any time and even kill the Enderman, Cassandra would often retort. Romeo and Raymond would stare at them and mimic them.

Raymond would say, I really wish I could teleport to the nether and fight off the hoglins and ghasts with my sword up close or with my bow and arrow from afar, then pick up a plank of wood and run around excitedly, screaming, and waving it around, mimicking the characters.

However, Alex’s mother, Sarah, couldn’t understand why Michael, Alex’s father, was so captivated by the game.

There they go again; it is always about the game! She would often complain. The only condition she imposed on him to teach their daughter the game was that she always received an A in school. As a result, Alex’s father would teach his daughter her schoolwork first, followed by the game techniques.

This created a routine for Alex, and she loved it. Whenever Alex celebrated her birthday, her father would either get her stickers of Minecraft characters or get her items with their pictures on them. On the other hand, her mother gets her dresses, shoes, hairbands, and extra feminine stuff.

Unlike other children who would rather go to their friends’ houses to play, Alex would prefer to build Minecraft characters with sticks and shrubs from their garden.

When Alex wakes up on a normal weekday, she brushes her teeth, takes a bath, and then goes to greet her mother in the kitchen. Her Mother, in turn, gives her a warm hug. Good day, Alexandra. she would say, often planting a kiss on her forehead.  I hope you had a good night’s sleep?. She then hands her some cookies and tells her to get ready for school while she prepares breakfast.

Alex, as the only child, benefited from her parents’ undivided attention and affection. They don’t have any pets because Alex was quite afraid of dogs and her mother was allergic to cats and birds. So, it’s just the three of them in the house, along with loads of Minecraft games. Alex used to love dogs until, when she was 8, a wild dog chased her home from a store near their house where she had gone to buy candies. It was such a terrifying incident for Alex that she avoided dogs ever since. They all lived a quiet life and enjoyed it!

Although Sarah was a real estate broker, she spent most of her time indoors and only left to show her clients properties. Her laptop is where she does the majority of her work. This allows her to provide for her family while also earning a decent living. She is passionate about her job and finds it fun showcasing properties to potential customers and she is enthusiastic about her job.

I have a new building to show off to the new clients. I’ll be back later, she would typically say, then hurriedly pick up her bag after a long phone conversation and drive away in her old-fashioned car that often made a funny creaky noise.

She was quite a hardworking woman who always wanted the best for her daughter. She occasionally goes over Alex’s schoolwork to ensure that she gets it right. Her ambition was to have a daughter who would be her fashion gist mate and to work in the fashion industry. On the other hand, Alex was much more interested in video games and hoped to become a developer like her father.

No, Mom, I want to go play games with Dad, she would say anytime her mother wanted to start those "boring’’ long conversations about fashion. Who cares about fashion when there is a Minecraft game to play?

*****************

Michael, Alex’s dad, was a game developer and loves what he does. He has a creative imagination and loves to come up with games that teaches children the strategies of survival in dangerous situations.

He would often say, Children should get rid of their fears and face the challenges of life head-on, then playfully mimic a character.

He was so particular about his own daughter; regardless of her mother’s desires, Alex’s life pattern is determined by what she desires for herself, which is why her mother did not discourage her from aspiring to be like her father, no matter how much she disliked it. Alex’s father was not like other fathers; he would rather buy a video game for Alex than buy her candies and cookies.

Chapter 2

The Birthday Eve

One cold evening, Alex’s parents were having their usual weekend hangout under a shade behind their house. This is a leisure sport for the couple since they moved into the house. They sat under an old shed at the back of the garden.

Alex’s parents were sitting on wooden chairs placed side-by-side, watching Alex demonstrate some moves she learned from her favorite game "Minecraft story mode."

Alex’s parents were discussing their only daughter’s fourteenth birthday coming up in a few days. On the wooden table, with a height on the same level with their knees, lay seven chocolate cookies and a jug of orange juice. Alex runs fast to the shed to pick a cookie and take a sip of the orange juice in her father’s glass before running back to the garden to continue playing.

Her father watched her with content and smiled as he occasionally commented loudly on her moves.

Honey, look how much our baby has grown, Alex’s mother said with a bright smile on her face.

It’s time to pawn, girl! Michael screamed.

Honey, I’m talking to you. Her birthday is in a bit! Alex’s mother said with a face as serious as her tone.

What can we get her? Should we get her a new dress and a new school bag? Her mother said.

Oh no, let’s get her the updated version of Minecraft. It comes with brand new features and amazing levels that make you want to….

Dear, she is just a teenage girl. She needs more girly things, not just a mere game, her mother interrupted.

Eavesdropping on the conversation, Alex screamed, Yes, dad, I want the game!

Oh no, sweetie, you need to act like a lady now, her mother persuaded. But mom, it’s my birthday, not yours, it’s either I get the game or nothing! she runs