Steve Sees Green Light UFLI Foundations Lesson 88

Steve swings his pickaxe at the coal. Same old coal. Same old dark cave. Same old day. Then something green flashes in the wall, and Steve stops his swing. A big, bright emerald glows from the wall like it needs to be seen. His brain says, 'Don't grab it.' His fingers grab it.

A hiss fills the cave. Steve turns and lifts his shield just as the Creeper explodes. The blast slams Steve back into the wall. When the dust is gone, Steve looks at the emerald. A strange green light flickers deep inside it, like a tiny flame. 'That is odd,' Steve says. Then the cave starts to spin.

Steve blinks. The cave is gone. He stands on grass under the stars, in the open. His battle kit is still on him. He checks it. No cracks. He checks the emerald in his hand. Still bright. Still strange. 'Okay,' Steve says to the night. 'So it is that kind of emerald.'

An arrow flies past his cheek. A skeleton! Steve blocks the next two arrows, then grabs his blade and runs at it. One swing. Bones all over. A small green orb floats up from the pile. Steve grins. 'Thanks for that,' he tells the bones. The bones say nothing. But something behind him does. A clicking, skittering something with many legs.

Steve turns. A spider creeps from the shadows, its red eyes glowing. Behind the spider, a skeleton has an arrow on the string. And behind that, a baby zombie on a chicken. 'Come on,' Steve groans. Steve picks a path and runs. His feet thud on the grass, his battle kit clangs, and at his back a chicken cries.

A river! Steve splashes right in. Zombies can not swim fast, and a skeleton can not aim at a moving target in the water. A zombie stands on the shore and looks at Steve with dull, hollow eyes. It does not follow. Steve swims to the deep water and lets the current take him. The monsters shrink to tiny shapes far back in the dark. 'Not today,' Steve says.

Steve swims until the trees on the banks grow tall. Jungle. Vines hang from each tree, so thick he can not run at night. Then Steve sees it. A small log cabin, hidden deep in the ferns. Its shape shines in the still water like a painting. A cabin means a door, and a door means nothing can get in. Steve swims for it as fast as he can.

Steve shuts the door, flops on the bed, and sleep hits him like a falling anvil. When he wakes, sunlight beams in the window and the cabin feels safe and still. Steve eats his last meal and sits there, looking at nothing. Then he sees a green gleam. The emerald, on the bed by his pillow. That strange little flame still flickers inside it. Steve picks it up and holds it to the light. He smiles. 'So. Where to next?'