First published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books and in Canada

by Penguin Random House Canada Limited.

First published in Great Britain 2019 by Egmont UK Limited

The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN

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or registered trademarks of Mojang Synergies AB.

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ISBN 978 1 4052 9381 5

eISBN 978 1 4052 9831 5

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Prologue

IT’S ALWAYS DARKEST DURING THE FLASHBACK BECAUSE THAT’S ALSO

WHEN THE ZOMBIES ATTACK!

S

ix figures stood together in the fading light of day.

Five of them were classmates, friends, and rather short. Some strange, recent events had them learning to work together to be a team. But tonight, the odds they faced seemed overwhelming.

The sixth figure was taller and wider than the rest. It wasn’t human. Its skin was grey and made of iron. Its eyes glowed red.

The friends hoped it could protect them.

“Get ready,” said one of them. “They’re coming.”

It was true. Not far away, there was a huge group of monsters – zombies and skeletons and hostile mobs. They were only just visible in the glow of the newly-risen moon.

And they were heading straight for those six figures.

8

Chapter 1

Bats, Part One: Are They Friends, Foes, or Classmates?

A

sh Kapoor listened carefully for her name. She didn’t want to be marked absent by mistake even though her form teacher, Ms Minerva, had acknowledged the shiny red apple that Ash had placed on her desk upon arriving in class.

Ms Minerva was trying to take attendance, but there was a strange sound coming from the

9

air-conditioning vents. Ash, seated at the back of the room, found it distracting.

“Po Chen,” the teacher called.

Ash’s friend, Po, spun around in his wheelchair. He raised his arm like he was lining up a hoop shot. Po was a master on the basketball

court. Everyone at school knew him for his skills as an athlete. “Here!”

After calling a few more names, Ms Minerva said, “Harper Houston.”

Reading as always, Harper raised her hand without lifting her eyes up from her textbook.

Ash thought Harper was brilliant. She was especially good in maths and science. She also had a great memory. She seemed to remember everything, from algebra formulas to friends’ birthdays.

Ash was next alphabetically. She waited for Ms Minerva to call her name, then raised her hand and made eye contact with the teacher. Ms Minerva smiled, nodded, and marked Ash down as present.

Ash was new to Woodsword Middle School. She’d

moved to town only a few weeks ago. But now that she was here, she hoped to get perfect attendance. Ash liked doing her best in all

things. It was how she’d obtained so many Wildling Scout badges.

From the vents came another small shuffling sound, followed

by a metallic clanging. Ash looked

around. No one else seemed to have noticed.

Maybe the air-conditioning just got loud sometimes.

“Jodi Mercado,” the teacher said. Ash smiled. Jodi was the first friend she’d made here. She was creative, fearless, and a little bit weird.

Since Jodi had skipped a grade, she was younger and

smaller than her classmates. She was every bit as smart as the others, though, and Ash thought she was the best artist in the class.

Jodi’s big brother was next in the roll call. He

was obsessed with Minecraft, like Ash herself. It was one of many things they had in common.

“Morgan Mercado,” said Ms Minerva.

13

“Here!” Morgan said. He spoke loudly. Enthusiastically.

The noise in the vents came back louder. It was almost as if something was reacting to the sound of his voice. There was more shuffling and a small chirp.

This time, Jodi noticed it, too.

What was that? she mouthed silently.

Ash gave an exaggerated shrug, as if to say No idea.

It was at that moment that the door to the classroom flew open, slamming against the wall with a tremendous bang.

Their science teacher, Doc Culpepper, stood

in the doorway. “Ms Minerva,” she said, out of breath. “I’ve come to warn you . . .”

Before Doc could finish her

sentence, the air-conditioning

vent above Ash’s head burst open.

Dozens of dark shapes flew into the

classroom, squeaking and chirping,

flapping and fluttering.

“Are those . . . ?” said Jodi.

“Bats!” Ash shouted.

The classroom erupted into chaos. The kids

screamed. Some ducked low, while others tried to wave the bats away.

Ash hid beneath her desk. She saw that Jodi had done the same.

“This is pandemonium!” said Ash.

“I know!” Jodi replied. “But I kind of love it!”

Ash laughed despite herself. Of course Jodi would see the humour in this.

Ms Minerva was swatting away bats as they

swoopedtowardsherfrizzyhair.“Everyone,outside!” she instructed. “Please hurry. But don’t run!”

16

Ash very much wanted to run, but crawling worked well enough. She had to drag her backpack behind her.

Most of the class was already out in the

hallway when Ash had a sudden realisation.

They’d left Baron Sweetcheeks behind!

She only hesitated for a moment before turning around and heading deeper into the classroom.

“Ash!” Jodi called. “What are you doing?”

Baron Sweetcheeks was the class hamster. It was Ash’s job, as well as Morgan’s, to take care of him. She didn’t think the bats would hurt him, but she also didn’t think it was a good idea to leave him behind.

Besides, he hadn’t had his morning hamster cookie yet.

Once Ash had crossed the room, she

quickly stood up, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and grabbed the hamster’s cage. Taking the whole thing would be faster than scooping the hamster out.

But the cage was heavier than it looked.

17

“Let me help you,” said Morgan.

Ash turned to see Morgan had followed her back into the classroom. Then she was almost smacked in the face by a bat wing. Okay. Now she was really glad Morgan was there.

With Morgan’s help, the cage felt like it hardly weighed anything at all. They ducked their heads low and crossed the classroom in a matter of seconds.

Ms Minerva slammed the door shut behind them.

Ash smiled at Morgan. “Thanks for coming back for me.”

He returned the smile. “Thanks for remem-bering the baron. I was so panicked that I forgot all about him!”

The hamster, for his part, seemed totally unbothered by the whole ordeal. Especially once Ash slipped a cookie into his cage.

“Minerva, I apologise,” Doc said. Full of nervous energy, she paced the hall while she spoke. “I wanted to warn you about the bats. It

didn’t occur to me that my noisy entrance

18

would set them off.”

While Doc never stopped moving, Ms Minerva always seemed patiently at rest. She put her hands on her hips. “And how did you know the vents were full of bats?” she asked. “Was this another one of your little projects, Doc?”

“I had nothing to do with it!” Doc insisted, waving her hands for emphasis. “I recognised the sounds coming from the vents this morning. I’ve been following the noise from class to class all morning.”

Ms Minerva looked like she didn’t wholly believe the science teacher. “At least it’s nice outside,” she said. “Class, head to the sports ground. I’ll be there as soon as I’ve updated the principal.”

“What about Baron Sweetcheeks?” asked Morgan.

“Your hamster can stay with me,” said Doc. “It’s the

least I can do.” She snapped her fingers as if remembering something. “In fact, I wanted to speak to

a few of your students anyway, Minerva. May I borrow Ash here, and Harper, Po, and the Mercado siblings?”

Ash and Morgan shared a look. Doc had just named their entire Minecraft team. That couldn’t be a coincidence, could it?

Ash wondered if their secret was out. Did Doc know the truth about the game? Or about the message the kids had found while playing it?

There was a high-pitched squeaking sound, and Ash looked over to see a small bat perched over Ms Minerva’s head. The teacher didn’t seem to notice.

Ash sighed wearily. Whatever Doc had in mind for them, it couldn’t be any more of a disaster than homeroom had been. She hoped.

20

Chapter 2

It’s All Fun and Games

Until Someone Steals

Your Super-Secret

VR Portal Technology.

M

organ grinned as he and his friends entered the computer lab. This place, he thought, is where the magic happens.

Maybe literally. He still wasn’t clear on the magic-or-super-science thing. All he knew was that Doc had built several pairs of virtual reality goggles. The goggles were decorated with strange, glowing symbols that almost looked like words in an unfamiliar alphabet. He and his friends had discovered that the goggles allowed them to actually enter the game Minecraft. It wasn’t like real. It was real. And it was so cool!

21

But his smile fell away when he saw where

Doc Culpepper was leading them – straight to the VR goggles hanging from pegs on the wall.

There were five headsets. There were supposed to be six.

“Wasn’t there another one of these?” she asked, seemingly talking to herself. “I could have sworn . . . Anyway, there’s plenty of room for your hamster here.”

Morgan and the others traded a look. After their first few adventures in the game, they had realised that someone had taken that sixth pair. But they didn’t know who!

He and Ash slid the hamster cage onto the table.

“Thanks for giving Baron Sweetcheeks a home, Doc,” said Harper. Morgan knew that she admired Doc a great deal.

“It’s a temporary solution,” said Doc. “We’ll have to address this bat problem. The vents give them access to every room in the school.”

Jodi covered her neck. “They’re not going to bite us and drink our blood, are they?”

22

“That’s a common misconception,” said Doc. “Believe me, those bats are more afraid of us than we are of them. They certainly won’t attack you.” She tapped her chin. “But still, they’re wild animals. They don’t belong in a school.”

“Aw, they just want an education,” joked Po.

“The adults will handle the bats,” Doc said. She leaned against a table and crossed her arms, finally standing still. “I asked you here to learn how your after-school project is going. Tell me: Have you noticed anything strange as you’ve been playing Minecraft? Any sign that the goggles aren’t working correctly?”

Morgan bit his lip. Where to begin? Whether Doc knew it or not, the goggles went far beyond any sort of virtual reality tech they’d ever seen. It was amazing – but it could be scary, too. So far, they’d managed to steer clear of any hostile mobs, but Morgan knew that their luck wouldn’t last.

And then there was the mysterious message they’d found. “Beware the Evoker King” had been written out in huge letters like the famous

24

Hollywood sign. The letters were built out of obsidian stolen from one of their own chests during their first big adventure in Minecraft.

Someone else was in the game. And they had no idea who it was. But it had to be the culprit who was behind the theft of the sixth headset. So obviously someone else in their school knew about the goggles’ power.

Morgan simply shrugged. “We have noticed some . . . weird stuff,” he said. “But we want to put a full list together for you. We’ve barely done anything with them yet. You know, we’ve just been playing Minecraft.”

Doc smiled. “Very good. I will look forward to your report. And in the meantime, I’ll see what I

25

can do about clearing those bats from your homeroom.”

“Thanks, Dr Culpepper,” said Ash. “Let us know if we can help in some way.”

“Of course,” said the teacher. “Oh, and Ash? Call me Doc, would you? ‘Dr Culpepper’ was my father. And my mother. Also one of my grandmothers.”

Doc began rummaging through her boxes of electronic equipment. The kids waved farewell, but their teacher’s mind was already somewhere else entirely. Doc was funny like that. She was somehow super attentive one minute and easily distracted the next.

But Morgan had faith that the bat problem was as good as solved, now that Doc was on the case. On their way to the sports ground, he said, “So we’re going back to the computer lab after school today, right?”

Po sighed. “I’ll be late. I have basketball practice.”

“We won’t do anything too amazing without you,” Jodi promised.

“To be honest, I’m not sure we should do

27

anything at all,” Po said. “Is anyone else worried about the bats?”

“Aw, they’re harmless,” Morgan said. “Just picture them as Baron Sweetcheeks with wings.”

Now that he had said it, he couldn’t stop picturing Baron Sweetcheeks with fluffy little wings. And a top hat and a bow tie.

“Uh, Morgan?” said Jodi, bringing her brother back from the world of flying hamsters in formal wear. “Why are you giggling?”

28

“No reason,” said Morgan, snapping out of his daydream.

“There’s a point I’m trying to make,” said Po. “Bats are one of the most common mobs in Minecraft.”

“Sure,” said Morgan. “We’ve heard them squeaking when we’re down in our mineshaft. But they aren’t scary or anything.”

“Don’t you think it’s strange that bats showed up here just after we started playing the game?” Po asked.

Morgan was confused. “You think . . . bats . . . came out of the video game and into our school?”

“It’s a statistically improbable coincidence,” Harper said. “And it’s weird.”

“But this whole thing is improbable, isn’t it?” said Po. “We can go into Minecraft. Who’s to say something else can’t come out?”

Harper tutted. “That hypothesis completely ignores the law of conservation of mass.”

“Now you’re just making stuff up,” said Po.

“You’re the one who’s making stuff up!”

While they argued, Morgan let his mind

29

drift. He thought about Po’s theory. He didn’t think it was very likely that the bats had somehow come to life because of the game. But he had to admit it was possible. And that was a troubling thought.

Bats were one thing. It was crazy, but what if something else followed them out? Like a zombie. Or a wither.

Or an Evoker King. Whatever that was, it did not sound friendly.

30

Chapter 3

When Adventure

Calls, Answer!

Adventure Won’t Leave

You a Voice Mail.

A

fter school, Jodi donned her headset and immediately found herself in the game. She stretched her cube-y arms and then walked a short distance from the castle she and her friends had built. While they waited for Po

to finish practice and join them, Jodi had time to start on a new sculpture.

It had been about a week since they’d completed the castle. It was an impressive build, and Jodi was proud of it. They all were.

But Minecraft wasn’t about sitting still. Once the castle was done, they had started new projects. For Jodi, that meant a sculpture park.

So far she’d created an obelisk out of cobblestone, an Easter Island-style head out of cobblestone, and a big floating cube . . . out of cobblestone.

Cobblestone and dirt were the two materials they had in large supply. And she was iffy on using the dirt.

Her next project would be a huge staircase that went higher than the castle. But it would be a floating staircase. There would be no way for a person to get on it. They would have to admire it from a distance.

She started with a base of dirt, which she would clear away later. She had only just begun placing the cobblestone when Morgan and the others approached. “I’ve got an idea,” her brother

said. “I think we should go looking for the Evoker King.”

Jodi turned her cube head in surprise. “You do?” she asked. “I thought we were supposed to beware him.”

“‘Beware’ doesn’t traditionally mean ‘go look for,’” Harper agreed.

“I know what it means,” Morgan said. “If he’s so dangerous . . . and he’s out there . . . is waiting for him to find us a good idea?”

“But that’s why we built the castle,” said Harper. “It’s meant to protect us.”

“The castle can keep mobs out,” said Morgan. “I’m worried this Evoker King might be something else.”

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