Chapter Three
"Something was off with that guy." Notch said once they were back in their rooms.
"How do you mean?" James asked.
He shrugged, "Just...I don't know. I didn't like him." Notch finished lamely, trying to think about what Williams had said that had bothered him so much.
"Yeah, Wallace is the better brother." Pauline said, yawning.
Night was quickly approaching and even James was looking tired. "You guys going to bed?"
They both nodded. Pauline said good-night and left them alone, and pretty soon James was snoring in his bed. Notch looked out the window, along the ocean. The moon was bright, illuminating the gentle waves that were coming in. This place was quiet and beautiful. It would have been perfect without the strange events going on. He thought of Williams again. Even his house had been beautiful. The floors and the decor...the table...the table. Notch frowned. The table with a picture on it. Williams, younger, with two other people, his parents clearly, judging by the same facial features. A family portrait. With no Wallace.
Notch thought back to when Wallace had been handing him a copy of the book.
"Your family must be so proud." Notch had said, reading over the first page.
Wallace laughed, "Boy, you see how old I am? It’s just me now."
Notch's head snapped up. Just him. Williams and Wallace weren't related at all. He had a sinking feeling in his gut. He had to wake up the others.
"James, get up!" Notch hissed, shaking him quickly before leaving the room to get to Pauline's bedroom.
Notch burst through Pauline's door. He stopped short, seeing that Williams was sneaking into her room, holding a gold sword. He looked surprised at seeing Notch, but Notch didn't waste any time. Screaming, he ran and threw his entire body weight against Williams. They toppled against the wall. Pauline was awake now but Notch threw Williams off of him.
"What is going on?" She shouted as James ran into the room as well.
"He’s not Williams!" Notch cried out as Williams lunged forward again, swinging his shield.
Notch ducked and the sword narrowly missed him. Pauline had pulled out her own sword now and jumped near Williams. Their swords connected loudly and Pauline shoved Williams back.
"Notch is right," Williams was saying as he tried to attack again, but Pauline was deflecting the swings. "I'm not Williams."
Pauline swung, but she connected with empty air. Williams was gone. The three of them looked around, trying to see where he’d gone.
"I am Herobrine."
Notch ran over to the window, where he saw him.
Herobrine was dressed in Williams’ clothes, out on the beach just outside the window. His eyes were empty, soulless, and he was snarling. Notch felt his heart drop. How could this be? How could he be back?
"What did you do with Williams?" Notch shouted at him.
"He's fine. Just resting in his basement. I wouldn't worry about it. I'm going to wipe this village off the map and you along with it. I lured you here, you know. Now I can get rid of all three of you in one swoop and get back to business."
"We got rid of you!" Notch exclaimed.
"You can never be rid of me," Herobrine said, "I'm done talking with you now."
Herobrine vanished.
Notch gulped. A giant wave was rolling towards the village, enough to flood the entire town.
"Guys?" He said, "We need to run."
James saw the wave fast approaching now, "I don't think it'll matter."
"Everyone can swim?" Notch asked and the other two nodded. "Get ready."
A town alarm began to go off - one of the guards must have seen the wave, Notch thought, as the three of them ran out of the inn and onto the street. There was panic. People that had been hiding previously were now running around, trying to get to their basement shelters, and some were even climbing trees to try to get higher than the wave. It was a dark shape fast approaching. Pauline was climbing up a tree, but her pace was so fast and she was so skilled that there was no hope of trying to keep up with her. James and Notch ran towards the main hall, hoping there was a basement there that they could hide in.
Halfway there, Notch realized they weren't going to make it. The wave was too close and progress was too slow with everyone else trying to make it to the main hall. Notch tried to call for James, but he was swept up in the crowd and they found themselves separated. The wave was upon them now and it smashed against the shoreline with a mighty force. The homes on the water were gone in a flash. Before Notch could blink, the water hit him with such an impact that he was instantly engulfed by it. He kicked his legs, trying to stay afloat, but the crush of water and people swimming kept him bobbing around. Notch felt himself hit the back of a building and propelled off it with his feet. He pushed himself up and managed to break out of the wave enough to get air before he was taken back down by the water.
As Notch was yanked under the water, he managed to grab onto the top of a sign that said Smith. Clinging to it, he was able to stop from drifting and stick his head out of the water. The water was slowly pulling out of the village, back into the ocean. Notch was catching his breath as he watched it pull away. Homes were flooded, some were destroyed. The inn with their things was luckily still standing, but Notch was concerned they may have lost their things. The mayor's house was still standing also, but Notch was sure it was reinforced with strong material. Notch knew that the repairs to the village were going to take a long time. He wondered if they would repair it or if most people would leave.
When the waves were back safely in the ocean, Notch swung down from the sign, managing to land on his feet. He went around, looking for Pauline and James, but stopping often to help people up or make sure no one was wounded. Most people seemed dazed and in shock. Others were coming out of their basement shelters. Herobrine had failed to wipe the village out completely, or Notch himself.
"Notch!" Someone cried and Notch turned around, seeing James jog up to him, limping slightly.
"You okay?" Notch asked, walking over to him.
James nodded, "Fine. I just slammed my ankle into the side of some building when the wave hit. Probably just sprained it. You find Pauline yet?" He looked around nervously.
"No, but she was climbing those trees over there," Notch pointed, "Let's head over."
They walked together over to the trees, past groups of people forming, trying to get organized. Debris was along the pathways and some streets were flooded. James and Notch slogged through one of the flooded streets towards the base of the trees. Some people were coming down the trees slowly, some wet and others dry because of how high they had climbed.
"Pauline?" James cried.
"Up here."
They looked up to see Pauline high up in a tree, making her way down it rapidly.
"I'm jealous of how well she can climb." Notch mumbled as she came down the tree like some sort of jungle animal.
She landed next to them on her feet, perfectly dry, and James blurted out, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. You guys okay? You're soaked to the bone."
"How high did you climb? You're not even damp." Notch asked.
Pauline shrugged, "To the top. I had a good vantage point of the waves."
"Now that we know we're all okay, I want to get to the mayor's house again right away. Herobrine said that the real Williams was still in the house. I want to find out everything that happened up until Herobrine took over."
"Sounds like a plan." Pauline agreed.
The three of them set back into the village.