Rescue Island Read Online Free Page B

Explosions. Yes, I remember something about this from the game.
    Exploding creatures! They blow pixels to bits, like pixelator bombs. The thought scares me! They make me think of Bob-omb from Super Mario Bros. These pixelators move around, nearly silent. I'll never forget the sound I heard before the explosion. It's stuck in my brain. The ssssss sound. Like a fuse burning just before the bomb goes off. I thought cats were supposed to protect players from dangers like this.  
    Wait, I know what must have happened. I came down the ladder without Verve. She must have appeared just as the pixelator bomb was about to go off. She saved my life—what little is left of it. I feel pain everywhere. I need to eat something to restore my health. I devour several apples. Well, that's the last of my food store, but at least the pain is gone.
    The explosion blew up the torches. I pull one from my pocket and plant it in front of me. For the first time, I see the devastation left by the explosion. My neatly-organized cavern is in ruins. The place is a jumbled mess of pixels and blocks, resources blown from the floor, walls, and ceiling. The space that remains is jagged.
    How did that thing get in here? How do I protect myself in the future? Looking around, one more question pops into my head, a pressing question that drowns out all other thoughts. How do I get out of here? My ladder is gone, blown away in the explosion. I can't orient myself as to where it was or where the shaft is that leads to my home.
    I'm trapped!

LOG ENTRY 6

Grave Consequences

    STOP! DON'T FREAK OUT. Think. This is bad. Look for something positive.
    I'm alive. The food I ate restored my health. I feel much better. I have enough light from the torch to see, and my pocket is full of resources.
    It's hard to stay positive when I look in my pocket. Only three sections of ladder, not nearly enough to rebuild and climb out of here, and that assumes I can find the exit shaft. To make matters worse, I'm down to a few remaining torches. If I had lumber I could easily build a crafting table then more pieces of ladder, but I don't have lumber or wood of any kind in my pocket inventory!  
    I have plenty of what I don't need right now, cobblestone and gravel. I don't need this stuff! I need something that will get me out of this hole in the ground. If I don't get out soon, I'm afraid this hole will become my grave!
    Keep calm and carry on. That is a funny little saying that's popular in the real world, or so I seem to remember. And the saying is particularly useful right now.
    I followed a narrow path of blocks down into the jungle cavern yesterday. Why not mine my way out of here by digging a stairway up? Great idea! It's much better to have a plan than to feel trapped. I begin hacking away at blocks three blocks high, one block forward, and then one block up. Hop up and do it again.  
    The repetitive nature of carving stairs into the earth is comforting, and the no-brainer nature of the work lets my mind wander. I remember Verve and feel the loss of my companion. No, Verve was more than a companion. She saved me when I was feeling hopeless and vulnerable. I only knew her for a short time, but she saved me on several occasions.
    Clunk! Ruined another pickaxe. They don't last as long as I'd like them to. I pull the last one from my pocket and get back to work.
    My mind quickly returns to thoughts of Verve. First she appeared when I was emotionally lost. Then she comforted me after I slipped from the walkway and landed, stranded on the narrow ledge, inches from death. Later she saved me from the spider in the cave. Cats in this game don't behave that way. But Verve was no ordinary cat. Her presence made this house I built into a home, and in the end she gave her life to save mine.
    "Verve, I will find and care for your kitten!" I yell. My voice echoes through the stair shaft. It feels good to feel the echo reverberate through my body.
    I've been digging for a while. It's totally