he would have no problems dealing with their
puny bases. But they weren’t the concern right
now. He had to find Mei.
One of Ripley’s drones beeped, crackled, and
crashed into the ground. It had been shot down
in a wide green field next to one of the most
well-defended bases that Rip had ever seen.
Triple walls. Golden turrets. And within those
walls, a massive army of tanks and soldiers, just
sitting there, waiting to be unleashed. It was
glorious! This HAD to be Mei’s base.
Rip had to act fast. He’d been building sniper
jets with upgraded lasers since the start of the
game. They weren’t very tough, but they moved
fast and packed a real punch. Rip clicked a few
keys, and then the jets were on their way to
Mei’s base. He just hoped he had enough of
them to breach her defenses.
The sniper jets came
out of nowhere. Mei
flicked her cursor
around the screen,
trying to rebuild her
armies and repair her
turrets, but every time
she managed to get
things fixed, another
wave of sniper jets
would come in and
destroy it all again. She
began to panic; she’d
never had someone
attack her base with
this much force so
early in the game. She sat up in her chair and
looked around the room. Rip was grinning
wildly. Of course it was HIM.
“UGH!” Mei got back to repairing her base.
45
Rip’s rushing tactic was impulsive and
impractical. The more time he spent attacking her
base, the more time he would lose defending his
own. It just wasn’t a good strategy for this kind
of game!
The tug-of-war battle with Rip went on and on.
Mei couldn’t get ahead, and Rip couldn’t do
enough damage to destroy her base entirely. They
were going around in circles.
“No, no, no, no, no!” Rip screamed suddenly,
frantically clicking at his keyboard. Alarms
sounded as a massive army of copper tanks
rolled into his base. He quickly called all his jets
back, but it was too late. CONQUeRED
flashed up on the screen as his last building
collapsed to the ground.
“NO!” Rip grabbed the computer screen with
both hands, staring in
disbelief. He’d made a
fatal error. By spending
all his time attacking
Mei, he’d left himself
wide open to attack from the other students.
They had no trouble at all wiping out his relatively
small base. He looked up and checked the
scoreboard. Last. Rip was last. He’d never come
last in a game before. He felt sick.
Mei breathed a sigh of relief. With Rip out of the
game, she could get back to her plan. She was
just about to queue up some repairs, when
multiple armies of copper tanks rolled into view
from all sides of her base. There was nothing
she could do. Rip’s last attack had destroyed
almost all her forces and left multiple holes in
her defensive walls.
CONQUERED
She had lost too, and it was Rip’s fault. She stood
up and glared at him. He glared back, arms folded.
A few more shouts filled the room as the rest
of the students finished off their game. Mei and
Rip both stared at their screens, listening to all
the other students rack up points, while they had
none.
Then Angela leapt up and pointed back and forth
between Rip and Mei. “YES! In your face, losers!”
Mei could see CONQUeRoR!
flashing on Angela’s screen. She had won. She
had conquered ten students. Mei and Rip had
conquered none.
Clipboard Man raised both arms. “The games
are over. I will now tally the total scores and
read out the names of those who have been
selected to join the INREAL GAMES BETA program.
In first place, Angela. Second place, Timothy. Third
place . . .” He went on to read another handful of
names. “And finally, Brayden. If I did not call your
name, you did not do well enough.”
48
Mei’s jaw dropped. Rip looked pale. It was
official. They didn’t get in. They’d failed.
Mei stood up and pointed at Rip. “YOU!” she
shouted. Everyone was watching. “If you’d left
me alone instead of harassing my base, we’d
both have lots of points. You ruined everything!”
“Hey!” Rip replied, slightly embarrassed. “You
were turtling; I had no choice!”
Mei walked closer. “You have to think of the
bigger picture, Ripley! We were the best players
in the room. Our plan should have been to get
points by taking out the other players first, not to
try and destroy each other. That was a waste of
time. It was not a logical plan.”
QUIET!
NO
TALKING!
OBEY
THE
RULES!
Mei sat back down. Clipboard Man’s face was
red with anger. Then, suddenly, he was calm
again and looked down at his clipboard. This guy
was weird!
“Thank you for coming to the INREAL GAMES
field trip day. Now line up in a straight line and
follow me.”
Clipboard Man turned around and headed for
the blue door at the end of the hall—the odd man
was walking with his arms raised in the air.
The students took off their headsets and
followed. Rip and Mei were last to join the line,
both refusing to make eye contact with each
other.
They all left the INREAL GAMES studio and
headed toward the school bus. Clipboard Man
was handing the winners their
BETA kits, which looked like
small silver suitcases. And,
as promised, each student
got a piece of fat-free
turnip cake.
50
Rip and Mei each took their piece and got on
the bus, heads hanging low. Mei saw Sam, the
boy who fell through the trapdoor, sitting at the
back of the bus with his arms folded.
At least Rip and Mei had both had a chance;
Sam spent the entire day waiting to go home.
As the bus pulled away from INREAL GAMES, Rip
and Mei sat quietly next to each other taking
bites of their turnip cake. Rip didn’t think it was
his fault they lost, but he was still feeling bad
about ruining their chances.
He turned to Mei and said, “This is the most
disgusting cake that has ever existed in all of
time and space.”
Mei nodded, but they kept eating it anyway.
51
virtual
unreality
T
he following week at school, the class was
abuzz with the excitement from their
field trip to INREAL GAMES. Angela was
insufferable, boasting about coming in first and
being chosen to play “some new video game.” It
was obvious she didn’t even care about games
that much—and yet, she was one of the BETA
testers.
Mei was seated by the window in her
classroom, waiting for the bell to ring. She
couldn’t wait to get home and just zone out in
front of the TV. She hadn’t played a game all
week, not since the disastrous day at INREAL. She
wished she could just erase the whole
experience—pretend that it had never even
52
happened. If only she hadn’t been so focused on
beating Rip!
At last the bell rang and there was an
immediate cacophony of bustling and chatter as
students made a break for the door. Mei began
shoving her belongings into her schoolbag.
“And remember to do page ninety-eight of your
textbook for homework!” Mrs. Berry, Mei’s
teacher, called out over the chaos. “I will be
checking! Oh—Mei!” she exclaimed when she
spotted her lagging behind. “I almost forgot.”
Mrs. Berry handed her a folded note. Mei’s
brow furrowed. She opened the note. It read:
Mei Lin Tam to come to the
office after school please.
“I don’t understand. Am I in trouble?” Mei asked.
Mrs. Berry shrugged. “I’m really not sure, Mei.
Better head there right away.” Seeing Mei’s
worried expression, she smiled reassuringly. “I’m
sure it’s nothing serious. Off you go!”
53
Mei shoved the note into her pocket and made
her way quickly to the school’s reception office.
Taking a deep breath, she pushed the glass door
open and was surprised to see Ripley standing
there. He looked at her and held up a note,
questioningly. Mei nodded, holding up her own
note. What could this be about?
The office receptionist finished her phone call.
“Ah, you two,” she said, pointedly. “I have a
package for you both.” She lifted a large box
wrapped in brown paper onto the desk. It did
indeed have both their names on it.
Rip and Mei exchanged confused glances.
“Well . . . who’s it from?” Rip inquired.
The receptionist pursed her lips and put on a
pair of small spectacles that had been hanging
around her neck on a beaded chain. She peered
at the label. “It says INREAL GAMES—TOP SECRET.”
Her eyebrows raised.
Mei’s heart skipped a beat. What on earth?
“Uh, OK—thanks!” Rip said quickly, snatching
the box with both hands and heading for the
door.
“Wait!” Mei hissed. “We don’t know what it is!
What if they sent it to us by mistake?”
She hurried out the door after him as he
raced down the front steps of the school to the
bus stop.
“Are you kidding me?!” Rip exclaimed. “It’s
from INREAL GAMES! Whatever it is, it’s going to
be awesome. So what if it’s a mistake! I want
to see what’s inside. Don’t you?”
Mei hesitated. It was very mysterious.
Truthfully, the anticipation was driving her crazy.
But she and Rip had failed so badly at the gaming
contest. Why were they being sent something?
55
Before she could finish the thought, the bus
arrived and Rip was already climbing on board.
“Well, hey—wait! It’s addressed to me too. You
can’t just take it home!” Mei called after him.
Rip paused in the doorway, growing impatient.
“So . . . come over to my house, then. We can’t
open it here on the bus where everyone will see. It
says TOP SECRET.” He held up the box to show her.
Mei frowned. “OK . . . well, I’ll have to check
with my mom first.”
“Fine.” Rip shrugged and he hurried to find a
seat.
Mei followed him, keeping her eyes on the
package. There was something very strange about
all this.
Ripley dumped his schoolbag by the front door
and headed toward the staircase. “My room’s
this way,” he said, motioning for Mei to follow.
Mei hovered by the doorway for a moment
before slipping her shoes off and setting them
56
down by the door. “Shouldn’t I say hi to your
mom or something?” she offered.
“Rip? Is that you?”
A woman who Mei assumed was Rip’s mother
appeared in the hall. She was tall and had dark
hair like Rip. She noticed Mei and welcomed her
with a big smile. “Oh, hello there! Rip, I didn’t
know you were bringing a friend home!”
Mei blushed. “Hello, Mrs. Anders. I’m sorry—it
was a kind of last-minute thing.”
Mrs. Anders clasped her hands together
excitedly. “No, I’m thrilled, truly! I think it’s just
wonderful. Rip doesn’t really bring many friends
over . . .”
This time it was Ripley’s turn to blush. “Her
name is Mei, Mom. And she’s not even my friend,
really. Well, I mean . . . we’re in the same class at
school. And . . . we . . .” Rip trailed off.
Mei stared at the floor, wishing it would
swallow her whole.
Mrs. Anders laughed. “Fine. Well, I will leave
you two ‘non-friends’ to have fun. Do you want
57
some snacks? I’ll bring some up. Oh, and I do like
this—blue! How interesting!” She admired Mei’s
hair for a moment before making her way into
the kitchen.
Mei’s eyes widened at Rip, not sure what to say.
She could see Rip was trying to hide his
embarrassment too. “Just . . . follow me,” he said
to Mei, heading upstairs.
Ripley’s bedroom was very messy. Clothes
were in disorganized piles all over the floor, with
various old consoles, controllers, and cables
buried beneath them. Posters of galaxies and
nebulae taken by the Hubble
telescope brightened the walls, and
a precarious stack of gaming
magazines was piled high in the
corner.
“I like your consoles,”
Mei said, peering at
what looked like an
old CyberSystem
from 1992.
Rip suddenly grinned, unable
to hide his love for his collection.
“Thanks. My parents bought me
a current-gen console for Christmas a few years
ago, but I saved up for all the retro consoles on
my own. I had to work a paper route and walk
Mrs. Davidson’s dog for eight months to afford the
CyberSystem! But it’s a seriously killer machine.”
“I’ll bet.” Mei smiled back at him. “I have an
original GameGo from, like, the ’8Os. I’m kind of a
collector of portable devices.”
“Nice!” Rip nodded, clearly impressed.
Mei thought he was becoming less annoying by
the minute
. They actually had quite a lot in
common.
“Well . . . shall we see what’s in the mysterious
package?” Mei plonked herself down on the
carpet, in one of the few spaces not covered in
clothes.
“Definitely,” Rip agreed, tearing the box open.
“Are you ready?” He looked at her, suddenly very
solemn.
59
Mei nodded. They both peered inside the box
with a mixture of excitement and anticipation.
Fluffy white foam packing balls filled the box.
Peeking through was a pair of what looked like
very large ski goggles. Rip lifted the goggles out
to examine, picking off
any remaining foam
balls that still clung to
the head strap.
Mei noticed a
second pair in the
box and retrieved it.
There was one for
each of them.
“Is this . . . what I think it is?” Mei murmured.
Rip swallowed, turning the goggles over, feeling
the weight of them.
“I think so,” he replied. “A virtual reality
device.”
They sat in silence for a moment. The last time
either of them had seen a virtual reality device, it
60
was just a picture in a retro gaming magazine
from the early ’9Os.
“I thought they stopped trying to make these.”
Mei’s eyes were wide with wonder.
“Well . . . they were always kind of . . . flops.
This is the first time INREAL GAMES has had this
kind of tech. It could be a game changer, Mei!”
Rip said. “There must be some kind of console
with it. And a game.”
Mei dug around inside the box. “I’ve got
something!”
Her fingers closed over something round and
smooth. It was a shiny black sphere, with a little
stand to set it on, and a power cord. Mei plugged
the cord in and set the sphere on its stand. They
both stared at it.
“I guess the game is already loaded in there,”
Rip observed.
The sphere shimmered and began to change
color—first pink, then yellow, then a solid red.
They waited. Nothing else happened.
Pixel Raiders #1: Dig World Page 3