Zombie Boy: Press Start (Adventures of Zombie Boy Book 1)

by Val O. Morris

  His two friends looked at each other. They knew what he meant. Rhonda nodded, and Caleb said, "Yeah, sure."

  If anyone had to do it, he wanted to be the one. He'd make it fast and smooth. The rules of the game world were still being revealed. Would she turn? If he did kill her zombie form, would it affect her in the real world? There was still so much they didn't know. Getting the game disc back and, if they were lucky, finding the old man were the keys.

  Katie's backpack was propped up against the coat rack in the foyer. Liam slung it over his shoulder as he exited Katie's house. They quickly walked across the street to his. Shadow met him at the door, but walking through the living room, down the hall, and into the kitchen, the house never felt so empty. It had been a few days since he had last seen his parents, and even though they were probably still disappointed in him not making the baseball team, he missed their presence.

  When he first arrived in the game world, it was new and exciting. Lots of new things to learn and experience kept his mind occupied. But with his best friend no longer with him, it was no longer fun. For the first time since arriving in the game world, he was ready to go home.

  After pulling a clean shirt over his head, Liam walked into the center of his bedroom and turned around. "Your friend. What was his name?"

  Until that point, Rhonda had not spoken about her friend, but she trusted Liam. "Michael."

  Liam nodded. Then he hopped up on his bed so that he could reach the replica laser gun hanging on his wall. Looking it over, it felt different in his hands. Solid. He climbed down from the bed.

  "What is that?" asked Caleb.

  "A laser gun. Wanna see if it works?"

  Caleb smiled. "Heck yeah!" As they turned to walk out the door, Caleb asked, "You think I could have a clean shirt?"

  Liam grabbed one and tossed at Caleb. He pulled it over his head and tugged at the hem. "Well, at least it's clean." Clean, but two sizes too small.

  Outside, a zombie shambled up the street away from them. Liam raised the laser gun and aimed. He pulled the trigger and the zombie exploded into a gooey mess.

  "Sah-weet! You shoulda had that at Adventure Land. Dude, I can't even imagine Katie's headshot count."

  Liam lowered the laser gun. Sadness washed over him like sandpaper. It was an honest slip on Caleb's part. In reality, it had only been a short time since she died, but to him it already felt like an eternity.

  "Sorry, man," Caleb patted him on the shoulder and then walked away to give him some space.

  Liam stood there in his front yard looking across at her house when he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. Something was in there! The three of them inched closer, weapons at the ready. Liam pointed the laser gun toward the noise.

  "Show yourself or get blasted!"

  "Don't shoot," said a muffled voice. Then an old man stood up from the bushes. He wore a battered trench coat with the collar turned up and a fedora pulled down low to hide his face.

  Liam looked closer. "You! You're the old man from the yard sale house. What are you doing here?"

  "I followed you."

  "Seems to be a running theme around here," Liam said as he glanced at Caleb. "Why wouldn't you talk to us earlier? When we came by your house?"

  The man spoke with a sarcastic tone that amplified his gruff sounding voice. He sounded like someone who'd smoked for years and was mad he had to give it up. "I wasn't sure you could be trusted. Last time someone came around asking questions, they left with my hands." He held up his hands to show prosthetics. "Do you mind pointing that elsewhere?"

  "I will once we know you can be trusted."

  The old man nodded. "Fair enough." He walked to the edge of Liam's front porch. Using his right prosthetic, he tugged on his jacket as he sat. Liam watched how he moved his fake hand. It didn't appear that the old man had fine control over its movements.

  "Do you know how to get out of here?" asked Rhonda.

  The old man stared off into space. He readjusted himself on the porch before finally answering. "Did you know the HoriZon was originally supposed to have a virtual reality feature?"

  "That sounds pretty cool," said Caleb. "What happened?"

  "The executive who designed it got fired and the company canned the idea."

  A lone zombie wandered from the neighbor's yard. Caleb took off toward it. "I got this." Once again, zombie goo splattered over the front of his clean shirt. "That didn't last long."

  The old man asked, "Ever wonder why zombies smell? We're in a video game after all. Someone had to program that smell."

  "Too bad we couldn't reprogram them to smell like strawberries," joked Caleb.

  That was a good point that had not occurred to Liam. "With the sense of smell, how do we know the company didn't implement the VR? I mean, you coulda fooled me that this place isn't real."

  "Bingo." The old man pointed. "I believe they did."

  Liam motioned toward the old man's hands. "How'd it happen?"

  "I told ya. Some kids came around asking questions. They just didn't like the answers I gave 'em." He made a chopping motion with his hands. "Thought that by keeping me here that it would better their chances for getting out."

  "Did it?" asked Caleb.

  "No. Stupid punks. They didn't make it fifty feet with the smell of fresh blood on 'em." He adjusted his seating position again. "Been lying low ever since."

  The idea of decent medical care in the game world seemed nonexistent to Liam, which is why, he assumed, the prosthetic hands didn't work properly. He felt sorry for the old man. Without being able to hold a controller, how would he ever be able to get out?

  "But I have learned things. It's amazing what you pick up on when you're forced to listen."

  "I was hoping to play the game again. You know, play the game here inside the game, to see if that would get us home."

  The old man thought for a moment. "That just might work."

  Rhonda, who had been hanging back watching out for zombies, stepped up closer to the porch. "Why didn't you try it?"

  "By the time I realized what had happened, after I played the game and realized where I was, it was stolen."

  Liam couldn't believe there wasn't a lot more to his story. "You didn't try to get it back?"

  He held up his prosthetic hands. "What good would it have done? Besides, I had nothing to go back for. After I was fired I had nothing to live for. Lost my house, my wife, my... little girl."

  Caleb, who was never quick to catch on, said, "So, you're the guy who programmed this game?"

  "Fraid so. And the VR component."

  Liam thought back to how Katie got ahold of the game. "Did you know that was the same game that my friend Katie bought at your yard sale?"

  The old man hung his head. He nodded.

  "What? How could-."

  Rhonda interrupted him, "Easy, Liam." She turned to face the man, smacking her palm with her bat. "Let the man speak. Hopefully he has a really good reason why he thought it was a good idea to continue to let people play his deadly game."

  "I was hoping someone like you would come along and save us."

  12

  The pain of losing his best friend was still fresh in his heart. Liam had to laugh at the significance of the situation. The old man, the very person responsible for the game in the first place sat two feet from him, and yet they were no closer to getting home than they were two hours ago.

  "Do you have any idea the hurt you've caused? Some of us have lost people in this game world thanks to you." Liam looked at Rhonda. He understood the pain she felt and for the first time in his life, was empathetic.

  "Get over yourself, kid. You do realize they aren't really dead, right?"

  The old man's tone hit Liam like a ton of bricks. He froze in shock and anger. The thought of punching the old man sprung to mind, but he realized he was probably their only hope of getting out of there. He took several deep breaths and paced around the front yard.

  Rhonda noticed Liam fighting ba
ck his internal demons. "What's the likelihood that we can ever find them again, though? I've seen people come back into the game world, but they're.... different. Like another person."

  "How'my supposed to know?" He readjusted himself for the fifteenth time.

  The old man was really wearing on Liam's nerves. He turned to Rhonda. "We're wasting time here. We've got to get that disc back."

  The old man looked up. "You know where it is?"

  Liam replied, "Yeah. Sort of." As he said that, he lowered the laser gun to his side where the old man could get a good look at it.

  "Is that the Ultra Zapper 4000?"

  "Yeah. You know it?"

  "Know it? I created it!"

  Liam's eyes popped out of his head and his voice went up about three octaves. "You're Morgan Paradise?"

  "In the flesh." The old man thought about that last statement. "Sort of."

  "This is so cool! I wanted to meet you and have you sign it several months ago at Zap 'Em Con, but you didn't show."

  Morgan took the laser gun from Liam hoping he wouldn't have to explain that last part. It was still too fresh. He looked over the replica gun. "This thing really works, huh?"

  "It does in the game world."

  Then the old man did something that totally shocked all three of them. He reached up and tugged at his face, peeling away his skin.

  "Whoa, dude! What're you doing?" asked Caleb.

  Morgan continued to peel off his skin until a much younger face stared back at them. He dropped the old man latex face on the ground.

  Shadow sniffed it and then backed away.

  Liam stared at the man. He recognized the younger face as the guy who answered the door at the yard sale house.

  Morgan could tell by the look on Liam's face that he was confused. "I didn't want anyone to find me, so I disguised myself. After losing my hands, you can imagine I'm a little untrusting."

  The man continued, "I couldn't just go around telling kids I was stuck in a video game. All I could do was hope someone would come along who figured it out on their own. Like you did. Most kids I've run into just go about their business as if nothing's wrong."

  "My mom always tells me that I walk around in my own little world while the real world passes me by. I'm starting to see why you chose zombies for your game."

  Caleb scratched his head. "Dude, that's deep."

  "You said something about the VR, that it may have been implemented after you were fired," reminded Liam. "Do you know who did it?"

  Morgan shook his head. "Probably some higher up brown-noser looking to impress the boss. Look, enough chit chat. If you want to get out of here, get back to the real world, you've gotta get that disc."

  The familiar pang punched Liam in the gut again. The pain of being without his best friend. He kicked at the grass but didn't say anything.

  But the man knew. "Listen, son," he stood up and placed his prosthetic hand on Liam's shoulder. "If you want your friend back, er... what's his name?"

  "Katie," said confidently.

  "Katie?" Something triggered his own pain of being separated from his daughter. "You're close to Katie?"

  Liam nodded, "Yes, sir. We've been best friends since we were little."

  "Then you need to go after her, son."

  "But she'll be different now. She won't remember me."

  "Horse malarkey! You may have your work cut out for you, but if you are as good of friends as you say, that's gotta count for something."

  Morgan was right. Who was to say she wouldn't remember him? He would help her remember. Liam walked over to the porch and let Katie's backpack slide down his arm. A game controller keychain hung off one of the zippers. He slid his fingers under it. They had each bought an identical keychain at a game convention to signify their friendship. He needed something familiar that he could show the new Katie back in the real world.

  After he removed it, he glanced at the backpack again. Her magic bag, as he fondly thought back to calling it, had saved them in the past. Could there be something in there that she was hoping to spring on him when they needed it most? The urge to dump out its contents was too strong to ignore.

  He unzipped the main compartment and reached his hand in. Mostly, she had packed protein bars and other snacks, then he pulled out a map of the city. He smiled. She thought of everything. Amused, he unzipped an inner pocket and to his surprise, pulled out a cd. Inside the lid was a note with Liam's name on it.

  A warm wave of energy washed over him. He felt her presence even so far away. "Guys?"

  They all stepped closer to see what he had found.

  He held up the cd with the note in it. If it was possible for everyone to have the same idea at the same time, it had just happened. It was like the stars had aligned to show the secret path.

  Rhonda said, "You don't think?"

  He smiled. "She may have just saved us." He took off running toward Katie's house.

  Once they were inside, Liam led them to Katie's room. Before he let them in, he approached Katie's lifeless body. Grabbing a blanket, he covered her and then called them in.

  Just like before, he logged into his account on her HoriZon console and popped in the disc. He looked back at his friends and blew out a deep breath. Everything hinged on that moment.

  Suddenly, the familiar dark screen appeared with the text: "WELCOME BACK, ZOMBIE BOY".

  "It works!"

  His friends cheered behind him.

  "How'd she wind up with the disc?"

  "She's always thinking ahead," he smiled and thought back to earlier when Thomas had her, when she yelled for Liam to hand over the disc. "She knew this disc was important. She probably had a copy this whole time."

  The screen flickered and more text appeared: "CONGRATULATIONS!"

  Liam sat up on his knees and stared at the TV wondering what to do next. He didn't have to wonder long.

  A loud thunderous noise boomed outside. The impact shook the windows and pressed against Liam's chest pushing him back. It sounded like a jet had landed in the street.

  Caleb rushed to the window. "Look!" He pulled open the blinds.

  A giant ball of wind hovered over Liam's house. Black, blue, and purple smoke swirled around in a circle forming what resembled a portal.

  They rushed out to the front lawn. The portal swirled faster until it had swallowed his house whole, sucking it into nothingness, just like what happened to the house in Poltergeist.

  Liam yelled, "My house!"

  It continued to hover in midair like it was welcoming them.

  Rhonda asked, "Think it's our way home?"

  "I'm afraid to say yes." Liam continued, "But at this point, I'll take it."

  He looked down at Katie's keychain. With a tear in his eye but hope in his heart, he whispered to her, "Thank you."

  13

  As they approached the portal, the winds picked up.

  Liam took a step closer and then turned back to his friends. "Can we all go back in the same portal?"

  Morgan said, "I think it's worth it to try."

  Rhonda and Caleb both nodded.

  "How will we know if it worked?"

  "Well, I assume you'll wake up and the zombies will be gone. But here's the thing." His tone grew serious. "You have to want to go home. Good or bad. To go back to your real life."

  Liam turned to Rhonda, "You don't want to go back and face not having your friend."

  She bowed her head and nodded.

  Liam's mind was made up. Regardless of what he'd face back home, finding Katie was all that was important to him. "Let's go find them together."

  Caleb asked, "Wait, what about Thomas?"

  Liam replied, "Like most game bosses, I have a feeling we'll run into him again."

  The three of them held hands and walked toward the portal. Liam called for Shadow to follow. The winds blew harder. They shielded their eyes to avoid any dust.

  But then, something made Liam stop.

  He turned to Morgan who was
still standing behind them. "Why aren't you coming?"

  The man shook his head. "You go ahead. I'll catch the next one."

  Liam ran over to him and grabbed his hand. "No way! You're coming with us!"

  Morgan didn't budge. "There's nothing for me there. This world," he looked around. "This world may be full of zombies, but the real world has too many enemies."

  Another thunderous boom sounded and the portal started to close!

  "Come on! We're running out of time!" yelled Caleb.

  Liam looked at Morgan. "You're a game developer, right?"

  The man nodded.

  "If there's one thing video games have taught me, it's that if there are enemies, I'm going in the right direction."

  A smile crept across the man's face. "You're pretty smart, kid."

  "Does that mean you'll join us?"

  Morgan outstretched his hand and the four of them, along with Shadow, stepped up into the portal together.

  Rhonda said, "It'll be weird going back to reality. We've had quite the adventure."

  Liam replied, "I have a feeling the adventure is just getting started."

  Lightening struck and thunder rolled as the portal enveloped them and then closed up into nothingness.

  To be continued...

  Will Liam Save Katie?

  And will Liam and his friends find Thomas before he passes on the game disc to another player? Find out in book 2!

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