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Zombie Boy 2: Level Up
Chapter 1
If dying in a real-life video game counts, then Liam's best friend, Katie, died two weeks ago. It had been two weeks since he woke up from the nightmare of living in a video game, only to be thrust into a real life nightmare where he was determined to win his best friend back from death.
Liam stared at the pretty blonde girl in the next row. When she made eye contact, he turned his head. Gotta play it cool. He had been staring at Katie since class started.
The bell rang and the students gathered their items. Katie glanced back at Liam, and then she and her girlfriends giggled as they exited the classroom.
Katie never hangs out with the prissy girls. Liam reminded himself to keep his jealousy in check. She may not remember their long and close friendship, but he did.
Every day he followed her home and today was no different. It wasn't something she could avoid; he lived directly across the street from her.
As Liam walked, Rhonda ran up to him. They had been friends only for a short while, but considering they met while trying to escape a zombie infested video game together, they already had a strong and unique bond. "Thought I'd never catch you. All that zombie killing has really made you fast."
Liam spent what seemed to be several days living through a zombie apocalypse. It all started with a video game Katie had given him. Unbeknownst to either of them, it thrust them into an alternate universe where Draxon Hollow had been overrun with zombies. The odd thing was that most people, all kids, didn't even notice.
Similar rules to a video game applied. Reading comics and books increased Liam's skill stats in areas like intelligence, strength, and perception. Killing zombies increased his over all experience level. Unfortunately, death also played a role. When people died in the game, they weren't really dead, but they were totally different people back in the real world.
It was Liam's goal to convince New Katie that she was once Old Katie. How would he suddenly convince someone who had lived her whole life across the street from the same person that the two of them were actually best friends? Oh, and also that she had just "died" in a video game world which is why she doesn't remember her old life?
"Nah, not fast. I just don't want to lose her. Today's the day. Gonna make my move."
"You're just gonna walk right up to her and say, hey, remember me? Your best friend?"
It sounded better when he thought about it in his head.
"You might want to hold off. At least for now," she said handing him the latest issue of Gamerz Extreme.
Liam took the magazine but never took his eyes off Katie. As he entered the top of their street, he watched as she got in a convertible with three other girls and sped away. New Katie was friends with the older, more popular girls, not sweaty teenage boys who loved to spend Friday nights eating pizza and playing video games.
"Are we gonna check it out?" Rhonda's voice seemed to come out of nowhere pulling him back into the moment.
Liam opened the magazine and flipped to the page Rhonda had earmarked.
Caleb, another friend Liam had made within the game world ran up to them. "I got your message to meet here. What's up?"
Liam stared at Caleb's shirt. It had an image of a zombie licking its lips at an appetizing brain. It read: GOT BRAINS?
"Nice shirt." Liam wasn't amused. The thought of zombies, especially in a playful way, still hit too close to home.
He went back to reading the magazine. Wild colors assaulted Liam's eyes as he skimmed over the advertisement.
"Did this just come out?"
"Yep."
Usually conventions are scheduled months in advance, and Liam was a regular reader of Gamerz Extreme, but that was the first he'd heard about it.
"We gonna go?" asked Rhonda.
For the first time ever, Liam acted like he didn't want to go to a game convention. "Well, I was hoping I could talk to Katie this weekend."
Without thinking, Rhonda asked, "Won't she be there?" The look on Liam's face reminded her what an awful question that was. Open mouth, insert foot.
Old Katie would have been first in line at the game convention. New Katie? She wouldn't be within fifty yards of one.
Liam and his friends stood in line to be one of the first to experience the new Chaos Caliber game. The booth had several TVs and game consoles set up with multiple controllers each. Finally, Liam, Rhonda, and Caleb sat down for their turn. After a few rounds of regular person versus person deathmatch, the game's spokesperson paired up the consoles into team deathmatches. Liam's team held the lead until the final ten seconds. Another team of friends called Game Masters ramped up their game and blew past Liam and crew to take the lead.
"Oh, so close!"
The gamers each shook hands and exited the booth going their separate ways. Liam couldn't help but think about Katie. "We could have taken them if we'd had her." She was so good at Chaos Caliber that she had an additional online screen name just so new people would play with her.
As they exited the booth, a guy handed them each a flyer. "Hope to see you there," he said with a smile before disappearing into the crowd.
"Who was that?" asked Liam.
The flyer advertised a game tournament for a yet to be determined game. They did it like that to try and even the playing field. Basically, participants could only practice on games that were readily available, but with no knowledge of which would be the chosen game, players would need to divide their time between several and hopefully not be able to excel at any one game. There were always the hardcore exceptions, however.
"We should enter," said Rhonda. "What would really be awesome is if you were able to convince Katie to join us."
Caleb had yet to game with her, but he had seen how she handled a crossbow at the amusement park while they were in the game world. "Dude, if she plays as good as you say, we could totally win this thing!"
It was a wonderful thought, but Liam had not even had a chance to talk to her and his friends were already making plans. The tournament was in two weeks. Could he convince her that she was really his best friend and that she was an excellent gamer in that time? Did she even still have her HoriZon console?
"Well, if it isn't my three favorite zombie killing kids."
Liam turned around and saw Morgan Paradise, in his trademark trench coat and fedora, standing behind them. "Mr. Paradise! What are you doing here?"
"Please. I think we've been through enough in a short time together that we can be on a first name basis." Of course, he was referring to how Liam and his friends saved Morgan from an eternity in the game world. "Besides, only my wife's lawyers call me Mr. Paradise."
Caleb asked, "Are you scoping out the wicked cool games?"
"No, actually I'm here hoping to land a job. I've got a couple of interviews set up already."
"That's great!"
"It's all thanks to you and your friends," Morgan said to Liam. "I owe you a lot."
Liam reached out and shook Morgan's prosthetic hand.
When they first met Morgan, he was disguised as an elderly man so he could hide from other kids in the game who wanted to do him harm. After a group of kids cut off his hands for not revealing how to escape the game world and get back to the real world, Morgan went into hiding. It was Liam asking the right questions that led Morgan to believe he was different.
Different, indeed. Morgan was determined to stay in the game world. He didn't want to go back to a life where his estranged wife was trying to get sole custody of their daughter in a divorce battle.
But, Liam knew that hiding from problems only lasted so long, and he was able to convince Morgan to return to the real world with them. He, too, had to accept that his anger aided in getting Katie killed in the game. Now it was his life's mission to get her back.
Rhonda smiled. "Well, you make the coolest games. Any company would be lucky to have you."
"Not sure who'll want to hire
someone who can't code quickly," he held up his hand.
"Yeah, but you've got enough design experience that you could lead the team," Liam argued. "The fact that you wrote Zombie Game and coded the VR into it is insane. I mean, have you seen what that game can do?"
It was a serious matter, but it was so strange that he had to laugh about it.
Morgan said, "I wish now I hadn't."
Liam said, "I hope I never have to play that game again. Don't ever want to go through that again."
Morgan replied, "Don't be scared of it. It's just a game."
True, but Morgan's game got out into the wild before it was bug tested or fully vetted. It was as real as standing in that convention hall. There was no manual with a game counselor's number to call when the player got cornered by a horde of zombies, or when he couldn't figure out a life-saving puzzle.
Liam stood a good foot, foot and a half shorter than Morgan, but he looked him right in the eye. "I like you, and I realize you're a victim in this, too. Do me a favor. Don't ever say it's just a game."
Losing his best friend was not something he took lightly.
"I understand," Morgan nodded. "But you have to understand history so as to not repeat it."
Liam didn't get a chance to ask him what he meant by that.
Morgan looked toward the door as a guy and girl walked in. "Oh, great. My old boss' son just walked in."
Liam turned toward where Morgan was pointing. Liam's heart fell to the floor. There was Thomas... with Katie on his arm.
Continue the story:
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Note From the Author
My nephew is the biggest zombie fan I know, and after reading Monster Girl, it was only natural that he encourage me to write, as he called it, The Adventures of Zombie Boy. How could I say no to that? Combining our mutual love for gaming and his infectious enthusiasm for zombies, the story of Zombie Boy was born.
I've been a gamer for as long as I can remember-- age four to be exact. It started with playing my cousin's Atari 2600 before finally getting one of my own. Years later, when I got the golden ticket - a Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES as it's affectionately called - I was officially hooked. Mario would forever be a part of my childhood. He still is today even as I journey the muddy waters of adulthood. To this day, I can recite the Konami code better than I can my name.
I've seen video games go from small pixelated sprites to modern day life-like characters with enough detail to keep even the most jaded gamer gawking at the technological improvements. I've witnessed games go from sharing the experience with friends in our living rooms to sharing the gaming experience online with people around the world and back again.
Gaming is as much a part of my makeup as the blood that courses through my veins. This book is a part of me as well. Games are an escape from our every day lives. That's not to say that I use games to run away from something. Rather, I see it as a way to spark my imagination. Where else can we slay dragons, kill zombies, and blast aliens all while traversing fantastical worlds without leaving the comfort of our couches?
Thank you to all the game developers past, present, and future who have shared their expertise in design and story so that we gamers can escape into magical worlds.
As always, thank you to all the readers who make this journey possible.
To all the gamers... press on and... Press Start.
val
Nov 29, 2015
Acknowledgments
It goes without saying that this book wouldn't have come to be without my nephew's encouragement. Hayden, I hope you enjoy this book as well as the series. Your love of all things 'zombie' was a constant source of inspiration. Thank you for being one of my biggest fans!
To my publishing team - my husband, Craig, who designs fabulous covers and helps bring my stories to life visually, I couldn't do this without you; and to my editors, Jessica Mauldin and Susan Daniel, you two keep me on my toes! Thank you for all you do!
To my parents, in-laws, all my family, and friends, thank you for all your support! I hope you know that it means the world to me.
To Avery, Trey, Jake, Landon, and of course, Hayden, thank you for reading and for all your letters, stories of 'Show and Tell' at school, and photos of you reading my books. It's readers like YOU who make this journey fun. To all the readers out there - YOU are irreplaceable!
About the Author
Val O. Morris likes to pretend the monsters aren't real. She is a filmmaker turned author who writes fantasy and horror for gamers and geeks. A Monster Kid since birth, she loves all things ghosts, goblins, slashers, demons, monsters, zombies, madmen, werewolves, vampires, and freaky little kids who live in the corn.
When not writing, she can be found riding her motorcycle, enjoying popcorn, photography, playing with her dog, watching football, and drinking lots of Mt. Dew--not necessarily in that order. She's also a life-long video gamer and tech geek who LOVES horror movies, and is crazy about Godzilla.
She invites you to come for the monsters and stay for the story.
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Zombie Boy: Press Start (Adventures of Zombie Boy Book 1) Page 9