A/N Just a short promotional tibit: I'm currently involved with this fun web series anthology called Match, writing creative content for the episodes. If you love interacting with shows, including RP and fanfic forums, it's a series for you! It's super audience friendly, as you even get to decide which pilot episodes get to have their own series. So check it out at match-dot-colaborator-dot-com!

And here is my first post, enjoy!

Once upon a time, there lived an unpleasant family in an unpleasant neighborhood. Everyone in the neighborhood was very rich and awfully greedy, but that one family was especially known for their avarice. One day, the parents decided that their giant six bedroom mansion was not big enough for them and their two children, Hansel and Gretel. The mother decided that they should get rid of their kids, and in agreement the father took them to the subway station that ran under the whole city.

"We are not getting on a subway! Have you gone mad, father?" Hansel spat incredulously.

"I don't think I've ever even passed by a subway station, let alone board one of those disgusting forms of transportation filled with poor vermin," Gretel snapped.

The father himself did not want to board a subway, but he knew it was the only way to lose his children. He shoved them into the station and soon onto a subway, ignoring their protests. He made them sit up front and stayed with them for a stop or two, but soon got fed up with their constant bickering. Without saying anything, the father stealthily walked away from them and got off at the very next stop. Hansel and Gretel did not notice and kept complaining until the subway changed course.

"Hansel, do you know where we are suppose to go?" Gretel asked when she realized that she did not recognize the names of any of the streets they were passing.

"No clue," Hansel replied while looking around the subway. "And where did father go? He's not in this car."

"He left us! That poor excuse of a man!"

"Humph! Well we don't need him. Or mother. Let's get off this vile subway and find someone worthy of parenting us," Hansel decided, and so they did. The two of them found themselves in the middle of the city, where mostly the middle-class lived. The streets were dull and the buildings were mostly grey. They wandered the streets for only a few minutes before deciding that they were not going to find a person worthy enough to talk to. As they decided to stop walking aimlessly, they stumbled upon a building that stuck out from the rest. It had a large fancy door and was built from an intriguing orange brick. There large windows, filled with posters advertising new games and game systems. It was a video game store, and Hansel and Gretel rushed in.

Inside, the store was dark and the only light seemed to come from all the television and computer screens that aligned the walls. Video games were neatly stacked all over the small shop. There was a small group of kids waiting in line to play one of the newer releases towards the back of the store. Hansel and Gretel went up to them, and with a few rude remarks and dirty looks, they managed to make the kids cry and walk away. Then they began playing the game that the other kids had been waiting all day for.

They played for a few minutes when the owner of the store noticed that the line of potential customers was replaced by two wealthy looking kids.

He came up to them slowly and asked, "What happened to all of the kids who were going to make me money?"

"We made them go away," Hansel answered, not looking away from the game.

"But if it's money you want, we could buy this whole store off you," Gretel sneered.

"I don't think so. My store is my life," the owner replied.

"That doesn't matter. If we want something, we take it," Hansel scoffed.

"Well aren't you two a nasty pair," the owner mused. "No matter, stay as long as you want and play as many games as you'd like."

Hansel and Gretel smiled greedily and looked away from the video game for the first time. They looked at the owner and noticed that he was not a very good looking man. His skin was tinted a slight blue green and some of his limbs looked like they were going to fall off. He looked grungy and had disheveled clothes. There seemed to be dirt all over him. The man smiled wickedly at Hansel and Gretel and then slumped away, slowly with a limp.

"That man looks undead," Gretel shuddered.

"Yes, but he said we can stay as along as we want," Hansel shrugged. "I don't care if he's ugly. I am going to stay until I finish playing all these games."

So Hansel and Gretel stayed in the store all day. They played video games nonstop and were allowed to play after the store closed for the night. They ended up playing all night, and then the next day, and the next night, and even the day after that. They were oblivious to needs like eating and sleeping, and even to the fact that no one else ever entered the store. It was just them and the store owner, who watched them each day from the counter, smiling to himself. Gretel decided that the man was actually a zombie, and that she and Hansel were going to be his dinner very soon. Hansel just laughed at her and said she had played too many video games. Most of the time they were very absorbed into the games and soon they forgot about where they were and all about the store owner.

One day, the owner decided that Hansel and Gretel were ready. He went up to them and announced, "Okay guys. No more video games," as he turned off the television.

For the first time in days, the children took their eyes off of the screen and looked at the owner. Their eyes had become red with deep, dark circles around them and a blank look in them. Their facial expressions were emotionless and they seemed confused.

"I was just going to wait a couple of days, but watching you destroy yourselves was highly entertaining," the store owner explained. "Your brains have most likely turned into complete mush, but that's how I like them." The owner smiled devilishly and took out a fork and knife from his pocket. Licking his lips, he sloppily tucked the napkin into his shirt.

Hansel and Gretel slowly registered what was going on and groaned in response. They felt like mindless zombies themselves and slowly backed away. They needed some time to recuperate, but the zombie stepped closer. He himself did not move very quickly, but he always seemed a step ahead of the children. He laughed and aimed the knife as to cut off Gretel's scalp. Before the knife reached her head, Hansel intervened and shoved his hand back. The knife spliced the zombie's pinky finger off, and he growled in anger. He was about to stab Hansel with the fork, but Gretel picked up the knife and cut off the hand that was holding the fork. Hansel then picked up the fork. The zombie groaned in a fit of rage, as the children were now very much ahead of him.

At the same time, Hansel and Gretel both flung the kitchen utensils at the zombie's head. The zombie moaned for the last time, as the utensils together severed his head, causing him to drop down to the floor. Hansel then turned the television back on, and he and Gretel returned to playing the video game where they left off.