Chapter Two- A Cure for Boredom

The Retroville Mall was crowded with its usual Saturday afternoon shoppers, young and old alike all there to seek refuge from the oppressive heat wave that had hit the city like a freight train, all trying to find ways to escape the sweltering heat and the humidity which seemed to have doubled or perhaps even tripled in the past few days. Packed to the absolute brim with the town's pre-teenage and teenage denizens was the mall's food court and nearby arcade, a perfect place to spend a sweltering summer day.

"Geeze, it's so crowded," Carl exclaimed as the three boys weaved their way through the crowd of kids making it to "Rosegroud Video Game Emporium" which was comfortably nestled in the left corner of the mall between "Laughing Lizard" a small prank shop and "Chesteron's Jewelers" a family-owned jewelry store which had been run by the same family for the past fifty years.

Making their way inside the store the boys were greeted by the old and familiar sights and sounds of shelves lined with hundreds of the latest games and the latest gaming systems, and the sounds of the latest and greatest of Graystar's newly released album "The slow burn" playing softly in the background.

"There it is !" Sheen shouted, pointing at a large cardboard trio of zombie standees advertising the new game. The image on the front cover featured the three main protagonists standing at the end of a long stretch of a desolate and decrepit beach with a tropical island and a military blockade ominously looming in the background the game's title was written across the top of the cover in bold red letters with the catchphrase "The game you don't be caught dead this year without". Grabbing the first copy of the game he could get his hands on, the trio began their wait in the long and winding line that led up to the checkout counter.

Gazing at the box art each of the three boys couldn't help but find something appealing about it. Even Carl whose tastes generally ran towards the cutesy and the harmless seemed to take a strange liking to the game's dark and gritty appearance, or at least he thought he did, it was a little hard to tell sometimes with the chubby one.

"So, what do you think?"Jimmy asked Carl and Sheen, holding the game up so they could have a better look.

"It looks awesome," Sheen said as his eyes darted across the box.

"I think so, too," Carl added.

Jimmy nodded in agreement.

Reaching into his back pocket the young genius pulled out his brown leather wallet and flipped it open to check its contents. Inside were several bills of varying denominations and his Retroville Museum Membership Card. "Hmm, not bad," he said to himself as he flipped it closed, "We should have enough here to get us the game and some snacks from the nearby kiosk on the way out."

"Snacks? I'm in!"Sheen yelled out excitedly as Carl nodded in agreement, a smile crossing his lips at the prospect of having his favorite candy bar, the "Double-Covered-In-Nougat-Choco-Butter-Bar," the very sound of its name bringing joy to his heart.

The line moved forward and the trio moved with it as they patiently waited for their turn. After a few minutes, they were next, their excitement and anticipation growing as the cashier checked the game's barcode and began to ring it up. The cashier, a young man with short brown hair and a pair of wire-rimmed glasses looked up and gave them a small smile as he punched a series of keys on his register.

"Would you like to buy an extended three-year warranty for your purchase?" the cashier asked his voice monotone, and his demeanor that of a tired and bored college student.

Jimmy thought it over and shook his head. "No, no thank you," he said politely as he handed over his money.

"What about the game guide?" the cashier asked handing the game over, his voice still lacking any semblance of enthusiasm.

"Uh... no, I'm good."

The cashier shrugged his shoulders, punched a few more keys on his register, and took the money, the transaction seemingly done. Finally, the cashier asked if any of the boys owned the SouthernEyes GameSphere III which happened the exclusive game system that zombie-themed game was made for. Using any other console would result in "Dire consequences due to the unique coding protocols that the game designers used.

"No, but don't worry we will be fine..."Jimmy remarked to the cashier as he and his friends walked off with their game. Unbeknownst to the cashier and especially the boys that decision would be back to bite them and bring new meaning to the phrase trouble in paradise.

Author notes

Sorry for the delay had slightly bothersome flu among other things will get back to publishing on a proper deadline-based system free to leave comments and feedback below.