Chapter Three- Just a glitch right?...
It took a bit longer than the Boy Genius would've expected to alter and modify the code of the game and additionally reconfigure the Neutronic Game Pyramid but it was done, and the game was finally ready to be played.
Even the hardest of codes can be cracked, uncloaked, or bypassed by Retroville's local genius.
"Okay, are you guys ready for the ultimate adventure in gaming?" Jimmy asked as he began to type in the final code sequences that would begin the game.
"Oh yeah!" Sheen said excitedly as he, Carl, and Jimmy gathered around the Game Pyramid and prepared to teleport into the game itself glad to be somewhere new and exciting.
The game itself was already something of an eye-opener and an utter masterpiece Southern Eyes Entertainment had always been a company known for pushing the envelope when it came to their games. "Quarantine Cove" was no exception to that rule. It was the epitome of that rule, and the game would no doubt go down in history as one of the greatest games to ever grace the video gaming scene. In addition, he had ordered his digital assistant to incorporate various "improvements" he developed such as lowering the number of points needed to secure certain items or attack combos, improving the weather components, and a dozen other smaller things each of the three wanted to include before playing.
"Jimmy this game isn't going to scare isn't it"Carl asked as Jimmy finished integrating his code into the game Jimmy responded that had nothing to worry about. After it was just a game and nothing more and besides there was nothing better to do.
The three boys sighed and braced themselves as the pyramid's transporter activated. In a flash of glowing purple light that turned a nauseating shade of green, they were all transported through some kind of tunnel-like space-time continuum before materializing in the game.
"Alright, we're in the game!" Carl said as he brushed the ones and zeros off his shirt, and the three boys looked around and began to take in their surroundings.
"So, where are we?" Sheen asked as he gazed around the darkened hotel room his eyes slowly adjusting to the dark.
"I don't know, Sheen, but this looks like a pretty sweet pad," Jimmy said as he hastily walked around the room and pulled back the curtains.
Outside was a breathtaking view of a tropical island, the sun was high in the sky, and the air was pleasantly warm, a far pleasant change from the blistering and sweltering heat wave that was currently engulfing their town. In addition, their accommodation wasn't half bad the room was filled with eye-catching and eerie-looking artwork that seemed to frighten and yet in a strange way the onlooker especially the one near the wooden dresser a strange shadowy figure sitting menacing.
"Wow, it's so beautiful here," Jimmy remarked as he continued to look at the scene.
"Yeah, and I bet there are plenty of zombies too!" Sheen added eagerly, the excitement evident in the tone and register of his voice.
"And plenty of zombies too," Jimmy laughed, the boy genius's signature deadpan sarcasm dripping off every word.
Quarantine Cove's overarching storyline was divided into three main parts with some additional smaller side quests and storylines thrown in between. The first chapter of the second story and the one Jimmy had chosen to start the game was titled, "Oasis " a tropical resort level set one of smaller islands featured that compared to some other action-packed and bloodier segments and levels of the game was relatively tamer.
"Let's see here," Jimmy said to himself as he picked up a brochure along with a few scattered vanilla folders that had been left on a nearby coffee table. However, before he could begin to read it the boy genius and two friends began to hear a chorus of shambling moans just outside their room that seemed to be growing louder with each fraction of a second.
"What's that sound?" Carl asked his voice cracking slightly. Sheen who minutes before couldn't bash the brains to digitally undead began to feel a touch of nervousness dropping the bottle of Purple Flurp that he was pouring for himself in a crashing crack littering the floor in small shards of broken glass and purple grape soda that were now staining the white carpet.
"Nothing. It's probably nothing just a glitch-probably just a minor audio glitch. Vox probably messed up transcribing some sections- it's just a glitch, guys," Jimmy said calmly, his voice and words betraying the nervousness and anxiety he felt.
"Yeah, just a glitch, probably," Carl mumbled quietly.
"I sure hope so," Sheen added as the moans outside the door continued to grow louder.
Suddenly the sky began to grow dark, and the room's overhead lights began to flicker.
"Uh, Jimmy, what's going on?" Carl asked nervously as he stared at the ceiling.
"Don't worry Carl, it's probably just a glitch," the boy genius answered nervously, trying his best to not let his uneasiness and fear show.
"Yeah, probably just a glitch," he repeated the same phrase once again, more to himself than to his friends.
Stumbling backward towards the balcony, the three boys watched in stunned silence as the sky outside continued to grow darker and darker. Soon a thick bank of storm clouds began to move in showering the island. They were quickly followed by a howling wind that sounded more like a banshee's cry followed by a dark menacing laugther. Looking below the three boys were greeted by a pair of glowing red eyes followed by another pair and then another until the ground below was a sea of glowing red orbs and shambling moans.
"It's not a glitch," Jimmy said his voice filled with a soft-spoken tone that was laced with a hint of fear, "it's not a glitch."
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's not a glitch," Sheen replied his voice barely a whisper as the three boys looked out into the night, the undead moaning growing louder.
Concerned about the rapidly worsening situation and uninterested in becoming the first course of the undead's evening meal the boy genius ordered Vox to transport them out of the game.
"Vox, we need to get out of here now! Get us out of here now!" he commanded his voice shaking slightly.
"I'm sorry, sir, but there seems. Warning!SYsteM Errrorr. SYstem Overrrload!" Vox replied his digital assistant's voice sounding glitched out and distorted.
"Jimmy, what's going on?"Carl cried, his voice filled with a sense of panic and terror.
"Vox, can you read me?"Jimmy asked frantically, hoping that his digital assistant would be able to understand him, "Vox, please, you got to get us out of here, NOW!"
"Warning, syste-e-m errorrr-rr-rr-r."
"Oh no..." Carl moaned softly, his body beginning to shake slightly.
"Talk to me! Vox what is going on?!"Jimmy asked his voice filled with a sense of urgency and terror, "Vox, talk to me now, please!"
"System overr-override command initia-a-at-ted. Launching anti-virus and anti-malware protocol. Please hold."
"Hold? We're about to get eaten, and she wants us to hold?" Sheen yelled out as the zombie horde began to climb up the side of the building, the shambling moans of the undead growing louder as they began to scratch the door and climb the walls like a swarm of hungry locusts.
"Hold the line, boys, don't let them through," the young genius commanded his friends, "If they make it inside, it's over."
"Okay, Jimmy, okay, okay," Carl said his voice trembling with fear, "We'll hold the line."
"You got it, Jimmy," Sheen added his voice also shaking with a hint of nervousness.
Pushing some of the furniture in front of the door and blocking the balcony, the three boys began to form a defense.
"What do you think Vox will do?" Sheen asked his eyes darting from the balcony and the door, his mind struggling to focus and comprehend the situation.
"I'm not sure. Normally Vox would just reset the whole game," Jimmy said as he pushed the sofa forward and began to pile the dresser in front of it, "But this isn't a normal situation."
"Do you think we'll be okay?"Carl asked as he struggled to push the heavy wooden chest across the floor.
"We'll be fine. Everything will be fine, Carl," the boy genius assured his friend, although he didn't feel the same assurance himself. Something was definitely wrong with the game, and racing through the boy's brain which was filled with thoughts and scenarios each one worse than the last was a single thought, one simple, terrifying question, what was going on?
Seems I forgot to publish the last two weeks my mistake I'll try my best to not repeat it going further no promise. In the meantime what are your thoughts on this chapter? Any feedback or comments are appreciated.