EleMental: A First-person Shooter

Chapter 3: The louder your screams, the happier we are

Chapter 3: The louder your screams, the happier we are

Willis’s stomach tightened in nervousness. And as much as he tried to hide his unease, he knew Zeb could tell. They sat on a patch of ground behind the disused school labs – a security blank spot, invisible to roving zipcams and eavesdropping devices.

‘Right,’ Zeb said, standing. ‘Enough talking. Let’s go.’ As Willis climbed to his feet, Zeb patted him on the arm. ‘It’s really not that hard.’

They strapped their bags securely across their shoulders, picked up their hyperboards, and turned to face the school. Willis’s legs shook as they approached. At the gates, he held his hyperboard tightly. They walked a few steps behind everyone else and paused as the beam hit them, letting the Automated School Security System get a long, clear shot. In the event they were reported AWOL, the ASSS record would show beyond a doubt they’d entered the school premises. That was the plan anyway, and Zeb swore by it.

‘Not a word,’ Zeb whispered as they crossed the threshold of the school’s main building.

They scooted down a corridor and ducked into the female toilets – risky, but the only blank spot in the building that also possessed a window at the other end. Zeb seemed to know about them all. Zeb kept his back flat to the wall, directly beneath a camera. When he reached the long metal sink opposite the cubicle doors, he dropped and crawled along the floor underneath it. Willis followed more awkwardly, inching his hyperboard along with him.

Then they heard a female voice from behind a closed cubicle door. ‘Is someone there?’ it whispered.

They moved quickly. Beyond the sink was an odd little alcove with a small window. It was easy to see why it was a blank spot. They slinked from under the sink and into the alcove, pushed the window open, shoved their hyperboards out and climbed through. It was quite a drop to the street below and Willis felt his bones shudder as he landed and crouched next to Zeb.

Willis put his lips to Zeb’s ear. ‘Someone heard us.’

Zeb smirked. ‘Yeah, I recognized the voice. Arizona.’

Willis nodded. She was in their year.

‘Hang on.’ Zeb clambered back up to the window ledge and eased the window open. ‘Seeyalater, Arizona!’ he shouted, pitching his voice high to fool the ASSS.

The window fell back with a clatter as he jumped down and they ran off. Glancing back, Willis saw the window opening again. Turning, he concentrated on running faster. He stretched his legs until they ached, hoping to be out of sight before anyone could spot them.

Zeb came to a halt a street away from the school and stood gasping, waiting for Willis to catch up.

‘Do you think she knew it was you?’ Willis panted.

‘Who cares? Arizona’s no snitch.’

It took them thirty minutes to get to Screamers, Zeb cutting corners like there was no tomorrow, his board’s suspension lasers spiraling in his wake. Willis could barely keep up. Turning the last bend, he saw Zeb leap from his board, kick it back and catch it as it flipped in the air. He ran into the store without checking to see if Willis was still with him.

Signs blazed across the store’s windows: Screamers!!! The louder your screams, the happier we are. We’re a total scream.

Willis thought better of kicking his hyperboard back. Stepping down, he picked it up, and followed Zeb inside.

The door spoke cheerfully as he crossed the threshold. ‘Welcome to your one-stop scream shop – for all your screaming needs.’

Willis dropped his hyperboard in the rack, next to Zeb’s, taking the last available slot. A bargain bin drifted in his direction and he edged past it as he headed down the nearest aisle, searching for Zeb. He found him deep within the store, ensconced in a generic v’space booth, trialing a v’game. Willis stepped back from the booth and read the words that hung in the air over it: Catapult yourself into shooter fun with Cat Zap Zombies.