I gulped. Noah???? He wanted to talk to me??? No way, I thought. There’s no way he can really want to talk to me…I swallowed hard, and opened the message.
Hey Ms. Sophie. I remembered you said you were signing up for the game, and I thought you might want some pointers on how to fight.
I blinked. Then I rubbed my eyes. He wanted to hang out with me??? Now I KNOW I’m dreaming. I gulped and slowly typed my reply.
You’d really teach me?
It was about a minute before a response dinged onto my computer.
Of course I would. I wouldn’t want to lose an ally. ;)
I blushed bright red. Now I seriously was gonna sign up for that game.
Ok. I’d like that :) I’m about to go to sign up.
I quickly signed out and logged onto the site. The background that greeted me was disturbing, to say the least. It was black, and the sight of different, multicolored zombies and skeletons danced across the page. I felt a cold sweat on the back of my neck, but did my best to ignore it. A small blue flame lit up a small box that said “Click me”. I clicked it, and the flame disappeared in a flash, replaced with a large box of questions. I filled in the information as best as I could, and then clicked “Finish!”. The box disappeared, and a smaller one took its’ place.
Congratulations! You have successfully joined the Zombie Apocalypse. Please take your assigned codename, and write it down so you won’t forget. Your codename will replace your real name during this time frame, for your own personal safety. The games begin October 1st. Happy hunting!
The name that greeted me in the small box was the name “Alice Hearte”. A fitting name I suppose, I thought to myself as I wrote the name down on a scrap of paper. I quickly left the page. Those pictures were beginning to creep me out. Logging back onto my social media site, I saw another message pop up from Noah. It said that he wanted to meet up with me for a training session. I told him to meet me down by the park that was down my street. I took a peek out of my front window and the man was gone. I grabbed my key, and went to meet my secret Prince Charming.
I was waiting down there for only a few minutes when he showed up. He looked different. His usual jersey and black beanie had been replaced by a traditional Air Force camo uniform, from the hat on his head to the boots laced up on his feet. In his hands, he carried two foam swords, one red and one white.
“Hello ma’am. Who do I have the honor of addressing?” I must have looked confused, because he broke and whispered “What name did they give you?” His stern soldier expression came back across his face.
“A-Alice...Alice Hearte,” I said, stuttering softly and blushing embarrassed. He walked towards me, and bent down to whisper in my ear.
“Alice, huh? It’s a fitting name for you Sophie,” he whispered, his scent filling my nose. It smelled sweet, like lilac and rosemary and a hint of citrus. He backed up immediately, and handed me the hilt of the white sword. I took it shakily in my hand, while his grip tightened on the hilt of the red. He walked a few paces away from me.
“Ms. Alice, since you are in my care, I must teach you to defend yourself against the scourge that is infecting our planet. You must be prepared, Ms. Alice, for the times I am not there to protect you. It is now my duty to prepare you...” Then he ran at me, the end of the foam sword aiming straight for my heart. I quickly brought the white sword up to my chest to defend myself, and he hit it with a resounding thump. It knocked me slightly off balance, but he gave me no time to get my footing back. He came at me again and again with the sword, and all I could do is defend myself against his attacks. I tried to dodge, but ended up tripping over his boot and wound up face-first in the grass. I felt him drop next to me and gently lift me up.
