Gamers' Challenge Read online

  Gamers’ Challenge

  George Ivanoff is an author and stay at-home dad residing in Melbourne, Australia. He has written over 50 books for children and teenagers. His teen science fiction novel, Gamers’ Quest, won a 2010 Chronos Award for speculative fiction. He has books on both the Victorian Premier’s and the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge booklists. George eats too much chocolate and drinks too much coffee. He has one wife and two children. Check out George’s website at: www.georgeivanoff.com.au

  The Official Garners’ Quest website for stories, music and videos is at: http://www.gamersquestbook.com

  For my good friend, H. Gibbens, and my favourite brother-in-law, Marc Valko. Many thanks for the awesome visuals and music

  GAMERS’ CHALLENGE

  George Ivanoff

  First published by Ford Street Publishing, an imprint of

  Hybrid Publishers, PO Box 52, Ormond VIC 3204

  Melbourne Victoria Australia

  ©George Ivanoff 2011

  24681097531

  This publication is copyrighl. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1 968, no partmay be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the publisher. Requests and enquiries concerning reproduction should be addressed to

  Ford Street Publishing Pty Ltd

  2 Ford Street, Clifton Hill VIC 3068.

  Ford Street website: www.fordstreetpublishing.com

  First published 2011

  National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Author: Ivanoff, George 1968-

  Title: Gamers’ Challenge / George Ivanofft

  ISBN: 9781921665516 (pbk.) Target audience: For secondary school age Dewey Number: A823.3

  Cover art: © Les Petersen

  Cover design: © Grant Gittus Graphics

  In-house editor: Beau Hillier

  Printed in China by Tingleman Pty Ltd

  Contents

  Prologue

  1: Zyra

  2: Tark

  3: Explanations

  4: The Outers

  5: Familiar Faces

  6: Tark and Zyra

  7: Hope

  8: Sanctuary

  9: Jump

  10: Legend of the Ultimate Gamer

  11: Left Behind

  12: Now What?

  13: The Thing in the Cave

  14: Brains!

  15: IDD

  16: No-man’s-land

  17: Testing

  18: Pinball

  19: Reload

  20:Bobby

  21: Ready to Devour

  22: Bobby and the Fat Man

  23: Preparations

  24: Antibodies

  25: The Ultimate Gamer

  26: Battle in the Light Grid Chimaera vs Knight

  27: Charging Up

  28: Battle in the Light Grid - Dragon vs Unicorn

  29: Super-charged

  30: Battle in the Light Grid - Static Man vs Fat Man

  31: Plans

  32: Battle in the Light Grid- Endgame

  33: Overload

  34: Goodbyes

  Acknowledgements

  Prologue

  It all started with a kiss.

  Everything changed.

  Or was it that everything stayed the same except them?

  1: Zyra

  Zyra took aim, almost saying a prayer to the Designers out of habit, and pulled the trigger. She watched the crossbow bolt slice through the air, pinning all her hopes on it as it made its way to its target. Could this bolt be different? Could the fact that it belonged to the monks from the Temple of Paths be the deciding factor?

  But just like every other weapon Zyra had tried, the bolt did not do its job. It froze as it met its target. Pixel by pixel, it was deconstructed and absorbed into the grey, sizzling nothingness.

  Zyra pulled the second trigger to fire the auxiliary bolt, more out of frustration than any real hope of it working. It too was taken apart and removed from the World.

  ‘Blast!’ Zyra tossed the useless crossbow to one side.

  The writhing mass of static shot towards her. Zyra flung herself to the ground and rolled, her shoulder crunching painfully over the rubble, then sprang to her feet and ran. The vaguely spherical conglomeration of static streaked after her.

  Zyra knew she couldn’t outrun it - but she could stay ahead of it, at least for a little while. She’d had lots of practice recently, as each weapon she’d tested inevitably failed.

  Sprinting along the cracked and crumbling roads of the City, her worn red leather coat flapping about her legs, she felt sweat prickling her brow. She skirted the ruins of a large building, almost losing her footing in the rubble, but managing to retain her balance. She didn’t need to look behind to know that in the second it took to stop herself from falling, the inexplicable ball of static would have gained ground. One more misplaced step, the slightest mistake, and she’d be dead -deconstructed, pulled apart, molecule by molecule. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, the fear rising up inside her, the sweat now dripping from her face.

  Zyra rounded another corner in a spray of graveland ran into the graveyard that backed onto the Temple of Paths. She had concealed another loaded crossbow in the shrubbery that grew amongst the multitude of dilapidated headstones, but saw little reason in using it now. She’d be dead before she could pick up the crossbow and even if she could fire it, it would have no effect. She had only one hope. Her eyes locked onto the vestry at the end of the graveyard, a ramshackle stone room tacked on to one side at the back of the Temple of Paths. The static was right behind her. The second it took to open the door would mean the end of her.

  Lungs burning, heart pounding, Zyra vaulted a headstone and made for the little window beside the vestry door, the glass long ago shattered and never replaced. A good couple of strides before reaching the window, she leapt into the air. Arms outstretched, she dived through the glassless frame. Relief washed over her as she thudded onto the thin mattress.

  Winded, she took a moment to catch her breath and pull the hair back from her eyes, and then rolled off the mattress, slowly getting to her feet. As she turned and looked at the window frame, she could see the static hovering outside. Zyra stepped over to the window and leant in close, until her face was centimetres from the basketball-sized conglomeration of simmering menace. She ran her fingers along the growing stubble that surrounded her red Mohawk.

  ‘Can’t gets me in ‘ere.’

  The static rolled and writhed and bubbled, like a starving animal separated from its prey. Questions floated through Zyra’s mind. What were these things? How did they maintain their shape? After all, they had no real substance. They were just static, like what you would see on an un-tuned television set, or in that unreal place between game environments. And why were they after her?

  Zyra stared into its fathomless depths, watching the grey nothingness. She felt like it would be so easy to just give in; to reach out a hand, touch it, and let it consume her.

  Something formed, bared its fangs, and then the static - and whatever it was within its cold depths - was no longer there.

  Zyra staggered backwards, tripping and landing hard on the stone floor, her bones jarring.

  ‘Imagination,’ she told herself, tugging at one of the studs that pierced her lower lip. just imagination.’ She rose slowly, wincing with pain, and yawned.

  In addition to the homicidal static and her and Tark’s inability to interact with the gam
e, something else had changed. Ever since their rebellious, rule breaking kiss, both Zyra and Tark seemed to have become more susceptible to aches and pains and fatigue. It used to be that, when injured, Zyra would bounce back quickly, all residual effects disappearing. But not anymore. Gone were the days when bruises never formed, falls were barely noticed and near asphyxiation could be shaken off within minutes. Gone were the days when she only slept between adventures. She rubbed at her aching shoulder, stretched her jarred back and yawned again.

  She and Tark had broken the Designers’ rules.

  She knew that... and she accepted that there would be consequences. She could live with the aches and pains; she could deal with having to sleep regularly; she didn’t especially care that they were no longer part of the game that continued to unfold around them. Even the pimples that had started to pop out on her face were endurable. But deadly static appearing out of nowhere and trying to kill her? That was another matter.

  It wouldn’t be so bad if the static was after Tark as well. But these random manifestations had singled her out. It wasn’t that they didn’t attack Tark when they came across him. They did. But it was her they wanted. Within minutes of leaving the Temple of Paths, at least one of the blasted things would be upon her. Tark, meanwhile, seemed to be able to roam around, so long as he was careful and she wasn’t present. She hated that!

  Not for the first time, Zyra wondered if they had made a mistake. Their lives had been a lot simpler when they had been playing the game. If they hadn’t kissed, they would still be playing.

  Zyra shook the thought from her mind and looked around the vestry. She supposed that she should feel grateful that she was safe in here, even though she didn’t know why. It was little more than a small room added onto the back of the Temple. None of the monks ever seemed to use it. Apart from an old table and a pile of robes, it had been empty when she and Tark had found it. Now it contained a couple of old straw-stuffed mattresses, some worn blankets and a small stash of food. They had also accumulated a reasonable batch of weapons, poorly concealed under the robes. Every so often, Tark would go out and scavenge anything of use that he could find.

  Zyra wandered over to the pile of robes and lifted them back. Guns, knives, throwing stars, a sword and some nunchucks. There had been two crossbows earlier on, before she had decided to try them out. She had thought they might work. After all, the Temple of Paths kept the static at bay. It was logical to assume that the weapons of the monks within might have some effect. But no.

  A stray bit of hair flopped in front of her eyes and she swept it back roughly. She missed that her hair used to just stay in place, nice and spiky, instead of draping all over the place.

  In the distance, Zyra could hear the monks chanting.

  ‘Don’t they eva stop?’ Then she yelled,

  ‘SHUDDUP!’

  A strand of hair dropped down in front of her eyes agam.

  2: Tark

  Tark leaned up against a tree and waited. Once upon a time he would have been wrapped in his magik cloak, perched upon a high branch, out of view. But now there was no need. He stood at the edge of the path, waiting for a travelling princeling, knowing that he would not be noticed and hoping to steal something of use.

  He was dressed, as always, in ill-fitting, drab, brown leggings and a tunic, with high black boots that were still in reasonable condition. At least some things hadn’t changed. He ran a hand through his black hair. Now that was something different. His hair had never grown before. It had always been little more than stubble. He closed his hand into a fist, catching the hair between his fingers. If it kept growing, he would have to start cutting it.

  Tark’s hand dropped and his head snapped to the right as he heard the rustling of leaves. His violet eyes stared into the undergrowth, looking for movement. Dense foliage grew right up to the edge of the path concealing what lay within the depths of the Forest. The perfect hiding place, thought Tark. Not that he needed a hiding place anymore. The sound of hooves along the path made him turn his attention to the other direction.

  Rounding the bend, he could see a man on ahorse. The rider was richly dressed and the stallion pranced.

  ‘Show-off!’ muttered Tark.

  Following close behind was a mule, pulling a wagon. A pageboy rode on the mule’s back, as it strained to haul its load. As they neared, Tark could see that the man’s clothes, though rich, were quite old and slightly shabby. The pageboy’s attire was also very worn and grubby. The cart contained only a few wooden chests (no doubt filled with what remained of the man’s fortune), some clothing and a meagre selection of fruits and vegetables.

  ‘Oh, great,’ whispered Tark. Justs a no-longer rich dude, wot somethin’ rough happened ta.’ Still, it would have to do. Beggars couldn’t be choosers.

  Tark waited and watched as the small entourage approached and passed. Falling in line behind the cart, Tark swiftly relieved it of several apples. Pocketing them, he reached for the nearest trunk, but found he couldn’t grasp it. His hand was simply unable to make contact.

  ‘Blast!’ Tark hated the way that happened. The fact that no one seemed able to see him had certainly aided in the acquisition of supplies, but the fact that he was also unable to interact with so many things was a real hindrance. As far as he and Zyra could work out, it seemed that anything important to the game, was out of bounds to them.

  Tark’s mind was drawn back to the kiss that hadchanged everything for him. He absently brought a hand up to his chin and started picking at the pimple that had sprung up there. Had they done the right thing in defying the Designers? He wasn’t sure. Life was certainly more difficult now. But he also felt as if an invisible weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He was free now. He could do what he wanted. He didn’t have to continually steal money. He was no longer reliant on getting to. Designers Paradise to be happy. He didn’t have to worry about the Designers’ ridiculous rules. He was allowed to kiss Zyra whenever he wanted ... if only she would let him.

  His pimple oozed a little pus and began to bleed.

  ***

  A man peered out through the leaves and watched

  Tark intently. He wore a dark hooded cloak and crouched in the undergrowth by the side of the path.

  ’At long last,’ he murmured.

  He scratched at his beard and continued to watch as Tark ate one of the stolen apples. Realising that the boy would soon be on his way, the hooded man decided that now was as good a time as any. Rising slowly to his feet, he adjusted his cloak and stepped out through the bushes onto the path.

  Tark stared in his direction, eyes widening.

  Dropping his apple core, he produced two throwing stars from the pouch on his belt.

  ‘Damn!’ This was not the reaction the man hadbeen hoping for.

  ***

  ‘Behind you!’ Tark shouted, even though he knewthat there was no way that the hooded man could hear him. He was as unheard as he was unseen in the World since the kiss.

  To Tark’s amazement the man turned to look back, then threw himself to the ground, giving Tark a clear shot at the ball of static that had emerged from the trees. Tark threw the stars and quickly fished another two from his pouch.

  The undulating sphere of static froze in the air as it picked apart and consumed the shaped metal. With the stars gone, it pulsed and roiled again, but did not advance, seemingly undecided as to who to attack first. Taking advantage of this hesitation, the hooded man sprang to his feet, unhooking the small crossbow that hung from his belt. The ball of static moved towards him.

  ‘Distract it!’ he yelled at Tark.

  If there had been time to think, Tark would have been amazed that this mysterious stranger had not only seen him, but was now yelling at him. Given the circumstances, however, Tark’s thoughts were otherwise occupied. He threw another two stars.

 
The static froze as the stars were deconstructed once again. Then it shifted its attention from the hooded man to Tark. As it bubbled and pulsated, Tark imagined that he could see images forming within its depths, before being swallowed by the sizzling nothingness. He couldn’t make out what they were, but he had a sense of malice and hunger.

  From the corner of his eye, Tark saw the hoodedman load his crossbow, take aim, and fire. As the bolt shot through the air, the man was already reloading.

  The first bolt stuck home. The ball of static sparked and crackled, its edges flaring and dissolving as its movement toward Tark ceased. The diminishing mass turned its attention away from Tark and back towards the hooded man. His crossbow was reloaded, aimed and ready to fire.

  Tark saw that the bolt was tipped with static. It flew through the air and struck their attacker. The sphere burst apart, its insubstantial greyness flaring and dissipating in all directions, until there was nothing left.

  Tark watched warily as the man returned the smallbut effective crossbow to his belt and approached him. His hood was still in place, concealing much of his face, but Tark glimpsed a grey beard.

  ‘Thank you.’ The man’s voice was deep and alittle gravely, but also vaguely familiar to Tark.

  ‘Ya can sees me?’ The enormity of the situation finally hit Tark.

  ‘Obviously,’ the man replied. ‘I can see you. I can hear you. I can interact with you.’ He offered his gloved hand to Tark.

  ‘How?’ snapped Tark, immediately suspicious,ignoring the outstretched hand.

  ‘I’m not playing the Designers’ game either,’ he said simply. He held up his hand to stop Tark from asking further questions. ‘We are still in danger. If one VI has been able to find us, then there’s the distinct possibility of more.’

  ‘VI?’

  ‘The ball of static. It’s a Viral Interface,’ explained the man. ‘Or, at least, that is what we call them. Now we should get out of here. Ideally, we need to get to Zyra before any more VIs show up. I assume you know where she is and can take me there?’