An empty black room greeted her. Not that the lights were off, but the room was literally black. The walls, ceiling and carpets were all black. A white X was drawn in the center of the room and Beth caught herself walking toward it before she’d even known she was moving. As she took her place on the X, white text appeared in her vision.
Welcome to Insomnia Online the VRMMO. If you can dream it, you can be it.
Clever.
A masculine voice read the words aloud in a cultured British accent, and Beth almost melted into a puddle on the floor. Yes. She could happily listen to that voice all night.
Hundred Day Horde Avatar creation screen.
The text dissolved and in its place the figure of a non-descript human man appeared on the right of her vision, and text on the left.
Name: Survivor
Sex: Male
Specialty: Builder
Two arrows with points going either direction floated above the figure’s head, and Beth reached up and touched one of them. A scantily clad buxom woman spun in a slow circle. She wore a glorified bra and a skirt that was torn off mid-thigh. Her boobs were enormous, and Beth laughed. Obviously this game was designed by men for men.
Name: Survivor
Sex: Female
Specialty: Builder
Beth scrolled sideways on the specialty option. She could be a hunter, a mechanic, a fighter, a scientist, or a builder. Each option came with its own tool belt and a different body type. The fighter had a gun belt slung low across her bare abdomen, toned legs, and muscular arms. Swords criss-crossed behind the character’s back. Beth scrolled past several options before settling back on Fighter.
It was kinda fun, like window shopping, but in the best possible way. She could pick what her character would actually look like, or there was a clone button. Curious, she clicked on it. The character changed immediately, sporting long, auburn hair, striking green eyes, full lips, and a form-fitting brown leather outfit that accentuated her boobs, that again, were way too big to actually be comfortable.
It was like using one of those glow-up filters for her whole body.
“Shouldn’t there be descriptions here?” she wondered aloud. The avatar’s mouth moved as Beth spoke, and instead of her thin and slightly raspy voice, the voice she heard was sultry and rich. Beth laughed, and the avatar copied.
Fighters specialize in hunting zombies, clearing buildings, rescue missions, and defending their base. They have a higher accuracy with weapons, and they can carry more items due to their high strength.
Sounded cool enough.
The character’s name flashed on the screen, and Beth shook her head and the name disappeared. She looked around. What was she supposed to do? “Beth,” she said, and her name appeared above the character’s head. Okay, then.
Next, the word Difficulty appeared. There were only four options: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Nightmare. What the heck. She selected Advanced and pressed continue.
Warning. You’re selecting Advanced difficulty. Confirm your selection by pressing continue, or go back to select again.
A smile spread across Beth’s lips before she pressed confirm.
She gasped and jumped backwards as a graying zombie appeared in front of her. One eye hung from the female zombie’s eye socket. Her irises were red, and she shambled in place, her limbs stiff and rigid. A low moan escaped her throat and Beth took another step backward. The word “Walker” floated above her head and then rang through the room in the sexy British accent.
Immediately the zombie changed, and in its place was a large male zombie, a distinct dragging sound accompanied its limping steps. One of its feet dragged at an awkward angle. The word “Runner” floated above its head, and the same voice read it aloud.
The next zombie looked almost exactly like the first one, the only difference being the dislocated jaw and the word “Rabid” above its head. Sexy British accent said that word too, then the zombie changed again.
This one was missing the bottom half of its body, it made a gurgling noise as it dragged itself in place. “Crawler” hung above its head, repeated by the voice.
A body lay on the ground, the word “Deceptor” above its head. Instinctively, Beth stepped closer, and the zombie sprang to its feet and hissed. She stumbled backwards, placing a hand over her pounding heart. She laughed nervously and looked around the black room. What had she gotten herself into?
The zombie changed, this one a female with a blindfold over one eye. Her good eye scanned the room and when it landed on her, it shrieked. Zombies popped up all around it, and the voice explained: “This is a Shrieker, it spawns when characters are making too much noise, if it spots you before you kill it, it will shriek, drawing zombies to you from all directions.”
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
The zombies all disappeared, and Beth was left looking at a zombie wearing all black. It was eerily silent as the zombie moved. “Prowler,” the voice said. A chill went down Beth’s spine. She wouldn’t be able to hear this one sneaking up on her.
The parade of zombies continued, and try as she might, Beth knew she wouldn’t remember each one and what it did.
Eventually, the room morphed, and Beth found herself in the middle of a desert landscape, complete with cactus and sand in every direction. At the very top of her screen, a compass appeared and she spun in a slow circle, watching it shift with her. As she looked east, she saw a blinking yellow marker. Right below the compass was a small clock, which told her it was Day: 1 Time: 05:00 hours.
This was probably where past gaming experience would come in handy, but she didn’t have any. Light music played in the background, which Beth took as a good sign.
At the bottom, center of her vision, she saw eight squares with outlines of hands. In two of the squares there was a can of food, and a bottle of water. She reached behind her back to where her criss-crossed swords were supposed to be, but came up empty. Her hand traced to her gun belt, only it wasn’t there either.
How the hell was she supposed to fight zombies without weapons? And shoes.
She cautiously headed toward the yellow bouncing arrow, weaving through the desert and avoiding cactuses. After a couple minutes, she bent over, panting. Beth noticed two bars on the top right side of her vision, one of which was red, and had a cross beside it, and said 100/100. The other was blue and had a shoe beside it. That one said 2/100 and slowly ticked upward as she stood there. Right below that was an outline of a body. Beth had no idea what it was or what it did, so she ignored it for now.
“Out of Stamina,” the sexy British voice said.
Beth looked around again, now noticing on the bottom left of her vision there was a “Tasks” list. The first of which was, “Build a Sleeping Pallet.” As she looked at it, a box popped up in front of her.
Gather 100 grass, 50 cloth, and 50 sticks
to build a Sleeping Pallet
Grass, cloth, and sticks? There was dry grass around her in small patches in the desert, and she walked to the first one and reached down. Instead of grabbing it like she intended, her character punched it. The grass appeared in one of the boxes at the bottom of her screen with a number 5 in the bottom right hand corner. She went from clump to clump, slowly getting closer to the yellow arrow as she went. Occasionally, she saw a small bundle of sticks and picked it up, making it appear in her boxes at the bottom of her screen.
Eventually, she came to a stark line across the ground, where desert suddenly turned into lush green lawns and cookie-cutter houses. The music changed, adding deeper tones, but still remained upbeat. She’d gathered all 100 grass, and all 50 sticks, but had yet to find 50 cloth for her sleeping pallet. She crept down the broken street between the houses, keeping her eyes peeled for zombies and walking in the general direction of the yellow arrow.
Her heart was pounding and her breathing was shallow. If she encountered a zombie, she had no way of defending herself. She passed boarded up houses, shelled out cars, piles of smoking garbage, but didn’t see any zombies. When she finally made it to the yellow marker which flashed directly in front of a house, she thought she’d feel relieved, but instead, trepidation roiled in her stomach. She walked until she stepped on a small yellow pad on the ground and the button and arrow both disappeared.
“Enter simulation,” the British hottie said.
Beth walked up the rickety stairs, which creaked under her weight and to the front door, which hung ajar from the single top hinge. Closed doors stood to her left and right, and an eerie, soft tune began playing.
With a loud clatter and a low moan, a female zombie with a nasty hanging eyeball burst from the door on Beth’s right. Beth screamed and leapt back onto the porch.
Slowly, the zombie rambled out toward her. Beth glanced around the porch and found a baseball bat leaning against the rail. She grabbed it and squeezed the handle. You can do this. As the zombie wandered close enough, Beth swung the bat, decapitating the zombie and sending its head rolling across the wooden porch.
Beth dropped the bat and ran into the street. She rubbed her hands on her leather shorts as tears stung her eyes. Maybe she wasn’t cut out for this stupid game. This sleep study. She couldn’t walk around killing zombies.
“Enter simulation,” the British jerk insisted.
Beth looked up and down the quiet street. It was probably a terrible idea to scream and freak out every time she encountered a zombie. She’d probably draw an entire hoard of zombies to her. It’s just a game. They aren’t real, she reminded herself.
Taking a steadying breath, Beth walked up the steps and scooped up her bat. She noticed a lime green backpack on the ground and her hand reached out of its own accord and touched the bag.
A screen popped up in front of her vision, blocking most of her view. It was several squares, similar to what was at the bottom of her screen. Inside the first square was a picture of three bullets with a number 10 at the bottom left. She touched them and they appeared in one of the eight slots at the bottom of her screen. 9mm ammunition. She noticed the bat was also taking up one of the slots, leaving her with two remaining slots. The bat didn’t have a number like the other items did. Instead, there was a green line across the bottom. When she touched the bat, it popped up a small stat sheet.
Level 1 Wooden Bat
Damage: 10-25
Durability: 98%
Enhancement Slot: (Empty)
Enhancement Slot: (Empty)
At the top of the pop up windows were an X, and Beth touched them both, clearing her vision.
She’d have to figure out what all that meant later. Or not. She was having second thoughts about this. When she’d calmed down enough, Beth stepped past the front door and back into her own personal hell.
The door to her right was already broken, and the closet was clear, so she faced the door on her left. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the bat, and the intense music put her teeth on edge.
After staring at the door for several seconds, she decided there wasn’t a zombie inside and she probably looked stupid just standing there staring at it.
She walked past the door and toward the set of stairs that went to the second floor. As she stepped over a pile of garbage, a springing noise echoed through the room, and three zombies burst from the closed door behind her.
“Oh, hell no.”