Apocalypse 2020
By James T. Witherspoon
Book Title Copyright © 2017 by James T. Witherspoon. All Rights Reserved.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
First Printing: September 2017
CONTENTS
Apocalypse 2020
Level 1 Blood and Fire
Interlude 1 Bran
Level 2 Perry
Interlude 2 Dad
Level 3 The Battery
Interlude 3 Highschool
Level 4 Solo
Interlude 4 Microwave
Level 5 New Wichita
Interlude 5 Foster
Level 6 Atomic Massacre
Level 7 Fight and Flight
Interlude 6 House Visit
Level 8 The Injector
Interlude 7 Friends
Level 9 Caustic
Interlude 8 Phonecall
Level 10 Chop Shop
Interlude 9 Future
Level 11 Atomic Massacre vs. Laserdix
Interlude 10 One of Us
Level 12 War for the Palisades
Interlude 11 Absent
Level 13 Three Cells
Interlude 12 Scarlett
Level 14 The Dome
Interlude 13 Couch Co-op
Level 15 Orion
Interlude 14 Weakness
Acknowledgements
Apocalypse 2020 Game Manual
For my Dad, who always had time to sit on the living room floor and play Nintendo with me.
Level 1
Blood and Fire
Boothe laid on the hood of a car, the engine rumbling under his back, the sun shining blindingly into his eyes. His arms were stretched above his head, tied together and hooked through a ring on the top of the vehicle. A man in the car’s passenger seat bounced up and down, laughing maniacally while the driver pushed the accelerator into the floor board. The car practically flew through the Wasteland, sending up clouds of dust all around them.
NEW QUEST: Buzz and Pug
If you do not escape from these two psychos soon, they will surely kill you.
“How do you like the ride, farm boy?” the driver asked.
The wind blew into Boothe’s face, dust stinging his eyes. He tried to move his legs, but found that they were also bound by ropes, wrapped around his ankles and tied to the front grill of the car.
He pulled against them as hard as he could, trying to bend his knees.
Strength (35%) - FAILED!
The ropes didn’t budge. The man in the passenger seat cackled again, practically rolling with laughter. Boothe craned his neck to look through the windshield and see the occupants inside. The driver was a bony man with pale, pockmarked skin. His head was shaved except for a bright green mohawk spiked up so high that it rubbed against the ceiling of the car. The passenger was short, with long greasy black hair. A pair of bulky goggles and a red bandana completely covered his face.
“Let me go!” Boothe yelled.
Charisma (5%) - FAILED!
“No chance, farm boy,” the driver yelled back. “We’re taking you to The Injector. They’ll pay good money for a body like yours. So get comfortable!”
They both returned to their wild laughing. The car had to be going 90 miles per hour now. There were no other cars on the road, and the land around them was barren. Boothe saw the occasional leafless dead tree, collapsed building, or broken-down vehicle, but much of the place was dry, cracked dirt.
He leaned his head, trying to get a look at his hands, but his arms were stretched back too far. He felt around with his fingers. If he could just get his hands free, he might be able to escape.
Dexterity (45%) - SUCCESS!
His thumb slipped under one of the ropes, and with a tug, his right hand loosened a bit. He worked his fingers there, wiggling his wrist back and forth until he pulled free of the bindings.
“I thought you said those ropes were tight!” the driver yelled.
“They were!” the little man replied. “I tied them good, Buzz! I promise, I did.”
“Not good enough! He’s free! Hit him with something!”
Boothe, trying to get his left hand free now, saw the little man lean out of the passenger window, a steel pipe in his hand. The bandit pulled back his arm and swung it into Boothe’s head.
Boothe takes 2 DAMAGE!
Boothe HP - 3/5
The pipe clanged off Boothe’s skull. His eyes rolled back for a moment, his vision going dark, unconsciousness threatening to take him. He couldn’t black out here. He’d be dead before he woke up.
“He’s still awake!” Buzz yelled from inside the car. “Hit him again! Knock his ass out!”
The man swung again. This time Boothe twisted out of the way. The pipe cracked against the windshield, sending a spiderweb of fractures through the glass.
“Dammit Pug, you idiot!” Buzz said. “Hit him, not the car!”
Before Pug could swing the pipe again, Boothe launched his fist forward in a straight punch at the little man’s face, smashing his nose in and knocking him backwards. Pug let out a high-pitched cry. His arms flailed wildly while his legs inside the vehicle barely kept him from falling out. As he struggled to pull himself upright again, Boothe tugged at the bindings on his left hand.
Dexterity (55%) - SUCCESS!
The ropes loosened just enough for Boothe to get his left wrist free. He held on tight so that he wouldn’t get blown off the hood. That’s all he needed, to fall to the road with his ankles still tied to the car’s grill. He’d be meat in minutes, scraping along the gravel like that. He sat up and leaned towards the passenger side. When Pug pulled himself up, Boothe grabbed the pipe with his right hand and twisted the smaller man’s wrist with his left.
Strength (50%) - SUCCESS!
Pug’s grip on the pipe loosened, and suddenly the weapon was in Boothe’s hand.
ITEM OBTAINED
Steel Pipe - Melee Weapon - Attack STR+1 / Damage STR+1
Durability 65% - Value $3
A hollow cylinder of steel, this heavy melee weapon will smash a man’s head in as easy as any hammer.
Boothe was getting lucky here, and he knew it. That wouldn’t last. He had to end this and get away from these psychos. Throughout the whole ordeal, Buzz had not slowed at all. If anything, the car was now going faster. Buzz screamed unintelligibly as he pushed the accelerator down as far as it would go.
“He took the pipe!” Pug screamed.
“I can see he took the damn pipe!” Buzz said. “Just shoot him! He’s not worth all this trouble! We’ll find somebody else for The Injector.”
Pug reached down and pulled a small snub-nosed pistol from the holster at his waist. He raised it up and started to point it towards Boothe.
With one hand gripped tight onto the side of the car, Boothe swung the pipe into the man’s head as hard as he could.
Pug’s skull caved in under the impact of the steel. Blood oozed from behind his goggles as his body went limp. The revolver slipped from his fingers and tumbled down the hood of the car before settling against Boothe’s right boot. Boothe looked down at the weapon, bending his ankle as much as he could in the bindings, trying to keep the gun from falling.
The strong wind created by the speeding car knocked Pug to the side. His legs slipped out of the passenger window and his body fell free into the open air. He hit the road and bounced before sliding to a stop, leaving a streak of blood on the asphalt.
“You son of a bitch!” Buzz yelled. “That was my best friend!”
He swerved the car back and forth wildly, the tires squealing along the pavement. Boothe slid on the hood, nearly falling off the side every time the car switched directions. He bent at the waist, stretching his arm towards the gun that still lay next to his ankle. His fingertips touched the handle, then his index finger slipped into the trigger guard, and he pulled the gun into his palm.
ITEM OBTAINED
Bodyguard Revolver - .38 Pistol - Aim +0 / Damage 3
Range 16yds - Capacity 5
Durability 70% - Value $35
This gun’s snub-nosed barrel makes it easy to conceal, but it’s not very powerful and only effective at close range.
Boothe slid the steel pipe into his belt to keep for later and pointed the gun at the rope that stretched from his right ankle. He looked away, wincing as he pulled the trigger.
The gun kicked hard on his hand and the bullet pinged as it bounced off the hood near the rope. At least he hadn’t hit his foot! He carefully aimed and tried the shot again.
Despite the jostling movement of the car, after the loud bang, he immediately felt the tension on his leg go slack as the rope snapped.
Buzz was still screaming from the driver’s seat. The engine screamed as well, pushed beyond what it was capable of handling. Smoke rose from all around Boothe, and then a moment later, fire burst from the sides of the car. Though Buzz still had the accelerator planted as far as it would go, and the engine revved loudly, the car was beginning to slow as it overheated.
Boothe yanked his leg hard and pulled the remains of the rope free. He held the hood with both hands now, trying to keep himself from flying over the windshield.
Inside, Buzz seemed oblivious to where he was driving. He seemed oblivious to everything, completely consumed by his insanity. The flames that had started from the engine now spread along the sides of the vehicle, turning the whole thing into a blazing fireball. A tire exploded, with a sound louder than the gunshots from the pistol. Metal scraped against the asphalt as the car pulled to the right, spinning into the ditch on the side of the road. Boothe tried to hold on.
Strength (55%) - FAILURE!
His grip came loose, and Booth was slung airborne, the world spinning around him. He landed hard on his left arm, bouncing, trying to curl up into a ball to absorb the impact.
Boothe takes 2 falling DAMAGE!
Boothe HP - 1/5
Somewhere, in the spinning, blurry, world around him, came a huge explosion. A rush of hot air blew past him. He looked over to see the car, now upside down, completely engulfed in flames. Then, amazingly, a figure emerged from the fire, standing, screaming, running towards him. A flaming psychopath, Buzz held a hammer above his head, the metal stained with blood.
Laying on his side, his vision blurry, Boothe aimed the revolver, hoping that it still had ammunition in it.
He pulled the trigger and the shot rang out, but there was no impact. Buzz continued screaming, continued charging. The leather clothes he wore smoldered and melted into his skin. His face burned, blistering and cracking. Flames rose from his shoulders and his head. A streak of black smoke trailed him, his arm held high, that hammer ready to come down.
Boothe shot again, and missed again. When he pulled the trigger once more, the revolver clicked in his hand. Out of ammo. He tossed it aside and reached down for the pipe at his belt. He brought it up, his arm shaky, as he tried to scramble to his feet to defend himself.
Buzz was only a few yards away, his screams growing in volume. His skin had burnt so much that he looked like coal that had been somehow shaped into a humanoid form. Then, when he was about to bring the hammer down, he fell forward, face slamming into the dirt, arms falling limp, and let out a long final breath before dying.
Boothe collapsed to the ground. He sighed deeply with relief, every muscle aching. He laid on his back and looked up at the sun for a few moments, while Buzz’s corpse burnt away to nothing next to him.
What the hell had just happened?
When he had caught his breath, Boothe stood and picked up the revolver from the ground. He emptied the spent shell casings and slipped it into his pocket. There was nothing to loot on Buzz. Every bit of him, and everything he carried, had been destroyed by the fire. The car as well, had burned down to its frame.
He looked around at his surroundings, not knowing which way was which. He had no compass, no map, and there were no signs anywhere along the road.
He knew that the bandits wanted to take him some place. The Injector, they had said. If they wanted to take him in one direction, then he would instead go the opposite way. Hopefully he could find somebody to help, then he would figure what to do next.
He walked to the road, looked across the empty desert, the steel pipe gripped tightly in his hand. Then he set out into the wasteland.
QUEST COMPLETE: Escape the Bandits
Boothe gains 100XP
LEVEL UP!
Boothe reaches Level 2!
CHOOSE YOUR CLASS
ASSASSIN - Assassins are melee characters who specialize in sneaking through the battlefield until they can get close enough to kill their enemies in hand-to-hand combat.
GUNSLINGER - Gunslingers are fast and nimble, specializing on wielding a pistol in each hand and shooting on the run.
HEAVY - Heavies wear big armor and carry big weapons. They specialize in explosives and environmental destruction.
SNIPER - Snipers prefer staying away from combat, getting the high ground, and sitting in wait for their target to show himself. They specialize in hitting the bullseye every time, from any distance.
TECHIE - Techies are a support class who specializes in hacking, controlling or destroying robots, and providing aid to their teammates.
Interlude 1
Bran
When I play a video game, the world around me fades away. I lose track of time and all other thoughts disappear, replaced by the setting inside my computer screen.
I started when I was very young. Space Invaders, Missile Command, and Asteroids on my dad’s old Atari 2600, then Mario, Zelda, and Castlevania on my NES, Super Metroid and Final Fantasy on SNES, and Wizardry, Ultima, and Might & Magic on PC. They all came naturally to me. Inside a video game, things made sense. People and creatures had stats that were easily defined and every problem had a solution. Games are simpler than real life, and I love that.
I had been waiting months to play this one. Apocalypse 2020 - a game that promised to be an “experience unlike any video game before.” To join, you had to have a Metaticket, which were earned through an online contest posted months ago. The contest had been composed of games that tested your logic, reflexes, and patience, playing very similarly to the console games I had grown up with. To earn a ticket, you had to make it into the top one hundred. I placed fourth. Four out of a million people across the globe. Still, there was always someone better. Three someones, in this case.
As soon as the game had arrived in the mail this morning, I ripped open the package and started installing it. It had six installation disks. Six! I’d never seen anything like that. After an hour of installation and another five minutes to dial up to the servers, I had created my character. I named him the same as I named nearly all the characters I played in video games – my mother’s oddly masculine middle name – Boothe. I made him tall and rugged, with the body of a boxer – lean muscles, flat stomach, a short-cropped haircut, and a chiseled jawline with a dark shadow of stubble. He looked absolutely nothing like myself, which was exactly what I wanted.
When I played the game, I didn’t want to be Bran – high school computer gamer, I wanted to be Boothe –post-apocalyptic wasteland warrior.
After esca
ping from the two bandits, I read the class options over and over, trying to decide. All of them sounded cool to me, but I leaned towards Assassin or Techie. Sneaking through the battlefield, slicing enemies up or blasting them with a shotgun sounded pretty awesome. Then again, I was a bit of a computer nerd in real life, so Techie also seemed right up my alley - plus who doesn’t love hacking robots?
I wondered what Paul would choose.
I took off my headset, picked up the phone next to my computer and dialed his number from memory.
The phone rang three times, then he answered.
“Hello?”
“Hey man, it’s me,” I said. “How far are you?”
“Hold on, I’m in the middle of a fight,” he said, his voice sounding strained. In the background, I could hear the mouse clicking and his fingers tapping on the keyboard frantically. “I’m in a cave, fighting a freaky huge bat.”
“What? I haven’t seen anything like that!”
“It’s the first monster I’ve fought dude. I’m still at the beginning of the game,” he breathed sharply and the clicking of his mouse grew more frantic. “Why won’t this guy just die!”
“That’s not where I started off at all. I was tied to the hood of a car and had to escape these two crazy bandits.”
“Augh!” Paul screamed, making me pull the phone away from my ear. “This dude is kicking my ass!”
“Where are you?” I asked. “Maybe I can come help.”
“I don’t know man. Some cave, where all us mutants go through a rite of passage or something.”
“Wait. You’re a mutant?”
“Yeah dude, I have like tentacles coming out of my face and shit.”
“I didn’t even see an option to choose…”
“YES!” Paul yelled. “YES! Critical hit!”
“You win?” I asked.
“Damn right, I won!”
“Cool. Good job man.”
Paul took a deep breath, the excitement finally draining and his voice returning to a calmer volume.
Apocalypse 2020: A Wasteland LitRPG Page 1
