by Devin Hunter
This book is not authorized or sponsored by Epic Games, Inc. or any other person or entity owning or controlling rights in the Fortnite name, trademark, or copyrights.
Copyright © 2018 by Hollan Publishing, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Sky Pony Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.
Cover design by Brian Peterson
Cover artwork by Amanda Brack
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-5107-4263-5
E-book ISBN: 978-1-5107-4266-6
Printed in the United States of America
CHAPTER 1
Grey and his friends watched the clock as they waited out the last minutes of school. Usually it was Finn who was the most antsy, but today it was Grey. And not just because it was the last day of school.
“Log in to Discord so we can talk,” Finn said. “It’ll be easier to teach you that way.”
“Okay,” Grey said, as the seconds stretched out. “It’s under my dad’s name, but I’ll find you.”
“Cool. This will be awesome.” Finn gave a wicked grin. “Though you’ll probably be a total noob and get me killed.”
“I’ll be able to beat you soon! I have all summer to practice,” Grey said. They both laughed, and the bell rang out their freedom. “See you online!”
“See ya!” Finn ran for the buses, but Grey lived close enough to school to walk. He raced back home after the last day of sixth grade. Today was the day he would finally get to play Fortnite like the rest of his friends. He had gotten the perfect grades that his parents demanded, and he hadn’t fought with his younger sister even when she annoyed him on purpose. His father had downloaded the Battle Royale version last night, promising Grey could play the moment he got home from school.
Bursting through the front door, he raced to the computer in the living room. It was an old computer, and kind of laggy. But Grey didn’t care. Grey turned it on and bounced with excitement as the screen lit up.
“Only for an hour, Grey!” his mother called from the kitchen.
“Okay!” He logged into Fortnite, ready to join the epic fights his friends were always talking about, but then an unexpected window popped up on the screen.
Updating Program …
Grey groaned. How could there already be an update when he just got it last night? This would eat into his time to play, and he didn’t have much as it was. The update bar barely budged at first, thanks to his slow computer, but then it started to move faster near the end. He placed his hand on the mouse, ready to make a profile and drop onto the island for the very first time.
Finn would be waiting for him to get on Discord. Grey would do that after the update. Finn would teach him the ropes—he’d been playing since the game came out. Grey already knew a little bit, having watched Finn play when they hung out. Finn’s favorite place to start was Fatal Fields. Finn would pretend to be a noob, but then he’d kill the few other players there and take the loot for himself. Grey thought his friend was clever, though maybe a little mean for hunting noobs. Even still, it would be nice to have Finn’s help and protection.
Finally, the update finished and Grey clicked “Launch.” As he did, his vision grew fuzzy. He tried to rub his eyes, but his hands felt numb and he couldn’t tell if he was moving his arms at all.
“Ugh.” He felt like he might throw up, and now was not the time to get sick. Grey tried to concentrate on the screen, but his head spun as well as his vision.
He looked down at his hands and gasped. They looked like they were going invisible, but even worse, it seemed like they were getting sucked into his computer screen. It felt like his body was falling, and yet his face moved closer to the screen. Just when he felt like he’d lose his lunch, everything went black.
CHAPTER 2
Grey didn’t know how much time had passed when he woke up, but he had probably wasted his whole hour of Fortnite play. When he opened his eyes, he expected to see his room. Maybe his mom would be there checking on him, since he was obviously sick. She had to have found him lying on the floor by the computer. Worst-case scenario, he worried he’d see a hospital room. He’d never passed out before, but he’d heard it could be serious.
He wasn’t in his room or at the hospital.
His mother was nowhere to be found.
As he took in the large open space—something that looked like an old, rusty warehouse from a video game—he was surprised to find a crowd of people staring back at him. They were of all different ages and races, boys and girls, but one thing they all had in common: No one was smiling.
The people glared as if they were sizing him up, and as he pulled himself off the cement, his cheeks reddened under the scrutiny. He ran a hand through his brown hair, looking away from the crowd.
Did he look strange?
His hands looked the same size, and his skin was still a tan color. He was wearing the same t-shirt and shorts he had on when he sat down. He touched his face—there was nothing out of the ordinary.
That was when Grey realized he wasn’t the only one facing them. There were four others standing by him who appeared equally confused. The girl on his right looked to be about his age, with black hair in a ponytail long enough to reach her waist. The guy on his left was older, at least in high school, and he towered over Grey in both height and width. Grey only wished that much more that he had hit his growth spurt.
“What’s going on here?” The question came from the man standing on the other side of the girl. He looked to be as old as Grey’s dad, with gray in his dark hair and beard.
In response, a woman appeared out of thin air right in front of them. Grey jumped back in surprise. He couldn’t have just seen that. It was impossible. But the crowd behind the person didn’t seem shocked at all. Now that he looked at them closer, he realized they were bored.
“Greetings, new players!” the woman said with a too-wide smile. She was dressed in a black suit. “Welcome to the competition of a lifetime! You have been randomly selected for this special virtual reality edition of Fortnite Battle Royale. I am the Admin and will be facilitating your tutorial.”
Grey didn’t know what to make of this. He had never heard of a VR version of Fortnite, and last he checked, you had to have a special visor for virtual reality.
Though he couldn’t deny this was the most real VR he’d ever experienced.
He tried to grab at whatever visor might be on his head. Maybe his parents had surprised him with a graduation present. But there was nothing there. He couldn’t hear anything but the game or feel anything like his bed or a desk. It was like he was actually in the game …
Except that was impossible.
“I didn’t download no virtual reality edition!” the old man yelled. “How do I cancel this? Computer! Quit program!”
The Admin did not stop smiling. “As I said, none of you downloaded this edition—you were selected from around the world. But don’t worry, you will be able to communicate and eve
ryone’s speech will be translated into their language. I will now explain the parameters that must be met for you to leave the competition.”
“This is dodgy …” the girl next to him said. She already had water in her eyes, but she fought it back.
The Admin continued, “It is a new season of competition in Battle Royale, and the five top players have been granted a return back to the real world. Thus we welcome you to this opportunity of a lifetime! You have now joined the fight for the next two-month season, and if you rank in the top five players, you will be granted passage back to the real world as well.”
“You mean we’re stuck here for two months?” the teenager blurted out. “I have football camp this summer! You can’t kidnap us!”
“Your bodies are currently in a comatose state outside of the game,” the Admin said. “You have not been kidnapped. Your minds are just processing this reality instead of the one you came from. While this may be difficult to accept, it will be more productive to focus on the task at hand. Not what is out of your control.”
“Bring it on. Life out there sucked anyway.” This voice came from the person who was on the other side of the giant football player.
Grey had to lean over to see the girl, who looked to be older than a high schooler, maybe in college. She had short green hair and she smiled like she had just gotten a free lifetime pass to her favorite amusement park.
“That is the attitude of a winner,” the Admin said. “Now, let’s review the structure and rules. First, while you may be familiar with Fortnite’s Battle Royale system, the structure here is slightly different. There are only one hundred of you, so you will be playing the same adversaries for this entire season. Should a person’s body be eliminated while your mind is here, an immediate replacement will be acquired mid-season. But this has not occurred as of yet, so please do not be overly concerned.
“You will be allowed to form alliances of up to four people in a squad, but you are also allowed to go it solo if you’d prefer. All combinations will be in the same game, so it’s up to you to decide what works best for you.”
“That’s crap,” the older man complained. “No way to make it solo against squads.”
“We’ve had three players win their way back to reality solo,” the Admin defended. “As for battles, everyone is expected to fight in every battle. There will be five official battles a day, and only five. You are permitted to practice here in the lobby—there is a designated practice area arranged in similar fashion to the game. You may also talk strategy, but once the official battles begin, only squads will be able to talk to each other.
“Your player ranking will be determined by the average ranking you finish in your games overall. The top five players in average rank will not necessarily always be the top five to win in battles, but they will have an overall higher number of wins or close wins. At the end of the season, those with the top five average game rankings will leave this competition, and five new players will be welcomed.”
Welcomed … Grey didn’t think that was the right word for this situation.
While he had been excited to play Battle Royale just an hour ago, it didn’t feel so great now that he was being forced to do it. And he couldn’t help thinking about how scared his parents probably were, discovering him passed out and now in some kind of coma. That was messed up. All of this was messed up.
“The rules of this version are similar,” the Admin continued in her unfeeling way. Grey couldn’t tell if she was a computer program, or if a person was controlling her. Either way, she felt real and yet mechanical. “You must leave the Battle Bus and find gear to defend yourself with. All the items and their uses are similar to the computer version, as is the map. The storm also functions the same way—you must stay inside the eye or take damage.
“Your appearances as new players will be randomly generated, but as you earn rank you will be rewarded with choices in your appearance and tools. This helps players know who is higher ranking within the game and thus who they need to beat in order to improve their own rank.
“And those are the basics. Any questions?” the Admin finished.
“My parents will sue you the second I tell them about this,” the football player said. “This whole thing is messed up.”
“They have to believe your claims that your consciousness spent all this time in a video game first,” the Admin replied. “Our winners have yet to convince anyone of this truth.”
“Why are you doing this?” the black-haired girl next to him asked quietly.
“It is an experiment on multiple levels,” the Admin said. “To test the technology, to observe human behavior under stress.”
“It’s unethical is what it is,” the old man grumbled.
“Perhaps,” the Admin said. “And yet your opinions will not allow you to escape.”
“Can you all stop whining?” the green-haired girl said. “Well, minus the silent kid. Let’s get to the fighting!”
“Grey,” the Admin said. “Hazel is right that you have not spoken. Is there anything you would like to add before we begin today’s battles?”
Grey felt all eyes on him. There were so many thoughts rushing through his mind it was hard to make any of them into words. He finally settled on, “It doesn’t seem like talking to you will change anything, so I don’t really see the point.”
The Admin smiled, but it didn’t make Grey feel better. “Then let’s get to the battles. This is Day One of the season. I wish you all luck.”
The Admin vanished, and a siren sounded throughout the warehouse. As the other players stood and began to talk among themselves, a deep voice announced:
Battle one begins in thirty seconds. Players, ready yourselves!
Grey panicked as the words sank in. He had no time to prepare for his first battle. Finn wouldn’t be there to help him out. He’d have to go it alone, and he would be on the actual island instead of looking at it on the screen.
“Ready to be eliminated, noobs?” someone called out from the crowd of people. Several people laughed.
“I’ll get you first!” Hazel replied.
He didn’t answer. No reason to put a target on his back when he was already a noob. All he could do was take a deep breath and hope he didn’t get eliminated first.
CHAPTER 3
Grey knew all about the bright blue Battle Bus that flew over the island, but he never imagined actually being in it the way he was now. The hard seat, the cramped quarters, the wind as the back hatch opened. It was then that he realized he’d have to jump out of this bus and skydive. And it wouldn’t just be “in a game,” but it would probably feel like skydiving.
He’d never liked the feeling of falling.
While everything seemed real, some parts betrayed that it wasn’t. Like the minimap on the right side of his vision, accompanied by empty squares where he’d seen Finn’s inventory items go when he got them in the game. There was also a green bar that indicated his health, and one for his shield he had yet to fill. He knew he needed to find a shield item first before that would fill up and turn blue.
No one looked like they did in the lobby—like they would have in real life—now they were all designed and dressed like they belonged in Battle Royale. Some people had strange outfits like dinosaur hats or a superhero outfit, and many had different backpacks. He’d seen “skins” when he watched Finn play, but they weren’t tied to ranking like the Admin said.
He had to admit he wanted the cool skins.
They must have earned them from their ranks in previous seasons, because he didn’t see a way for him to change his appearance. He wore only the default outfit of a tank top and camo pants. His character was male, with skin three shades darker than his usual tan. He felt a lot taller and his arms looked buff.
As scared as Grey was, a spark of excitement lit inside him as well. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. He’d be playing a game. It wasn’t as if he would die in real life. If he worked hard enough, maybe he could win top five be
fore the end of the season and be back home before he even started junior high.
He had to hope that, because the Battle Bus opened and people began to jump out. Some waited, and Grey was among them because he realized he hadn’t even considered where on the map he should go. He’d seen places on Finn’s computer screen, but he didn’t really know where they were on the map.
Some places would be instant death for him because lots of people liked to land there. Other areas would be less populated, but they also didn’t have very good items to loot.
Grey had no delusions of winning his first game—not against ninety-nine other people—but he really didn’t want to be the first one eliminated.
He decided a more remote place would be the best for his first game. Not that he knew exactly what location would be remote, but he could observe where the remaining people jumped if he waited a little bit longer.
They were over the middle of the map now, and about ten people remained on the Battle Bus. Only one of them was dressed in the boring camo pants and tank top that he was, which was when he realized he’d made a mistake. Everyone else had cool outfits and backpacks. He didn’t know which meant a higher rank than the other, but he could feel the players looking at him and the other new player.
They were waiting for Grey to jump … so they could follow him and eliminate him right off the bat.
There were two “noobs” left and eight remaining players—enough for two squads of four. He began to think this was planned. Maybe each new player had a group like this ready to kill them.
It wasn’t fair.
In the normal game, it wasn’t so obvious who was new and who was a pro. There were millions of people playing and you’d rarely be pitted against the same people. But in this world, his clothing made it clear. If all these other people wanted to get home, too, of course they would punish the new people.
Grey didn’t have time to wait any longer. He had to jump before it would be totally obvious where he planned to land. He ran for the open hatch—hearing several pairs of footsteps behind him—and leapt out with the hopes that his glider would deploy automatically like it did for Finn. The glider would help direct his movements closer to the ground.
