house. And within it was a small army of
103
around twenty crabs, who were all wearing
tiny top hats.
Rip was riding the biggest one, which
had a mustache and a monocle.
“Meet Sir Crabbington
of Beachburry and his army
of crab minions!” Rip said.
“Turns out crabs really like
berries.” He threw a handful of
berries to Sir Crabbington’s
minions, who frantically
scrambled around, fighting over them. “I
think we’ve agreed that they won’t attack us
as long as we give them berries. And maybe
they’ll defend our place during the night. I’m
not entirely sure, as they only seem to
communicate with clicks and gestures.”
Mei smiled. “Now that is brilliant!”
Ripley and Mei pulled their stone door closed
just as the square sun went down for a second
time, to the sounds of top-hat-wearing crabs
clicking their claws and eating berries.
104
night
terrors
R
ip and Mei built a small stone fireplace
at the rear of the house so that they
could keep warm and cook food. Not eating
anything but berries had started to make
them feel weak and tired.
Mei tapped her wristband nervously. “How
did I end up on two hearts?!”
Rip looked grim. “I’m on one and a half. We
need to eat more.”
“If we roast the vegetables we collected
over the fire, I bet we’ll get more health out
of them,” Mei said cheerily, happy to be safe
inside their stone fortress.
“Awesome,” Rip replied. “I was getting a
little tired of berries!”
105
Mei placed six pixelated carrots and a
large, blocky turnip onto the fire and waited.
The fire was a collection of orange, red,
and yellow cubes that danced around one
another, giving off a strange, artificial glow. It
certainly didn’t crackle and pop like a regular
fire, and the heat that came from it felt
strange—it reached their bodies without
actually making them feel any warmer. But
they were glad for the cheery atmosphere it
provided.
Rip toyed with his wristband. He looked at
Mei and was suddenly very glad to have such
a strong gamer as his companion in this
106
crazy virtual world. Going it alone would have
been tough.
“I wonder how Angela is doing,” Rip said, a
wry smile creeping across his face.
Mei glanced over to him. “She seemed
pretty confident. And that castle was
impressive—even if it isn’t made out of the
strongest materials. Do you . . . think she’s
alone in there?”
Rip thought for a moment. “I doubt it. Her
fancy castle is probably a rush job, not
strong enough to withstand the monsters. I
can’t believe she almost shot me!”
Mei snorted, “I can. She’s awful.” Then she
added, “I do hope she’s OK, though.”
Mei tossed Ripley a roasted carrot and
started munching on one herself. The hearts
blinked back to life on their wristbands.
Rip laughed. “So what if she isn’t! It’s just a
game, Mei. I know that was crazy last night,
with the goblins, but none of this can be real,
remember?”
107
“I know . . .” Mei’s voice faltered. “It just . . . it
felt real, you know?”
They were both quiet for a moment. The
carrots tasted like something that perhaps
had once been carrots, but had
forgotten what a carrot was
supposed to taste like. As the faint
flavor hit their mouths, it disappeared
instantly.
“Rip?” Mei served them both another
carrot, saddened by how unsatisfying the
vegetables were as a meal. “Why do you
think we were sent the game? Only the
winners of the gaming competition at
INREAL were supposed to get access to the
BETA. So . . . why did we get it? It doesn’t make
sense.”
Rip’s eyes were fixed on the fire. “I don’t
know,” he said thoughtfully. “Could have been
a mistake. Like a clerical error or something.”
He didn’t sound convinced.
108
“I doubt INREAL make mistakes when it
comes to unreleased games,” Mei said.
“They’re pretty intense with their security.
All the winners had to sign those crazy legal
forms before they left the studio.”
Rip didn’t reply. He’d been so excited to play
the game, he hadn’t questioned receiving it
and simply put it down to a stroke of good
luck. It definitely was strange—why hadn’t he
and Mei had to sign anything before they
could take the package?
“We should get some rest,” Rip said softly,
not wanting to think about it anymore. The
idea that they were mixed up in something
wrong, or that they might have made a
mistake in choosing to play this game, gave
him a sick feeling in his stomach.
Outside, they could hear the distant growl
of an unknown monster.
109
“Rip. RIP! Wake UP!”
Rip felt panicked arms shaking him, and he
scrambled to his feet. “What is it? More
goblins?!”
“Look,” Mei was standing with her face
pressed against the window. “Angela’s castle.
It’s on fire !”
Rip raced to the window and looked out
too. Sure enough, the wooden structure was
covered in digital flames, which flickered
brightly in the darkness of the early morning.
“Can you see Angela anywhere?”
Mei shook her head anxiously. “What should
we do?”
Rip looked at her. “What do you mean?”
“Well . . . we should help her, shouldn’t we?”
“Why would we? She was mean to us,
remember? The arrow? My
head ? Besides . . .” Rip
scrambled for words.
“She . . . she’s always
such a know-it-all and
thinks she’s so much better than everyone
else. But she’s not a good gamer, Mei. This is
just proof of that. She probably set fire to
the castle herself by mistake!”
Mei frowned. “I just . . . we still don’t really
know how everything works here. I think we
should check and see if she’s OK.”
Rip felt a wave of guilt creep over him and
sighed. “Maybe . . . maybe you’re right.” He
turned back to the window and studied the
blaze. Angela was annoying. And they had
used all their skills and knowledge of survival
games to get this far. Why should they risk
everything just to help her?
But there was still an uneasy feeling in the
pit
of his stomach that told Ripley that
something wasn’t quite right. And it wasn’t
going away.
ROOOAAARRR!
“WHOA!” Rip stumbled backward, hitting
the floor with a thud.
111
ROOOAAARRR!
His vision had suddenly been obscured by
an enormous snarling head—it was some kind
of tiger-like creature, covered in flames.
“Oh my gosh. What is that?” Mei screeched.
“I d-don’t know,” Rip stammered, “but it
looks like there are more of them.”
Mei backed against the wall farthest from
the window. “It . . . can’t get in here, can it?”
The creature scratched angrily at the
window—terrifying yellow, pixelated eyes fixed
on them both. They could hear growling sounds
all around the perimeter of the house. Who
knows how many tiger creatures were out
there? But it seemed they were surrounded.
“I think we’re safe,” Rip said, reaching for
his axe just in case.
The creature snarled but moved from the
window and began scratching at their front
door. Rip braced himself and made his way to
the window that overlooked where Sir
Crabbington of Beachburry and his minion
army were. Rip poked his head up just high
enough to peer out, but he couldn’t see
anything except a gap in the stone wall that
had surrounded the house. “Oh no,” he
whispered, “they’re gone.”
“I’m sure they’re OK,” said Mei. “They’re
probably safer than we are right now!” She
looked out toward Angela’s castle again. The
fire had stopped. All she could see now was
gray, cube-columns of smoke. “I seriously
hope these tiger-things aren’t over where
Angela is. Because it looks like she doesn’t
have a shelter right now.“
“Well, we can’t go out now. We’d never
make it through the forest,” Rip said.
Mei nodded reluctantly in agreement.
“Maybe . . . she built a safe room,” she offered,
hopefully. “You know, for her gear. In case she
gets raided. She could be taking refuge in that.”
Rip shrugged. “Not many people know to build
those. I guess we’ll find out in the morning.”
The roar of the flaming tiger continued at
their door. Mei looked down at her wristband
and again began wondering what would
happen when all the little health hearts had
disappeared. What would an in-game death
feel like? Would it hurt? Mei shivered,
realizing the thought genuinely scared her.
114
loot 'N'
scoot
M
ei was first out the door at the break
of day. Her backpack was full of food,
materials, and all the tools and weapons
they had. If Angela had made it through the
night, Mei wanted to make sure she had
enough materials to help her rebuild.
“Hold up!” shouted Rip as he shut the door,
trailing after Mei, who had started jogging
toward Angela’s wrecked castle. “There’s no
need to rush, the monsters are gone.”
“I just want to make sure she’s OK,” Mei
said, not breaking her stride.
Rip chased after her. “Mei, there’s only one
day to go. I don’t want to lose because of
Angela. It’ll be nighttime before we know it.
We have more important things to do! We
115
could use some more food, and I’d like to build
a second story on the house for a lookout.
Also, we need protective gear . . .”
Mei stopped, almost bumping into Rip. “Rip.
You can go do all that if you want. But I’m
just going to go over there, say hello, and
check to see if Angela’s OK. OK?”
“Waste of time,” Ripley said.
Mei glared at him.
Rip gave in. “Fine. But I’m not talking to her.”
They turned around and started jogging
again toward the ruined wooden castle in
the distance.
There wasn’t much left. What hadn’t burnt
away into ash blocks was pretty damaged.
Rip and Mei were staring at what they
thought was the entrance of the castle.
“That’s where they got in,” Rip said quietly,
pointing to a gaping hole on the right side of
the structure. “You can see the scatter
116
patterns. Something exploded. That’s a big
breach.”
These games always had creatures
that blew up, and they were especially
devastating when you had weak or thin
walls.
Mei walked forward, kicking blocks of dirt
and ash aside as she went.
“ANGELAAAAA!”
There was no answer. Rip and Mei
headed deeper into the ruined castle, past a
huge rectangular hole, which they realized
was probably the remains of Angela’s
swimming pool. It still had a little bit of
water in it.
ANGELAAAAA!
“I hate to say it, but this pool actually looks
pretty good,” said Rip, kicking a cube of dirt
into the pool water. It bobbed a little, then
sank to the bottom.
Mei said nothing and continued to look
around.
Rip continued. “There’s no way she survived
this. It’s a full-scale breach. If she wasn’t
taken out by the explosion then she’d have
been overwhelmed by the monsters for sure.”
Rip could tell Mei was taking this all very
seriously.
“Mei, chill out already! It’s just a game,” Rip
said, trying to reassure her. “Angela’s
probably back in her house in the real world
throwing a mega tantrum.”
Mei was ignoring Rip. Ripley hated being
ignored. It just made him want to get her
attention even more.
“I’m going upstairs,” he said in a huff and
headed up a broken flight of stairs to the
second level.
118
Mei walked to the back of the castle. Very
little was distinguishable, but she found an
open door that led outside. “Maybe you got
out after all . . .”
Then Mei saw a backpack lying on the
ground, next to a wristband.
Mei tugged at her own and it
wouldn’t budge. Her heart
sank. Sure enough, she looked at
the discarded wristband’s display:
ANGELA CARSON-GAME OVER.
DE-SPAWNED BY ENRAGED
FLAMETIGER. END OF LINE.
Rip was standing in front of a silver chest.
He bent down and lifted the lid. He was
surprised to find it wasn’t locked. He peered
inside. “OH MY!” he said, pulling out a silver
bow, with forty stacks of silver arrows.
“Jackpot!”
119
Rip always played ranged classes when he
could. He loved lining up shots, and
the sound the arrows made as
/> they flew through the air. He
slung the bow over his shoulder
and put the arrows in his bag.
“What else have we got here . . .”
“Mei! Mei! Look at this!” Rip trundled out of
the castle’s back door toward Mei. He was
dressed in full, heavy leather gear, with a
large knight’s helmet, complete with a
faceguard. “I know it doesn’t go together, but
I just love faceguards.” Rip lifted the guard
up and down, pretending it was his mouth,
and said, “Excuse me, fair maiden, can
thou point me to the eating house?”
“Angela’s gone. I found her bag and
her wristband.” Mei held them
toward Rip, who raised his faceguard
up to a resting position. “Look at this.
Her wristband says ‘de-spawned by a
flametiger.’ What does de-spawn mean?” Mei
asked.
“I don’t know, but it can’t be good. I knew
her castle wouldn’t survive the night in
that state! Angela should have spent
less time in the pool and more time
learning how to build!” Rip said. “What a
survival NOOB.”
“She’s gone, Rip! Don’t you care? She
doesn’t exist anymore!” Mei shouted.
“Whoa! Mei! Calm down!” Rip said,
taking a step backward. “Come on, it’s
just a GAME!”
Mei sat down on the ground. “You’re . . .
you’re right.” She put her head in her
hands and sighed. “Then why doesn’t it
feel like one, Rip?”
“Because it’s really good!” he said.
“Check out this sweet bow!”
Rip shot an arrow straight up
into the air. It disappeared into the sky.
121
“I think I just need a quick break,” Mei said.
“I’m logging off for a bit, I feel a little sick.”
Mei put her hands to her head to feel for
the VR helmet and take it off.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa . . .” Rip said. “If you
leave now you might not be able to get back
in! We only have one night left to survive.
Then we win!”
“I’m telling you, Rip, this feels too weird. I’m
sure I’ll be able to log back in.” Mei was still
Pixel Raiders_Dig World Page 6
