It's Complicated: A Zombie Romance Novel

Into the Dark

They walked me into the grand staircase room and up the stairs. They took the second door on the left. That's were they dropped me. I was shaking in my boots as they fixed a microphone-type head set to my face. No amount of alcohol could have given me the liquid courage to do this. Part of me was wishing I'd taken a swig of the punch again. The memory of how it tasted coming back up last Friday night stopped that desire. It would have taken the edge off, but no. I needed all of my wits about me for this. On that note Michael had been crystal clear.

"You have to lock into the signal," he'd said. "Once you hook in then I can guide you. Until then, you're on your own." I had the hack chip he'd slipped me secured to my bra. No one would look for it there. Plus it wouldn't fall out in the first level trials.

"The terminal box is here," he'd pointed to some random spot on the map, "by the first treasure on level two. That means you'll have to get through all of the first level without me. It's the most physical..."

"I know," I'd said. "You've explained that like fifteen times already."

"So you have been listening. Just remember you have one hour, that's it. One hour until they can get you."

"At that point I'll be toast, yada yada yada. I get it."

"Once I'm online, the real fun will start." He'd smiled.

"But first I have to get you online, Michael, otherwise you're no help to me," I whispered. Now that I was really here, I was rethinking it all. For not liking horror movies, I was putting myself right in the middle of one.

"You are doing this for a good cause," I reminded myself.

"Check one, Check two," the guy to my left said into the mic before strapping it to the headset. My best guess was they wanted to record my screams, but then another voice came online.

"Don't worry little mouse. I won't be playing with you long," the voice in my ear said. It was like an eerie whisper, but loud enough to cut through my fear.

'Keep thinking that.' I wanted, no, needed whoever this game master was to think I'd be easy pickings. A fat little goose ready to be plucked. Only geese aren't that easy to catch.

I didn't need the heart monitors they'd hooked up to me to know that mine was beating hard. The butterflies in my stomach had fled, leaving me alone and empty.

"Are you worrying about my zombies, little mouse?" said the voice over the coms.

I didn't react. It was all I could do to keep myself upright and focused.

'Ignore the zombies. Ignore him. You haven't come all this far just to lose it all now,' I told myself.

'I can and will make myself do this. I can. I will win.'

The hands that had been fixing and attaching all the gear to me were suddenly gone, melted into the walls as if they had never been there. The lights in the room started popping out one at a time, exploding over my head until all that was left was one bulb exposing me alone on top of this pedestal. I thought this was all meant to scare me. In that case, it was working.

"You're my mouse now. Welcome to my maze," said the voice. "Good luck."

The remaining light shut off on the word 'luck.' In the dark I heard a door unlock and swing slowly open with a loud long creek.

I knew it was a trap. At least that's what Michael said. "For any of this to work you have to get to one of the sub computers," his voice came back to me. "Stick this anywhere on the thing. Just don't make it so obvious it falls off."

I headed towards the door, knowing that this trap would be a beginner one. I had a whole level of these ahead of me. What had Michael said? His words flooded my subconscious.

"There are cash boxes littered throughout the house," Michael said, pointing to areas on the map. "Each one is located in a different spot. The runner, that's you, has the first crack at them. For every one you open, the more money you're worth, so usually the first level is the easiest. If you get pinched there, you're not even worth a thousand bucks, so they really don't track that level with other roleplayers." He stopped to look at me.

"Are you even listening?" he asked.

"Hmm," I'd said at the time. He was really monotone. I really hoped he never became a teacher. Not even serious students with their lives on the line could stay awake when he talked like that. I was lucky I even remembered what he'd said. Adrenalin can bring important things like this back.

"But only the key they give the runner can open them. Get the card off of him/her and you can gather some serious cash, if you're not too drunk to figure out the hiding places.

"Infect the runner and it is over. The zombie that does that gets all the money collected on that level, plus a small bonus prize for every level passed, got it?" I'd nodded, trying to hide my yawns.

"It's like if any famous role playing game you can think of and a game show got twisted up in a massive horror house, totally got it," I said.

"So what's your strategy, anyway?" he asked.

"I'm not interested in the cash prizes," I'd told him.

"Yeah, yeah. It's all about finding my stupid roommate. Are you sure you can't even try to get the first level prizes? You need to at least act like you want to play the game."

I'd folded my arms.

"Ok, ok. Here's what I gathered from past games. Meat heads, being meat heads, only care about the small reward. Some zombies try to be smart and grab the card, but that's never really worked out. You'll see what I mean.

"What I know, or at least what I think I know, is that the card not only opens the doors, it's a tracker for both the game and the contestants. Whoever is carrying it activates the traps in the rooms when they enter, along with having zombies always on their tail." Michael continued to drone on, but I'd stopped listening.

My thoughts had wandered off in different directions. Part of me wanted to hold on to the card and see how far I could make it while collecting the money. Winning just a few levels and getting out would set me up to go to college. Win, win. Only I knew that wasn't going to happen. I couldn't risk losing to greed.

"If you want to win, there is one more thing you'll have to do."

"What is that?" I'd asked.

"You have to find out who's controlling the game, or I won't be able to help you."

My mind came back to the present. Michael had said the voice in the headset was more than he seemed. I had to balance what he was telling me with my own agenda.

I reminded myself that this wasn't about the money. There was no dollar value in this world that could make me walk through this house of horrors again. I was here for Brian. If I saved my brother, he could save Lee Ann and everyone else. He was in this house somewhere, and I was going to find him. And this guy was going to help me, whether he intended to or not.

This was as much about the mental as it was about the physical. I'd won the card because I'd outsmarted them. That's what I had to do here, starting with Headset Guy. He'd given me a name, I was going to give him one.

"So if I'm the mouse, does that make you a cat?"

"Oh no, little mouse. I'm no tiger," he whispered. "But I do have teeth."

"The better to eat me with, right?" I responded, taking the first step out of the light and into the room ahead.

The door slammed behind me, consuming the only light.