tcancelled

STRAFE®
Written by Sgt Nate V
Based on trailers by PIXEL TITANS

PROLOGUE
JUNE 1995
 Many are at the E3 Building in Los Angeles, California. Many are stoked to see new games announced. At this time, a large crowd are gathered at the PIXEL TITANS booth. A man with a mustache and ponytail walks up to the booth. He is a Spokesman for PIXEL TITANS. Security guards with Walkie Talkies surround the crowd. They are wearing vests that say “PIXEL TITANS E3 ’95” on the back and have PIXEL TITANS caps. “You may have heard of a game called STRAFE®.” The spokesman says to the crowd. “But the question is, is it game? Or is it reality?” The man walks to the side of the booth. The large screen behind him turns on. The PIXEL TITANS logo is displayed. It then melts to the starting room of STRAFE®. The player picks the shotgun and walks into the teleporter. He is instantly teleported onto the ICARUS, the first zone of the game. He shoots a GLUTTON and starts STRAFE-JUMPING around the rooms. He kills a STALKER by shooting it point-blank and fires a flak grenade at a group of GLUTTONS. He fills a HIVE with buckshot and collects the scrap that falls. The player shoots a carrier on the ceiling. A GLUTTON runs up to the player and PUNCHES through the screen! It jumps out and smacks the spokesman, knocking him unconscious, and menaces the audience. It is just about to land a hit on our hero Tommy before it becomes a green wireframe and disappears. The spokesman gets back up and wipes the blood off of his face. “Gotcha!” he laughs to the audience. He pulls out a STRAFE® floppy disk and shows it to the audience. “STRAFE®! The best game of 1996!” The crowd cheers and cameras flash.
CHAPTER ONE
MAY 1996
I’m Tommy Hawkins. It’s about time STRAFE® finally came. I’ve been waiting for it for months and was already eager for the full game after PIXEL TITANS released that demo on the Internet. Today, I went out and bought STRAFE®. In addition to that, I bought some RAM sticks, a new monitor, and a new graphics card, because I knew my computer wouldn’t be able to handle STRAFE® before. Once I got home, I installed everything I bought in my computer. I didn’t want to call my friends yet. I wanted to play STRAFE® NOW. I put the floppy disk into my computer and started the installation. A red gradient screen appeared with the words “STRAFE® INSTALLATION” on the top. It felt like it took FOREVER to install! Once it was done, I started playing. I started a run and nearly got to the end of the second level. Soon after, I called my friends to watch me play. First, I called my friend Mikey. He thought it sounded cool. Boy was he in for a treat! Next, I called Buddy. He’s seen the ads and really wanted to see the game. Then I called Jared. He was a little anxious, but he still wanted to come. Finally, I called by girlfriend Abby. She’s seen her friends try and fail at the game. Knowing how good I am at games like this, she was eager to see me play. When they came, they were amazed at STRAFE®’S high level of realism. I started a run and showed them the intense graphics and high speed. They cheered. “I’m gonna play with the Railgun next.” I told them. It was a little slower playing with the railgun than it was with the shotgun and machine gun, but I managed to keep a good speed. Eventually, I made it to the second zone of the game, The Black Canyon. I didn’t make it past the first level of that zone, but everyone was cheering about how I made it past the Icarus. I got up from my chair and slammed the desk. “YEAH!” I yelled. “I always win!” Abby told me “There’s a STRAFE® competition this weekend!” “There is?” I asked in reply. “It’s against the only player who rivals you! K-Train!”
CHAPTER TWO
	It’s Saturday. You know what that also means? The STRAFE® Competition takes place today! It was at the local Broadway center. I came at 9:30 and entered the stage. There was a large audience in front. K-Train was waiting for me. “Took you long enough.” He said. “Now prepare to lose.” There was also a scorekeeper. When I sat down, he said “Ready, set, STRAFE®!” The game was in the second zone. I clicked hard and hit the keyboard keys as fast as I could. I just barely made it past the first level on par. There was a scoreboard next to me recording our times. K-Train was a minute and a half ahead. I sped through the second level, shooting anything I could and running from all that was chasing me. I made it to the shop and bought the steroids item. “Looks like Tommy here has gotten the steroids. He might stand a chance!” I checked the scoreboard. I was about thirty seconds ahead of K-Train. He was getting furious. “Come on, come on!” He yelled. I made it past the third level in no time. “And the winner is Tommy, six-shot-ninety-six!” A lady holding a large check came up to me. “The prize for winning is nineteen-ninety-six dollars!” The crowd cheered. I walked off-stage and into the lobby. Jared was waiting for me there. I bought two cans of Surge from the concession stand. “No matter your score or surge, we’ll be friends forever, right?” Jared told me. “Yeah. Forever, Joby.” I replied. “My name’s Jared, but I’ll take it!” We had a laugh as we popped open our cans of Surge. After we finished, we went home.
CHAPTER THREE
Hey babe. Want to watch me play STRAFE®?” I told Abby over the phone. “Let’s order pizza.” She replied back. She ended the call. I called Pizza Hut and ordered one large pepperoni pizza. “I guess I’m going to have to practice in the meantime.” I started playing STRAFE®. Soon, Abby came in. “The pizza will be here in just a minute Abby.” “Good. I love seeing you play STRAFE®.” Just as I lost a run, the pizza man knocked on the door. “Here’s your large size pepperoni and thanks for the tip!” He said as I tipped him. I set the pizza down on the table next to me and I started another run. This time, I got farther than the last run. “Wow, you beat your own record! You get a fat slice!” Exclaimed Abby as she kissed me on the cheek. She went to get a large slice of pizza. Just then I noticed that it had been hacked with a circuit board! “A hacked slice!” I yelled as I knocked the pizza out of her hands. It fell onto the ground and got splashed with Surge. Just then, a timer on the circuit board went to zero and a large beam of light from the monitor grabbed Abby and sucked her in! “ABBY! NO!” I tried to pull her back out. It was no use. All I had of her now was her pants. I reached into the pocket and pulled out a photo of me and Abby. A single tear dropped from my eye onto the photo.
CHAPTER FOUR
It was the day after I lost Abby. I had all my friends gathered up in my house. “We have to get Abby back!” I told them. “But how?” Mikey asked. “We can’t hack for crap!” “We’re going to break into Pixel Titans. I heard they built a rift into STRAFE®!” I replied. “Are you guys coming with me?” Buddy responded with “We’re all supposed to be training for STRAFE®-CON!” I interrupted him with “I’ll go alone!” Later that night, I went into my closet and put on a ninja costume. I looked at the address for Pixel Titans on the box. 20045 Game Street. I then ran out of my house and into the city. I saw a car coming and hid in an alleyway. That was a close one. I soon made it to the Pixel Titans building. The front door was locked. The backdoor! I went to the backdoor, and surprise, it was unlocked. I slid by unsuspecting guards and went up the emergency stairs. I climbed the stairs until I made it to the top floor. There was a single door with no locks on it. I carefully opened the door and there it was. A giant blue steel cube. The rift into STRAFE®. I ran up the steps. I stopped at a control panel and pushed a button. A helmet lowered onto my head. Everything around me turned white.
CHAPTER FIVE
The white void faded away to reveal a familiar place. The Black Canyon! I’m in STRAFE®! In my hands was the shotgun. The real shotgun, not the replica I won. My favorite weapon, I thought to myself. A Glutton ran up to me. I aimed at it and pulled the trigger. Instantly, the Glutton’s head popped off like a Mento in a bottle of Coca-Cola. Blood and gibs flew everywhere. I dodge a few shots from three Turrets. Then I take them out with a flak grenade. I shoot a Carrier on the ceiling. It jumps down and leaps at me! I fill its head with buckshot. As I traverse the area, I see a pathway blocked off by a rockslide. I enter a nearby escape pod and grab an Ion Tank. I place the Ion Tank onto the rocks and run for cover. The rockslide BLOWS to pieces! I enter and see a Stalker in front of me. After taking it out, I see Abby being guarded by Gluttons. I run up and shoot one of them and I smack the other. “Abby!” I yelled. “Are you ok?” “I’m fine.” She responded. Suddenly, I notice another Abby next to her. “That’s a fake!” Abby tells me. “I am the real Abby!” The second Abby responds with “Tommy. I am the real Abby.” STRAFE® is so realistic, I can’t tell who the real Abby is! “But how do I know?” I tell them. “Your favorite place to eat is Pizza Hut!” Abby tells me. “Your favorite drink is Surge.” The other Abby says. “Your favorite Ninja Turtle is Michelangelo!” Abby replies. The other Abby replies with “Your favorite video game is STRAFE®. You have played for ninety-five-thousand hours and twenty-one minutes.” It was then I knew who the real Abby was. “You can’t fool me, STRAFE®.” I shoot the fake Abby and go with the real one. “Twenty-two minutes.” Abby tells me. We run around the Black Canyon. I shoot anything that comes across my path. We cross a bridge and soon find a room with multiple servers and monitors in it. “Tommy, you need to open a rift to get out of STRAFE®. It is safe.” Abby tells me. Abby tells me. I pick up the cords on the ground. I’m very close to plugging it in when multiple thoughts rush through my head. What if I killed the real Abby and the fake is tricking me? What if I cause STRAFE® to enter the real world? If it’s the only way out, then I’ll do it. I plug the cables in. A portal appears in front of me. I grab Abby’s hand and we step out of the Black Canyon back into Los Angeles.
CHAPTER SIX
	It is nice to be back on Earth, especially now that I’ve rescued Abby. But then I see something. Is that a Glutton? No, it can’t be. I see more and more. I see Gluttons running out of portals. I made a mistake. A huge mistake. “You are so gullible.” Abby says to me. “You let STRAFE® into the real world”. She laughs. I look down and see that I made an even bigger mistake. The real Abby lost her pants when she was sucked into STRAFE®. The fake Abby is wearing pants. Anger and hate fills me. I aim at fake Abby’s head. “Goodbye, bitch.” I say as I pull the trigger. Fake Abby’s headless body falls to the ground. Every monster in the city hears me. I make a run for it. Gluttons and Carriers run toward me. I shoot every single one of them that crosses my path. Blood splashes onto my face. I don’t care. I see my house and run inside. All of my friends are there. “Did you all see that?” I tell them. “Those monsters are everywhere! How did this happen?” Buddy asks me. “I’m just gonna say it involves a fake copy of Abby.” I say as I put bandages on my face. “You should’ve never opened a portal to STRAFE®!” Jared tells me. “So, I’ll break a new record!” I reply. “You can’t even touch your own high score!” My shoulders sink in disappointment. Suddenly I have an idea. “Not me.” I tell Jared. “We.”
CHAPTER SEVEN.
	“The first step is getting a hacker.” I tell everyone. “Then have them hack STRAFE® so we can get weapons. Finally, we all get skateboards and rampage against STRAFE®!” Mikey is puzzled. “I don’t know any hackers nearby.” “I heard my next-door neighbor is a hacker.” We all run out into the house next to mine. We see a girl about 16 years old in front of several monitors. The monitors are filled with code. “We need your help, Steph.” I tell her. “What do you need me for?” She asks in reply. “We need to go to the game store and you need to hack STRAFE® to give us weapons.” “If that’s what you want, then I’ll help you out.” Steph grabbed a box full of cables and we went back into my house. I fired at anything that attacked us. A Globrite flew right at us! We dodged and it hit a wall, exploding into acid. Steph put a computer tower in the front of the room and plugged it in. She started plugging cables into the other computers and connected them to the main tower. I turned them on and started STRAFE®. Immediately, shotguns generated from under the monitors. After we got the shotguns, I grabbed some skateboards out of my closet. We were all prepared to fight STRAFE®. Everyone went out the front door and hopped onto their skateboards.
CHAPTER EIGHT
	We went down the hill on our skateboards, shooting anything in our paths. One of us hit a rock and was sent FLYING! He landed in a horde of Gluttons and was soon ripped to pieces. I narrowly dodged a Stalker’s plasma shot. I aimed and fired, decapitating the Stalker. Another one in our group got her face melted off by a Globrite. Her remains were eaten by Gluttons. Buddy shot a Carrier that leaped at him. We soon made it to the city and got off our skateboards. We huddled up into a group and shot Gluttons closing in on us. But we were soon picked off, one by one. Buddy was the first to go. He got shot in the leg by a Turret and was sliced by a Carrier. Jared got distracted from Buddy’s death and was hit by a Glutton. Mikey’s insides were burnt by a Globrite’s acid. I don’t know what happened to Steph. I saw her run off and that was it. It was just me and them. I rushed towards a Glutton and SMACKED it with the shotgun! It hit a bench, knocking it over. I KICKED a Carrier that was in mid-air, sending it FLYING toward a Stalker. I shot a Globrite that rushed toward me. The acid burnt the grass below. I picked up a stick and stabbed a Glutton behind me with it. I raised my arms up. I yelled “YEAAAHH!” before I felt it. The heat of plasma on my back. Was it from a Stalker or a Turret? It didn’t matter. What did matter was that my upper torso exploded and soon I was gone from this world.
CHAPTER NINE
The name’s Jonathan Halper. You can just call me Halper. I’m part of Pixel Titan’s marketing department. I had recently shown the company my ideas for STRAFE® merchandise. Costumes, toys, shirts, all that stuff. They accepted it and said they will start producing this summer. Tonight, I was in my home reading a book when I heard a familiar sound. The cry of a Glutton. This is odd, I thought to myself. I must’ve been playing too much STRAFE®. I wasn’t. A Glutton really was banging on my window. I grabbed a knife from my kitchen. I opened the window and stabbed the Glutton until it bled all over. “This can’t be happening.” I told myself. It was. I went into my closet and put on the prototype STRAFE® scrapper costume I used to pitch my ideas to Pixel Titans. I grabbed a wrench from the same closet and ran out my door. I smacked Gluttons in the head and tossed around Carriers. I blocked plasma shots from Stalkers and Turrets. I came across the burnt rubble of a house. There was a girl about sixteen years old hiding behind what was half of a wall. She saw me and said “You’re our only hope now.” She kicked the shotgun from the game toward me and pointed to an incoming Glutton. I grabbed the shotgun, aimed, and filled the Glutton with buckshot. Suddenly, a Harvester jumped on me from behind the fence. I shot its head and got back up on my feet. I looked around and saw buildings on fire. “I’ve got a long way to go.” I told myself.
CHAPTER TEN
	I jumped into action, filling every Glutton I see full of buckshot. A Glutton infected by acid runs toward me. As I shoot it, acid seeps out of the wounds.