《Pastime Purgatory》
One - An Afterlife to Remember
The sweet smell of coffee really helps you cope with the news.
"Sir, the afterlife cerimony will be starting soon."
"Ah, thanks for the reminder."
I sip my coffee, the smell of roasted blend tickling my nose.
The elderly server gives a warm bow. "It is my pleasure, young master."
I look around at the small crowd of people that are filling the room with a low pleasant chatter.
I lean back in my chair with a content sigh.
"Attention, ladies and genleman." A low baritone hushes the crowd.
I look up and see a handsome gentleman in a clean tuxedo, standing onstage and speaking softly into a microphone.
"As you all have been informed, you are dead." The well dressed man smiles charmingly. He waves his white gloved hand towards a wheel that two pretty women bring over. The whole performance looks reminicent of a magic show.
"You are now in Purgatory: a place neither Heaven nor Hell." He pauses dramatically, his smile widening. "But that doesn''t have to be the case forever."
A pregnant silence fills the room momentarily. I sit up in my chair attentively.
He gestures to the wheel beside him. "You will all play a fun little game; easy enough, right?"
He raises his finger. "But be warned. If you lose... you will stay here, in Purgatory, forever."
I lean back in my chair. That doesn''t sound so-
"I know what you''re thinking: ''that''s not so bad.'' But let me assure you..." He gives a chilling, impossibly wide cheshire grin as he pulls out a deck of cards. "You are wrong." He lifts up a card with a flourish and flicks it up into the air.
The card explodes in a flash of light, and the coffee shop becomes a dead wasteland. The plains stretch endlessly, and the sky is a drab gray. The soft warmth of the cafe is replaced by the dreadful monotony of an endless horizon. For miles all that can be seen are humonoid husks that resemble dried clay, screeching and rasping as they walk purposelessly.
Suddenly the vision fades, and I''m back in the coffee shop. The lingering dread drips sweat down my back. The soft and comfortable tone of the coffee shop seems more sinister to me now in the low light.
The stageman continues to smile widely as he continues. "With that out of the way, lets get to the fun stuff."The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
He puts away his deck of cards and holds up one finger. "Firstly, there will be one game."
He holds up a second. "Second, if you winthe game their will be a prize of your choosing. Among these is a second chance at life."
"And lastly," He holds up a third finger as his eyes glitter darkly. "If you losethe game, you will stay here in Purgatory. Forever."
His eyes brighten as a white gloved hand grips the wheel by his side. "So lets get to the fun!" He spins the wheel. The clacking of the wheel sounds deafening in the silence.
Finally, the clacking slows, and the wheel stops. The magician looks giddily at the bright red arrow pointing to a picture of a biohazard symbol, before enthusiastically shouting. "Oh! What a wonderful game!" He claps with glee. "I do hope you all enjoy this one." He gives a charming wink and pulls out his deck of cards again. Taking one from the deck, he throws it up into the air.
"Ladies and gentleman!" The man in the tuxedo throws his arms into the air. "The game is-!" The thrown card explodes into a flash of sparkling text.
"Infected Survival!"
The floarbords rip from the floor and shoot into the sky, followed by chairs and tables, until, eventually, the entire building is gone.
Suddenly I''m sitting on on a grassy hill, overlooking a hollow and abandoned city. Around me is a large gatheringof people. The magician stands in front of us and beckons for us to stand.
I look around me to gauge the reaction of the others. Eventually someone stands up courageously, breaking the standstill. After a period of hesitation, the rest follow.
"Now, now, don''t be shy." The magician smiles warmly. "Step forward and pick a card, any card!" He spreads his deck of cards in one hand and holds it out towards us invitingly.
Everyone unquestioningly steps forward and grabs a card before backing away. Eventually it''s my turn. I step forward and grab a card, my grip almost slipping due to the cold sweat on my palms.
I cautiously back away without looking him in the eyes, and turn over the card, inspecting it. "Tarot?"
I look at the tarot card with confusion for a moment. I look around at everyone else, who seem just as confused as I am, before turning my attention back to the card for a second, and then back to the magician.
"Don''t be confused everyone! These cards will be a tremendous help to you in this game." The magician winks mischieviously. "I promise."
He claps once to get everyone''s attention. "Well, I think that''s enough. I know you all want to get to the fun part already!"
With a hand flourish, he bows. "I wish you the best of luck, everyone. Please try your best and prove your worth!" In a flash of harsh light, he disappears.
I stand, shifting my feet awkwardly, not sure of what to do.
A man with a sour look on his face looksin my direction, the same man who was the first to stand up earlier. He exudes a wieghty presence.The crowd parts as he strolls over to me.
I nearly piss myself as he looms over me. "Do you know what infected survival could mean?"
A chubby kid next to me speaks up, and I realize with relief that he wasn''t talking to me. "U-um... well... Infected Survival sounds like it might mean we have to survive against zombies, to me... maybe..."
After questioning the shaking fat kid beside me for awhile, the imposing man walks away wordlessly, standingapart from the crowd aloofly with his arms crossed.
I thumb my card uncomfortably.
Attention!
Game now commencing...
My blood pressure might kill me before any zombies get the chance.
Two - Mystery Machine?
Attention!
Game now commencing...
"Everyone do you see this!"
"What the hell!?"
Suddenly, everything shifts and I''m in an enclosed room, alone.
Welcome to Infected Survival!
Granted 500 tokens
First wave in: 1 Minute
The dread rising in my chest feels chilling as I realize I''m alone in an enclosed area. The blood splatters on the floor and debris from the shattered windows add to my rising panic. It looks like someone died here. No, there''s way too much blood for it to be just one person. The most notable thing is theout of place vending machine in the corner, providing an eerie green glow to the otherwise pitchblack room.
I walk towards the vending machine spilling green light. When I get closer, I notice the giant question mark on the front of it. I reach out and touch it, strangely allured...
Mystery Machine?
Weapons & Armor
Equipment
Traits & Abilities
Pharmaceuticals
Recreation
Misc.
What catches my attention is the pharmaceuticals tab. "If it''s this place... could they have it?"
Attention!
First wave: 30 seconds
"Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit." In a panic, I realize I have no weapons and tap the ''Weapons & Armor'' tab.
Weapons & Armor
Weapons
Armor
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road."For fucks sake!"
After some furious finger mashing, I purchase the first weapon I lay eyes on; a tiny pistol I don''tcheck the name or price of. It pops out of the sky with a ding! and the pistol lands in my hands. Shocked, I nearly fumble the gun.
I take a deep breath to calm myself. "Right, this is fine. I''m okay. This is just like a game. Just aim and fire."
I can hear a blood curdling screech somewhere beyond the walls.
First Wave
Objective:
Survive until all undead are slain
I tighten my shaking hands around the pistoland jerk my neck around in apprehension. I seem to be in a classroom of some sort. I hide behind a desk and aim at the only door in the room, trembling.The screeching gets louder, until a pair of glowing red eyes pierce through the darkness of the doorway.
I scream and immediately pull the trigger, firing the whole clip in an instant.
With a waterlogged gurgling noise, the zombie falls backwards. "D-did I get him?"
I stare intently at the fallen corpse, looking for any signs of twitching.
Objective Complete!
Granted 100 tokens
Next Wave: 5 minutes
I let out a long sigh I didn''t realize I had been holding in. I reach my hand up to wipe the sweat from my brow, when I notice the gun still in my hand. I''m gonna have to reload this thing... and try not to fire all my bullets at once like that.
I walk over to thegreenvending machine and purchasea package ofbullets for my gun. After catching the box of ammunition out of the sky, I load the bullets into my gun clumzily and set the rest on the desk I use to hide behind. I make myself a very sloppy fort out of desks and chairs just in time for the next round to start.
Second Wave
Objective:
Survive until all undead are slain
Feeling a little calmer (though not by much) from my earlier success, I steel my nerves and point the shaking gun at the doorway once again.
My nerves are shot to hell when I hear a chorus of shrieks coming from outside.The sweat trickles down and stings my eyes.
From the doorway three pairs of red eyes appear. Before I can even react, my finger is pulling the trigger to the beat of myracing heart.
Surprisingly, two zombies fall under my haphazard shooting. Breathing heavily I fumble for the box of bullets on the table, but knock them over in my haste, spilling them all to the floor. My breathing picks up, and by this point I''m hyperventilating.
The third zombie lumbers closer, with it''s hateful red eyes licking me all over. I scramble on the floor and grab a handful of bullets. I unload the magazine andload bullets into the magazine, then quickly shove the magazine into the gun.
The zombie approaches my little fort of desks and chairs. I quickly aim and pull the trigger, only to realize I didn''t cock the gun.
"Fucking hell!"
The zombie reaches a hand through a hole in my barricade and flails about for me. The smell of rotting flesh waters my eyes.
"Piss off!" I cock the gun and point the gun at it''s head and fire four consecutive times. The zombie falls limp to the floor, with a disgusting squelch.
I wipe the sweat off my brow and catch my breath against a desk.
Objective Complete!
Granted 500 tokens
Next Wave: 15minutes
Three - Final Wave?
I hastily pick up the scattered bullets and reload my gun. I walk over to the Mystery Machine?. Remembering my earlier brush with danger, I purchase two extra magazines and a hatchet. I also buy a basic first aid kit, and a standard backpack. I also find some neat things I might want to buy after saving up. I consider buying a bigger gun, but decide against it because I''d probably just hurt myself.
I stuff the first aid kit into the backpack and set the hatchet next to me, in case a zombie gets too close. I put the magazines in either of the pockets of my jeans for easy access.
Feeling thoroughly prepared, I wait behind my fort idly for the next wave. Rather than relaxing me, the extra time gives rise to anxiety.
Final Wave!
Objective:
Survive until all undead are slain
"Final wave?" My anxiety is replaced with surprise. "That''s it? After this I win?"
I grin excitedly at the news... until a cynical thought creeps its way into my head.
I frown with concern. "There''s no way it''s that easy."
The echoes of a bone chilling wail can be heard outside the door, followed by a cacophony of much closer groans and gurgles. A half dozen pair of red eyes stare at me from the shade of the open doorway.
Staring at all those eyes, all I can think about is how I should have bought that bigger gun.
I hastily pull out and aim the gun at the closest zombie, firing as steadily as I can.Pop! Pop! Pop!
Two bullets go wide, while the third hits its shoulder, only serving to disrupt its balance for a moment.
I continue firing, managing to fell the zombie at the cost of two more rounds. I fire the final round into the crowd of approaching zombies without checking the result and quickly drop the spent magazine, replacing it for the one in my pocket. With aclick-click! I cock the gun and continue firing.
By the time I finish the final magazine, there''s only one zombie left. I set the spent gun on the desk and pull out my hatchet. I scoot the pile of desks and chairs away and run at the zombie. I swing widly, letting my fear pump my body with adrenaline induced strength and guide my crazy swings.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Under the brutal swings of my hatchet, the dismembered zombies red eyes go dim.
I catch my breath while staring at the gory mess of blood on the floor. Now that I think about it, these zombies are rather fragile. I hadn''t noticed with my mind clouded by fear, but the only reason that zombie from the last wave managed to get so close was because my fear tripped me up. Ignoring their appearance, these zombies are just weak and slow humans.
I wait for awhile, but the "Objective Complete!" notification never comes. I scratch my head. "I killed all of the zombies. Was there something I missed?"
A sudden thought strikes me. I bolt back to the desk to grab my gun. Before I can reach my gun, a gratingwail comes from behind me. I whip my head around, hugging my hatchet close to my face with two hands.
Crouching in the doorway is an eyeless husk of flesh and bones, with an odd skeletal shape and an impossibly gaping mouth filled with shark-like teeth. It screams a high pitched, dry shriek. The sound freezes me in place, my instincts screaming "RUN!".
It rushes at me on all fours, showing a scary amount of agility for a shriveled corpse.
It leaps at me, serrated teeth inches from my face. I snap out of my mental paralysis and my arms move faster than they ever have in my entire life. With a disgusting crack, the flat of the hatchet connects with the side of its face and sends it flying backwards. It quickly reorients itself in mid air, lands like a cat, and rushes at me again.
I again smack it in the side of the face with my hatchet, like a baseball player hitting a homerun.
Landing gracefully, it sprints at me savagely, letting out a soul piercing scream. I freeze in place for a split second.
The hollow monstrosity takes advantage of the moment and topples me to the ground. Like a rabid beast it lashes at my face while its long pointy nails dig into my chest.
My eyes bulge and my teeth clench as I fend its wicked teeth off with the handle of my hatchet. It breathes in a frenzy,blowing the smellof rancid meat in my face.
I scream in defiance and rage as I adjust my weight and fling the frenzied monster off me. I roll to my feet and savagely meet its next charge. With the force of both my arms behind it, the hatchet bites deeply into its shoulder. With the flat of my foot I cave its dehydrated face in until the vilething quits moving. Even after it falls to the ground lifelessly, I swing my hatchet at it while screaming incoherently. I shriek profanities as I chop up its bodyintoan unrecognizable heap of trash. I don''t stop until my arms wont swing anymore.For a moment I just stareat the mass of flesh that use to be a monster. At some point I collapse onto the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.
Objective Complete!
Granted 1,000 tokens
I barely even notice the notification. I scream at the air, at the bastard who threw me into this hell with a delighted smile on his face calling it a "fun game".