“Listen, guys, we need to at least hear him out,” Frank said. “My brother tells me that this guy is a real expert.”
“But he doesn’t even play?”
“No, that’s not what’s he’s an expert at! Listen, just hear him out, will you?”
“We came, didn’t we?” George said, and looked at his watch, and then at the large suburban home they were standing in front of. “Listen, we need to get in there if we don’t want to look like idiots.”
“Yeah, yeah, let’s get going.”
Frank strode toward the house, toward the door marked ‘office’ on one side of the house, and the other three followed him. George was a large boy, with a soft smile and a bit of a doubtful look. Seth followed him. Skinny, dark haired, he had more of a scowl than a grin. He wanted to be playing already. And Susan… Sue only to close friends… followed the three boys. She didn’t particuarly like playing, but as a bit of a nerd herself, and not all that pretty, she had figured it was a good way to get around boys.
Frank opened the door and walked confidently in, the others following. The room looked like a cross between a doctor’s waiting room and a break room. There was a large, glass fronted fridge, full of cokes, water, tea, and various energy and rehydration drinks, with a big sign on top that said ‘Drink Me!’. With a subtitle that said ‘Free’.
Awesome!” Seth said, going over and taking a Coke, the others watching him. “Do you think you should?” Sue asked, doubtfully.
“It says ‘Free’ on top!” Seth said.
“And the literary reference…” Frank said, sounding in awe.
“What literary reference?” Seth asked, taking a drink.
“Drink me,” Frank said, “It’s from…”
“Come on in!” a voice said, from speakers in the corners of the room.
Frank whirled around and then, seeing that there was only one door (except for the one they had come in), he want over and tentatively pulled it open.
They followed him and Sue, at least, was in awe. The room had basically to parts. The one part, to their left as they walked in, was crammed with monitors, floor to ceiling, and a big three table semi-circular set up covered with keyboards and microphones. And, except for a coke and a half eaten donut, scrupulously clean.
The other half of the room, to their right as they came in, was set up like a psychologists office. In had five chairs, and one couch, with a coffee table in the middle, lights lighting up the whole scene, and several cameras.
“Have a seat,” the man sitting in the one chair that seemed to be by itself said, waving them to the chairs. “I will warn you, this is all being recorded. Unless I tell you otherwise, everything in this room is recorded, and I will use it without warning in any of my videos.”
Sue’s heart raced a bit at that, and she hurriedely sat down, trying to compose her face. She wished she knew which camera was live… no, that wouldn’t help. She just stared at the man, and tried to put a nice smile on her face, sure she was failing.
“So, this will hopefully be the first video in my new series,” the man said. “My name, for those who don’t know, is Oscar Madison, and I direct, produce, whatever, gaming videos. And I have asked this party, the Lightning Chargers, into my office to discuss the possibility of making them famous!”
He paused but none of the Chargers seemed to have anything to say. “Ok, let me get right into it,” Oscar said. “I would like to manage you as a team for the Beta test for a new area of Seven Realms. New rules, etc.”
“Why us?” Frank asked.
“Well, I don’t want to burst your bubble, but the principle reason is that you all live around here. I’m going to be doing a lot of these videos and face to face meetings, so I need people I don’t have to fly in. I do a lot of video chats, obviously, but for this I want face to face.”
There was a silence and then George said, “And what’s so special about this new area?”
Oscar sat back, “Good of you to ask. I got a special invite to bring a team in, and I got a download of the rules changes. And I found a couple of rule changes that I think will make your team the best in the Beta Test!”
“Really?” Seth asked. “I mean, we enjoy playing together, but best in the test?”
“Yup. I found some real zingers in the new rules. Nothing broken, don’t get me wrong, but some rules that are dying to be utilized.”
“What are they?” Frank asked.
“I will definitely tell you, but off camera. I will be streaming this before we get into the game, and I don’t want anyone else to clue in on my discoveries.”
“So… what’s in it for us?” Frank asked. “Just a chance to be popular?”
“Not at all!” Oscar said. “I’ll be giving you a contract. Each of you will get 10% of the profit from this little enterprise. And I hope to be making 100k per month in six months.”
Seth had been taking a drink of his Coke just then and, at this, he choked and spewed what seemed like gallons of Coke across the room. The next few minutes were taken up with Seth making sure that he could breath, Frank laughing at him, George pounding on his back, and Susan getting him a towel.
—
So… where’s Contract Marriage? Well, I’ve reached a hole in the story. Not the end, not near, and I have a lot more written, but the next few scenes are problematic and not finished writing.
—
Party System
A famous gaming producer offers four teenagers fame, fortune, and skill training through an elite gaming team. It seems like the opportunity of a lifetime. Seth gets the beautiful girl. Frank becomes the leader. George develops strength and discipline. Sue gets to hang around with boys, including one she secretly loves.
But as they train with real weapons, compete in tournaments, and execute increasingly dangerous in-game missions, the line between gameplay and operational reality blurs. Their genuine skills make them genuinely valuable. Their market value makes them genuinely endangered. And when rival organizations begin hunting them—both in the game and in the real world—the teenagers discover they’ve already passed the point of escape.
In a world where a legitimate game conceals criminal enterprise, and adolescent ambition meets organized crime, four teenagers must confront the reality of their situation: they aren’t just playing a game.
(Note: The image below was generated by Grok, and the characters bear no resemblance whatsoever to the ones in the story. I’m still working on it. I like the murder bunnies, though.)
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Thanks again, God Bless, Soli Deo gloria,
Von