He turned the water off and looked at himself in the mirror. His pupils were huge black circles.
The wild feeling was still there, waiting. As sick as he felt, there was something really exciting about letting that other part of him take over for a little while. Everything felt more real, more raw, more alive.
If that’s what being a zombie felt like, he was surprised. He’d always thought of them as being stupid, mindless things that didn’t know what they were doing and didn’t feel anything. But he felt so much. All he did was feel. Every sensation was intense beyond words. And he didn’t need words because there was no reason to think about anything.
Next time it will be easier, he told himself. I’ll be ready.
He washed his hands, checked his eyes to see if his pupils were any smaller (they were, a little), and got ready to join everyone for dinner. He didn’t know what he was going to say about the steak, but he would come up with something. He would be funny, and they would all have a good time.
Charlie was right—there was nothing to worry about. The Z had been a little intense, but nothing too heavy. Best of all, he had enjoyed it, and it really had opened his mind up to what it might feel like to be a zombie. He could see why Charlie took it while she was playing the game. It really made you think like a z did.
He thought about the game tomorrow. It was going to be great. He laughed. His life had changed radically over the past few days. “And this is just the beginning,” he told his reflection.
11
It was raining hard the next morning. The wind blew the water across the beach in heavy sheets, carrying with it discarded candy wrappers, empty cans, and other trash that littered the sand. The ocean lapped at the shore with dirty brown tongues flecked with yellowish foam. A dead gull, its feathers matted and torn, was dragged into the water by a wave.
Josh wiped his hair from his eyes and looked for the entrance to Happy Time. He spotted it a little way down the boardwalk—a huge grinning clown’s head, its paint worn away so that it had only one eye. Josh carefully made his way along the dilapidated boardwalk. Passing through the clown’s open mouth, he walked among the arcade of empty booths until he found one marked with a torn poster of a bearded lady. OME SEE THE FREAK SHO, it declared in big letters. To the right of the sign was a doorway covered by a dirty, yellowed curtain. Josh pushed through it and into the room beyond.
“You’re late.” Stash looked at Josh and popped a nut into his mouth.
“Five minutes,” Josh shot back. “The train sat in the tunnel for twenty minutes. I guess the tracks were flooded.”
“It’s no problem,” Bess assured him. She was just pulling on the heavy black boots that went with their uniforms. She gave Stash a scowl. “Besides, Scrawl isn’t even here yet, so settle down.”
Stash turned away and walked over to a battered old sofa upholstered in red velvet. When he sat on it, a cloud of dust rose around him. He started sneezing violently.
“Serves him right,” Bess said, laughing. “What a jerk.”
Josh set his backpack down and started to dress. He saw Seamus and Finnegan in another part of the room, but Freya and Charlie weren’t there. He asked Bess where they were.
“They’re helping Clatter bring the flamethrowers up,” she said. “He keeps a locker of them in one of the lower levels.”
“Have you played here before?” Josh asked as he stepped into his Torcher uniform.
“Once,” Bess answered. “It’s a little creepy. Most of the rides are pretty much gone, but a couple of them are still standing. They don’t work, of course, but it’s still weird walking around inside of them. She looked at Josh. “Don’t worry, though. It’ll be fun.”
A curtain at the rear of the room opened and Clatter entered, accompanied by Freya and Charlie. Each of them carried a bag and set it on the ground. Freya unzipped one of them and removed three flamethrowers. She opened the other two bags and removed five more.
“Josh!” Clatter said. As he walked over to greet Josh, his coat of keys jangled merrily. “Are you ready for your first big game?”
Josh nodded. “I think so,” he answered. “Who are we playing for?”
Clatter wagged a finger. “We never discuss the wagerers,” he said. “You let me worry about that. You just focus on playing a good game.”
Charlie came over to stand by Josh. “How are you feeling?” she asked in a whisper.
“Pretty good,” Josh said. “Last night was amazing.”
Charlie grinned. “Didn’t I tell you?” she said.
Josh looked at her. There was something funny about her eyes. They weren’t quite focusing on him. “Are you on it now?” he asked.
Charlie giggled. “Yeah,” she said.
“I thought you only use it when you play the hologame,” said Josh.
“Sometimes I take it when we’re playing for real,” Charlie answered. “It’s even more intense then.”
Josh looked around to make sure no one was listening. “Can I have one?” he asked.
Charlie shook her head. “You’re not used to it yet.”
“Come on,” Josh begged.
Charlie leaned in close. “Don’t talk about it here,” she said. “And no, you can’t have any. It’s too risky.”
Josh groaned. “You’re no fun,” he said, only half joking.
“Hey, guys.” Scrawl entered the tent, shaking water from his coat. “Sorry I’m late. The damn train got stuck.”
Josh looked over at Stash, waiting for him to say something smart. But Stash just looked down and dropped a shell onto the floor. He’s afraid of Scrawl, Josh thought with some satisfaction. He just thinks he can bully me because I’m the new guy. Well, we’ll see about that.
“Never mind,” Clatter said to Scrawl. “Just get your team together and meet at the starting point in fifteen minutes. You know what to do.”
Scrawl glanced at his watch. “No problem,” he said. “We’ll be ready.”
Clatter looked around at the rest of them. “In that case I wish you all good luck and happy hunting,” he said.
When Clatter was gone, Scrawl called everyone together. As he laced up his boots, he went over the plan for the game.
“We’re starting at the entrance to the funhouse,” he said. “Two teams. First team is Seamus, Finnegan, Bess, and me. Second team is Freya, Charlie, Josh, and Stash.”
Josh groaned silently. Why did he have to be on a team with Stash? But at least Charlie would be with him.
“There’s a total of twelve z’s running around this place,” Scrawl continued. “That means we each get at least one kill. The other four are up for grabs. But nobody hog them,” he added, looking meaningfully at Stash. “Everybody gets a chance at the bonuses. Got it?”
Stash looked away. “Got it,” he muttered.
“That’s all there is to it,” Scrawl said as he stood up. He turned to Josh. “Did you study the manual?”
“Yep,” Josh said.
“I hope you memorized the maps,” said Scrawl. “You’ll need them to play this field. It’s got some tricky sections.”
“I’m good to go,” Josh assured him.
“Put this in your ear,” said Scrawl as he handed Josh device the size of a small gumball. “It’s a communicator. You’ll be able to hear everyone else, and they’ll hear you. Keep the chatter to a minimum. You can imagine what it’s like if everyone talks at once.”