Expedition:Overdrive

Chapter 1

As soon as I got home, I threw my bag on the bench, near the door inside the hall of my house. My best friend, Henry, did the same. We ran into the kitchen and gathered as many brownies and Mountain Dews as our hands could carry. "How was your last day of school boys?" my mom asked us as she dried the dishes. "It was alright, i'm just glad it's finally over, and soon we'll be a sophomore in high school!" I exclaimed as i threw my arms up in the air and leaned my head back dramatically. "Hey Alex," Henry said, "Why don't you tell your mom what happened today?" he said, giving me a smirk and nudging my arm. My eyes widened as I glared at Henry. "What happened Alex?" my mom asked me in a stressed tone. I was not about to tell my mom that I was rejected by Abigail Brown. "N-Nothing! Nothing at all happened today! Henry is just being a butt, that's all." Henry laughed. I grabbed his arm with my brownie-free hand. "Come on! Let's go play my Xbox already!" I said as I was pulling him towards the basement. "Talk to you later Mrs.Wilson!" Henry said as he laughed.

As we got into the basement, I turned on my Xbox console and set up the remote controllers. "You are SUCH an ass!" I said to him, throwing a brownie at his head. Henry couldn't quit laughing. "Why didn't you want to tell your mom?" He asked me as he wiped the tears from his eyes. I plopped down on the brown, leather couch. "Because," I said, "I know she will start to baby me, saying how her family were pricks when she was in high school, and how i'm too good for her anyways." Henry opened the brownie wrapper and shoved the brownie in his mouth. I decided to change the subject.

"So, are you ready for the Game Ware to come out tonight?" I asked him as I was still looking at my TV screen. I soon felt Henry's eyes on me. I paused the game and looked down at Henry, staring at me with eyes, as big as plates. His stare was making me uncomfortable. Finally, he spoke. "Are you serious right now? Of course i'm ready for the Game Ware to come out! Only twelve more hours until the Game Hut opens!" Henry exclaimed. I could tell he was just as excited as I was for the Game Ware release. The Game Ware is a new, state of the art, gaming console that allows players to enter the game itself. We are all pretty excited, especially two fifteen-year old boys. I looked at my phone. 5:06. "I hear it is great for MMOs!" Henry exclaimed. I bet it was. "So, what is the game called that comes with the Game Ware?" I asked. Henry took a sip of his Mountain Dew. "Expedition I think." I nodded.

After ten, long hours of brownie eating and video games, i decided to pass out on the couch. A few hours, but felt like only thirty minuets, later, I felt my cheek being poked. I slowly opened my eyes to find a blonde haired, blue eyed boy only an inch away from my face. "Henry?! What the hell?!" I said jerking back. Henry pulled me up. "Game Hut opens in less than fifty minuets, and you are now deciding to wake up?! You live ten minuets into town also!" I could tell Henry wasn't happy. I groaned, rubbed my eyes, and slowly got up from the couch.

When we pulled up to Game Hut, it looked as if the entire city was there, waiting for the store to open to buy the Game Ware. Henry slammed the car door as her got out. "This is all your fault! If you didn't have to take a piss, we wouldn't be in the back of the line!" he shouted. I rolled my eyes and told him to wait there. I walked up to the store window and counted all the Game Ware boxes. As I walked back to where Henry was saving our spot in line, I sighed. "I counted one hundred fifty seven boxes." Henry popped his knuckles. "Well I counted about three hundred people, including us," he said. I threw my face into my arms. Henry must have seen the worry in me, because he started thinking hard. "I have an idea to get us at the top," he said patting my back. He quickly fell on the concrete, grabbed his leg, and started screaming. People started to leave their places in line to go see what the fuss was with Henry. I pulled my hood over my head, and quickly walked away towards the front of the line.

As I stood in line, I looked down at my phone. It was 4:58 a.m. I was so excited, I could almost taste it. Two minuets seemed too far away. Suddenly, I saw the Game Hut employee walk towards the door with his keys. My hands started clamming up I was so excited. When the man finally opened the door, I felt like my heart had stopped. I ran inside and grabbed a Game Ware box. Before I knew it, I was pushed down and being trampled over. I was kicked, things fell on me, and people stepped all over me. I curled up in a ball to prevent getting too hurt. The crowd started to die down. One after one, people left either successful with a Game Ware, or not. Soon, everyone had left. "Hey kid. You okay?" I looked up and saw the Game Hut employee and Henry looking at me. I nodded and the man helped me up. "Did you get it?" Henry asked. I looked down to see the Game Ware box i had been protecting. It was a little dented, but not too badly. "You're the best!" Henry shouted. I smiled.

When we got to my house, we ran straight into the basement. Henry opened up the box and took the wireless console and helmet out. They looked both shiny and clean. Henry picked up the wireless console. "This is the connector. You put the game disc inside it." "I know," I said. "And that helmet is the console you wear to be connected into the game." "Fine then," Henry said, rolling his eyes. I chuckled. Henry took a coin out of his pocket. "I'm tails, you're heads," he said as he flipped the coin in the air. He caught the coin then looked at it. "Heads. Looks like you get to go first. Only for an hour though!"

I picked up the Game Ware helmet as Henry entered the game disc. I looked down at the helmet, and saw my reflection glare in the plastic. "Okay, it says to put the helmet on, lay down, and relax," Henry said as he read the manual. I looked back down at the helmet and sighed. I slowly lifted the helmet up towards my head. My arms felt like they were shaking and my palms were sweaty. I gulped and put the helmet on my head. The eye shield made everything dim. I laid down and started to take deep breaths. "How's it feel?" Henry asked me. I thought for a moment. "It feels like an escape," I said. Henry nodded. "When you start to relax, it says to press the power button on the top right hand side of the helmet." I nodded again and started to reach for the button. My mouth was dry and my hands were sweaty. I quickly sat up. "Wait! If I don't come back in an hour, don't take the helmet off! Don't turn the console off! Just leave me be!" Henry nodded. "Dude, I saw that movie! Last thing I want happening to you, is your head exploding!" I laid back down and started to relax again. Slowly, I reached for the power button. When I pressed it, I heard the helmet turn on. I looked at the top left corner of the eye shield and saw a small, green dot. "Do you see the green light?" Henry asked me. I nodded my head. "Okay. When you're ready, say 'system start.' That will enter you into the game." "This better not be a trick! The last this i want to do is see a video of me yelling 'system start' like a retard!" I said in an angry tone. Henry laughed. "Dude, I promise you it is NOT a trick! You can read it right here if you'd like," he said wiping his eyes. "That would be pretty funny though." I rolled my eyes. "Okay, bye," I said ignoring him. Henry waved. I cleared my throat and then licked my lips. I'm ready.

"System start!" I yelled. Soon, everything got black.