Mindgames Unlimited

By Derek Richard Denton

Teenager James Lovell, strapped for cash as usual, is desperate to buy an affordable birthday present for his cousin Alison, and time is short. When a free DVD computer game is pressed upon him by an unsavoury-looking youth he meets in a computer store, he little realises what a dangerous gift he is about to take to Alison and her brother Paul.

By the time they all realise that this seemingly innocent DVD comes from a future five hundred years hence, it is too late to back out of a game that is not for their entertainment at all, but for the amusement of the sinister clients of the Mindgames Corporation. There is big money at stake somewhere, but not for James and his friends. For them the prize on offer is not cash: it is their personal survival. But the odds are heavily stacked against them, especially when they know hardly anything of the rules.
Once the game commences, things can only get worse, for all three of them, and for their friend Christine. The Great Game, or Carogith as its inventor calls it, is a game for winners and losers. It is is no use their playing for a tie, because a draw is not an option. Win or lose, nothing else is on offer, and their chances are not looking good.
D R Denton

• Language: English
• Publisher: Derek Richard Denton
• Release date: Aug 21, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476307923

Derek Richard Denton

OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR (Published By John Goodchild Publishers in hardback) Don't Go Near The Magic Shop Hider and Seekers The House in the Dunes Coping with Politics (non-fiction in paperback) AUTHOR'S NOTE: The above titles (hard back and paperback) are now largely out of print, but some have been published in Spanish, Italian, Swedish, French, and Greek. The film rights of Hiders and Seekers were sold but the work was never brought to the screen, alas. Hey ho, the wind and the rain. On Kindle are: A Permissible Deception (crime fiction) - now retitled The Double Cousin The Haunting of Rakers Wood (ghost story with love interest)) Mindgames Unlimited (science fiction for teenagers and young adults) The Third Balloon (juvenile fiction – magic and school adventure) The King of a Far Off Country

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

It was never going to be a good day for James. He sensed it the moment he entered Mr Blenks's computer shop. For a start, it was not a very big store; and second, it was packed almost to the door. Laptops, iPhones, iPads, you name it and people were clamouring for the attention of the two young men helping Mr Blenks deal with a blizzard of queries on all things computer related. Late Saturday afternoon, that was the problem. James had just discovered he was not the only last minute shopper in town.

But that was not the worst of it. There was a young man hogging that part of the counter where the DVD games bargain box was located. It was the very place that James was heading for. He had come specially for that box in a desperate search for a present for his cousin. And the fellow blocking access to the bargains therein looked as though he was set to be rummaging among the PC games till closing time in just about thirty minutes. James could tell that he would have a hard time getting a look-in.

He decided to wait a moment before approaching the counter. It would do no harm to take stock of the interloper before trying to move in on him.

To be frank, the stranger was an awful looking youth. There was no other way to describe him. He was tall. He was scrawny. He was wearing black, spangled pants and battered-looking boots of a metallic, silvery blue, with pointed toes. His jacket was unusual in that it was made from some dark fabric with small knots of a glittery substance woven into the texture. When he moved, his amazing coat sparkled under the spotlights. So much so that several people were staring at him.

James Lovell, just turned sixteen, had never seen the like before. He decided to approach this apparition, but he felt uneasy about getting too close. It was not the eye-liner, nor the blocks of harsh colour painted on the strange youth’s cheeks and neck, for James had seen weirdos about the town before: it was the hard look of the creature under it all that worried him. He had a glittery eye and a twisted mouth that looked permanently amused in a snide sort of way. When he turned to stare at James, as he did now, the boy felt uncomfortable.

‘You’re not going to look in there, are you, Kid?’ said the stranger, nodding at the bargain box on the counter. His voice was strangely old for someone who could hardly be more than his early twenties; and when he spoke, there was a chesty laugh bubbling round the edges of his words.

‘Yes, I am,’ said James, his hands in his pockets. He had, as usual, very little money and he was relying on finding a cheap game for his cousin Alison’s birthday present, and time was short.

A gift for a girl like Alison was a problem for James. Flowers? Not really, he’d decided. He’d be too embarrassed turning up with a bunch of flowers at the door of Coppins, the impressive Victorian villa where his cousin lived. Perfume? The task of choosing a suitable scent was beyond him; he had neither the money, nor the experience to make an informed choice. The one thing he was sure she would like was a computer game. Indeed, they both shared a passion for gaming on their PCs.

The trouble was that he could not afford any of the newer, flashier games that were now all the rage with the better-off kids at school, and Alison was one of them. But James wasn't. So, he was hoping that he might discover something a bit older but which still might have enough quality for it to be acceptable as a gift.

Alison’s parents were well off and their daughter could afford to buy pretty well anything within reason. James, on the other hand, had to save up hard if he wanted something his parents regarded as frivolous; and a computer game was worse than frivolous: it was considered a serious waste of money.

'I can't see the point of those games you are always on about, son.' That was how his father had put it to him, more than once. 'And it's not good for you to be sitting in front of that screen for hours at a time. Haven't you got anything better to do? A lad your age should be out in the fresh air, kicking a ball about, going for a walk, riding your bike.'

'My bike was stolen, Dad. Remember?'

'Well, what do you expect when you leave it unlocked in the school bike shed?'

'I didn't leave it unlocked. Someone just carted it away, lock, chain and all.'

'Then you should have chained it to something, a pillar or a post. There must be things you could have chained the bike to.'

'I was in a hurry. There wasn't time.'

'Well, that was a valuable lesson in life for you, wasn't it?'

'If you say so.'

'I do say so, son. And I can't afford to buy you another.'

It was not easy for James hearing this for the umpteenth time, especially when he knew his dad was in the right. But he just wished he would shut up about it.

When James managed to reach the counter and was about to look in the bargain box, he felt a hard finger poking him in the back.

He turned to see a pair of sharp, green eyes staring down at him. ‘You’re wasting your money here. Those cheapo games are rubbish. I've looked and I know.'

The face smiled suddenly, broadly. The eyes regarding him gleamed; it was like a lantern switching on. 'I’ve got something much better for you,' said the youth.

‘For me?’

‘Yes-yes-yes,’ said the fellow, running his words together into one long hissing word. He was smiling still.

‘But you don’t know me.’

'What does that matter? You’re here now: I’m here now. That’s good enough for me, Kiddo. And listen, I’ve got a real game for you. I mean a real, super-cool game. Curious? Want to know what it is?’

James was indeed curious, like most boys of his age; but at the same time he was uneasy.

The stranger studied him for a moment, then said: ‘Let me see. How shall I describe it? I know. Think of it as the game of all games. Get me? Think of it  as a master game. Top category. Category One. In fact it is the only one of its type.’

James, unable to think of anything to say, just stared at the speaker, waiting for him to say more.

The tall young man obliged, grinning. ‘It’s starblasting, brilliantissimum.’ Then he bent closer to James to whisper fiercely in his ear: ‘It will blow your mind, Kid. Believe me. Blow you right out of this world.’

The face staring at James was still smiling, and James caught the strong whiff of something sweet on the stranger’s breath as he shifted whatever he was chewing from one side of his distorted mouth to the other. It was not a smell he recognized. It was like a cross between vanilla and lemon, with a touch of lavender thrown in.

‘Well,' said the youth, ‘are you going to give it a try?’

James didn’t know what to say. He just wanted to be left in peace. He glanced about him for the owner of the shop. This odd-looking fellow might turn awkward at any moment, he was thinking, and he was too big to tackle on his own. The problem was that Mr Blenks was a slightly-built man, and not much bigger than nine-pence, even wearing his biggest boots. But he was the only person there with the authority to interfere. On the plus side, though, Mr Blenks could shout good and loud when he wanted to: that would have to do for now if it came to a struggle with this gangling giant, James thought.

‘What about it, then?’ prompted the stranger. ‘What is there to lose?’

James still said nothing. Instead, he turned back to the counter. He needed to get back to the bargain box and was determined not to be put off, because time was running out.

Immediately, the finger-prodding started again. ‘Listen to me, Kid!’ said the youth, breathing over the boy’s shoulder, he was that close. ‘This game I’ve got here is star quality, like I said. So, leave that stuff alone. Hear me? Don’t waste your time on it.’ He was almost spitting the words in James’s ear, but James continued to ignore him.

‘Ow! That hurt.’ The youth seemed to have a knack of picking a really tender spot just below James’s left shoulder blade. ‘Lay off will you!’ James’s heart was pounding.

‘Are you stupid, or what?' hissed the stranger. 'I’m telling you: stop looking in that box and listen to me.’ He lowered his voice and spoke to James with an almost frantic whisper: ‘I’m offering you something super-special here. You have no idea what a fabulous opportunity I’m giving you. This game will re-engineer your mind, Kiddo. In fact it will reshape your whole world while you are playing it. Phantasmagorical, totally.’

‘Look,’ James said, a tremor in his voice as he turned to face his tormentor, ‘I don’t want any trouble from you. I just want to buy a game for my cousin’s birthday. I want a cheap game because that’s all I can afford. All right? I’ve had my mother nagging me all morning to buy something for my cousin, and now I’ve got you going on at me. So, just leave me alone, eh? I really don’t want anything you’re trying to sell me.’

The face regarding him tilted back, seeming to split in half to show a set of twisted teeth and an unpleasant, dark-looking tongue. Then the head nodded, slowly. The eyes were gleaming. ‘Ah. See what you mean. You’re talking birthday. Not much money.’ Suddenly, the smile was back in place, the voice was no longer urgent. ‘Misunderstanding here, right?’

There came a laugh of sorts, but it was an eerie thing to hear as it was forced up out of the young man’s sinewy throat. Then he laughed again right in James’s face. ‘Ha-ha-ha. I got your message. Birthday time! Big deal for someone.’

By now the sound was mostly bubbles and air. It made James cringe hearing it. As he stared at the youth, the watchful face closed up tight again, and the eyes regarding him narrowed suddenly; then the chewing resumed. For James it was like being examined by some dangerous reptile.

After an interval, during which the two of them studied one another without smiling, the stranger suddenly poked James again, in the chest this time, and he said: ‘No need to get worked up, Kid. What I’ve got for you is a freebie. Cost you nothing. And you’ll never ever bother with any of that rubbish they sell here; not once you’ve experienced this little packet of mine.’

When James said nothing, the fellow continued: ‘Believe me. I’m tellin’ you the truth, baby.’ He paused, head tilted to one side as he looked at James. ‘Isn’t that what you people say? Baby? Though you don’t look like an infant to me.’ He shook his head. ‘I’ll have to go on a language refresher course when I get back to base.’

What he was saying didn’t make much sense to James. The fellow seemed to be talking to himself now. And it was as if he was speaking English as a foreign language. When the youth’s hand dived into a capacious pocket in that glittery jacket of his, James stepped back instinctively; but it was a false alarm. The long, bony fingers produced nothing more menacing than a thin, white cardboard box which he presented to James.

‘Here you are, kid. That’s special-fab, that is. Extra-special-fab.’ He frowned suddenly. ‘Fab? Have I got that right? Fabulous? Meaning marvellous, the stuff of fables. Would terrific be a better word? How about amazing? Tell me. Which is it? Fab, terrific, amazing? Starblasting maybe?’

‘Hey, you!’ Mr Blenks was coming over at last. He had spotted the confrontation and he did not like the looks of the stranger. He could see that the boy was agitated. ‘What’s going on there? Hey, you! Come back here when I’m talking to you. Come here!’

The owner’s voice boomed through the shop, but the stranger ignored him. He was already slipping away through the crowd in front of the monitors where the usual Saturday afternoon twiddlers were trying their skills on the arcade games. Seconds later, the youth was out of the door and loping through the traffic on the high street towards the far pavement. Once there, he paused and James, watching his departure through the glass door of the shop, saw him grin his awful, unnatural grin. Then, with a flutter of his long, slim fingers in a brief salute, he was gone.

‘Let me see that,’ said Mr Blenks sharply. And he took the packet from James and opened it. Inside was a DVD case. Taped to it was a piece of paper. The shopkeeper snorted and thrust the package back at the boy. ’I’m sorry,’ he said gruffly, for he was embarrassed. ’I thought it was drugs.’

‘Me, on drugs?’ said James, shocked at the idea.

‘I thought maybe he was pushing something on to you that you didn’t want. I was sure it was drugs. I can see I was wrong, I’m glad to say. All the same, nasty-looking fellow, that. I don’t want him, or his likes, hanging around here. What is this, anyway?’ he asked, eyeing the package. ‘A game?’

‘He said it was. He said it was something special.’

‘Did he, indeed!’ said Mr Blenks, staring at James over the tops of his half-glasses. ’If I were you, laddie, I’d have nothing to do with the thing. You can never tell what’s going on with some of the weird people around today. I’d chuck it in the bin.’

‘Yes,’ said James, looking curiously at the package, ’I’ll do that. When I get home.’

‘Very wise of you,’ said Mr Blenks before moving back behind his counter and heading for his little office at the rear of the shop.

But James did not throw the disk away. Once outside the shop, he opened the package again and pulled out the disk. This time he took out the piece of paper and read it carefully. This is what he saw.

The Mindgames Corporation offers a new concept in computer gaming for the discerning client. This game represents the ultimate challenge. The question for you now is: DARE YOU ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE?

James felt his pulse quicken. He liked the idea of a challenge. He’d played lots of games and reckoned he was pretty good, but lately he had been thinking that too many of the action games were alike. The settings might vary, but it was mostly a process of shooting at enemy targets, many of them weird creatures, or aliens in fantastic vehicles; either that or solving puzzles, and with characters running about, picking up objects to use later in the game, and, of course, magic spells. This game he’d been given promised to be different.

He smiled, a faint smile, but a smile all the same because, despite his former misgivings, the problem of funding had been solved. He now had a present for Alison’s birthday, and that was a huge weight off his mind.

James was re-reading the printed sheet when he was interrupted by one of Mr Blenks’s Saturday staff who had followed him out of the shop.

’Hi there. Saw you talking to that character in the moon boots.’

‘The what?’

‘Moon boots. You know, the metal monsters. Didn’t you see the size of his feet?’

‘No. What was wrong with them?’

‘Size fourteens at least, I’d say. Fifteens even. Never seen anything quite that big on the end of a human leg.’ The young man was grinning. ’Listen, do you mind if I have a look at that disk he gave you?’

‘Why?’ said James. ‘It’s just a disk.’

‘I’d like a look at it, that’s all. I’m curious. You see, I noticed him hanging around here all afternoon, not talking to anyone. But when you came in, he looked as if he knew you. Do you know him?’

‘Never saw him before.’

‘Hmm. Odd that. I could have sworn he knew you. It was just as if he’d been waiting for you to show up. He sort of homed in on you. I’m surprised you never noticed.’

‘I saw him looking at me when I got to the counter.’

The assistant was shaking his head. ’No, he saw you the minute you came through the door. I was watching him. I thought he was a shoplifter at first, to be honest. I was keeping a beady eye on him, waiting to see if he tried to lift anything. You’d be surprised what people try to get away with out of there.’

‘I just saw him at the counter,’ said James, handing over the package for the other to look at. ’He kept poking me in the back. I was a bit scared.’

‘I don’t blame you. He was a strange-looking guy. All that weird colour on his face.’

The young man tapped the disk. After a moment he said: ’There’s something odd about this disk. Look. See the colour of it in daylight? It’s dazzling, almost as if lit from within; except that’s impossible. A bit like that fellow’s jacket, really. Did you notice that jacket?’

James nodded. He was studying the disk which the assistant was tilting back and forth. The shop man said: ’I’ve never seen a disk sparkle like this before. It’s very attractive, really.’

‘Yes,’ agreed James. ‘He said it was special. I hope the game’s as good as the disk is.’

‘Listen, you wouldn’t like to sell it to me, would you? I’ll give you... let’s see... five pounds for it? No, I’ll make it a tenner. Deal?’

James was tempted, but something prompted him to refuse. ’No, thanks. I think I’ll keep it. I’d like to see what it is.’

‘Fair enough,’ said the assistant, looking disappointed. ’But if you change your mind, call in next Saturday and I’ll still buy it off you. All right?’

‘Sure,’ said James, turning away and leaving the sandy-haired young shop man staring after him, a thoughtful look on his face.

But the shop assistant was not the only one watching James as he walked away. A certain scrawny young man in bizarre clothes was paying close attention. Luke Prendy was thinking he'd got the right fellow in his sights. He was not exactly smiling, but he was thinking that the guy he'd given his disc to ten minutes earlier was about to become just the sort of bridgehead he required.

* * *

James walked along the fronts of the small terrace houses in the street where he lived until he came to his own dark green front door and