The Lost Files: Episode 1

By Joe Rover

The following are stories that I lost the signal to their respective spots in time or realm; a wormhole stays open for only so long. You might call them “deleted stories” or “unfinished stories.” Either way, they’ve become lost. Some of them have been edited; some have not and others only partially edited.

If you’d like to read some of the finished works, you can check out the continuing fantastical adventures of Dogboy in the Dogboy Chronicles.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joe Rover
• Release date: Apr 27, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005862398

Joe Rover

One day while on a field trip, I was bitten by a radioactive writer. Thus, I was granted the proportional imagination and typing speed of a writer. I also found that I could stick notes to walls and developed an early warning “grammar sense.” Eventually, I learned that with great action verbs comes great sentences. From that day forward, I was The Somewhat Impressive Writer-Man!But really...Joe Rover is the pen name of an author who spends his time writing many family-friendly fictional stories. “Joe” has been a journalist, computer programmer, photographer, and graphic designer. He is currently studying digital animation and business.He has won many awards, such as the "Magic Holiday Thrills" contest and the "Write to Rank" Orange Belt round.

Book preview

Episode 1

Joe Rover

Published 2021 by BLT Publishing

Copyright 2019-Present by BLT Publishing

Dogboy symbol Trademark 2017-Present BLT Publishing

Dogboy and all related characters Copyright 2004-Present by Joe Rover

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this eBook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite eBook retailer and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior written permission of the author/publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

All characters, locations, and organizations in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation to anyone bearing the same name or names. Any resemblance to individuals known or unknown to the author are purely coincidental.

For All those who helped me along the way

Thanks Mom.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

A Note from the Author

Hostage Night

The Case of Sonic Sting

--The Man in the Mask

--The Return

--Downtown

--The Core of Athleticism

The Roswell Crash

Bully the Kid

Forty-one

12000 Angry Viewers

Chosen

Power Outrage

The Water Thief

Extinct Mall

Lucy in the Sky with NASA

Power Play

--The Games Begin

--The Church Attacks

--Round One, Fight

--Round Two, Fight

--Game Over

--Bonus Level

Other Books by Joe Rover

Awards & Praise

Thank You

About the Author

Secret Ending

Appendix: To be Added Images and Cover

A Note from the Author

The following are stories that I lost the signal to their respective spots in time or realm; a wormhole stays open for only so long. You might call them deleted stories or unfinished stories. Either way, they’ve become lost. Some of them have been edited; some have not and others only partially edited.

If you’d like to read some of the finished works, you can check out the Other Books by Joe Rover section within this book.

Thank you and enjoy.

Hostage Night

I combed down my blond hair and cleaned my glasses. The triple laser beam from my mirror reprogrammed the nanobots in my clothing to transform into my best semi-casual shirt. I checked my teeth for leftover food. Nothing there other than my sharper than average canine teeth. I then gave my hair an extra smooth down with my fingers. I straightened the hairs around my more pointed than average ears.

Looking good, Joe, I said to my reflection. I then made the mistake of blinking. When I reopened my eyes, my hair had fallen into disarray and the beard I’d cut was already turning into fuzz. My sideburns had also grown out.

Oh, come on! I whined while letting most of my body droop.

***

About ten minutes later, I was re-groomed. The cowlick in the back of my head began to pop-up. I pointed at the mirror. Don’t even think about it. The errant wad of hair retreated and stayed down.

I exited the bathroom whistling a tune. After a brief walk down the hall, I reached the living room of my apartment. Bandit sat on the couch watching the latest episode of Rex, Hound of Mystery on the holo-vision. He scratched at his ear before turning to me. Have a nice night, the dog said telepathically.

***

I whistled and practically skipped on the way to my car. The door of the blue Volkswagen Beetle creaked when I opened it. The seats squeaked and groaned as I slipped in behind the wheel.

Clean and groomed? I said. Check. Plans confirmed? Check. Time off from ILOST? Check. Turned off Omni-Cuff just in case? Check. Nothing should interrupt Sally and my date.

I placed my hands on the steering wheel. Identity confirmed, said the vehicle system. At the tone speak your destination.

Sally Pine’s apartment.

I said, ‘At the tone,’ snapped the computer in a friendly, even tone.

Sorry.

It’s all right. You’re only human…sort of.

***

A few minutes later, I arrived at Sally’s apartment building. The self-driving Volkswagen confirmed this with a you’ve reached your destination. The Volkswagen issued a couple final coughs and groans before shutting down. I pushed open the door but found it to be locked. Ahem, could you please unlock the door?

Could you please take me in for maintenance? said the vehicle.

What? You don’t like Brain looking you over?

"I prefer a real mechanic."

You do realize it was me that talked him into keeping the factory settings and not replacing you with SPOT.

The door swung open. Have a nice day, Sir, said the vehicle.

I stepped out and started whistling. I wasn’t going to let a snarky computer system ruin my evening. The scream from Sally’s apartment, however, did.

With a step, I teleported to the front door. I flung open the door then teleported through the building and to Sally’s door. I could have teleported straight to her door, but I would have broken a couple doors along the way. Even though I’m teleporting, some objects still respond as if I’d ran through the area at super-speed. Sometimes I can bypass this by opening the door while teleporting but that takes effort and knowledge of the area.

During long jumps, I can sometimes glimpse the object and avoid it. Thankfully, there does seem to be some natural instinct involved. If I teleport from outside a car to the park, I seem to naturally avoid going through walls or vehicles. Even though the trip is almost instant, I seem to zigzag around objects.

Once I reached Sally’s door, I kicked it open. (I’ll repair it later.)

Sally! I shouted. Where are you? What’s wrong?

She stepped out of the bathroom still wearing her work clothes. I saw a spider in the shower. I shivered but remained stationary. Aren’t you going to take care of it?

Or…you could just move out and let the spider have the apartment.

Sally’s eyes softened as did her expression. Oh. Right, I forgot about your fear of spiders.

I’m not afraid…as long as I don’t have to see them. I shivered again. What about you?

She shrugged. Sure. I can deal with it. She reached over and twirled a strand of my hair. She smelled of honey and lavender…mixed with sweat from work. But, don’t’ you want to show how strong of a man you are?

In this case? Nope, I’m good.

Joe, how are you going to conquer your fear if you don’t face it?

I sighed. Fine. I’ll get the flamethrower.

Joel Tobias Rover! You are not using a flamethrower in my apartment!

I held my hands up in surrender. OK, OK. But, what am I supposed to use? They don’t make rolled up newspapers anymore. I don’t think you want me to use your Omni-Cuff. I pointed to the white earpiece on the coffee table.

Use your shoe.

I slipped off my shoe, reluctantly. I didn’t want spider guts all over my shoe. I shivered again at the thought. After a bracing deep breath, I entered the bathroom. I held the shoe up close to my face. I then switched to a straight-out position like a police officer checking a room. I swung the shoe left and right.

I spotted it. Ick! It was big all right. Half an inch maybe.

Creatures should not have that may legs or eyes, I said trying not to be sick.

I approached it slowly like any threat. Once, I was in range…

SMACK!!

The deed was done.

I checked the bottom of my shoe. I held back the vomit wanting to erupt.

Sally rolled her eyes. My hero.

I slipped my shoe back on. OK, I get the conquering your fears lesson; but seriously, why didn’t you not kill it? You’re not the damsel in distress type.

She shrugged. It creeped me out; it was like it was watching me. She waved the air dismissively. Besides, I knew you could do it. She gave me a smile as she slipped by and into the bathroom. She kept the door open just enough for me to see her face. You’re my hero, and it’s not because you have powers. She then closed the door.

***

A group of people stood in a dark room. The room was only lit by the bank of holographic computer screens. Each person was dressed in professional suits or dresses. Omni-Cuff earbuds were placed on their ears. The walls and floor matched the color of the darkness making it seem like the room went on forever.

Madam, Scout 65398B was terminated before we could get a full read.

The woman in the shadows tapped her long, thin fingers against the arm of her chair; it was the closest to a go on sign the worker would get, and he better go on quickly.

Ahem, he said nervously before continuing. We think there was some potential. From what we gathered, the target will be at Westside Mega VR Cinema.

Send a team, she said.

***

Westside Mega VR Cinema was a nice enough building with enough neon lights to blind Godzilla. It used to have more but the airport complained that it confused the pilots.

Why is it that theaters never have enough parking? I grumbled as Sally and I joined the line.

Each person either tapped their Omni-Cuff watch or stood still so that their Omni-Cuff earpiece could be scanned. The ticket money was transferred from their account into the theater’s. After payment confirmation, the patron received a random code for a part they would play in the movie. Using virtual reality technology, the audience would not just watch the movie but become part of it. Each patron would become a main, secondary, or background character. The VR system fed us lines and cues as the plot progressed. Some of it was improv while some main points were scripted. The mix of open-world and linear storytelling made it, so each showing was slightly different.

The ticket taker sat behind the booth playing a game on her Omni-Cuff while the machine ka-chinged with each purchase. The ticket taker was mainly there to make sure the process ran smoothly—and to provide that human touch.

Sally and I purchased our tickets and our codes were emailed to us. As soon as we entered the theater, my senses were assaulted by the smells and sounds of the theater. Buttery popcorn. Cold sodas. The clink of ice followed by the pssst of the fountain drink machine. The whirling hum as the fabricators printed up concession orders.

Patrons talked in groups about the movie they’d seen or chatted about their excitement to see a certain movie. Holo-screen after holo-screen was lit as people rated and reviewed the movies through YIP or PostBook.

"Because you’ve watched Howling Night, said someone’s Omni-Cuff, you might enjoy The Dandelions that Ate Tokyo, Ace Bloodhound and the Temple of Cats, BLT Pictures’ King Arthur Returns, and the latest installment from BLT Comics cinematic universe, Professor Wonder and the Time Warriors."

I scratched the back of my neck. "What movie are we seeing?" Sally and I made plans to see a movie but not what movie. I was busy with crime-fighting, and it was Sally’s turn to choose.

Sally brushed back her shoulder length blonde hair. The latest trending movie. Everyone is talking about it on social media. She used her Omni-Cuff to bring up a holo-video of the trailer.

Long ago,