At two o’clock on the last Saturday afternoon in May, all the town’s Ray-Chayers flocked to Jubilee Park. For once, you couldn’t play Ray-Chay just anywhere, for this one special day you had to be in the park. It was Kody Crunch’s idea to bring people together in real life, in special community events. Hundreds of grey-suited figures were waiting eagerly, as well as a few in more expensive suits. These posh gamers cruised around like shiny sports cars, hoping to make everyone else jealous.
Ant was sitting having a picnic with Lia and Lance and enjoying people-watching. He saw Griff strutting about in his black suit like he owned the place, swishing his cape from side to side. Lyle and Boom were with him, but they looked like most people in their grey suits.
DJ Choonetto, a local radio presenter, was in the bandstand playing music while the crowd queued to buy food and drink from the vans. The atmosphere was lively and friendly and Ant was glad he’d decided to go, particularly as Lia seemed so pleased he was there.
He hadn’t told Lia or Lance that in his backpack were his oldheadset and gloves. If the day got boring, he was going to sneak off to the Dell and play Kismet Cosmos instead. This was one afternoon when he wouldn’t get disturbed by Griff.
A few gamers came up to talk to Lance and they all seemed super-excited. After a while, the music stopped and the crowd quietened.
‘Right, people,’ DJ Choonetto boomed out. ‘It’s a beautiful afternoon here in Jubilee Park and we’re nearly ready to begin. Now, the Ray-Chay rules are a bit different today: you’ve gotta be in the park to play, obviously, and we’re up against lots of other towns and cities all over the country. It’s one of the biggest gaming gatherings ever and the competition’s intense. Hey, but let’s be positive! We can do this! Let’s hear it for Westford Abbey, people!’
A massive cheer went up.
‘Great, great.’ DJ Choonetto quietened the crowd down again. ‘Just for today, all our individual worlds have been shut down by the game’s creator, Kody Crunch. Here is the man himself to tell us all about it.’
Kody Crunch’s gleaming white teeth filled the big screen next to the bandstand. The shot widened to reveal the rest of him, standing in a field. ‘Hey hey! There you all are! A big high five to all my Ray-Chayers in the UK,’ he cried, giving everyone a virtual high five. ‘What’s this Ray-Chay in the Park all about, huh? Well, for the first time, we’re all playing in the same world, the Parkworld, although we’ll be able to access our caches as usual. Just remember: you might not be able to take on all the enteos, it depends what level you’re at in the regular game. If you can see the stats around the enteo then get to work, otherwise leave it to someone who’s on a higher level than you. The main thing is, everyone in your town is working as a team, yeah? Now, the other exciting announcement … and you’re the first to find out: there’s gonna be a very special “Zen destroyer” out and about today!’
There was an ‘Oooo!’ from the crowd and excited laughter.
‘Yeah, you know you want it!’ Kody pumped the air with his fist. ‘I’ve released a real biggie and it’s worth so many points, whoever destroys it probably is gonna win the contest. That’s it from me. Most of all, have fun, guys!’
Kody waved with both hands and the excited crowd waved back. He then gripped handles at either side of his waist and, without warning, the jet pack strapped to his back whizzed him up into the air. They all watched until he became a small dot in the sky, then the screen went black.
DJ Choonetto piped up again. ‘What a great dude that Kody is. Seriously, guys, I know not many of you will have seen a rareio yet, but if anyone here has the rareio that partners this Zen destroyer, Westford Abbey will win! Who knows?’
Ant noticed Lance exchange a fed-up face and a shrug with another gamer nearby. Clearly, neither of them had any rareios. If a brilliant player like Lance hadn’t found one yet, surely nobody had.
‘The time has come, people, so please spread out, make sure you have loads of room. Good luck, Westford Abbey and 3 … 2 … 1… Ray-Chay!’
Everyone gave themselves room, like in a school PE lesson, voice-activated their headsets and performed the calibration exercises. Ant was wearing his Tarn2 outfit, even though he was in the Ray-Chay Parkworld like everyone else. It looked a bit like the real Jubilee Park but the colours were brighter and sparklier and the bushes were sculpted into fantastic bird-like shapes: robins, eagles, swallows and owls. The edges of the park merged into wild forest. The boring Pradahl was standing beside him, worse luck. All the other gamers were dressed in skins they wore in their usual worlds. There were Romans and astronauts and spies. A football player right next to him with the name SKILLZY on his back was dribbling a ball with unbelievable skill and Ant knew it had to be Lance. Meanwhile, a spotty big cat labelled JAG22X bounded away into the distance. That had to be Lia.
A cry went up – ‘CHASER!’ – and suddenly everyone was running in the same direction. Ant followed as fast as he could, although of course, in real life, he was just running on the spot. The fake Pradahl flew above him
