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- Herausgeber: Little Tiger Press
- Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
- Serie: Level Up
- Sprache: Englisch
Videogame-obsessed Flo and her best friend, Max, get more than they bargained for when they find themselves INSIDE their favourite games! Having successfully battled spaceships, Max and Flo are excited to return home. But when they wake up, they're in Max's favourite game, Blocktopia. The friends are accepted into a city, where they are protected from the dangerous monsters that attack daily. Max is in his element – creating increasingly elaborate buildings – but Flo just wants to go home. Then she uncovers a secret. A secret which might just be the key to escaping the game… From the award-winning author of BOYBAND OF THE APOCALYPSE comes a laugh-out-loud adventure with a technological twist, perfect for fans of I SWAPPED MY BROTHER ON THE INTERNET, David Baddiel, Minecraft and Fortnite.
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Seitenzahl: 92
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020
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Contents
Level 1
If you’ve ever woken up inside a strange cabin with your best friend and immediately answered the door to reveal a tentacled monster made entirely from bright green bricks, then you’ll know exactly what Max and I were going through. If not, well … I wouldn’t recommend it.
I did the only sensible thing you can do in such a situation and slammed the door shut.
“What the heck was that?” I asked.
“It was like … a person crossed with an octopus,” 2said Max slowly. “Only made from bricks. Just like we’re made from bricks and this room is made from bricks. And I only caught a glimpse of outside, but everything out there looks like it’s made from bricks too! You realize what this means?”
“Does it have something to do with bricks?” I asked.
“We’re in another game,” he said.
Another game? “So that means…” I said, taking a large breath. “Mum’s machine did transport us into a video game and we really did fly a spaceship, defeat the Red Ghost and convince an army of Space Soldiers to follow their dreams, which we hoped would let us leave the game but instead we’ve teleported to another game where everything’s made from bricks and there’s a monster outside?”
Max nodded. “Yeah, sounds about right,” he said. 3
“OK,” I said. “Just checking. Mum was right about us leaving the game once we completed it, but she didn’t say anything about jumping right into another one. What is this anyway?”
Max looked stunned. “Seriously? You’re the biggest gamer I’ve ever met and you don’t recognize this one?”
“No… Oh, wait, hang on,” I said, the penny dropping. “Tell me it’s not that boring one where you just have to mine and build stuff?”
“Blocktopia isn’t boring!” protested Max. “It’s the only video game I’ve ever been interested in.”
I nodded. “That’s what I said – it’s boring.”
Max scowled at me. “Just because you don’t have to shoot everything in sight doesn’t make it boring,” he said. “Blocktopia lets you build an entire world exactly how you want it to be. It’s amazing.”4
I shrugged. “Whatever you say,” I replied. “There’s still the tentacled person outside to deal with.”
“That’s an Octoperson,” said Max. “One of the monsters you get in the game.”
“Friendly?” I asked hopefully.
Max shook his head. “Not in the slightest.”
“Pity,” I said. “So how do we stop them? What’s your weak point if you’ve got eight arms?”
“Finding clothes that fit?” asked Max.
Rolling my eyes at his bad joke, I pressed my ear to the door. “I don’t hear anything. Maybe it’s gone?”
Knock-knock.
“Maybe not,” I said, leaping back.
“Hello?” shouted a voice from outside. “Is anyone in there? I can see your light on.”
The voice sounded human, but then maybe Octopeople could speak. I looked at Max for a clue.5
“I think it’s someone else,” he said.
I pushed open the door. Standing outside this time were three Block People, one short and two not-so-short, dressed in blue uniforms with golden badges on them, carrying torches and pitchforks.
6“Who are you?” I asked.
“We’re City Guards,” said the smallest of the three. “They call me Stoneheart ’cos that’s my name. But more to the point, who are you two? And what are you doing here?”
“I’m Flo and this is Max, and um…” I said, trying to think how best to answer the second question.
“Never mind, that can wait,” said Stoneheart, cutting me off. “An Octoperson was spotted nearby. Did either of you see it?”
“It was here a minute ago,” Max answered. “But we shut the door on it.”
“So you didn’t see where it went?” he asked.
We shook our heads. Stoneheart frowned. “We must have just missed it. It can’t have gone far.” He turned to the other two Block People. “Sweep the perimeter, then go from house to house.”7
They scampered off and Stoneheart turned his attention back to us.
“You two are coming with me,” he said.
“Coming with you where?” I said.
“To the Architect,” he replied. “He’ll know what to do with you.”
Level 2
We were led outside and into what I supposed was meant to be a car. But in a world where everything was made from bricks some things worked better than others.
“S-s-sorry f-f-for th-th-the b-b-bumpy r-r-ride,” said Stoneheart.
“D-d-do y-y-you r-r-really th-th-think c-c-cubes a-a-re th-th-the b-b-best sh-sh-shape f-f-for wh-wh-wheels?” I asked, as we bounced along the road.
“Wh-wh-what o-o-other o-o-ones a-a-are th-the-there?” he laughed.9
I had no reply. How do you explain different shapes to someone in a world where there’s only one? Instead I looked out of the window and observed the strange city around us. Dawn was starting to break and rays of early morning light cut through the neatly ordered rows of identical 10wooden houses. Max had always described Blocktopia as endlessly creative, but I couldn’t help noticing how similar everything was. Every house was the same as the last. Until we came to one that wasn’t.
We’d left the other houses behind, travelling down a long driveway in what looked like a country estate, with acres of green grass, tall trees and a couple of blue lakes surrounding a huge mansion that made Max’s eyes light up.
“Now that’s what I call a house,” he said, as the car pulled up in front of it.
“Look at the size of it,” I agreed, stepping out on to a gravel path.
“The home of the Architect,” said Stoneheart.
We followed him inside and up a winding 11staircase. “He’s a big deal, then, this Architect?” I asked.
“The biggest,” he replied. “Our people owe him everything. He’s a genius. A visionary. Our guiding light.”
“Stoneheart, you flatter me,” came a voice. We looked up to see a man waiting for us at the top of the stairs. He had black hair and a goatee beard and wore a red velvet jacket with black trousers and a little square beret on his head.
12“Sir, apologies, I didn’t see you there,” said Stoneheart, climbing the last few steps.
“No need to apologize, Stoneheart,” he said. “And I’ve told you before, please don’t call me sir. My name is Carl.”
“Yes, sir,” said Stoneheart. “Sorry, sir.”
“Who have you brought here?” said Carl, looking us over. “Friends, I hope?”
“Still to be decided,” said Stoneheart. “Me and a couple of the guards were out investigating reports of Octopeople on the outskirts of the city. No sign of them, but we came across these two hiding out in one of the older cabins.”
“I see,” Carl responded. “Do they have names?”
“One’s called Flo, the other’s Max,” said Stoneheart.
“And what exactly were you two doing out 13there?” asked Carl.
Max and I looked at each other. “Hiding from the tentacle person,” I said, which seemed like the closest thing to a true answer that he’d understand.
He said nothing for a few seconds then laughed. “Oh, you mean the Octopeople?” he said. “Of course you were! Always been trouble, that lot. Cause us no end of bother, destroying our buildings, stealing our resources, upsetting our people. You two must have been terrified.”
We both shrugged. “At first,” I admitted. “But it didn’t really do anything. It just knocked on the door.”
“It would have done more than that if my men and I hadn’t shown up,” interjected Stoneheart.
“Oh, undeniably,” agreed Carl. “Stoneheart, would you mind waiting outside?”14
Stoneheart looked confused. “You want me to leave you alone with them?”
“I don’t think they plan on harming me, if that’s what you’re worried about,” said Carl. He turned to us. “You don’t, do you?”
“No,” we said together.
“There now, you see.” Carl laughed. “I’ve always been a good judge of character.”
“As you wish, sir,” said Stoneheart, before taking his leave.
“Please, join me in my office,” Carl said, leading us down a corridor and into a room with a huge desk in front of two large windows. The sun was fully up now and from where we stood you could see beyond the grounds to the city. I had to admit it was an impressive sight.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” said Carl.15
16“It’s really something,” said Max. “What it’s called?”
“We call it Sublimity,” he replied, sitting behind the desk. “It took a very long time to build. Of course, if you were to ask the people, they’d say I’m the one to thank for it. And yes, while it’s true that I designed everything in the city, from the tiniest toilet to the biggest ballroom, I simply can’t take all the credit. It was the people who took my ideas and turned them into reality. Do you know what the secret to the perfect city is?”
Max and I gave this some thought.
“Good Wi-Fi?” I asked.
“Donuts?” said Max.
“Donuts?” I repeated.
“I don’t know, I panicked!” said Max.
Carl looked puzzled. “I don’t know what those things are but no, not them. The secret to a perfect city is the people who live in it.”
“People. I should have said that,” Max muttered under his breath.17
“My question to you two, then, is this,” said Carl. “What kind of people are you?”
It felt like a test, but one where I wasn’t really sure what the question was. “Um … the good kind?” I said.
Carl nodded. “Are you the kind willing to contribute to the greater good?” he asked. “Because that’s the kind of people we need in Sublimity. We’re making something special here. A city like no other. The perfect city. We could always use more hands to build it.”
It took me a moment to realize he was offering us a job. “Thanks for the offer,” I said, “but Max and I need to get home.”
My rejection seemed to catch Carl off guard. “Home?” he said, sounding a little irritated. “Where is that?”
“You wouldn’t know it,” I said.
Max reached for my arm. “Carl, sorry, would you mind if I spoke to Flo in private?”
“Of course,” said Carl.18
Max pulled me over to the far corner of the room.
“You’re not actually considering we take him up on his offer? We need to get home!” I said.
“And how are we going to do that?” asked Max.
“Well, obviously we’ll…” I began, my voice trailing off as I realized I hadn’t thought that far ahead. Then, like a flash of lightning, it hit me. “Mum! She helped us last time by joining the game in the real world. She’ll do the same again. We just need to wait for her…” Something else occurred to me. “Oh no,” I said quietly.
19“Oh no what?” said Max nervously.
