We had been attempting it for months. We never thought that we would get far at all. The only thing that I knew was that it was going to be tough, tougher than finding a string of hay in a stack of needles. I had the entire match set up. Every player was ready, I made sure all our internet signals were wired in correctly and would not disconnect. It was all perfect, or at least the plan was.
It happened a few months ago when the school had a day off in the middle of the week. My friend Marc and I had planned to do the hardest possible thing we thought anyone could do in one of our favorite games, Left 4 Dead 2. The game was about a zombie outbreak where in each level, there were multiple checkpoints, or “safe houses”. The premise of the game was to get past all five checkpoints then to signal a helicopter so your team can escape. But that isn’t what we were going to do. Marc and I wanted to pick up a hidden garden gnome in the game and bring it to the very end of the level. The catch is when you pick up the gnome, you can’t fight off the zombies so someone has to guard you. When you complete it, you get an achievement (a special thing you get when you complete a specific task) called “guardin’ gnome.” My friend Marc had dark brown hair and was a little taller than I was. …show more content…
I was about 55 inches at the time, so I was almost the shortest kid in the grade. I had bushy brown hair that my parents described as a “rat’s nest.” It was lunch time and the cafeteria smelled of salty french fries and sweet churros. “Hey Marc,” I called out to him. “Are you ready to beat that level and get the secret achievement in Left 4 Dead 2?” “You betcha,” He replied. “We’ve been working at this for so long and tomorrow’s the day we finally beat i-” “What level?” Joey interrupted. Joey was another one of our friends that we played Left 4 Dead and other games with. He had short, light-ish brown hair and was one of the tallest kids in the grade. If you saw us in person, you probably would think that he was a few years older than me when I am actually over eight months older than him! We were opposite ends of the grade. I was short and you could stuff me in a locker, while Joey is over six feet and was taller than most of the eighth graders. “Oh, we’re trying to hold the secret garden gnome through the whole Dark Carnival stage,” I replied. His mouth dropped. “No way, and with only two people?” He said. “If you want to beat it, you're going to need more help than that.” He was right. Each stage lasted about an hour and since the person holding the gnome couldn’t shoot the zombies with only two people, it would be suicide. You can always drop the gnome and pick it up later, but you would be risking the gnome de-spawning which would mean you would have to restart the entire stage. “Say Joey why don’t you help us then,” I said. “You know what to do right?” “Of course. You protect the gnome carrier so he or she is safe and make it to the next checkpoint.” “Okay, then I guess it’s a plan. I’ll be ready tomorrow on our day off at 10 AM.” “See you then!” I didn’t hesitate to start the game. We were all in and we had a time limit. I couldn’t spend more than one and a half hours. This means …show more content…
It was a perfect setting for a final boss. Rawrr! The boss zombie comes running out to us with another horde of zombies following right behind him. Including hunters. I knew we couldn't do this with one person firing, so risking everything I drop the gnome temporarily. I pick up the best tools and weapons I can use to fight the horde. A hunter jumped right in front of me and was about to pin me down. He was quick, but I was quicker. I ducked beneath him and ran for my life. The giant boss zombie chased me into a corner where I couldn't escape. They were skyscrapers compared to
It happened a few months ago when the school had a day off in the middle of the week. My friend Marc and I had planned to do the hardest possible thing we thought anyone could do in one of our favorite games, Left 4 Dead 2. The game was about a zombie outbreak where in each level, there were multiple checkpoints, or “safe houses”. The premise of the game was to get past all five checkpoints then to signal a helicopter so your team can escape. But that isn’t what we were going to do. Marc and I wanted to pick up a hidden garden gnome in the game and bring it to the very end of the level. The catch is when you pick up the gnome, you can’t fight off the zombies so someone has to guard you. When you complete it, you get an achievement (a special thing you get when you complete a specific task) called “guardin’ gnome.” My friend Marc had dark brown hair and was a little taller than I was. …show more content…
I was about 55 inches at the time, so I was almost the shortest kid in the grade. I had bushy brown hair that my parents described as a “rat’s nest.” It was lunch time and the cafeteria smelled of salty french fries and sweet churros. “Hey Marc,” I called out to him. “Are you ready to beat that level and get the secret achievement in Left 4 Dead 2?” “You betcha,” He replied. “We’ve been working at this for so long and tomorrow’s the day we finally beat i-” “What level?” Joey interrupted. Joey was another one of our friends that we played Left 4 Dead and other games with. He had short, light-ish brown hair and was one of the tallest kids in the grade. If you saw us in person, you probably would think that he was a few years older than me when I am actually over eight months older than him! We were opposite ends of the grade. I was short and you could stuff me in a locker, while Joey is over six feet and was taller than most of the eighth graders. “Oh, we’re trying to hold the secret garden gnome through the whole Dark Carnival stage,” I replied. His mouth dropped. “No way, and with only two people?” He said. “If you want to beat it, you're going to need more help than that.” He was right. Each stage lasted about an hour and since the person holding the gnome couldn’t shoot the zombies with only two people, it would be suicide. You can always drop the gnome and pick it up later, but you would be risking the gnome de-spawning which would mean you would have to restart the entire stage. “Say Joey why don’t you help us then,” I said. “You know what to do right?” “Of course. You protect the gnome carrier so he or she is safe and make it to the next checkpoint.” “Okay, then I guess it’s a plan. I’ll be ready tomorrow on our day off at 10 AM.” “See you then!” I didn’t hesitate to start the game. We were all in and we had a time limit. I couldn’t spend more than one and a half hours. This means …show more content…
It was a perfect setting for a final boss. Rawrr! The boss zombie comes running out to us with another horde of zombies following right behind him. Including hunters. I knew we couldn't do this with one person firing, so risking everything I drop the gnome temporarily. I pick up the best tools and weapons I can use to fight the horde. A hunter jumped right in front of me and was about to pin me down. He was quick, but I was quicker. I ducked beneath him and ran for my life. The giant boss zombie chased me into a corner where I couldn't escape. They were skyscrapers compared to