Join the new world

No one know how it started. No one know exactly when.
Miroslav didn't know at all.

While Copenhagen stood in flames and the few righteous fell into darkness one by one, a midget known as Miroslav fought his own battles.
In the virtual first person shooter; "Zombie slayer 3003" - known as the top video game among all hardcore gamers.

Miroslav had but one goal in life - a task that any gamer worldwide was yet to master; completing the four acts of Zombieslayer 3003 on the hardest difficulty thereby unlocking the secret fifth act.
By completing the fifth act, that so far only existed as a myth among the "pro's" on the different internet fora, he would achieve the highest reachable stature possible as an elite gamer.
All he needed was a screenshot of the corpse of the final encounter in act 5 to post on the net.
The stubborn little midget wasn't fooling himself. He knew that he would need all his combined experience from earlier games in order to fulfill his ambition.
The reflexes from Quake. The aim from Counter-strike. The patience from World of Warcraft. The survival skills from Diablo 2 "hardcore" and the sleeplessness from major LAN events.
To improve his odds he had purchased the state of the art accessories. A minature light gun fitting his midget hands, a laser sight to put on top and a 64 inch flat screen.
His quest for glory could begin.

Though Miroslavs roommate shared his russian roots, Tatyana didn't have much in comment with the little man.
Mentally wounded from a dark childhood, her search for revenge upon the whole human race led her to join russian army at the age of nineteen.
At her twenty-first birthday back in 1994 she was assigned to a russian sniper division in Chechnya.
Unfortunately the few daily civilian casualties of her rifle wasn't enough to satisfy her bloodlust, and in 1996 she left the russian army.

In 1997 she converted to islam and joined Taleban in Afghanistan, serving as an officer in their bootcamps.
During the following years she gained high standing within Al-Qaeda and in March 2004 she was the mastermind behind the Madrid train bombings.
At this point the thirty year old woman realized that even terrorism was ineffectual, only causing pain to the 191 dead, 1800 wounded and their relatives after months of planning.
Tatyana knew she had to think bigger, so she stole all the gold she could carry from her headquarters and fled Al-Qaeda.
After getting a nose job and changing her hair color, she stored the gold left in a swiss lockbox and immigrated to Denmark.
Though her brown eyes and now dark hair gave her some difficulties with the danish immigration office, she quickly persuaded the narrow-minded fascists working there. All it took was a little donation down their pockets, and she could soon call herself a danish citizen.
A few weeks later she noticed the perfect add in the local newspaper. A young geek was renting out a room, the ideal profile, as he would be too caught up in his fantasy-world to question her activities.
From that day on the doorsing said; Мирослав & Татяна.

The years went by, and one day the callender said 14th of January 2009.
Miroslav had just started his sixth month of playing "Zombie slayer 3003". Unfortunately one single mistake on the hardest difficulty could lead to permanent death, forcing him to start all over from the beggining of act 1.
Reaching the end of act 4 from the beginning of act 1 would take him approximately twelve hours, and as there was no option to save the game, he typically had between one and two attempts per day.
The few minutes he spent on breaks, were used for daydreaming about the future and past. He was still haunted by the bullying of his schooldays. But he would show them. Show them all.
Who would be laughing when "Baby-Hobbit" would be the best in the world at something. Who would pick on him when his face would be all over the computer magazines declaring him king of all gamers.
He would earn their respect!

Caught up in his virtual world, the midget hadn't been paying attention to the media, and had no clue about what was going on in the real world.
He had his monthly deal, getting 45 litres of diet coke delivered to his door. To save on food, he had bought enough on can for half a year, last christmas.
This way he didn't have to waste time on buying grosseries.
Outside the infected danes were contaminating anyone who would oppose them - Inside Miroslav was blasting away the same virtual zombies for the about the 200th time.

Tatyana on the other hand had been following the development with great interest.
She had realized that terrorism only brought temporary pain to the majority of the victims. If she was to inflict the most suffering, she had to start a career as a businesswoman.
That way she would have the power to enslave workers for life - causing depression and misery on a daily basis for years, decades even lifetimes.
By establishing a successful business organization, she could expand all over the world, in the end owning and punishing every human being for her own pain.
The birth of the quarantine nation was godsend. The mindless infected were the perfect workforce for a starting business.
No expenses on food, no breaks and even better; these mentally dead zombies had no connection to workers unions.

Tatyana had seen this coming and already bought her first factory. Now the time had come to act.
The possibilities seemed limitless and there was lots of money to be made:


First of all on fear. The sale of guides and guns to sane survivors within the quarantine nation and paranoid europeans on the outside, would far exceed the profit made on the worldwide fear of terrorism.


Then there was the whole necrophile market. Dirty magazines and an unique possibility to be with a dead prostitute who actually move.


There was also great profit to be made on fearless mercenary armies - a great asset in a world full of war.


Not to mention romantic cards, TV comedies and religious cults.

The world was hers for the taking.



Ten days later - the 24th of January - Tatyana encountered her first major problem.
Apparently there was other cynical businessmen in eDenmark who saw potential in the mindless danish workforce.
And though she already hired the number of zombies needed for her first factory, she couldnt allow any competition to ruin her plans.
Something had to be done...

The same evening Miroslav felt an adrenaline rush like never before. After more than six months of daily attemps, he completed all four acts of Zombie Slayer 3003 without dying.
Now the secret act was about to reveal itself. He held his breath.
There he was. Inside act 5 where so few had been before him. Standing in an oval room completely naked of furniture and with mirrors covering the wall.
And facing an enemy no gamer had ever defeated. The last encounter - The supreme evil being. It was either hello fame or bye bye. A fight to the death - against the Zombie-Samurai!

Tatyana now knew what had to be done. The unemployed infected danes had to be eliminated before other companies would take them in.
Though she was a capable soldier, she would need assistance for this task. And who better than the few sane danes left inside the quarantine borders.
It should be easy to manipulate them into thinking they were fighting a just cause. She unpacked her old rifle, cleaned it and holstered her side-arm.

In the meantime Miroslav fought the battle of his life.
Bullet after bullet left the chamber of his gun, either piercing his opponent or a mirror-image, sending small pieces of broken glass flying in the air.
But in the time it took him to shoot a lump of flesh off the zombie-samurai, its other wounds would fully regenerate. This must have been where Miroslavs ancestors had failed.
It was time to gamble on another approach. The midget quickly switched from his light gun to his joystick, and from fire-arm to chainsaw in the game.
A few minutes later, covered in blood and gore, the mayhem ended.
Miroslav felt the tears of joy press on, as the now headless samurai hit the floor. He had done it. Done what no one had done before. He was legend!
He let the joystick slide out of his sweaty hands, and walked towards the computer. Miroslav stretched out his finger to hit the "Screenshot" key which would prove his deed and immortalize him as a God among geeks.
Then everything went dark. Literally. Copenhagen lost power.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRHHH!"

Curious about the outburst Tatyana entered his room with a flashlight.
Miroslavs eyes were red with fury, and Tatyana had to concentrate hard on not letting the pleasure she felt from observing his great pain show.

"WHOOO!? WHO DID THIS!?" Miroslav moaned.

"All the corrupt people infected with the danish disease, I presume." Tatyana answered calmly

"What? Who!?" He asked.

"I thought you knew. An epidemic has caused almost everyone to flee Copenhagen and the surrounding area. Now the infected rule the land. My guess is that they just breached the power plant supplying us and terminated whoever were keeping it running. Probably what to expect inside a quarantine nation." She explained.

"I'm gonna kill them! Every last one of them!" Miroslav cried out.

"This will help you on your way" Tatyana said.

She unholstered her side-arm and handed it to him.
The little man looked at her surprised and hesitated for a while. Then he got a determined look in his eyes and grabbed the gun.

"I'll help you get your revenge, my friend" Tatyana added, without either knowing what caused his sudden fury or caring.
Miroslav approved by nodding. He opened the door and swore out lou😛
"It's payback time!"