Surfs Up: Twisted Edition 2 - A Twisted Game

Have you ever been haunted? Do you ever have an intuition that somebody is watching you? I’ve lived like that for the last three weeks, and it all started when I got called out on to a murder case in my job as a police detective – a case I would never forger.

“Jesus this is a mess.” I said to the police inspector, my partner.

“I guess she was murdered.”

“Looks that way.” I muttered, chewing off my ciagarrete. We were looking at a bloody corpse on the floor of the hospital room. It was a woman name Kaylee Houstan. She had been attacked at a bank, then taken into the hospital, however someone had attacked her here, and thrown her out of bead. Her flesh had bite marks all over.

“There’s a lot of murders in New York every day, but this has to be one of the strangest.”

I nodded

“Who do you think did it, the boyfriend?”

“The CCTV shows he was the only one who entered the room. It had to be him.”

“Hmm it’s suspicious. Do you think he had some link to the bank?”

“Yes.”

“Ok.” I got in my police car and drove away, driving through the streets on New York City. “It was a mystery. Who killed the girl? Where did her boyfriend go?”

It was nighttime. I drove to the police station. It was raining. I ran inside and shook off all the rain.

“Wow you’re here pretty late.” Said the receptionist. She was a hot, sexy woman, who sometimes went on dates with me and I always flirted.

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” I laughed flirtily. “I’m working on cases.”

“Well I’m always here if you work yourself too *hard.”* I was so horny I wanted to kiss her just then but I thought, no, I must focus on the murdered girl.

“I’ll be in my office.”

I walked up the stairs to the police station, to my office. My office was dark, and I turned on the lights. On my desk was an envelope labelled “evidence”. Who could have left that there? I wondered if it had anything to do with the mystery of the missing kid. I opened the envelope then I looked in the mirror I had in my office. I was looking back in the mirrors reflection. I was a man, who had dark hair and black eyes, and I had a scar on one cheek where a pedofile had slashed me with a razor when I was arresting him. I was wearing my jacket and a t-shirt for my favourite band called The Grateful Dead. I was also wearing a gold badge that said NYPD detective.

I stopped looking in the mirror and looked at the envelope. Inside was a sign that said “Some evidence for your case … detective …. C” Who was C, I wondered? It was a mysterious message. I opened the envelope, and inside was a playstation 2 disc. In big letters were the words

SURFS UP TWISTED EDITION 2: A TWISTED GAME

Wow that’s weird, I though, but then I thought nothing of it because I knew how much everyone knew I loved PS2 games in the office, and so it was probably just a prank. I took the game home.

I went home and put the game disc into my PS2 and remembered remembering this game from when I was a kid, it was a lot of fun. I didn’t know there was a sequel. Quickly I put the game into the PS2 and selected play.

Instead of the official Ubisoft logo that usually came up something weird happened. Then the face of Zooey Deschanel as Lani came up and she said in a sexy voice “Hello Zack, do you want to play a twisted game?”

Then the ubisoft logo came up, however it was different. The color was red, and instead of the word Ubisoft, it said “Codysoft”. Then it dissolved in a blood screen and there was the menu, which said the same title as before, as if was written in some kind of red liquid.

“Wow this is a messed up prank.” I said, thinking nothing of it.

There were three options on the menu “Play”, “Time trial”, and “TWISTED MODE”. I went down to TWISTED MODE as I wanted to see what it did, however when I pressed it, the option went black, and a screen came up saying “If you want to play a twisted game, you have to prove it!”

“Prove what?” I yelled at the screen in frustration. I went back to the Play option, and selected that instead. There were three options – Lani, Jeff Briges as Geek “Big Z” Topanga, and a mysterious blacked out character that I wouldn’t select. I selected Lani, as she was a sexier character and in fact once when I was a kid I had a crush on her.

A huge sign appeared that said “Reggie Belefonte Big Z Memrial Surf Off” over the beach, and Lani appeared, and said

“Alright its time for the surf off. You better not let me down Zack.”

The cutscene entered a game mode, and a big wave swept the scene allowing me to surf on it. I surfed around the whole track, performing tricks and flips on the wave and grabbing 30 trophies. I could an ace rating. I completed the whole game first on Lani, and then with Geek, and then when I looked at the time I yelled in frustration.

“It’s already midnight, I just want to unlock Cody already! What do I need to do to unlock cody!”

There was a beep from the game, and on the screen came a sign

“Cody Maverick Unlocked new character.” I went on the character menu and saw sure enough  I had unlocked Cody. Time to play.

I selected Cody and it started a new cutscene. Cody was looking directly into the camera, and he smiled weirdly.

“Hello Zack. I think you want to play a twisted game, but I will give you one last chance to walk away. Turn off the game and don’t play it anymore.”

No way, I’ve come this far, I thought, I’m not giving up now.

“But if you want to come into my twisted world … carry on playing. You’re only one level away. But beware, from here on in …. Things get seriously … TWISTED” He laughed deeply, then hopped on the surfboard, and the level began.

We were surfing on a wave through an area that looked like new York City where I lived and a sign said it was called New Pen Gu city. All the characters from the game were surfing in front of me – Geek, Lani, Chicken Joe, Tank, Reggie, Mike, Renato, Rory, Tatushi, Arnold, SPEN Announcer and Elliot from Open Season. A bar flashed above me saying

“KILL ALL THE OTHER SURFERS”

No way, I thought, I’m not going to kill my friends. I tried to play the race peacefully but everytime I did my health bar ticked downwards as if I was dying.

“I’m sorry Geek.” I muttered under my breath as I moved my character over to him. We collided and Geek flipped off his board and flew into the sea – but this time he didn’t come back up. A stream of bubbles that quickly disappeared made it clear – he had drowned. I had killed him. I didn’t have another choice. One by one, I took out all the other characters, knocking them off the boards and making them drown.

“Isn’t this already twisted enough?” I whispered, as I flipped the last character off her board, Lani, and watched her drown. But Cody didn’t think so. And I had gone too deep to turn back now.

The game flashed up with a new objective – it said “WIN THE RACE”. There were no obstacles left as I raced through the deserted streets of new Peng Gu city. It had a creepy, haunted atmosphere with nobody else around. I was terrified.

Suddenly I realized where I was in New Pen Gu  city – no, it was New York City – and this was my street! My eyes widened as I saw the finish line arranged outside my house.

“No!” I yelled, and tried to turn Cody away from my house, but I wasn’t in control any more. The little character on the screen grinned widely, and paddling with his flippers manically towards my house. He reached the finishing line, which was just outside my house, and a message came up on the screen and the game made a bad noise like it did when you died. The message said “YOU LOST” in big red letters.

“Thank you for bringing me here Zack.” Cody grinned, and looked straight at me. “I think things should start getting pretty twisted now…”

There was a beep, and I was booted back to the menu. There was only one option left now – TWISTED MODE. I was more terrified of this than anything else I had ever been in my life. Still, I wiped away the tears, and pressed the button. Cody appeared on a black gackground, laughing.

“Sorry Zack.” He laughed. “But this mode isn’t a video game. This mode takes place … in real life!” He gave final laugh, then with a spark, the PS2 burst out in smoke, and the whole TV went dead. I sat in the dark room for a moment, trying to work out what the hell it was I just saw. I couldn’t fight the urge anymore, and  I ran to the restroom to through up. I puked all over the seat, and a lot of it splashed back up in my beard and all over my favourite T-shirt.  Then all I could do could be to lay die own and cry.

Suddenly, there was a knock on my door. I pissed my pants. Pee ran down my legs in terror, and I screamed in my head “WHO IS IT?!” But I knew I had to answer. I had to get up, I couldn’t let Cody win. Grimly, I climbed to my feet, and walked to the front door. With a deep breath, I opened it, knowing in my gut I was about to meet a penguin shaped death.

“Zack Muerte?” The man at the door said. When I nodded, he stepped into the light. I saw he was carrying a gun. But when I looked at his face, I was even more shaken. It was Jacob Maverick, the missing brother of the man who had murdered that girl in the hospital. He had a beard now, and was a lot thinner, and wearing a dirty hoodie and hoodie pants like he found them in a dumpster. “We don’t have a lot of time.”

I let Jacob into my flat and looked at myself in the mirror. I was covered in piss and shit, but I was still proud – I had survived so much in the last night. I was suddenly filled with determination. Whatever this thing was that was haunting me, I would beat it.

We sat down at the table, and I gave Jacob some whiskey and beer to drink. He explained the story of what happened to him and his brother, but said he didn’t know where his brother was now. Then je said to me with a sorrowful lookin his etes

“ I have to tll you something.”

“Ok.” I said. “what is it?

“I sent you that game. It was me?”

“That thomg?!” Bit it was cursed/”

“Yep. He saod “Bit O meeded ypu tp be cirsed. Thos thomg ciersed a y faoy. amd the pnoy way O cpuod get he. was tp get spepme ese versed, The best detective om mew yorl.”

“But why me?”

“Cecause that’s you. He said, Slowly. “Toy’e our only help.”

“What can I do?”

“Find the truth behind Cody Maverick. Find who keeps making these cursed game and movies. It’s all to do with that penguin.”

“When I played the game, it said Codysoft.”

“That’s right. When my brother and me watched the movie, it said Cody Pictures entertainment.”

“I’ll find them.” As I was speaking, I became aware of a wetness feeling around my leg. I looked down to see if had pissed myself again, but it was something much worse. The whole floor was covered in liquid – and it wasn’t water. It was dark red – blood – and it was rising fast.

“What the FUCK?!” I yelled and jumped to my feet. Jacob did the same. The blood was coming in from the closed kitchen door, pouring through the door.

“Don’t open it!” I said, but Jacob was on in his feet, and went to the door handle. There suddenly the door smashed open and a wave of blood poured through. It smashed him off his feet. I lept off my feet and away from the flood.

A dark shape slide through the door – no – it surfed.

“Cody” I whispered. He laughed earily.

“That’s right Zack, it’s me.”

“Curse you!” Jacob leaped to his feet, and shooted the gun. The bullets mearly bounced off his skin though, and Cody grinned wider. I saw his beak was full of teeth.

“Ahh Jacob. I thought I had lost you.” He leapt forward and bit Jacon and a spurt of slood burst out of Jacobs neck

“Nooo!!!!” He gurgled, then he looked at me “Run! He yelled Find Codysoft! Find the curse!”

I had too look away as Cody bit down and down again on his corpse, blood spurting everywhere. With Cody distracted, I had only seconds to escape. Quickly, I ran out the back door.

I ran through the streets, and heard footsteps echoing behind me. I had shat myself again. Cody’s voice echoed behind me, only feet away.

“I can taste you Zack! You can’t get away!”

I sprinted and realized I had reached New York Bridge. It was hundreds of feet above the river, but I realized I only had one chance to get away, as a dark shape followed me up the bridge.

“I’ll stop him Jacob. For you.” I jumped off the bridge.

“NOOOOO!” I heard Cody yelling, as I fell to the water. I crashed down through the water, and swam away, heading for Liberty Island. The current of the water helped me. Luckily I was a strong swimmer. I washed up on the shore of Libery Island at the foot of that great statue.

I was cold but I looked back at the city, I shivered. Cody was still out there, somewhere. Killing. Making acts in the name of satan. Performing cursed rituals. And I was the only one who could stop him.

But now I knew what I had to do.

SIGNED: Zane Maverick (Author of Surf’s Up – Twisted Edition)