Get him!” I yelled. “Knock him down! Knock him down, hard!”

“Wow, you’ve really gotten into this,” Willa said.

I rubbed my hands together. We’d crossed into October, and a chill was in the air. And on my butt. Someone should really engineer a way to heat metal bleachers for spectators.

“At first I thought football was boring,” I admitted. “But it’s a lot more exciting when your best friend is on the team.” Even if he spent most of his time on the bench, having Charlie on the team and finally understanding what that meant to him had given me a sudden case of school spirit.

The bleacher shuddered as Marcus plopped down next to me. He handed me a hot cocoa. “Figured you could use this.”

I smiled gratefully. “Thanks!”

It had been only a few days since we’d successfully sent all the aliens back to their home planet, and I still felt a little pang when I thought about Vera. I hoped she and the younger Vegans were doing well back home. And I hoped Bob was in some sort of alien jail, charged with attempted intergalactic warfare.

When we’d left the observatory empty-handed, Jason feigned shock at our getting “caught” with fake aliens. Caleb was truly disappointed. He’d wanted to drive us to Runswick’s school and be a part of the best prank of all time. But, as predicted, Charlie had been treated like a hero for even thinking about such a cool prank. And, also as predicted, Runswick never retaliated. No one needed to know that they’d never started the prank war to begin with, and that those fake aliens were real.

We got our unnecessary revenge on the field.

With one second on the clock, our kicker sailed the ball through the yellow-posty things, and everyone jumped up and down screaming, so I knew we’d won. Now that I’d stopped playing Alien Invasion, I had extra time on my hands. Maybe I’d learn some football terms so I could understand what was going on in these games.

The three of us waited for Charlie outside the locker room. He came out, beaming from the team’s win (which he had no hand in, but whatever, go team).

“Thanks for coming!” he said, his face all red and sweaty.

Marcus patted him on the shoulder. “Awesome game.”

“Totally,” Willa said, flinging her hair in the way that she did when a cute guy was around.

It was really starting to seem like Willa liked Charlie. And I didn’t quite know how I felt about that. But, first things first. “Do you guys want to do something?” I asked.

“Sure!” Charlie said. “And, actually, I have an idea.”

“Hey, Willa!” Megan yelled as she and Chloe walked by. “We’re heading to the mall. Want to come?”

“I can’t,” Willa called back. “Let’s do something tomorrow, though!”

“Deal!” Chloe yelled.

I couldn’t stop myself from grinning ear to ear.

“What?” Willa rolled her eyes playfully. “You’re more exciting to hang with lately. It’s not a big deal.”

“What’s your idea?” Marcus asked Charlie.

Charlie said, “Let’s hop in my dad’s car. He’ll give us a ride.”

I had no idea what Charlie had in mind. His dad drove us through the center of town and to the outskirts where a few industrial and office buildings stood. But when he took a right into a large lot, and a familiar red-brick building came into view, I understood. I just didn’t know why.

Mr. Tepper put the car in park. “I’m going to head to the grocery store. I’ll pick you up when I’m done.”

The four of us got out of the car and walked toward the chain-link fence that surrounded the headquarters of Veratrum Games. We weren’t the only ones there either. A small group of kids and adults stood around, like they were waiting for something.

“Charlie,” I said with a tinge of anxiety. “Why are we here?”

His voice turned serious. “It’s the unveiling.”

“Oh!” Marcus said, excited. But then he added, sadly, “Oh.”

“Anyone want to fill me in?” Willa asked.

I explained, “Whenever Veratrum announces a new game online, they always announce it here in town a few hours earlier by unfurling a banner on their building.”

She pointed. “So that’s why that one’s being pulled off?”

We all looked. Sure enough, two men on the roof were pulling off the old Alien Invasion banner, which had replaced the previous Monsters Unleashed banner. I wondered what would be next. That old excitement started to bubble up inside me, but I shut it down. No matter how cool the game sounded, I could never play it. We could never trust a Veratrum game again.

“We all have to promise never to play it,” I said. “We’re just here to see what it is.”

But before anyone else could agree, Charlie shot to attention, his focus fixed on something in the employee lot. He raised an arm and slowly pointed. “Look.”

I followed his line of sight. Willa and Marcus must have found it at the same time as I did because they simultaneously gasped.

The Meleski Plumbing van that had been following us was in the Veratrum Games employee parking lot.

“Well,” Charlie said, “the good news is that a secret government agency hasn’t been following us.”

“The bad news is that my favorite video game company has,” I said, pretending to be calm.

Marcus shook his head in disbelief. “Since when do game developers stalk people in fake plumbing vans?”

Willa snorted. “Since when do video game monsters escape into the real world and real aliens teleport to Earth through an app?”

“Point taken,” Marcus said.

Charlie puffed out his chest. “Bex is right. We have to agree, no more messing around with Veratrum Games. Never play it. Never download it. Never open it. Not once.”

“Shall we make a pact?” Willa asked.

“Hands in,” I said.

We all held our arms out and placed our hands on top of one another’s. Then we each solemnly swore with the words, “I promise.”

I looked around at the four of us banding together and felt a warmth spread through my chest. We’d been through so much in such a short time. I felt like I could truly trust them. I had found my people.

“Hey,” Marcus said with a little smile. “I guess there is a Gamer Squad after all. It’s us.”

The small crowd of people leaning against the chain-link fence roared and clapped. They must have unfurled the new banner. I took a deep breath and turned around to see what the next game would be. The sign read:

Get ready for Veratrum’s newest
augmented reality game….

                                          

ZOMBIE TOWN

Charlie and I looked at each other uncertainly.

Gulp.