"I'm sorry, viewer." "The TV show you're searching for cannot be streamed in your reality." "Please stand by for reconnection." "In the darkest depths of cyberspace, there is another world." "A lost dimension, home to wonders unseen, terrors unspeakable." "Stories unlike any ever told until now." "Do not click "Back."" "Do not reload." "We have reconnected to..." "Dimension 404." "Introducing Val Hernandez or, as she wants the world to know her," ""Speedrun."" "An impulsive young gamer with dreams of greatness, dreams, for the moment, that lie just out of reach." "The path to greatness usually takes hard work, and time." "But in Dimension 404, all Val needs is a sweet sip of Impulse 9." "You look all professional!" "Yeah, yeah." " Careful, it's..." " Hot!" "No, thank you." "Okay, you got your résumé?" "And you wrote down the address, right?" "I'm just gonna wander around until I find the place." "Look, I called in a big favor with your uncle Pedro to get you that interview." "Plus you haven't had a J-O-B in months." "Thanks for the update, Dad." "Gotta run." "Hey, Val?" "What?" "Slow down, kid." "When you get in there, just relax, ask lots of questions, and look 'em in the eye." "It's just some catering job, Dad." " I'm not running for Congress." " Hey." "It's not about what you do for a living..." "It's what you do while you're living." "Okay, go knock 'em dead." "And pick up Grandma from the doctor's when you're done." " Can't you do it?" " It's Tuesday," "I work 'til closing." "I love you." "Love you too." "Excuse me, ma'am," "I'm looking for a girl named Speedrun." "Gamer chick, sloppy hair, crappy clothes." "Hey." "So, what's with the get-up?" "Just some stupid job interview." "Don't you think maybe you should go to that?" "And miss the invitational?" "No, I'll just call in sick or something." "You get sick more than anyone I know." "First prize wins ten grand!" "I could move out and go pro." "Yeah, about that." "I guess you didn't hear the news?" " What?" " You-Know-Who is making a surprise entrance today." "No!" " Yup." " Come on!" "May the gaming gods have mercy on our worthless souls." "Killohertz is in the house!" "I pity the chumps that have to rumble with this legend in today's qualifying rounds." "Really?" "He's got nothing better to do than flex his nuts at some Podunk tournament in Chino?" "Yeah, what do you think he's gonna spend the $10,000 on, designer shoes or more fingerless gloves?" "Somebody should knock that stupid smug look off his dumb ugly face." "Val." " What?" " You don't have to win today, you just have to qualify, so keep it in your pants." "But I can take him!" "Babe, you're really good, but he's a legend for a reason." "Which means if I beat him..." " Val." " Players, prepare for combat!" "Play it smart." "He's a one man wrecking crew." "And I'm a one woman army." "No-no-no, that's not... th-that's not... that's not playing it smart!" "And with that, the players are readied up and it's time for the battle to begin." "Speedrun with an impressive triple there, putting her on the board." "Let's go, Speedrun, yeah, Speedrun!" "Crowd might be here for Killohertz but they're giving some love to Speedrun." "But here comes Killohertz with an incredible cross-map, nice, and he's taking a moment to high-five the fans." "The crowd is loving it and so is he." "He's taking his eyes off the screen..." "Boom, unbelievable." "A no-look execution;" "This man is unstoppable." "This match is not over yet but Speedrun is running out of time." "Speedrun and Killohertz running away from the pack." "These two are dominating." "The match comes down to these two, up-and-comer versus seasoned vet, and the score is tied at 24." "The next kill wins the game." "It's all over, what an upset!" "Speedrun has victory in her sights!" "Wha... wait, what is she doing?" "My God, she's gonna go for the glory kill." "She's seen Killohertz and she's gonna chase after him instead!" "Speedrun just had him in her sights." "She's rounding the corner, looking for the kill." "He's not there... my God, Killohertz reads Speedrun like a book." "What an ending!" "That is one for the highlight reel." "Another amazing match win for Killohertz." "This guy is great." "You had him!" "That's the match." "Moving on to the finals are Val Hernandez and Roy Torvald." "How the hell did he do that?" "Nobody is that good, nobody." "I know, it's almost like he's a one man wrecking crew or something." "Um, but... but congrats, babe, you made it to finals." "Come on." "You had an amazing game, babe." "Yeah, but it wasn't good enough, was it?" "He wrecked me today." "He'll wreck me tomorrow too." "Woo!" "Hey." "There she is." "GG, Speedrun." "I had you, man." "Of course you did." "Well, keep her warm for me, all right, son?" "Woo, this guy looks like he wants a selfie." "What a dick, right?" "You gotta get in here and crush that turd bucket tomorrow." "Smooches?" "You're a dork, Evan." "A sexy dork?" "That's more like it." "Okay, I'm gonna go grab my car." "Good game today." " Thanks." " Yeah." "Sucks you're gonna lose tomorrow." "Who the hell are you exactly?" "Your fairy godmother." "Here, hold this." "You know, you're pretty good, Speedrun." "Now you got guts but if you wanna win tomorrow, you're gonna need some help." "K..." "Ko-ji..." "Ko-ji-ma?" ""Ko-jee-ma."" "You know, you're right about Roy." "Nobody's that good." "All right, dude, what... what's your deal?" "What the hell is this?" "Call first, I got a lot goin' on." "How was the interview?" "Fine." "It was fine." "You wanna try that again?" "Pedro called." "You didn't even show up today." "I was feeling woozy." "I was gonna call in sick and..." "Grandma." "I almost lost my job today picking her up." "Now what the hell happened?" "There was a tournament today." "It was a big one, I..." "I couldn't just miss it." "I didn't win but I played amazing." "Well, congratulations." "I hope you had fun because tomorrow you're going down to your uncle's and you're gonna beg for an interview." "No, I can't, tomorrow's the finals." "Absolutely not." "Dad!" "This is my dream." "Is this about the money, because first prize is ten grand." "I mean, what does that stupid job pay anyway?" "It's not about the money, Val." "And you lied to me." "I trusted you and you completely let me down." "Look, I know you have dreams, mija." "I want you to achieve them." "But I also want you to be a good person." "I mean, do you think about anybody but yourself?" "Yeah, I do actually." "I think about you and I think about your crappy job and your crappy life and then I think," ""I want to do the opposite."" "Valerie, thin ice." "No wonder Mom left." "I'll tell you one thing, the fans cannot wait to see these two go toe-to-toe again tomorrow." "I said to call." "Come on, follow me." "Okay, I'm not quite sure why I'm here, but, you know, you said you could help, so..." "Play." "Why?" "Thanks?" "Okay." "Okay." " Game start." " _." "Game over." "Well, that sucked." "Try it with this." "An energy drink?" "Seriously?" "Yup." "Just a normal, ordinary, nothing special about it, energy drink." "Kanpai." "Good, you're back." "Wh... what happened?" "When you drink Impulse 9, you're stretching time." "The harder you stretch... the harder you snap back." "This time you lost about an hour." "It's like being blackout drunk, minus the drunk part." "Holy shit." "$500 a bottle, Speedrun." "That is... all my money." "Plus 6.50 for the ramen." "Wait, no, I can't." "I mean, it's wrong, it's cheating, isn't it?" "It's definitely cheating." "But is it wrong?" "Roy doesn't seem to think so." "Hey, bro, what's up?" "What's that, another case of Impulse for the match tomorrow?" "You got it." "Cash only, ATM's in the front." "Yeah, I'm still here." "Nope, nobody you know." "Welcome to the final round of the Chino Hills Field of Fire Regional Tournament." "In just a few moments we will crown one gamer the champion." "Don't worry, babe... there's plenty of me to go around." "Go, Speedrun." "Yeah, Speedrun." "Now Speedrun Hernandez is on fire." "She's having the game of her life but, unfortunately, it's just not enough to catch our leader, Torvald." "Damn, that guy is impossibly good." "What?" "!" "Speedrun!" "What the hell?" "Honey?" "We gotta get ready, come on." "Come on, I'll take her." "Mommy?" "What?" "!" "I can't..." "Good morning, Mom!" "Ew!" "Hey, are you okay?" "You're not pregnant again, are you?" "Out, I need out." "Wait... hey, Val, wait!" "Val!" "You forgot your gas mask, sweetie, here you go." "Come on, kids, it's time for school!" "_" "So I'll be scavenging the wastelands until four then I gotta chop wood for the bug roast." "You think you could pick up the kids before gate duty tonight?" " Val?" " Sure." "Look, Daddy, I found a neat rock!" "No, no, that's a poop, sweetie, put that back." "No, I want it!" "Tell you what, you give that to Mom, you can have it back after school, okay?" " Okay." " All right." "There you go, Mommy..." "Mommy?" "There we are." "Okay." "All right, kids." "Have a good day." "Hi, guys!" "Hi, now take your seats, go on." "Okay, what do you do when you see a Death Lizard?" "Run and hide!" "Shoot, I'm gonna be late." "Evan, I need to talk to you." "Okay, quick, what's up?" "Sheriff Val, did you hear?" " Sheriff?" " Jana's husband snapped back last night." " What?" " Yeah, right in the middle of hanky-panky..." "I mean, eight years of marriage just... woo, push, goodbye." " Unbelievable." " Can you believe it?" "Oy, get back here!" "Look." "Let's go, let's go." "Let's go, now!" "Sheriff, Sheriff, caught myself a no-good 'Pulser." "What's going on, who are you people?" "What... why is it the apocalypse?" "I'll tell you why it's the apocalypse." "It's because thoughtless slackers like you chugged too much Impulse and when you snapped back, the world went to shit, that's why." "I was..." "I was studying for finals." ""I was studying for fi..."" "That's what the president said when he snapped back with his finger on the button, you piece..." "Okay, walk it off." "What do you want from me?" "Can you dress a wound?" "Can you fix a generator?" "Can you fend off a Death Lizard?" "No." "Then we got no place for you here." "Ain't that right, Sheriff?" "Sheriff?" "You all right?" "Yeah." "Send him away." " Send me away?" " Let's go, pal, let's go!" "No, don't send me away!" "No, where are you taking me?" "!" "Where's my mom?" "!" "Did I pass chem?" "Anyway... hi." "What did you wanna tell me earlier?" "Nothing." "Are you okay, you seem a little off your game." "I..." "I think I'm a little sick." "You know, I think I might have a stomach ache." "Yeah, I feel ya." "I don't think I cooked those beetles all the way through last night." " Good luck out there." " What do I do with this?" "!" "God!" "Waste of a pointy stick if you ask me." "Have a good day, honey." "Smooches?" "Looks like we're in for some weather." "See you at home, I love you!" "My God." "My God, wake up, my God." "What do I know about babies?" "I don't know anything about babies." "You're not my baby." "You're not!" "You're my baby." "What is happening?" "What is happening, what is happening?" "Dad, I need Dad, I need Dad." "My God." "Dad?" "_" "You've got this, Val." "You're a bad-ass bitch." "I need you right now." "Keep it together." "Sheriff?" "Sheriff, let's go!" "Tick-tock, we're late for latrine duty." "Latrine duty?" "As in... scrubbing toilets." "Hey, if you can call 'em that." "But I'm... the sheriff?" "I'm the sheriff." "Yeah, and sanitation commissioner and a scavenger and a mom." "Hey, you got a lot going on, so shake a leg." "Or do I have to toss you out into the wasteland?" " I'm gonna go get ready." " All right, Sheriff." "Come on, let's go." " Couple minutes." " All right." "Bye." "Sheriff!" "Open up!" "How was your day, Mom?" "Fine." "It was fine." "Look, Mommy, I made this for you." "Great." "At least it's not a dog turd." "Hey, Mom, did you know the green thing in plants is this stuff called chlorophyll?" "Yup, I sure did..." "look, Mommy's really tired and she needs to get some sleep before her 5-hour guard duty, so if you two could just..." "pipe down, it'd be..." "Guess what, kids, it's..." " Game night!" " Game night!" "Play Field of Fire with us!" "No, you leave Mommy alone, she needs a nap." "She'll play with you next month, okay, buddy?" "Next month?" "I, could play one round." "I mean, for them." ""For them," right." "Be sure to grab some sleep before you gotta go on guard duty, okay?" "Yup, yup." "I'm off to the bug roast." " Have fun!" " Okay." "Bye, kids." "Go, Speedrun, go!" "Go, Speedrun, go!" "Not bad for an old lady?" "That was awesome, how are you so good?" "Mommy, can you teach me how to play like that?" "Hell yes I can." "Come here, take a seat." "Sit here." "Okay, first we gotta learn the basics." "Okay, that's it, th... that's it." " You got it, you got it." " Okay, you got it, you got it." "Wait-wait-wait, reload, reload, reload." " Come on, reload, yes!" " Val!" "Val?" " Thank God." " Shit!" "Okay, kids, I gotta go, all right, but keep practicing." "Okay." "Hey, hey." "Where have you been?" "I've been looking all over for you." " What's wrong?" " Come on." "It's Dan." "He was pounding on the gate and a Death Lizard came." "And you weren't there to let him in." "How could you?" "!" "It was game night." "No, Val, wait." "You still need to finish your shift." "Hi." "Hi." "Come to bed, hon, you got work in the morning." "I can't do this, Evan." "We toil and suffer all day and if we take an extra second for ourselves, a damn minute for a moment of peace, someone else might die?" "I mean... what the hell is the point?" "Why even bother?" "Val." "For 12 years, you have been an amazing wife, you're an incredible mother." "You are the most fearless and thoughtful, responsible person I know." "No I'm not." "Yeah." "Hey." "One mistake doesn't change all that." "Look, I could give you a speech about why we do what we do and why we work so hard but... it'd just be words right now." "You have to figure that out for yourself." "And I know that you will." "I love you." "Come to bed." "I'll be right there." "Babe?" "Honey?" ""Dear Evan..."" ""By the time you read this, I'll be gone."" ""It pains me to leave you and the kids, but..."" ""I've been living a lie."" ""I'm not the woman you married anymore."" ""I'm a 'Pulser."" ""You remember that FPS tournament where I beat Roy Torvald?"" ""That was last Tuesday."" ""I thought I could hide."" ""I thought I could hack it."" ""But after last night, it's clear to me"" ""why you send us 'Pulsers to the wastes to die."" ""There's just no place in civilized society"" ""for a teenage kid trapped in a grown-up's body,"" ""so I'm leaving."" ""Maybe I'll find another bottle of Impulse out there."" ""But whatever I find,"" ""whatever this crazy, mixed-up world has in store for me,"" ""I want you to know that I always..."" "Jesus Christ, Val." "It's hot." "So hot." "What was I thinking?" "No way." "Hey!" "Speedrun?" "Kojima?" "You look rough." "You look... exactly the same." "What the hell did you do?" "Well, solar panels keep this place going." "As for me, let's just say I have my ways." "So what brings you back to my neck of the woods?" "I... got kicked out of my suburb." "Well, that sucks." "Wait a minute... did you just snap back?" "Last week." "Damn, girl, how much did you do?" "You think this is funny?" "Your drink ruined my life!" "Yeah, we kinda ruined a lot of lives." " Yeah." " I know." "Um, I'll tell ya what, though." "I get a lot of 'Pulsers in here, okay?" "Some of them are old clients, some of 'em got it somewhere else, but I tell them all the same thing." "Now..." "I don't do refunds, but..." "I can give you store credit." "Are you insane?" "Dude, it sucks out there, man." "Life is hard and short and death is usually slow and painful." "Or... chug this bad boy, sidle up to your favorite game, and go out doing what you love." "And what happens when I snap back?" "That's best part." "You won't." "Unless you live to be, like, 103." "So what do you think?" "Do you have Field of Fire?" "This way." "Speedrun." "See you on the other side." "Look, Mommy, I made this for you." "At least it's not a dog turd." "I mean, do you think about anybody but yourself?" "No wonder Mom left." "You are the most fearless and thoughtful, responsible person I know." "I could give you a speech about why we do what we do and why we work so hard but... you have to figure that out for yourself." "And I know that you will." "What?" "Hello?" "Hello!" "Evan!" "Evan!" "Screw you, Val, get outta here!" "No, Evan, please, wait!" " I..." "I just wanna talk." " Bullshit, Val!" "You just know it sucks out there and now you want back in." "No, no, I did... it's not..." "I do want back in, I do, but it's not because it sucks out here." "Goodbye, Val!" "It's not about what we get for ourselves." "It's about what we give each other." "I wanna be that person... in that drawing." "I wanna be that." "You gotta understand, a week ago I was 19, I was kissing you at a tournament." "I..." "I'm new at this, okay?" "But I wanna make it work." "I'll..." "I'll..." "I'll..." "I'll scrub toilets," "I'll do guard duty," "I'll do double shifts." "I'll do whatever it takes to make it work." "But I can't do it alone." "Do you have any idea what it's like for 12 years of marriage to disappear in an instant?" "No." "I don't even know how you proposed." "Are you kidding?" "You proposed to me." "It was the best day of my life, Val." "We can start over." "Evan." "I mean... it's not like it's the end of the world." "The hell is that?" " Death Lizards!" " They're people?" "!" "No, Val, they're giant radioactive lizards." "Of course they're people." "Sound the alarm!" "I got the gate, go get the kids." "Come on, everybody, get the supplies, we gotta go!" " Where, where are we going?" " To the ravine." "But we can't go out there, it's hell outside." "Well, we have to." "Our deputy's dead and our sheriff is an Impulse junkie." "They're gonna knock down this gate and then they're gonna kill everybody who's left inside, so we have to go now." "But this is our home." "Not anymore." " Kids!" " Max!" " Go with your mom." " Sophia, come here." "Come with Mommy, it's okay, it's okay." "Be careful, stay... stay by the wall." "All right, stay with Mommy." "Stay with Mommy, it's okay, it's all right." "It's okay." " Come on, come on." " Sheriff, we can't outrun them, it's hopeless, we're all gonna die!" "That's not true, is it, Mommy?" "No, no, no, of course not." "You're with Mommy, it's okay, all right?" "Val!" "Come on, kids, come on." "Hey, you guys." "Guys." "Val!" "You have to listen to your dad, all right?" "Okay, promise me?" "Okay." "All right." " Go." " Let's go!" " Come on, Sophia." " Good girl, good girl." "Val?" "Head for the ravine, you'll be safe there." " What are you doing?" " My job." "I'll hold them off for as long as I can." "I'll send a flare when it's safe." "You don't have to do this." "I love you." "Go, go!" "Go!" "This is it?" "One lousy bitch?" "Roy?" "I was wondering what kind of idiot stands in the middle of town square like a wannabe bad-ass." "But duh!" "Speedrun." "Last chance, Roy." "You need to crawl back to whatever hole you came out of." "That's not how it works, Speedrun." "It works like this." "First we're gonna kill you... and then we're gonna eat you... and then we're gonna pay a little visit to that ravine over there where your family thinks they're hiding out and we're gonna kill them" "then we're gonna eat them too." "How many kids you got, Speedrun?" "Judging by that body it's gotta be more than one." "You're a monster." "What can I say, wasteland changed me." "Yeah, changed me too."