A New Project Carter kicked the small rocks scattered along the bank of Miller’s Cove He spotted one glossy black one and scooped it up He grinned It was perfect smooth and flat Watch this Matt called as he skipped a rock across the top of the water One two three skips then the rock sunk Let’s see you beat that Carter stepped up beside Matt eyed the surface of the water and then threw the small flat rock One two three four Who’s the man Good one his best friend admitted but we’re not done yet You’re dreaming Carter said Then the opening bars of the theme song for Star Trek 4
rang out from his pocket Hold on Text He pulled the cell phone out of his pocket and took a few steps away from the edge of the water So far this phone had lasted six months which was a personal record for him He didn’t want to press his luck so close to the dark waters of the cove He flipped the phone open and read the brief text All right What Matt said Is it your uncle Is his virtual reality rig going to be in town again this weekend Carter shook his head No Uncle Dan wants me to help with his new project It’s been a big secret Then he held up his cell Until now Matt’s face fell slightly I would love to try out that VR suit again That was the coolest thing ever I could smell the dusty crypt in Dracula and feel creepy cobwebs on my skin I swear I felt a bat wing on the side of my face Carter grinned I haven’t been in Dracula but I remember the sea spray in Treasure Island 5
The poke from d’Artagnan’s sword in The Three Musketeers was painful And the creepy zombie hands in Great Expectations were actually kind of cool Great Expectations has zombies Matt asked Probably not Carter admitted When I was in there it had been hacked I think the crazy lady with the spider cake really is in it though Maybe I’ll read it sometime Matt said Carter doubted that considering Matt’s view on reading was a lot like Carter’s used to be After spending almost a whole day running from bad guys in the virtual reality story Carter had gone to the library to find a real copy of Great Expectations It was so thick He’d gone home with War of the Worlds instead Matt’s voice pulled him back to the moment I can’t believe you kept that VR stuff secret for so long Carter shrugged You know how Uncle Dan 6
is At least now I know why you lugged weird books around Matt said I thought you were turning into your cousin for a while Carter gave his friend a playful shove since he wasn’t sure he wanted to admit he was still reading those weird books Comparing me to Isabelle Are you trying to get slugged Hey if the nerd fits Matt said laughing Carter laughed weakly I still wish you could have told me about the suits Matt said wistfully Or let me help You know if I ever talked about any of Uncle Dan’s secret projects I would never get to help him again Carter reminded him I understand Matt said You are the luckiest guy I know I can’t believe you’ve gotten to use the suits so many times Well remember Carter said some of that time the program was all messed up by that computer hacker I was grabbed by zombie hands coming out of a grave I’ve been rained 7
