New West Read Online Free Page A

magic, for fuck’s sake. It’s technology.”
    Ez gave him a measured look. “I know that. But if the old man has someone in there hunting us, you’ll know, right?”
    “I will. I have to be careful, Ez, or they’ll know I’m here too.”
    “Do what you gotta do, man.” Ez clapped him on the back before leading both their horses away.
    Jesse took his bag and wandered away from the bustle, from the lights, focusing on that weird little buzz promising connection. The stories were, before the earth broke apart into a million pieces, everyone was connected. No one had to search for spots. The world was a single, living piece of information.
    Then the quakes had started.
    He’d seen images on the Flow, of the first quakes. The coast went first, then the far East, just disappearing into the oceans. It hadn’t stopped there. He’d seen the remains of ancient roads, the black crags jutting up as if they were shattered mountains. The steel and glass buildings like jagged teeth.
    Crazy, how the world could change, just because of some cracks deep in the earth.
    He found a deep, wide fissure in the earth and the buzzing in his port got stronger, so he slipped in, searching for that echo, that promise. There were places, they said, where there were communities of Grounders, groups of them living together under the earth. They risked the aftershocks, the rains, to come together and—
    There.
    His eyes closed as a buzzing rang through his head, and he slipped his port in, brain searching for a way in. Yes. Tiny, but the connection was there, and as he followed it, the single bee turned into a swarm.
    Jesse sank to the dirt as he dived in, leaving the soreness and the dust and the people behind. Oh. Oh, better. Magic.
    He’d lied just a little when he told Ez it wasn’t magic, it was just technology. Not everyone could do this. Not everyone could dive in and find their way back. They lost dozens, every day, bodies left empty while their consciousness stayed inside. He’d never been that lost, but in the world they lived in, he could see how someone would just want to run away.
    This got into your nerves, into your blood and the very meat of a man. Jesse craved it, the wash of it in his soul. No amount of dancing with the tribes, no amount of peyote and pipe could give him this.
    The Flow was…oh, what was that?
    He saw something interesting and followed it, murmurings about cattle. About Denver. It was like a little rabbit hole with a psychedelic bunny.
    Oh, rabbits.
    Look at that.
    No. No getting distracted.
    No floating off. Floating off was bad. Especially with him having a job to do. Job. Ez. God, it was a buzzkill.
    When he thought of Ez, it was as if little fishes were nibbling around the edges of his mind. Shh. Shh. He relaxed, gathering the questers around him, trapping them. Then he started sorting through, seeing who was really poking.
    Most of them were people interested in cattle, but two, they were looking for land. They were looking for Ezrah.
    Damn. He pulled back, not wanting to give himself away. He couldn’t believe old man Chastain was using Grounders.
    He slipped into his body, unplugging reluctantly. He really wanted to stay plugged in, but he wouldn’t put Ez in more danger.
    Lord knew how much time had passed when he crawled out, heading to the fires that dotted the prairie. Jesse blinked, trying to reconcile the two worlds. Man, he’d been down awhile.
    He sat down, hard, his legs reminding him he was real, physical. Gracious. He hoped there were no snakes.
    Or big bugs.
    Coyotes.
    Ravenous night-dwelling desert chickens.
    “Are you gonna come eat?” He could suddenly smell a cigarette, and Ez loomed over him.
    “Uh-huh. You’re not a chicken.”
    “Nope.” Ez cocked his head to one side. “Bawk.”
    “Very nice.” He stared at Ez, but his legs were just noodles.
    “Gimme your hand.” Ezrah pulled him up, then slung him over one shoulder as if he weighed nothing.
    “Ez!” Shit, the man