The Reality Bug Read Online Free

what they’ve got on Veelox. I’m not exaggerating. There’s no way I could give you a quick description beyond that. You’ll have to learn about it the way I did, a little at a time. Be patient. It’s worth it.
    But before we dive into the wonders of Veelox, I want to tell you what happened after I left you guys on Second Earth. Borrowing one of Spader’s phrases, I found myself in the middle of a tum-tigger.
    Again.
    Gunny and I were given a limo ride to the Bronx by the old gangster, Peter Nelson. We were headed for the abandoned subway station and the flume to the territories. Our ultimate destination was Veelox. Where Saint Dane goes, we go.
    Unfortunately.
    As we rode toward the Bronx, my head was in a strange place. It was because of what happened on First Earth. Simply put, I failed. On First Earth Saint Dane tried to prove I wasn’t worthy of being a Traveler, and that’s exactly what happened. It all came down to the moment when the airship Hindenburg was about to be destroyed. As horrible as that was, the Hindenburg was supposed to be destroyed. If history was changed, it would have been Armageddon for Earth. As I stood over the rocket that was about to shoot into the air and blow it up, I knew I had the future of all three Earth territories in my hands.
    And I choked. In that horrible moment, I couldn’t bear to let the innocent people in that zeppelin die. So I made a move to kick over the rocket, save the Hindenburg, save those people, and send the Earth territories spiraling toward doomsday.
    But Gunny held me back. He stopped me from making the worst mistake possible. The rocket took off and the Hindenburg exploded. Gunny saved the Earth territories. That was the way it was meant to be.
    Though the Travelers had beaten Saint Dane, Saint Dane had beaten me. Call it what you want: a moment of truth, a test, whatever. But I blew it. From that moment on I questioned whether or not I was up to this job. Heck, I’ve questioned it from day one, but my screwup on First Earth totally rocked me. I think Saint Dane expected me to shrivel up and crawl into a hole, never to bother him again in his quest to rule Halla. Believe me, I thought about it.
    But that wasn’t going to happen.
    My screwup on First Earth had the opposite effect. It got me mad. I wanted to prove to that monster I’m not the loser he thinks I am. Or maybe what I really wanted to do, was prove it to myself. Whatever. Bottom line was, for the first time since I left home to become a Traveler, I felt like I wanted the job. Seriously. I wanted to live up to the trust Uncle Press had in me. Saint Dane’s plan had backfired. Rather than making me go away, he fired me up. If he thinks I’m too weak for the job, that’s cool. That means he won’t see me coming.
    And I am definitely coming.
    After the limo dropped us off at the abandoned subway station, Gunny and I stood on the sidewalk, enjoying our last few moments of Second Earth sunlight. Gunny’s a great guy and I’m proud to call him my friend. There’s a lot of great things I can say about him, but probably the most important is that he was strong enough to take the heat for me on First Earth.
    But at that moment, standing on a Bronx sidewalk, he didn’t seem to be in any hurry to go Saint Dane hunting. He was a tall, African-American guy, about 6′4″, who looked pretty happy being there with his eyes closed and the sun on his face.
    â€œWhat’re you thinking?” I asked the Traveler from First Earth.
    Gunny opened his eyes and glanced around at the busy city intersection. It must have looked strange to him. After all, he was from 1937.
    â€œTell me, shorty,” he said. “Do you think the day will ever come when we can all go home and get back to normal?”
    I had been asking myself that same question from the minute I first left home with Uncle Press.
    â€œDon’t know,” I answered