Read Online Dark Realm, The by Anthea Sharp - Free Book Online Page A

Complete with Full-D.”
    Tam’s feet stopped moving. He was dimly aware of other sim systems in the room, a bank of screens against the far wall, but all he could do was blink at the simulator right in front of him. Wait - the two simulators.
    The helmets gleamed silver. The chairs were wide and comfortable, upholstered in something that was probably real leather. The gloves were studded with LEDs that shone like jewels.
    “Yeah.” The word escaped from between his lips.
    “So.” Jennet’s voice dropped to a whisper and she pushed at the plush carpet with one foot. “Don’t tell anybody about this, okay?”
    He pulled his gaze from the sim-systems, trying to ignore the stab of hurt lancing through him. Of course she wouldn’t want people to know that he’d been invited over. Trash from the Exe sullying her perfect house.
    “What, that I came to your house?” The words left a sour taste in his mouth. “I hadn’t planned on it.”
    “No, no. I mean, don’t tell anybody about the Full-D system. Nobody except corporate is supposed to see it. And…” she stepped closer to him, “ nobody is supposed to know about Feyland. Not even me. All right?”
    Her blue eyes stared into his, pleading, and his heartbeat was suddenly louder in his ears. “I won’t tell.”
    “Not even Marny.”
    “Ok. She’s not interested in simming anyway.”
    Jennet nodded and the urgency in her eyes faded. “Then come take a look.”
    Tam stepped up to the systems. He slid his fingers over the top of one helmet, the plas-metal cool and smooth under his touch. Excitement began shooting through his nerves like crazy firecrackers. He hoped Jennet couldn’t tell how sparked he was.
    The Full-D system. Here, real, and within his reach.
    “See this?” She flipped a switch beside the systems, and a low buzz filled the air.
    “What is it?”
    “The scrambler. To make sure no corporate spies - or hackbots - can tell what’s going on in here.”
    “That’s…” totally insane. But apparently not, since here it was.
    Tam picked up one of the gloves. It felt heavy and expensive in his hand. He could hardly wait to see what the game was like. Feyland. The syllables rolled silently down his tongue.
    “Miss Jennet?” There was a knock, and then the door to the hallway swung open to reveal a dark-haired woman in a suit. She was holding a tray of food. “I brought you some sandwiches.”
    “Oh, hi, Marie. Thanks,” Jennet said, her voice pitched higher than usual. She gave Tam a look he couldn’t decipher.
    He put the glove down, and silence settled awkwardly in the spaces between them as Marie put the tray on a nearby table.
    She turned and raised her eyebrows at Jennet. “You have brought home a guest?”
    “Um, yes,” Jennet said. “This is Tam. From school. He likes to game, so I thought I’d give him a peek at the Full-D.”
    The woman pinned Tam with her gaze. She looked down at his battered boots, then back up, taking in every rip and fray in his secondhand clothing. The suspicion in her eyes only deepened, like she expected him to pull a tab of spray out of his back pocket and start tagging the nearest wall.
    “I see.” Her voice was clipped, with an accent he couldn’t identify. “If he is going to be a regular visitor, we’ll need to run a thorough security clearance.”
    Jennet turned wide eyes to him, as if she feared he had a criminal record just waiting to be discovered. “Oh! Well, I’m sure—”
    “No problem.” Tam stepped forward. “Do you need fingerprints or something?”
    He knew he was clean. Taking care of Mom and the Bug didn’t leave much time for getting wild, even if he leaned that way. And yeah, he’d broken the law before, out of necessity - but in the Exe the rules didn’t matter. Only survival. And not getting caught. He was good at both.
    The house manager flicked her gaze up to his face. “That would be best. Fingerprints.”
    “How about later,” Jennet said, with a too-bright