Read Online Omega City by Diana Peterfreund - Free Book Online

Maybe it was a wild goose chase. The only thing I knew for sure was that Fiona didn’t have the map.
    We did.

7
FAKE SCHOOL PROJECTS
    HOWARD WENT TO THE DOOR OF THE BEDROOM. “NATE!” HE CALLED.
    Savannah mouthed Nate at me.
    â€œCan I borrow your GPS?” He turned back to us. “My dad and brother have one for hunting trips.”
    Private Pizza—Nate—appeared at the door with a device that looked like a large cell phone in his hand. “What are you guys doing?”
    â€œSchool project,” Eric said.
    â€œA mapping project,” I clarified. “We, uh, need the GPS to get exact measurements.”
    Nate leaned against the doorjamb and looked at each of us in turn. “What are you guys mapping?”
    â€œPollution,” I said, at the exact same time as Eric said, “Bird migration.”
    Nate snorted.
    â€œWe’re making a scale model of the solar system based on a fifty-meter-diameter park in Reistertown,” Howard said.
    â€œOh,” said Nate, as if it suddenly all made sense. “That’s cool, bro.”
    Howard turned to Savannah. “You have that exact number?”
    â€œWhat number?” Savannah smoothed her hair down and giggled in Nate’s general direction.
    Howard groaned, then shoved past her to his computer. “I need the exact relative distance from the sun to Pluto—” While he furiously pressed the keys, Savannah pushed away from the desk.
    â€œGeez, chill out. It’s just a calculator.”
    I shook my head at her. Seconds ago, she’d been the one doing all the math.
    â€œSo, Nate,” she said with her most winning smile. “What grade are you in?”
    â€œEleventh,” he stated flatly.
    â€œCool.”
    Nate said nothing. Eric shot me a look, which I ignored.
    â€œOkay. 212,306.84 meters,” Howard announced.“That should be close enough to find the treasure. I’ll just make a line from the center of that park . . .” He picked up the GPS and started punching in coordinates.
    â€œWhat direction are you using?” Eric asked.
    Howard paused and looked up. “Huh?”
    â€œNorth, south, east . . .”
    â€œOh.” Howard lowered the machine. So he hadn’t thought of absolutely everything, even if he had the measurement down to the atom.
    I read from the riddle. “‘Follow the path I’ve laid for you, in the direction marked by the birth of ice.’”
    â€œThis doesn’t sound like a school project,” Nate observed.
    Howard shut the door in his brother’s face.
    â€œThat was rude!” cried Savannah.
    â€œShut up, Sav.” I didn’t have time for her crush right now. We were so close to solving this. “‘The birth of ice.’ That sounds cold, doesn’t it? Maybe it’s north.”
    â€œThere’s ice if you go far enough south, too,” said Howard. “Like the South Pole.”
    â€œDuh,” Savannah grumbled.
    â€œWell, two hundred and twelve kilometers doesn’t get us that far south,” I said.
    â€œ212,306.84 meters,” Howard said. “And it doesn’t go north all the way to the arctic circle, either.” He showed me the GPS. “Just most of the way through Pennsylvania.”
    â€œPlease don’t tell me we’re going to draw a two-hundred-kilometer radius around the park and search the whole orbit of our imaginary Pluto,” Eric begged.
    â€œ212,306.84 meters,” Howard repeated. “But I agree, that would be ridiculous.”
    â€œYeah,” said Savannah. “ That’s the part of this that’s ridiculous.”
    I sighed and looked down at the map. It was out there somewhere. All we had to do was figure out Underberg’s code. For those who trust me it shall not be difficult to reach safety, for you know my heart .
    No one knew Underberg like Dad did. No one trusted in the truth of his story more than us. Every