Over the Edge by Gloria Skurzynski Read Free Book Online

scrambled eggs off his plastic tray and placed them symmetrically on the table, banana pointing north, yogurt positioned at ten o’clock next to the plate. Morgan, who hadn’t bothered to remove his plate from the tray, was already digging into his stack of pancakes drowned with syrup. For a skinny kid, he sure could put away the pancakes.
    Olivia sipped her coffee, then gave him a forced smile. “Morgan, I woke up last night thinking about something you said earlier. It was about the pellets and the shotguns. How do you know so much about this?”
    â€œI told you, my friend, Snipe. He’s the one who introduced me to Splatterfest II,” Morgan answered around a mouthful of pancake. “That game is serious eye candy, with the most fluid graphics in the world of CGI. It’s been around for a while, but in this new version the texture quality is better, the frame rate has been upped, and the integration between real-time polygons and CGI is awesome. I admit, you could maybe say the designers programmed elements from the entire RPG genre, but it still has plenty of new stuff, too.”
    Jack hadn’t a clue what all that meant, but he didn’t want to seem stupid in front of Morgan. “RPG?” he asked hesitantly. “Red, purple, green? I thought—uh—aren’t images made from RGB? Red, green, blue?”
    Morgan stopped chewing to give Jack a pitying look. “RPG means ‘role-playing game.’”
    â€œI knew that,” Jack said quickly.
    Olivia carefully set down her mug. “Back to my shotgun question; did you learn about pellets from this Splatterfest game?”
    â€œNah. Splatterfest’s all high-tech weaponry. I guess I learned the low-tech stuff from following the Predator Hunt. Snipe’s into that real big.”
    â€œPredator Hunt?”
    â€œYou haven’t heard of it? I thought you were an animal guru. The hunt is like Splatterfest, only the targets are real critters. Too grim for me, but Snipe’s a follower.”
    Olivia took a breath and released it between her teeth. “Morgan, I have a favor to ask,” she said. “I need you to contact your friend Spike.”
    â€œSnipe,” Morgan answered.
    â€œRight. Snipe. Could you reach Snipe for me? I’m trying to unravel the pellet mystery, specifically how they’re used in shotgun shells, but none of the park people hunt. Would Snipe discuss it, do you think?”
    â€œIf I tell him to.” Morgan dismissed the question with a wave of his hand. “What would be even better is getting you right on the hunt Web site. Snipe showed it to me. Start there.”
    â€œThank you, Morgan.”
    â€œNot a problem. I’d like to point out that no matter what people say, everyone eventually comes to the geeks. We rule.”
    Back at the motel, it took Morgan only a moment to tap into the Predator Hunt Web site, while Steven, Ashley, Olivia and Jack crowded around to watch.
    â€œHere it is,” Morgan announced, triumphant. The blue screen announced, in big, bold letters,
    ANNUAL VARMINT HUNT.
CASH-FOR-CARCASSES CONTEST.
KILL A BUNCH OF PREDATORS AND HELP WILDLIFE.
FIRST PRIZE $50,000.
    Beneath these words were pictures of a fox, a coyote, a bobcat, and a mountain lion.
    Next to the pictures of the animals was a list of points: 100 for killing a mountain lion; 50 for a bobcat; 25 for a coyote; and 10 for a fox. Printed instructions said hunters were supposed to shoot as many of these creatures as they could within a 24-hour period, then bring the dead animals to a checkpoint, where the bodies could be counted. The hunters’ scores would be verified, with prizes awarded to those with the highest scores.
    â€œI can’t believe this,” Olivia cried, turning bright red with anger. “This is not hunting—it’s murder! What kind of friends do you have, Morgan?”
    â€œTake it easy,” Steven told her.
    â€œYou say Snipe