Read Willie's Redneck Time Machine for Free Online Page A

Maybe talking with friends.
    You get this crazy idea in your head as you watch the DJ.
    What if you requested a song? Your song, the one Korie and you always sing when you’re doing karaoke.
    You smile.
    Or . . . what if you introduced the teens of West Monroe High to one of the greatest dance crazes ever to hit YouTube?
    You know you have to find John Luke. But sometimes in life you also gotta have fun. Especially if you’ve actually landed back at your prom.

    Do you decide to be responsible and find John Luke? Go here .
    Do you decide to play your karaoke song? Go here .
    Do you introduce the students to one of the greatest dance crazes ever? Go here .

1863

    YOU DON’T STEP OUT of the machine at first. You wait, something you don’t always like to do. But from where you stand, squinting out of the duck-shaped opening in the door, you realize this thing you’re in   —the outhouse   —is resting in an open field. In the distance, you notice a group of men on horses. They’re dressed like Confederate soldiers.
    Maybe this is one of those places that does war reenactments.
    Regardless, you think they’ll start coming your way at any moment. But they don’t. They pass several hundred yards away as if they don’t see the machine.
    Maybe they don’t.
    Once they’re gone, you take a step out into the sunlight. As your eyes adjust, you hear the sound of a duck call   —theDuck Picker, to be exact. You realize it must be Jase since no one else can do that call so well.
    You turn toward it and see him riding a horse behind another Confederate soldier. This one’s wearing a fancier and darker uniform than the men who passed by earlier. His face looks tough under his cap, and his beard makes him seem like he’d be at home at Duck Commander.
    “I finally got him!” Jase yells.
    When he pulls up next to you, Jase is out of breath. He’s somehow wearing a Confederate soldier’s uniform too. But he still has his signature shades on.
    “How’d you get that?” you ask.
    “I’ve been here for a week. What took you so long?”
    You shrug and try to figure out how Jase could have been in the 1800s for that many days. “A week? What are you talking about?”
    “That machine   —the one you just traveled in. It’s a time machine. Didn’t you meet the big redheaded guy? Long hair and a beard?”
    You nod. “Yeah.”
    “He’s like the time travel guru. Didn’t really tell me how to work the thing, but he said you can’t actually die during time travel because things would get messed up, so yeah. You’ll just end up back at home, I guess. Nice to know.”
    “Uh-huh. Hey, is John Luke around here somewhere?”
    “Don’t think so, man. Haven’t seen him.”
    How are you going to find John Luke when he could be anywhere in time or space? “Where are we right now?”
    “This is Spotsylvania County in Virginia. It’s April 29, 1863.”
    “So let me get this right,” you say, staring at your brother on the horse. “You chose to go back to the Civil War?”
    “Absolutely.”
    “What kind of idiot gets to travel in time and goes back to the Civil War ? Do you want to die?”
    The Confederate soldier on horseback, who’s been watching you in silence all this time, clears his throat before interrupting. “I will not tolerate this any further!”
    He’s got a commanding voice with a deep Southern drawl. You know he’s gotta be someone important.
    “Go your own way and I will not follow you,” the man says.
    “Do you know who this is?” Jase asks you.
    You look at the face and swear you’ve seen this man before. He looks like someone you don’t want to mess with.
    “I keep tellin’ him I’m savin’ his life,” Jase says.
    Your brother hops off his horse and tries to help the soldier off too, but the guy doesn’t let him. He insists on dismounting on his own.
    “Tell him who you are,” Jase says to the man.
    The man has animated eyes that don’t fit with his sad, stern face. “My name is