Paraworld Zero (37 page)

    

    “
No!
” Tonya screamed. Tears streamed down her face, and the green in her hair changed to a
murky-blue color. Little Har held her back from running to Simon’s aid.

    While the lizards were occupied, Grog picked up Harr and carried him to
safety. He looked back to see all fifty lizards dog piling on top of Simon in what appeared to be
an unrestrained feeding frenzy.

    Everyone raced across the lawn to the entrance of the towering library. Just
as the massive doors began to shut behind them, Tonya cried out, “
Wait!
”

    A blue light emanated from the pile of lizards. Although a few of the
reptiles limped around on burnt stubs, most of them lay dead. From within the smoldering heap of
carcasses appeared Simon… floating in the air. He was curled up in the fetal position with his
eyes still closed and his fist still grasping his mother’s medallion. Pastel light filled the
general area around him, and plumes of thick smoke billowed from below.

    Tonya felt Little Har’s warm hand on her shoulder. “Si-moan will save us,”
the large boy reassured her.

    The smoke parted on both sides of the young wizard as his frail body drifted
from the pile of dead lizards. Simon opened his eyes as his feet gently touched the ground. He
was alive!

    The aura around him faded away, revealing his unscathed condition to
everyone. Shocked at what had just happened, Simon looked around at the lifeless dragunos. He
then noticed the second wave of lizards racing towards him.

    Not wanting to tempt fate, Simon turned and ran as fast as he could. He soon
heard the cackling of the dragunos behind him, but he didn’t bother to look back. As he neared
the library, he could see Thornapple and Tonya cheering him on.

    Simon leapt through the open doors just before Grog slammed them shut.
THUD! THUD!
The dragunos crashed against the heavy doors in pursuit of their prey. Simon
bent over, out of breath. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. He sat down and tried to
rest.

    “Simon!” Tonya cried, hugging him. “That was so close. I thought I lost
you.”

    Simon looked up to see streaks of white running through Tonya’s beautiful
hair. He held onto one lock of white hair and delicately ran it through his fingers. The long
strands turned auburn.

    “I don’t know what happened back there,” he said, still trying to catch his
breath, “but it wasn’t me.” He looked over at Thorn’s smiling face and continued, “I thought the
dragunos got you guys for sure. You mean so much to me. I can’t imagine losing you.”

    Just then, the lock of hair in his hand turned bright red.

    “Simon, where have you been!” Tonya reacted abruptly. She stood up as though
the tender moment they were sharing had never happened. “You left me alone at the dance.”

    “Yeah, Simon,” Thornapple chimed in, “where’d you go? One second we were
looking at books and the next second you were gone.”

    The young man stood up and realized that everyone in the dimly lit room was
staring at him. “Yeah, my boy,” Mayor Gordon said, walking up to join the conversation. “We were
going to give you first prize for the dance contest, but we couldn’t find you. We had to give it
to Dr. Troodle’s son instead.”

    Thornapple blushed as Gwin winked at him from across the room… At least,
Thorn was pretty sure it was him she was winking at.

    The nonstop pounding on the doors made Simon uneasy. He looked over at Harr,
who was resting against a wall. Grog attended to the man’s wounds with some herbs, while Little
Har offered him comfort. The remaining tribe members stood apart from the crowd.

    “I found out how to destroy the dragunos,” Simon said, trying to sound
confident and authoritative.

    “I think we have a nastier problem on our hands than a bunch of overgrown
lizards,” announced Dr. Troodle. “What are we going to do with these big Puds?”

    “I’m feeling nauseous just looking at them,” his wife added.

    Several other women agreed. Soon, just about every little Pud was complaining
about the presence of the larger Puds.

    “Maybe we should send them out to the dragunos as a peace offering,” a man
joked.

    “Or better yet,” said another, “let them fight the dragunos for us. Fifty
doongles say that the big one will be the last giant standing.”

    Grog grunted at the remark.

    Tonya opened her mouth to defend the big Puds when Simon intervened. “Stop
it! Don’t you know your two races were equals at one time?”

    The small Puds gasped as if they had just heard something utterly profane.
Shaking her head, Mrs. Troodle put her hand to her mouth and closed her eyes.

    Simon continued. “If it weren’t for Har and his family, I wouldn’t even be
alive. The least you could do is let them stay.”

    “Har!” Dr. Troodle exclaimed. “I didn’t even recognize you.” The doctor
strutted over to the larger Puds. “You people all look the same to me.” He took a quick glance at
Har’s father and said apathetically, “Doesn’t look life threatening.” He pressed on Harr’s chest,
which caused the giant to wince in pain, and gave a quick prognosis. “Broken rib… a few cuts…
You’ll be strong enough to work in the mines in no time.”

    The small Puds laughed at his pathetic joke. Dr. Troodle smirked at the
injured man and turned to walk away. Without warning, Little Har grabbed the doctor and raised
him off the ground. A vengeful expression appeared on the young Pud’s face as he squeezed the air
out of his master. This was his opportunity to make up for all the times he ever wanted to lash
out at the Troodles for mistreating him.

    At that moment, Nurse Salfree smashed a chair against Little Har’s back,
causing the enraged boy to drop his captive. A horrendous brawl ensued among the Puds, while at
the same time, the dragunos continued to batter the outside doors.

    “Stop it!” yelled Simon and Tonya.

    But the fighting continued—the smaller Puds trying to trample down the larger
Puds and the larger Puds retaliating against the smaller Puds. Even Mrs. Troodle got into the
action.

    Although outnumbered, the big Puds tossed the little people off themselves
like rag dolls, but the tiny people just kept coming.

    Suddenly, a bolt of fire sprang upwards. Everyone stopped. Light inundated
the multi-tiered building as the flames brushed against the vaulted ceiling dozens of stories
up.

    “
Eenwahs,
” Simon whispered. The fire vanished immediately.

    Everyone froze with gaping mouths and open eyes directed towards the young
wizard who stood before them.

    “Listen to me,” Simon growled. “You’re just like a bunch of ants fighting
over a lousy leaf. While all the while you don’t even see the car about to run you over. Do you
not understand that there are
millions
of dragunos ready to wipe out all civilization on this planet?”

    Many of the small Puds rolled their eyes, but they didn’t dare to
argue.

    “The Lisardians were not aliens. They were giant lizards—the same kind that
are trying to get in here. Your ancestors built a great machine to destroy them, but something
went wrong.”

    Simon put his hand in his pocket and pulled out the shard of metal. Holo-649
appeared in his palm.

    “Has it begun, Master Simon?” she asked.

    “Yes.”

    “Then you must turn on the machine or else all is lost.”

    “First I need to know what happened a thousand years ago. I need to know why
the machine never got turned on in the first place.” Simon faced the crowd. “I want everyone to
hear the true story of how the Battle of Lisardious was lost.”

    Holo noticed the crowd around her. “Oh, hello!” she said with a smile. “Let
me see… where to begin?”

    “Si-moan,” Little Har said hesitantly, “Har no understand.”

    “Well, at least we agree on something,” Dr. Troodle said. “Simon, your
friend’s not even speaking Pudo.”

    “Master Simon, I’m afraid I didn’t understand what that man just said,” Holo
informed him. “It appears as though the Pudo language has become corrupted over the
centuries.”

    “Then I’ll interpret for them,” Simon said. “Show us what you were going to
show me in the cave before we got interrupted.”

    The shard of metal projected a scene high enough for everyone to see. This
time, the hologram was much larger than before. The three-dimensional representation showed
millions of dragunos emerging from the ocean.

    “The Battle of the Dragunos,” Simon translated for them.

    The scene then showed the magnificent city, which was even grander and larger
than the current Highland City. Simon repeated the words from Holo’s lively narration.

    “At one time, the larger Puds were the dominant force on the planet because
they were well endowed with magic and physically stronger than the smaller Puds.”

    “That’s ludicrous!” Dr. Troodle said.

    Mayor Gordon broke in, “
Shhh!
I want to hear this.”

    Simon continued as the scene changed to show the inside of the mountain. “But
on the eve of battle, the two races joined forces to build a magnificent weapon that would save
the planet and stop the vicious cycle of draguno destruction. Project Purification was envisioned
by General Banton, set in motion by the president, and even endorsed by the High King himself.
Its purpose was to eradicate the planet of all dragunos.”

    The projection showed the gigantic machine from different angles and then
zoomed in to eavesdrop on an intense conversation taking place at the base of the machine.

    Simon listened in on their conversation but didn’t translate because they
were talking too fast.

    
“We have to turn it on immediately,” the president said quickly.

    
“No,” General Banton argued. The small Pud held the little red book in his hand as though it
were a delicate baby. “The generator doesn’t have enough power yet. Your people have been too
greedy. If you would have enforced the restrictions on magical uses more severely, we wouldn’t be
in this predicament.”

    
“General, our people are being slaughtered as we speak!”

    
“We have to think about our posterity,” the little man shot back. “If we don’t purify this
entire planet, then generations from now our progenitors will face this same problem.”

    Mayor Gordon interrupted, “Simon, what are they saying!”

    Simon quickly explained, “They’re fighting over whether or not they should
turn on the machine. The little Pud is General Banton. He says they have to wait until the
machine has enough power.”

    The projection showed the king walking up to them. “That’s King Pentagola,”
Simon noted.

    “The same king from the comic strip?” asked Thorn.

    “Yep.”

    “But he looks more like you and Tonya than a Pud.”

    “He’s not from Pudo. He’s from another—” Simon stopped himself because he
didn’t want to miss what was being said. “I’ll explain later.”

    
“What is the meaning of this?” the king roared. “Why haven’t you turned on the
machine?”

    
“General Banton says the generator hasn’t stored up enough power yet.”

    
“What?” The king closed his eyes and raised his hand as if he were touching something
invisible. “I sense deception in the room. General Banton, as High King of the known paraverse, I
evoke my general authority and release you of your command.”

    
“But, my king!” the little man sputtered.

    
“Your military responsibilities have clouded your judgment. I’m not willing to sacrifice
millions of lives just so we can make sure every single draguno is destroyed.”

    Simon translated briefly, “The general just got fired.”

    
King Pentagola grabbed the little red book from the general’s hands and ran to the machine.
The camera zoomed in to show the king sticking the key into a spot on the main control panel. It
looked like he was about to turn the book, but, instead, the most peculiar expression appeared on
his face. The viewpoint of the camera then panned out to show that General Banton had just
stabbed the king in the back with a knife.

    
“Looks like you’re the one with the clouded judgment,” the general snickered. “You don’t
realize how serious the situation really is.”

    
“You fool,” the king gasped as he stumbled away from the control panel and fell to the
ground.

    
He left a trail of blood on the marble floor as he attempted to crawl away. Suddenly, a group
of tiny soldiers rushed into the room with their weapons pointed towards the larger
Puds.

    
The president uttered a spell but nothing happened because of the lack of E.M. waves in the
cavern.
“How could you do this?” he exclaimed. “What about our people?”

    
“Mr. President…” the general said coldly. A tiny soldier slapped the large Pud on the back of
his legs, causing him to kneel down. General Banton walked up close to the president, stared him
in the face, and said quietly, “Project Purification was not meant to purify the world of
lizards… It was meant to purify the world of you and your kind.”

    
Before the president could respond, two small Puds snapped a security collar around his
neck.

    
“You can’t…” The president’s speech became slow and awkward. “You… Um… You can’t…” He couldn’t
seem to finish the sentence.