The Rightful Heir (40 page)

“Oh, no! Please, no…please, no!” Malcolm whispered hopelessly.

The giant python mercilessly glided toward the Trojan Pig.

“MALCOLM, YOU TOLD ME EVERYTHING WOULD BE OKAY!!!”

The snake retracted her neck, zeroing in on her kill.
Hisssssssssssssssss
. WUH-CHOMP!!! Jonah felt a huge jolt as he was propelled to the other end of the barrel. He screamed for dear life. The barrel stuck halfway out of the monster's mouth. Malcolm fainted from the horrifying sight.

Jonah was pitched around violently as the snake repeatedly
jerked its head back to draw in and swallow the barrel. The pug's head kept hitting the sides—and then he hit something else. “Ouch!” A little red light came on, but he was too frightened to notice. The giant snake finally gulped down the whole barrel and swam through the water, away from the unconscious raccoon, and disappeared into the bushes.

“T
HERE HE IS!”
Squeak spotted Benjamin first. He stood at the front of the tunnel, bathed in blue light. The animals cheered and he felt overwhelmed. He saw his friends Clementine and Roscoe beside his throne, smiling at him, while the sound of applause filled his ears. It was the best feeling in the world and it was about to end.

He took a deep breath and walked forward. The crowd parted, creating a pathway to the pool and the throne behind it. Looking down at Mac, he thought about Pugsly. His little dog was the reason why not only Benjamin was there, but also Mac. He missed him so much at that moment. Then he thought about Jessica. He remembered the many times he'd watched her pick up the soon-to-be king and hold him in her arms while she laughed. He knew how much Jessica loved Mac—as much as he loved Pugsly. He stopped at the pool and turned to look over the enormous crowd.

“HAIL, KING BENJAMIN!” the animals shouted to honor him. He gulped and his red cheeks flooded with tears.

The old badger came to stand beside him. “We have been blessed with a king—a king unlike any we've ever had before!” Numerous faces nodded with tear-filled eyes. “Tonight, on the full moon, we will be changing crowns.” Benjamin looked at all the animals he had ruled. “Because of King Pugsly, we were given King Benjamin. And because of both of them, it is my honor to say we are given King Mac!”

Mac
sat up straight and puffed out his chest. Zeus smiled at the little dog's attempt to appear noble. The crowd cheered thunderously and Benjamin walked around the pool to the throne. A teary eyed pot-bellied pig and fainting goat still smiled at him. He knelt and hugged them for what felt like the last time. Then he turned to Mac.

The cheering grew louder as he again knelt, this time in front of Pugsly's son. “I believe this belongs to you.” Tears fell from his eyes as his left hand grabbed the black leather band around his right wrist and started to pull it down. It slipped off and he held it up for everyone to see. “Ooohs” and “aaaahs” came from the crowd as they gazed at the silver-blue tag that sparkled majestically in the light.

Benjamin again faced Mac. He leaned down to whisper in the rightful heir's ear. He wanted to say that Jessica was missing. Instead he said, “She's proud of you!”

Mac looked at the boy in wonder. For one short moment he remembered the human girl he loved more than any other creature in his life. He was stunned as Benjamin lifted the collar over his little head and rested it on his neck.

“Hail, King Mac!” Benjamin shouted as calmly as he could, but his voice cracked when he tried to hold in his sobs.

The animals shouted “HAIL, KING MAC!” but all Benjamin could hear were the loud sounds of barking, clucking, baahing, and so on—the sounds of animals that didn't talk. It was finally over. The kingdom had its rightful heir.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

J
ONAH FELT STALE,
warm air seeping into the barrel. Breathing, he could tell, would soon be more difficult. The barrel rolled over and over as it made its way along the behemoth's great body.

The snake felt full, at least fuller than it had after most of its meals. It was content to leave the spring and return to its lair.

Malcolm jumped up, as if waking from a bad dream. When he heard the crashing of bushes and leaves far away, he knew it had been real. “Jonah!” The raccoon ran as fast as he could toward the sounds of the forest submitting to the monster.

He was panting when he reached the eastern edge of Persly's Woods. Before him were millions of tiny, thin trees spaced just inches apart. He'd never seen trees like these. He heard the noise of them being trampled in the distance. “Which way did you go, you nasty worm?!” He angrily looked left and right, hoping to see a giant pathway. There wasn't one. It was hopeless. The snake was too far away. He fell on the ground and started to cry. Guilt had never stricken him this way before. He wanted Jonah back safely more than anything, but knew it wouldn't happen. “What have I done?!”

J
ONAH WAS NAUSEATED
from his ride down the snake's gullet, but finally its stomach muscles stopped twisting and the barrel stopped swirling around. He could still feel the bumps the giant snake's belly traveled over, from rocks or whatever. He had no clue where he was going and he couldn't see a thing. He was
lying on the red light of the walkie-talkie.

The snake covered a great distance across the rolling hills to the east of the millions of tiny trees that prevented Malcolm from giving chase. In the moonlight its large shadow moved with great speed, a helpless pug with one black foot still alive inside its belly. Finally, it disappeared inside a hill, from which the faint sounds of a young girl screaming for help could be heard.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

K
ING
M
AC SAT ON HIS THRONE
and watched, along with every teary eye in the cave, as Benjamin disappeared into the tunnel. The inhabitants of the kingdom were quiet, showing respect for the boy leaving them. The blue glow of the tunnel slowly faded.

Oh great! How am I gonna get out of here?
Benjamin felt his bare, collarless wrist. He heard the pitter patter of tiny feet behind him. The bob-tailed field mouse ran past and climbed the wall, causing the sticks to pop up so he could exit.