Paraworld Zero (25 page)

    “Yeah, you two could be twin brothers.”

    They both laughed.

    “Of course! We look
so
much alike,” Thorn joked. “So we’re friends?”

    “Yeah… friends.”

    The little Pud smiled so widely that Simon could sense it across the
room.

    Despite the fact that his legs ached from all the strain he had put on them
during the day, Simon fell asleep surprisingly fast. The beautiful young woman from his dreams
appeared once more, but this time, she did not smile.

    “What’s wrong?” Simon asked.

    “The enemy has awakened. They draw near, even as we speak. Soon, all will be
destroyed.”

    “What can I do?”

    The mist around them grew violent, and a howling wind came out of nowhere.
The majestic beast the woman sat upon stood on its hind legs and panicked. Tossed back and forth
like a tiny boat swallowed up in the heart of a raging storm, the young woman was almost flung
from her companion’s back, but she held on tightly, nonetheless, with admirable strength and
perseverance. Finally, like a soothing breeze, she calmed the beast with a cool voice and then
continued her warning.

    

    

    Simon struggled to remember the cryptic riddle. “I don’t understand.”

    She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the sharp voice of Mrs.
Troodle. Simon opened his eyes to see Thorn’s mother yelling at Tonya. The irate woman bellowed,
“Don’t lie to me, Konya! The forest rangers reported that one of the suspects had long green
hair.
Hmm,
I wonder who that could be. There isn’t anyone else on this whole planet with green
hair!”

    Simon sat up, and Mrs. Troodle exclaimed, “Good! You’re awake. Simon, I want
you to tell me what you were doing in the forest yesterday.”

    Simon rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “Um,” he started. “I-I-I don’t know.”
He reached for his glasses and put them on. They stuck to his face like glue.

    “Come on. Tell me the truth,” she said.

    “We were just practicing for the dance.”

    “See, that’s what I told you!” Tonya shouted with glee.

    Mrs. Troodle sighed heavily and said under her breath, “I don’t even know why
they’re having this stupid dance in the first place.” Tonya smiled in an
I-told-you-so
sort of way. Mrs. Troodle looked Simon squarely in the eyes and asked, “What
else were you doing up there?”

    Simon didn’t want to lie, so he told the truth. “I was learning how to do
magic, and a couple of the spells got out of control. Sorry.”

    Mrs. Troodle rolled her eyes in disbelief. “Thornapple, I don’t know if
letting Simon and Konya stay with us was such a good idea. They’re obviously unstable.”

    “No, Mother,” Thorn told her swiftly, “Simon’s telling the truth. Konya was
teaching us how to cast spells.”

    Tonya’s smirk quickly disappeared. For the longest time, Mrs. Troodle just
stood there with a shocked expression on her face. Then, suddenly, she screamed, “
HONEY! GET IN HERE, RIGHT NOW!
”

    Dr. Troodle bounded into the bedroom. “Look what I just found in the
kitchen,” he said, holding a white plastic wrapper. “I think Har’s been getting into our food
again.”

    Simon blurted out, “No he hasn’t. I gave him some food that I bought at the
fight last night.”

    The Troodles gasped.

    Thorn’s mother closed her eyes and tried to regain her composure. She spoke
quietly but sternly, “You did what?”

    Simon lowered his eyes. “It was his birthday. I was just trying to make him
feel better.”

    “That’s it,” Mrs. Troodle proclaimed, her voice rising again. “I want both of
you out of my house, right now!”

    “Sweetie?” Dr. Troodle said, surprised.

    “You’re a bad influence on my son.”

    “But, Mom—”

    “Thornapple, just what am I supposed to tell the forest rangers when they
come knocking on our door?”

    “But it’s the anniversary of the Battle of Lisardious!”

    “Sweetie, he does have a point. Maybe they could stay just one more night.
The whole city is closed down for the celebration. There’s nowhere they can go today.”

    “All right, Honey,” she said in a strained voice. “Whatever you say. I guess
this celebration only happens every thousand years… but tomorrow, they’re gone!” At that, she
stormed out of the bedroom.

    “Dad, you’re not really going to let Mom kick Simon and Konya out of the
house, are you?”

    “She is pretty mad. We’ll see. I suggest you guys don’t hang around here
today. Why don’t you go to the fair while you still can. I have to go to the veterinarian. Har’s
having a bad reaction to his security collar.” He headed towards the bedroom door and mumbled, “I
hope I can find someone available to see him today.”

    “Oh, yeah! We don’t have school today. This is the first time I can ever
remember school being canceled. Seven days a week of school is too much, if you ask me.”

    “Yes, well, you better enjoy it while it lasts,” his father said, just before
leaving the room.

    The three teenagers got ready for the day and met outside.

    “You’re not bringing that along, are you?” Tonya chided, referring to Simon’s
hover chair.

    “My legs are really sore from all that walking I did yesterday.”

    “You’re just a baby,” she said. “I better not see you in that chair at the
dance tonight.”

    Simon wondered why she was so interested in the dance. He couldn’t imagine it
being very fun. The dance, after all, was sponsored by a bunch of intellectual snobs.

    As they neared the fairgrounds, they saw numerous little people running
around to get to the next attraction. The event was exactly what Simon expected it to be: a big
science fair.

    One popular game allowed people to compete against each other by solving
complex math problems. A problem would appear on a screen, and everyone would scribble
frantically on their pads to get the correct answer.

    At another location, a little Pud measured people’s brain activity with a
strange contraption. The machine flashed over each participant like an x-ray.

    “Ever wonder what capacity your brain is at?” the man sang over the busy
crowd. “Come now and find out what you’re really made of! How ’bout you, young man?”

    Simon glanced at the sign nearby. It mentioned something about not being held
responsible for irreversible damage. “No, thank you,” he said politely.

    They walked to a tiny booth covered with electronic gizmos and gadgets. The
salesman was showing some little kids the newest R6005-1 calculator—the most advanced model of
its kind.

    “Not only will it help you solve just about every equation you can think of…”
The man looked around suspiciously. “…But I can give you a software patch that will enable it to
snoop into your teacher’s databases for possible test questions.”

    “That’s a great idea, Salamoose. Why don’t you just teach them how to
pickpocket their parents while you’re at it.”

    “Oh, Mayor Gordon! I didn’t see you.”

    “Obviously.”

    The man who had just spoken wore a baseball cap with the image of an
exploding spaceship embroidered on it. His tee shirt had the words “
I Survived the Battle!
” written across the front.

    “Hello, Mayor,” Thorn said eagerly.

    “Hello to you,” he responded. “You’re a Troodle, aren’t you?”

    “Yes, I am.”

    “And you two must be our alien visitors. I’ve reviewed your biological scans.
Nice to meet you, finally. I’m the mayor of Highland City.”

    He shook their hands vigorously.

    Thorn introduced them. “This is Simon and this is Butbla—ah, I mean,
Konya.”

    “It’s Tonya. With a
T
,” she said.

    “Konya,” the mayor repeated. Tonya closed her eyes and shook her head. The
mayor continued, “Well, I assume you’re not Lisardians. Here, have a souvenir. I’ve won so many
prizes today I don’t know what to do with them all.”

    He handed them some pillowcases with pictures of green aliens on them.

    “I think they glow in the dark,” he said. “Well, I have to be off. You guys
should have a look at the archaeological exhibit. It’s very interesting.” He started to leave but
then turned back and said, “Salamoose, no more software patches. Understand?”

    “Yes, sir.”

    “Archaeological exhibit, huh?” Thorn mused. “Let’s go there next.”

    “That sounds boring,” Tonya said, wrinkling her nose. “Why don’t we play some
games instead?”

    “All right,” Thorn conceded. “I guess we do have all day to go to the
exhibit.”

    They walked over to a table where a woman was placing large puzzle pieces in
front of an old man. One after the other, she put the pieces down, but the man just couldn’t seem
to guess what the picture was.

    He kept saying, “Just one more piece.” And the woman would say in return,
“That’ll cost you another doongle.”

    “Some genius this guy is,” Tonya whispered to Simon. “It’s clearly a duck.”
Simon nodded in agreement.

    Only one piece remained, but the man was still clueless. “Can you give me a
hint?” he pleaded.

    “Sorry,” came the reply. “No more hints. You have to solve this one on your
own.”

    He clenched his fists and bit his lip. “I give up. What is it?”

    She put the last piece down, and it formed a yellow duckling. The crowd
around the table roared in surprise.

    “You cheated,” the old man said. “You left the most important piece ’til the
end.”

    “Sorry, sir, that’s just how the game is played.”

    Thorn shook his head and said, “This game’s too hard. Let’s find something
else to do.”

    “Are you kidding?” asked Simon. “A three-year-old could do this.”

    Thorn snorted. “If you think you’re so smart, why don’t you give it a
try?”

    “I would, but you’d have to lend me some money.”

    Overhearing his comment, the woman came to Simon’s rescue. “I’ll tell you
what, young man. The first one’s on me.”

    “Thank you. What are the rules?”

    “You have to guess what the picture is within five puzzle pieces or else
you’ll have to pay one doongle for each additional piece. Your prize is dependent on how many
pieces have been placed when you guess correctly. I haven’t had anyone win yet without paying for
extra pieces, but if you do win within the first five rounds, you can either collect a prize or
go double or nothing.”

    “That sounds easy.”

    The woman smiled in response. From under the table, she pulled out a large
puzzle piece and placed it on top of the red, glowing outline that appeared on the table.

    “It’s a chicken.”

    The woman opened her mouth in shock. “You won! I’ve never seen anyone win so
fast before.”

    Thorn laughed. “I can’t believe you did that! How did you know it was a
chicken?”

    Simon pointed to the puzzle piece and explained, “Those are chicken
feet.”

    “Okay, kid, double or nothing?” said the woman impatiently.

    “Sure.”

    She removed the piece and put another one on the table.

    “It’s a rattlesnake.”

    “Lucky guess! You did it again.”

    “Simon, are you using magic?” Thorn asked in disbelief.

    “Of course not. What other animal has a rattle on the end of its tail?”

    “Well, I know of a few.”

    The woman wrung her hands and shook her head. “Come on. Let’s go. Double or
nothing?”

    “Let’s do it again.”

    “Okay, this time, no more animals.” She put another puzzle piece on the
table.

    “Uh, it’s a piece of rubber.”

    “Ha! Wrong.”

    She put another piece down.

    “Wait a second. Thorn, remember that first night I ate at your house? Your
dad was eating a giant spider and you dropped that big worm on the table. What was that thing
called?”

    “That was a gilaworm.”

    “Gilaworm,” Simon told the woman.

    She gritted her teeth. “You’re correct—again.”

    “Hey, I thought you said you weren’t doing any more animals?” Tonya
boomed.

    The woman blushed. “Well, I was just trying to make the game more
interesting. Double or nothing, kid?”

    Simon continued to play the game while the crowd around him got larger and
larger. “How does he do it?” one of the Puds asked. “He must be superintelligent,” another person
answered.

    The puzzles went on and on.

    “A house.”

    “The moon.”

    “A tree.”

    “A pair of socks.”

    Simon was growing tired of the game, but everyone around him couldn’t seem to
get enough of it. The woman put down the fourth piece of the current puzzle.

    “Is it a castle?”

    “Nope!”

    The crowd moaned in disappointment as the woman placed the fifth puzzle piece
on the location the table indicated it should go.

    Thorn contemplated on the puzzle. “I can’t quite put my finger on it,” he
said.

    The crowd chanted, “
Si-mon—Si-mon—Si-mon.
”