Paraworld Zero (30 page)

    “I guess this is more important.” The little Pud sighed. “And to think… It
took the near destruction of the entire planet to finally convince the city council to sponsor a
dance… and I’m going to miss it.”

    “Cheer up,” Simon encouraged. “I’m sure there’ll be other dances.”

    “Yeah, like in another thousand years.” The little Pud’s voice became even
more depressed. “That is, if anyone survives… How could we be so dumb?”

    Never did Simon think he would ever hear a smaller Pud call his own race
dumb
, but before he could answer, Thorn spoke again.

    “Simon, there’s a beautiful girl just outside of this building who is waiting
to dance with me, and even though I’d really like to be with her right now, I can’t help thinking
that a bunch of lizards are on their way to kill everyone. My ancestors said they were confident
they’d defeat the dragunos, but even though they were prepared, they still lost. So how can we
possibly protect ourselves when our scientists are looking up in the sky for aliens while right
under their noses the real enemy is preparing to destroy us?”

    “That’s what we have to find out,” Simon exclaimed. “We have to find out what
happened a thousand years ago. Why did your ancestors lose the battle?”

    “You’re right,” Thorn said, taking courage. “Let’s find the next volume of
this history book.”

    “Good idea. You start on that side of the vault, and I’ll start on this side.
Just look for these words.”

    Thorn memorized a few of the strange words on the cover of the history book
and then vanished through the blue mist to the other side of the room.

    Simon proceeded to rummage through his portion of the vault. As he searched
through the old books, his mask did strange things. It was clearly evident that the functions of
the mask included more than the ability to filter out the blue preservation fumes.

    Simon soon discovered he could pinpoint a book high on a shelf and signal his
mask to shoot out rays of light that would scan the book and pull out a holographic
representation of it. Because no one actually had to physically handle the books, this was
another way the Puds were able to preserve them for so long while still being able to study and
translate them.

    With the twitch of his eyes, he could move the hologram around and even flip
through the pages. Simon wished he had a mask like this back on Earth; because of his short
stature, there were many times he couldn’t reach the higher bookshelves at the school
library.

    After a while, Simon got a kink in his neck. He sat on a stone bench that was
carved right into the wall and relaxed. He tried to look through the dense fog, but the mask
couldn’t penetrate far enough to allow him to see the other side of the room.

    “Any luck, Thorn?” he called out into the blue air.

    “Not yet. But I do have to say that these masks are pretty cool.”

    “Yeah, I agree.”

    “I wonder if you could see through clothing with these.”

    “Don’t get any ideas.”

    “Oh, I know. I was just wondering.”

    Simon couldn’t help but smile because of the obvious embarrassment in Thorn’s
voice. He sat, musing on the idea of being able to see through clothing, when, all of a sudden,
something caught his eye: a tiny red book lodged between two enormous ones. It just seemed out of
place—like a hummingbird trying to make its home in an eagle’s nest.

    He attempted to scan the cover with his mask, but the rays of light couldn’t
seem to reproduce the tiny book. Maybe it wasn’t really a book at all. Simon extended his hand
and manually pried the book out of the bookcase.

    An insignia protruded from the front cover. Simon tried to open the little
red book, but it was sealed tight. He flipped it over and read the back cover. “
The key to the machine that will save us all.
”

    Deep in thought, Simon tapped the armrest of the bench, contemplating the
strange insignia on the cover.
What machine?
he thought.

    Simon stared blindly into space. He played with the engravings in the
armrest. Using his forefinger, he followed the strange grooves until they were swallowed up into
a shallow hole. He was just about to put the book back when he looked down at the cavity in the
armrest. At first, he thought the round hole was some sort of cup holder, but then he realized it
looked exactly like the emblem on the little red book, only concave.

    A surge of excitement ran through his body. Had he just discovered a clue to
the mystery of the ancient Puds? He pressed the book onto the armrest until he heard a click. The
insignia snapped into place perfectly. Looking around and feeling anxious, he turned the book
until he heard another click, but nothing else happened.

    Suddenly, the seat he was sitting on—as well as a section of the wall—fell
backwards, throwing Simon onto the ground in the process. Shocked at what had just happened, the
boy picked himself off the cold earthen floor and tried to regain his composure.

    It didn’t take long for Simon to realize he was no longer in the library. A
shroud of darkness prevented him from seeing anything at all. The settings of the mask must have
been adjusted when he fell.

    Simon blinked, and his vision changed. Everything remained black as night,
but now he could see the outlines of blue formations floating in the dark, musty air. As he moved
towards the faint images, he walked into something cold and hard. He put his hands up to feel the
invisible wall but then got the shock of his life. Instead of seeing his hands, Simon saw the
faint blue outline of his bones! The mask had given him x-ray vision, and the blue images he had
seen floating in the air must have been the skeletal remains of something embedded in the
wall.

    Simon stared at his arms and marveled at the many bones in his wrists. He
looked down at his legs and spotted the place where they had been torn off from his car accident.
He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

    “Well, Thorn,” he said aloud, “I guess these masks
can
see through clothing.”

    Simon blinked, and his eyesight changed again. Although his x-ray vision was
gone, he could now see shimmers of pastel light reflecting off of everything. As he moved his
hands, they left a trail of yellow behind—like what a sparkler does when someone waves it in the
air.

    Simon looked closer at his surroundings and realized for the first time that
he was in a cave. Overwhelmed, he took a step forward and tripped on something: the little red
book.

    When he picked it up, the walls came alive with a greenish-gold color. Simon
moved the book closer to the cave wall, and, like magic, strange writing appeared on the rocky
surface. The ancient characters morphed into English for the boy to read. “
Inside the heart of the volcano, we will purge this world of the dragunos.
”

    Simon moved his head, and the optical settings of the mask changed the way he
viewed his surroundings once more. As he made his way down the tunnel, he saw the heat signatures
of the cave—mostly blue and white images with small trickles of red and yellow.

    Simon blinked, and his infrared vision changed to some sort of sound wave
vision. The ceiling reverberated slightly, and as he walked through some puddles, his footsteps
became whirlwinds of inaudible sound that bounced off the walls and collided into each other.
Simon began to feel nauseous as he watched the sound waves—or at least, the visible
representation of the sound waves—move about the cave.

    Frustrated with the malfunctioning mask, Simon closed his eyes, but when he
opened them again, he saw absolutely nothing. Even the ancient words which had illuminated from
the walls had vanished. Darkness—complete and utter darkness: It was something Simon did not like
one bit, especially because he had no idea where he was.

    He blinked one last time.

    A pounding
flash
shocked his nervous system as the darkness transposed itself into a radiant white
light—a contrast so drastic and sudden that it blinded him. He covered the telescopic eyepieces
with his hands, but it did not help. Even when he closed his eyes, he could still see the
pure-white images of stalagmites and stalactites growing from the floor and ceiling of the
cave.

    Dazed, the boy stumbled forward and smashed his head into a jagged rock
formation. He crumpled to the ground. The white images—now burned into his retina—faded into
black as Simon drifted out of consciousness and into a deep sleep.

Chapter 19
    

    

    The snow-encrusted planet could hardly sustain life. A blanket of stormy
weather stretched its cold fingers into every crevice of the barren land. Emerging from the harsh
elements, a towering castle broke through the thick ice and held strong against the raging wind
that bit the sky. A white and lonely speck in the paraverse, this parallel world was home to Lord
Theobolt Vaylen, Guardian of the Crown.

    “Shut it down!”

    “But the master said—”

    “Do you want the master to die, Merworth?”

    “But, Commander Wright—”

    “I’m in charge here, and I say shut it down!”

    Cowering in obedience, Merworth pulled a lever, which caused the E.M. machine
to shake violently in response. The deafening noise gradually decreased as the power to the
machine slowly drained away. Everyone stared in anticipation as the display lights died out one
by one. Like a wounded beast giving in to submission, the machine finally relaxed and then turned
off completely.

    The room became deathly silent.

    “Master Vaylen?” Merworth called out, cautiously approaching the large
machine.

    There was no response.

    “Master?”

    The room remained quiet. Merworth tried to peer through the murky round
window on the front of the machine, but the white steam from within clouded his vision. The
tension in the room became even more profound as the long moments passed. None of the other
physicians dared to move or make a sound.

    Merworth turned to look at his colleagues. Suddenly, a gruesome face pressed
itself against the glass. The doctors shuddered as Lord Vaylen slid down the window. Part of his
skin remained behind.

    “Get him out of there!” the man in charge screamed. Two guards pried open the
door, and Lord Vaylen fell out onto the floor. “Are you all right, Master?” the commander asked,
rushing to his side.

    Lord Vaylen looked up from the billowing steam and rasped, “Didn’t I say that
under no circumstances should you stop the procedure?”

    “Yes, but you’ve never been in the machine for that long.”

    “I require strict obedience, Commander.”

    “Yes, of course, Master,” the commander stammered while stretching out his
hand to Lord Vaylen. “I was only concerned for your welfare.”

    Lord Vaylen took the commander’s hand and pulled himself to his feet. “Well,
my old friend,” the dark lord said calmly, “allow me to relieve you of your concern.”

    Still clutching his master’s hand, the commander felt an overwhelming surge
of energy flow through his body. In an instant, the helpless man crumbled to ashes before the
ultramage’s feet.

    Turning to the group of doctors, Lord Vaylen announced with a cruel smile,
“It appears as though the treatment was a success.”

    The horrified doctors nodded in agreement but were too scared to say
anything. Merworth grabbed Lord Vaylen’s black cloak from the wall and brought it to his
master.

    “Thank you, Merworth,” the wizard said kindly as he hid himself behind the
dark cloak. He moved his hand to grasp the physician’s shoulder, but Merworth flinched
instinctively. “Oh, come now, Doctor,” Lord Vaylen chided. “Do you really think I would kill my
best friend?”

    “But you already—”

    “
Shhh!
”

    Lord Vaylen raised his hand to silence the doctor. He stooped down and fixed
his eyes upon the pile of ashes smoldering at his feet. Quick as a snake, the ultramage plunged
his hand into the hot ashes and pulled out a writhing creature.

    Merworth gasped. “A sneaker worm!”

    “I’m afraid Commander Wright has been dead for some time now,” Lord Vaylen
explained sympathetically. “Replaced by this
spy
.” He squeezed the worm in his hand.

    “But how did you know?” Merworth asked.

    “The E.M. machine. It opened my eyes like never before. Thanks to our special
guest, I feel I can withstand anything.”