Paraworld Zero (38 page)

    
“I already have,” the general said, laughing.

    
In the background, the king was still inching his way towards the trench where the monorail
lay, and several soldiers were walking towards him. The final scene showed the king drop a little
shard of metal over the ledge just before the soldiers pointed their weapons at him. The 3-D
projection then faded to black so that only Holo remained.

    Simon looked at the somber crowd and said in a stern voice, “The real enemy
during that great battle wasn’t the dragunos.”

    “That’s preposterous,” Dr. Troodle said.

    “Is it?” Simon questioned. “Just a few minutes ago, you were ready to feed
the big Puds to the dragunos. Your people found an opportunity to become the dominant race on
this planet at the expense of millions of lives.”

    The young man spoke with such power that the small Puds cowered at his words.
He seemed a little taller, in a way. In fact, he even felt taller.

    “General Banton let the dragunos destroy this planet so you could rise from
the ashes and start a new civilization with the big Puds as your slaves… and the general’s legacy
has been passed down ever since.”

    “How dare you talk to us like that,” Mrs. Troodle huffed. “After all we’ve
done for you!”

    “I think you’re missing the point,” Tonya countered. “What Simon’s trying to
say is that if you don’t let go of your pride, this war’s gonna end up just like the last
one.”

    Mrs. Troodle started to argue again, but Mayor Gordon interrupted her. “He’s
right.” The little Puds stared in shock at hearing the mayor take the alien boy’s side. “We’ve
suppressed their brain activity for so long, we’ve fooled ourselves into thinking that we are the
superior race. What Simon has done is shown us that they are real people… just like you and
me.”

    “I can’t accept that,” Mrs. Troodle said. “Just look at them! How can you
possibly expect me to believe—”

    “
Shhh
, Mom,” cried Thornapple.

    “Don’t you
shhh
me!”

    “No, listen!”

    The room was completely quiet.

    Tonya broke the silence. “The dragunos have stopped.”

    “Maybe they’ve gone home,” Dr. Troodle said.

    Simon looked around warily. “Or maybe they’re trying to find another way in.
We probably shouldn’t stand out here in the open.”

    “Nonsense!” Dr. Troodle said. “This library is built like a fortress. Those
walls over there are three feet thick of solid granite. Nothing’s going to get in here.”

    CRASH!

Chapter 24
    

    

    High above, the skylights shattered, causing an avalanche of broken glass—as
well as several dragunos—to fall from the ceiling.
Down—down—down the lizards descended, until
THUD
—their bodies were crushed against the marble floor.

    “Oh, dear,” said Holo, who was still resting on Simon’s hand.

    The determined reptiles spilled out of the gaping hole and climbed across the
ceiling until they reached the top balcony. In their frenzy to get to the wall, a few of the
dragunos lost their grip and fell to their deaths below. The Puds scurried around frantically,
dodging the bodies that dropped from above.

    “Grog!” Simon yelled over the commotion. “It won’t take long for those
lizards to get down here.”

    “Approximately 3 minutes and 11.52 seconds at their current speed,” chimed
Holo.

    Simon continued, “Grog, I know how to stop them, but I need your help.”

    “Harr help, too,” Little Har’s father said, standing up.

    “No, you’re injured. You need to find shelter.”

    “Harr
will
help Morbras,” he said with unbent determination.

    Some of the dragunos were now climbing to the lower balconies while most were
racing down the winding stairs. Dr. Troodle and the mayor sprinted from door to door, but none of
them budged; the entire building was locked down. With the doors sealed on every floor, the
hungry lizards had no choice but to funnel through the corridors—which, unfortunately, led to
only one destination: down.

    “We’re going to die! We’re going to die!” screamed Mrs. Troodle.

    Simon ran to the vault that he had broken into earlier and, to his amazement,
found that it was still unlocked. As the heavy door creaked open, a gush of neon-blue smoke
escaped. Mrs. Troodle shrieked as a gnomelike figure wearing a gas mask stepped out of the
room.

    “What in tarnation ya try’n to do, woman? Gimme a heart attack?” the old
librarian said, taking off his mask and clutching his chest.

    The mayor rushed over. “Glumly! Glumly!”

    “Ah, Mayor. Do you know what I just heard on the news? Millions—I’m talk’n
millions—of them draguno things have been spotted come’n out of the ocean! Can you believe
that?”

    “Yes, I can,” Mayor Gordon said quickly. “Glumly, listen to me. I need you to
unlock the doors.”

    “Well, I don’t know ‘bout that,” the old man drawled lazily. “It’s not even 8
o’clock yet. You shouldn’t even be here.”

    “Tell that to them!” Dr. Troodle yelled hysterically as a draguno smashed
onto the floor nearby.

    “What’s going on here?” exclaimed the librarian.

    “Glumly,
NOW!
” cried the mayor.

    “Alright, alright. Keep your trousers on!”

    The old man ran to his desk and slid open a compartment which revealed a
touchpad.

    “Let’s see here,” he mumbled while taking off his mittens. “Thumb… Pinky…
Thumb… Pinky…” He touched his fingers one by one onto the pad to initiate the open sequence.
“Forefinger… Thumb… uh…” He thought for a moment and then finally said, “Pinky” as he touched the
pad one last time with his smallest finger.

    Just about every door in the library opened at the same time. Now that the
dragunos could pillage the building freely, most of them got sidetracked into various parts of
the library.

    “This won’t do.” The librarian shook his head at the hundreds of dragunos
running along the balconies. “Come on, everyone. This way!” He beckoned the Puds to come over to
his desk.

    After touching the pad a few more times, a secret door built into the tall
desk opened.

    “What’s down there?” asked Dr. Troodle as he peered at the steps that led
into a wall of darkness.

    “That’s the bank vault. No draguno will be able to follow us down there.
Hurry. Get a move on!”

    Like a stampede, the Puds rushed down the stairs into the vault until only
Simon and his companions were left.

    “Aren’t you coming?” asked Mayor Gordon.

    “No,” Simon said in a somber tone, “I’m the only one who knows how to stop
the dragunos.”

    The mayor sighed deeply. “I feel an obligation to right the wrong that my
people caused a thousand years ago. I’m going with you.”

    “So am I,” Tonya declared.

    “And me, too,” Thornapple chimed in.

    “No, it’s too dangerous,” Simon said.

    “Ah, let’m go,” the old librarian coaxed. “There ain’t much air down in the
vault. In an hour or so, we’ll all be dead anyway.” His words gave little comfort. “You’re a very
brave boy,” he continued, “but I just have one question for ya…” He put his gas mask on and
asked, “Where in Sam Hill did you get them crazy-looking underwear?”

    “I knew it!” shouted Thornapple. “I just knew you could see through clothes
with those masks.”

    Simon blushed while Tonya smiled.

    Dr. Troodle bounded up the steps. “Thornapple, what do you think you’re
doing? Get down here before you become a snack for those lizards.”

    “I’m going with Simon,” the boy said.

    Dr. Troodle stepped out of the doorway in a huff. “Now’s not the time to play
heroics, son. Any moment now, those dragunos are going to jump on us, and when they do—”

    A giant lizard landed on top of the tall desk and hissed loudly at the people
below. Its deep breathing sounded like a congested dragon trying to cough up a fur ball.

    “Master Simon,” Holo advised, “I suggest we leave immediately.”

    “Good idea!”

    Little Har jabbed at the lizard with his spear while Grog swung his club
menacingly above his head. At the far end of the library, a herd of dragunos emerged from the
stairs and slid across the slick marble floor. Simon darted for the sealed portion of the library
while Tonya, Harr, Thornapple, and the mayor followed behind.

    “Get back here,” Dr. Troodle yelled.

    He was about to chase after his son but stopped when he saw Grog swinging his
club towards him. The club swished over the little man’s head and struck the draguno that had
jumped down from the tall desk. Upon impact, the reptile hurled towards the secret passageway but
fell short—just a few feet away from Glumly.

    “Well, I think that’s my cue,” the old librarian said just before shutting
the door. “Good luck.”

    “No, wait,” Dr. Troodle screamed.

    The draguno raised its bruised head, which made the doctor think twice about
approaching the doorway.

    “Come!” Grog commanded.

    Dr. Troodle turned around to see a swarm of giant lizards scrambling towards
him. Terrified, he raced into the sealed portion of the library to join the others. Harr pulled
the massive door shut just as the dragunos flooded the area. The hungry reptiles pounded
relentlessly on the thick metal door, causing the latch to open by itself.

    “Won’t lock!” Harr shouted while struggling to breathe through his gas
mask.

    “Yeah, Simon broke the lock last time we were here,” Thornapple’s mechanical
voice sounded from within the blue haze.

    Grog tried to put on a gas mask, but it wouldn’t fit over his large head. The
noxious fumes burned his lungs as he pressed the mask to his face.

    Thorn stared intently at Tonya’s lovely figure but stopped when she noticed
him scanning her. “You look good in that mask,” he said nervously. “It does something for
you.”

    “Don’t get any ideas, pervert!”

    “Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it, Butblacruze.”

    She grabbed him by the collar and threatened, “If you call me that one more
time, I’m gonna personally feed you to the dragunos.”

    Just then, the door popped open a few inches, allowing several lizards to
wedge their narrow heads through the crack. Harr immediately pulled on the handle to keep the
door from opening all the way.

    “Help!” the big Pud yelled as the dragunos frantically clawed at him.

    Grog and Little Har pushed the lizards back and held the door in place while
Harr tied a piece of rope around the latch and fastened the other end to a bench embedded in the
wall. With the door now secure, the three big Puds attempted to blockade the entrance with a
large bookcase.

    “That’s not going to do any good,” Dr. Troodle scoffed. “The door opens the
other way, you dummies!”

    “It’s broken!” Simon cried from across the room.

    The young man was trying to fit the little red book into the armrest of the
bench, but the insignia wouldn’t snap in place like it had before.

    “It appears that the engravings have deteriorated over the years,” Holo
informed him. “The primitive fumes in this room are not sufficient to preserve metallic
alloys.”

    “Any suggestions?”

    “Try harder.”

    “Simon, I don’t know what you’re doing, but whatever it is, you better hurry
it up,” Dr. Troodle shouted from across the room.

    Simon yelled back, “I can’t get the key to work! If I can just get it to snap
on, this wall will open up and we’ll be able to get out of here.”

    He twisted and grinded until, suddenly, a large piece of the armrest chipped
off and fell. Simon’s heart sank as the metal piece rattled against the hard marble floor.

    “Oh, dear,” Holo said. “That wasn’t good.”

    In despair, Simon hit his forehead with the book and gave out a moan that
reverberated from within his gas mask. A loud yell pierced the room. Simon looked up to see Grog
rushing towards them with his club.

    The giant lashed out with such great force that when he struck the granite, a
long crack ran down the face of the wall, revealing the stonework to actually be a thin veneer
put there to conceal the whereabouts of the secret passageways below the city. Simon dropped to
the ground as the wild man above him smashed away with his club. Fragments of masonry and dust
sprang from the wall as the secret door shattered. Soon, a gaping hole appeared before
them.