Paraworld Zero (41 page)

    Panic-stricken, Thorn looked up to see the round ceiling still closing in on
them. He glanced at the curved wall, and for a second, the colorful buttons reminded him of stars
in the sky. The awkward viewpoint afforded him the ability to look at the puzzle with a brand-new
perspective and, literally, from a new angle. Just as the two spikes he held were about to touch
the ground, Thornapple finally exclaimed, “I see it! It was right there all the time!”

    “What do you see, son?” asked Mayor Gordon from behind.

    “Look at the white buttons. They form an arrow.”

    “I don’t see it,” the mayor said in a discouraged voice.

    Simon looked across the room and laughed when he saw the outline of a white
arrow pointing to a solitary button. Using the zero gravity to his advantage, Thornapple swung
himself to the wall—almost sliding across the floor as he did so—and confidently pressed the
button.

    The ceiling immediately stopped moving, and an opening appeared in the wall.
The gravity in the room returned back to normal, and everyone slid down the spikes.

    “I don’t see it either,” Dr. Troodle said, brushing himself off and gazing
intently at the colorful buttons.

    Tonya picked herself up and laughed. “I guess I was wrong about you, Thorn.
Maybe you do have some creative abilities after all. Miracles never cease.”

    Dr. Troodle and the mayor continued to stare at the wall while the rest of
the party exited the room. Little Har stood next to them for a moment and then declared before
leaving, “Har see arrow!”

    “What arrow?” the doctor growled.

    “This is the most frustrating puzzle I’ve ever come across,” Mayor Gordon
mumbled.

    “Dad, are you coming?”

    “In a minute, Thorn.”

    “Dr. Troodle, we really need to go,” Simon said.

    Reluctantly, the two small Puds left the room and followed the rest of the
party. The group walked down a dim corridor and found themselves facing yet another door.

    “Simon, will you do the honors?” Mayor Gordon asked after struggling with the
doorhandle.

    “Of course.”

    The young wizard pulled out Tonya’s wand from his pocket, tapped the door,
and was about to cast the Open spell when he sneezed. Simon regained his composure and then
tapped the door again and said loudly, “
Open!
”

    Nothing happened.

    “
Open!
”

    Still nothing.

    “Try the Foonati spell,” Thornapple suggested.

    “All right. Stand back.”

    Thorn looked at the adults and boasted, “Last time he cast the moving spell,
he almost destroyed the entire forest.”

    “That was you?” the mayor said in surprise.

    “Well, uh.” Simon fidgeted with the wand. “It was an accident.”

    “Then what’s to stop you from bringing down the entire mountain on top of
us?” Dr. Troodle said.

    “I don’t think we have a choice,” Tonya said curtly.

    “Okay, but be careful.”

    “I’ll try,” Simon said with a hint of nervousness in his voice. He took a
deep breath and tried to concentrate. Then he waved the wand from one side to the other and said,
“
Foonati.
”

    To everyone’s great surprise, nothing happened.

    “I don’t know what’s wrong,” Simon said, looking at the wand to see if he was
holding it backwards. His eyes started to water, and he felt flushed.

    “Are you okay, son?” asked the mayor.

    “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just my allergies acting up.”

    “Grog try,” the huge man grunted.

    After several minutes of banging and kicking on the door, the giant finally
gave up and sat down in despair with the others.

    “I can’t believe we’ve gotten this far, and now we’re stuck,” Thorn said. “It
won’t be long before everyone in the bank vault is dead.” He shuddered at the thought and said, “
Oooh,
I’d hate to suffocate.”

    Simon held his mother’s medallion in his hand and thought intently about what
he should do. A peaceful feeling came over his entire body, and the memory of the woman from his
dreams came into his mind.

    
“…strength from high places… cunning from below… and the language of old to open the
door
…”

    “That’s it!” Simon shouted. It had been the strength of the big Puds that
helped them overcome the spider pit. And it had been the ingenuity of little Thornapple that
saved them in the white room. Now it was Simon’s turn to open the door using his special gift of
language.

    The young man stood up and pulled the little red book out of his pocket. As
he did so, ancient runes appeared on the door, just like on the walls in the cave.

    “Yes!” Holo said excitedly. “King Pentagola spoke these very words before he
died.”

    Simon read aloud the writing on the door.

    

    

    “It sounds like a riddle,” Tonya observed.

    “It’s got to be the dragunos,” Thornapple said. “They’re the ones eating
everything in sight.”

    “No, the dragunos are the
enemy
that everyone has forgotten about,” she replied.

    “Surely the riddle’s not talking about the little Puds?” Mayor Gordon asked
incredulously.

    “I know what it is,” Simon said, recalling the words from his dream. Everyone
stared at him with anticipated expressions. He adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat.
“It’s… It’s pride.”

    When he finished speaking, the door opened, and in rushed a huge gush of air
from the massive cavern that awaited them.

    “Very good, Master Simon,” Holo said. “Pride is the most devastating force in
the paraverse. You would be wise to guard yourself from it.”

    As they approached the cavern, a ghostly voice sounded in their ears. “
Before obtaining true greatness, one must first obtain humility. You have been tried in the
fires of affliction, tested by the wisdom of man, and unified by the enemy of old. Enter now, my
friends, and begin anew with clean hands and a pure heart.
”

    “What was that?” Dr. Troodle asked.

    “Spirit,” responded Harr. “From beyond.”

    “Nonsense! There’s no such thing as life after death.”

    “Holo, was that King Pentagola?” Tonya asked in her own language.

    “Yes, it was.”

    “How can that be possible?”

    “The bearer of the crown is merely a steward over the entire paraverse, and
as such, is entrusted with an ancient power that has been passed down from generation to
generation. A remnant of King Pentagola must have been left behind to protect this world. It has
been known to happen from time to time.”

    “Look at the size of that thing!” Mayor Gordon exclaimed, gazing up at the
giant machine.

    “Big,” Grog stated.

    A thick blanket of dust covered the floor, and Simon sneezed as they stirred
it up with their feet.

    “Are those what I think they are?” asked Thorn.

    Huge white worms crawled along the monorail below. “Yep,” Simon answered.
“Don’t worry—they’re friendly.”

    “This is simply amazing,” Mayor Gordon shouted. His voice echoed throughout
the cave.

    “
Shhh!
” Dr. Troodle scolded. “If the spiders and worms are gigantic, I’d hate to see what a
bat would look like.”

    “Oh, you’re right,” the mayor whispered, cautiously peering up at the ceiling
for bloodthirsty bats. “Keep it down, everyone.”

    Simon walked along the ledge overlooking the monorail and then stopped. The
sad image of King Pentagola appeared in his mind.

    “This is where it happened,” Holo commented somberly. “Such a pity.”

    Simon wiped a tear from his eye and started to sniff. He looked over at Tonya
and saw that she was watching him.

    “Allergies,” he said.

    “Right.”

    “Well, let’s get this over with,” Dr. Troodle said. “My wife would kill me if
I let her suffocate.”

    Simon walked up to the machine and found the spot where King Pentagola had
placed the little red book. The insignia snapped on perfectly.

    “One moment, Simon,” Tonya said. She looked at Holo and asked with great
hesitation in her voice, “Holo, how exactly does this machine kill the dragunos?”

    “The machine was engineered to target lizard DNA, but more specifically, the
biological make-up of the dragunos. Everything and everyone else should be safe. However, it
wasn’t meant to be powered with this much E.M. energy. There could be some adverse side effects,
but that’s doubtful.”

    Tonya’s hair started to turn gray.

    “What’s wrong?” asked Dr. Troodle.

    “I have lizard DNA in me. If we turn the machine on, I’ll die.”

    Simon’s heart sank at hearing those words.

    “There’s no way to know that for sure,” Dr. Troodle said slowly. “It’s
possible that the machine won’t affect you at all… Of course, our scientists are usually pretty
thorough—overkill, if you ask me.”

    “I don’t know if I can d-d-do this,” Simon stuttered.

    “You have to,” Tonya cried. “Think of all the people that would die if you
didn’t.”

    Simon furrowed his eyebrows and pursed his lips.

    “I suppose this is my chance to see if the Fulcrum of Life is real or not.
Besides,” she continued with a halfhearted grin, “I’m tired of this paraworld, anyway.”

    Simon stared at the red book. He held Tonya’s life in his hands, but on the
flip side, he also held the life of every Pud on the planet. He knew what he should do, but he
fought it. He looked up at Thorn, at Har, at Grog and the others. They would all die if he didn’t
turn the key. This world and all its people would perish. He looked into Tonya’s gleaming eyes.
She was so strong—so full of life. But the strongest part of her was that she was willing to give
up her life for him. Could he do the same for her? He gazed at her for a moment longer, then
nodded his consent and bowed his head to hide the tears that trickled down his cheeks.

    “I’ll miss you,” Thorn said, trying to hide his emotions. The little boy gave
Tonya a hug.

    “Miss you,” Little Har said. He gave her a strong embrace.

    “You’re a brave young woman,” Mayor Gordon said. “Your parents would be proud
of you.”

    Now her hair had turned from gray to a gray-blue color. She smiled at Simon,
but he had a hard time smiling in return.

    “Goodbye,” he said, wiping his face. He didn’t make eye contact.

    “Goodbye, runt.”

    Simon turned his attention to the red book. Taking a deep breath, he closed
his eyes and put his hands in position. He was about to turn the key when Tonya suddenly grabbed
his face and kissed him. Simon noticed the softness of her lips and the sweet aroma of her hair.
Trembling, he kissed her in return and felt her tears mix with his as they embraced—perhaps for
the final time.

    “I just wanted to be the first one to give you a real kiss,” she said,
backing away slowly—her hair color even murkier than before. Simon felt as though his heart was
about to burst.

    “Simon,” Holo said in a motherly tone of voice, “sometimes sacrifices must be
made for the good of others. I know this is a hard decision for you, but it is the right thing to
do.”

    The young wizard took another deep breath and then moved his hands to turn
the little red book, but the key wouldn’t budge. He put his whole weight into it, but it still
wouldn’t turn.

    “Don’t break it,” Dr. Troodle warned. “Here, let me try.”

    As the little man fidgeted with the key, a terrifying hiss echoed throughout
the cavern. Everyone turned around to see three dragunos climbing up from the monorail.

    “How did they get in here?” cried Dr. Troodle.

    “They must have come in through the tunnels,” Simon answered hurriedly.

    The dragunos slid across the dusty floor as they moved. Dr. Troodle and
Thornapple stayed at the machine, but the rest of the party ran in different directions to
escape.

    Dust filled the air, making it hard to see anything. On one side of the
platform, Grog fought to keep a rather fat draguno away from Harr, while on the other side,
Little Har and Tonya tried to evade the remaining two reptiles.

    Simon and the mayor ran towards the ledge but stopped in their tracks when
they saw a pack of dragunos feasting on a giant gilaworm below. The lizards looked up and bared
their sharp teeth.

    “This is not good!” Mayor Gordon yelled.

    Simon pulled out Tonya’s wand and tried to cast the flame spell, but he
stuttered so badly that it didn’t work. One of the dragunos jumped up from the monorail and
snapped its jaws near Simon’s hand. The young man fell backwards in shock. As he hit the marble
floor, the wand slipped out of his fingers and slid towards the machine.

    Clutching his broken glasses, Simon glanced around to see Grog rolling on the
ground with the overweight lizard. Tonya and Har were still defending themselves from the other
two reptiles. Then Simon realized he and the mayor were being surrounded. The vicious creatures
took their sweet time as they circled about—just like the lizards outside the library had
previously done.