In his weakened condition, Harr looked over at Simon and said something that broke the young wizard’s heart: “Morbras will save us.”
The ferocious draguno raised its head one last time and was about to finish the man off when Simon yelled, “NOOOOOO!”
Surprisingly, the heartless creature hesitated. It looked at Simon and turned its head to the side, scanning him. Then it released its sharp claws from Harr’s broken body and slowly crawled towards the young man. Simon tried to scurry to safety, but he saw another lizard in his pathway. And then another. And then another…
Soon, at least fifty dragunos surrounded him. For some reason, the lizards seemed to be drawn to his presence. The devilish creatures inched their way closer and closer, savoring the moment before they attacked. Simon clutched his medallion and closed his eyes just as the pack of lizards pounced on him.
Chapter 23
General Banton’s Legacy
“No!” Tonya screamed. Tears streamed down her face, and the green in her hair changed to a murky-blue color. Little Har held her back from running to Simon’s aid.
While the lizards were occupied, Grog picked up Harr and carried him to safety. He looked back to see all fifty lizards dog piling on top of Simon in what appeared to be an unrestrained feeding frenzy.
Everyone raced across the lawn to the entrance of the towering library. Just as the massive doors began to shut behind them, Tonya cried out, “Wait!”
A blue light emanated from the pile of lizards. Although a few of the reptiles limped around on burnt stubs, most of them lay dead. From within the smoldering heap of carcasses appeared Simon… floating in the air. He was curled up in the fetal position with his eyes still closed and his fist still grasping his mother’s medallion. Pastel light filled the general area around him, and plumes of thick smoke billowed from below.
Tonya felt Little Har’s warm hand on her shoulder. “Si-moan will save us,” the large boy reassured her.
The smoke parted on both sides of the young wizard as his frail body drifted from the pile of dead lizards. Simon opened his eyes as his feet gently touched the ground. He was alive!
The aura around him faded away, revealing his unscathed condition to everyone. Shocked at what had just happened, Simon looked around at the lifeless dragunos. He then noticed the second wave of lizards racing towards him.
Not wanting to tempt fate, Simon turned and ran as fast as he could. He soon heard the cackling of the dragunos behind him, but he didn’t bother to look back. As he neared the library, he could see Thornapple and Tonya cheering him on.
Simon leapt through the open doors just before Grog slammed them shut. THUD! THUD! The dragunos crashed against the heavy doors in pursuit of their prey. Simon bent over, out of breath. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. He sat down and tried to rest.
“Simon!” Tonya cried, hugging him. “That was so close. I thought I lost you.”
Simon looked up to see streaks of white running through Tonya’s beautiful hair. He held onto one lock of white hair and delicately ran it through his fingers. The long strands turned auburn.
“I don’t know what happened back there,” he said, still trying to catch his breath, “but it wasn’t me.” He looked over at Thorn’s smiling face and continued, “I thought the dragunos got you guys for sure. You mean so much to me. I can’t imagine losing you.”
Just then, the lock of hair in his hand turned bright red.
“Simon, where have you been!” Tonya reacted abruptly. She stood up as though the tender moment they were sharing had never happened. “You left me alone at the dance.”
“Yeah, Simon,” Thornapple chimed in, “where’d you go? One second we were looking at books and the next second you were gone.”
The young man stood up and realized that everyone in the dimly lit room was staring at him. “Yeah, my boy,” Mayor Gordon said, walking up to join the conversation. “We were going to give you first prize for the dance contest, but we couldn’t find you. We had to give it to Dr. Troodle’s son instead.”
Thornapple blushed as Gwin winked at him from across the room… At least, Thorn was pretty sure it was him she was winking at.
The nonstop pounding on the doors made Simon uneasy. He looked over at Harr, who was resting against a wall. Grog attended to the man’s wounds with some herbs, while Little Har offered him comfort. The remaining tribe members stood apart from the crowd.
“I found out how to destroy the dragunos,” Simon said, trying to sound confident and authoritative.
“I think we have a nastier problem on our hands than a bunch of overgrown lizards,” announced Dr. Troodle. “What are we going to do with these big Puds?”
“I’m feeling nauseous just looking at them,” his wife added.
Several other women agreed. Soon, just about every little Pud was complaining about the presence of the larger Puds.
“Maybe we should send them out to the dragunos as a peace offering,” a man joked.
“Or better yet,” said another, “let them fight the dragunos for us. Fifty doongles say that the big one will be the last giant standing.”
Grog grunted at the remark.
Tonya opened her mouth to defend the big Puds when Simon intervened. “Stop it! Don’t you know your two races were equals at one time?”
The small Puds gasped as if they had just heard something utterly profane. Shaking her head, Mrs. Troodle put her hand to her mouth and closed her eyes.
Simon continued. “If it weren’t for Har and his family, I wouldn’t even be alive. The least you could do is let them stay.”
“Har!” Dr. Troodle exclaimed. “I didn’t even recognize you.” The doctor strutted over to the larger Puds. “You people all look the same to me.” He took a quick glance at Har’s father and said apathetically, “Doesn’t look life threatening.” He pressed on Harr’s chest, which caused the giant to wince in pain, and gave a quick prognosis. “Broken rib… a few cuts… You’ll be strong enough to work in the mines in no time.”
The small Puds laughed at his pathetic joke. Dr. Troodle smirked at the injured man and turned to walk away. Without warning, Little Har grabbed the doctor and raised him off the ground. A vengeful expression appeared on the young Pud’s face as he squeezed the air out of his master. This was his opportunity to make up for all the times he ever wanted to lash out at the Troodles for mistreating him.
At that moment, Nurse Salfree smashed a chair against Little Har’s back, causing the enraged boy to drop his captive. A horrendous brawl ensued among the Puds, while at the same time, the dragunos continued to batter the outside doors.
“Stop it!” yelled Simon and Tonya.
But the fighting continued—the smaller Puds trying to trample down the larger Puds and the larger Puds retaliating against the smaller Puds. Even Mrs. Troodle got into the action.
Although outnumbered, the big Puds tossed the little people off themselves like rag dolls, but the tiny people just kept coming.
Suddenly, a bolt of fire sprang upwards. Everyone stopped. Light inundated the multi-tiered building as the flames brushed against the vaulted ceiling dozens of stories up.
“Eenwahs,” Simon whispered. The fire vanished immediately.
Everyone froze with gaping mouths and open eyes directed towards the young wizard who stood before them.
“Listen to me,” Simon growled. “You’re just like a bunch of ants fighting over a lousy leaf. While all the while you don’t even see the car about to run you over. Do you not understand that there are millions of dragunos ready to wipe out all civilization on this planet?”
Many of the small Puds rolled their eyes, but they didn’t dare to argue.
“The Lisardians were not aliens. They were giant lizards—the same kind that are trying to get in here. Your ancestors built a great machine to destroy them, but something went wrong.”
Simon put his hand in his pocket and pulled out the shard of metal. Holo-649 appeared in his palm.
&n
bsp; “Has it begun, Master Simon?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Then you must turn on the machine or else all is lost.”
“First I need to know what happened a thousand years ago. I need to know why the machine never got turned on in the first place.” Simon faced the crowd. “I want everyone to hear the true story of how the Battle of Lisardious was lost.”
Holo noticed the crowd around her. “Oh, hello!” she said with a smile. “Let me see… where to begin?”
“Si-moan,” Little Har said hesitantly, “Har no understand.”
“Well, at least we agree on something,” Dr. Troodle said. “Simon, your friend’s not even speaking Pudo.”
“Master Simon, I’m afraid I didn’t understand what that man just said,” Holo informed him. “It appears as though the Pudo language has become corrupted over the centuries.”
“Then I’ll interpret for them,” Simon said. “Show us what you were going to show me in the cave before we got interrupted.”
The shard of metal projected a scene high enough for everyone to see. This time, the hologram was much larger than before. The three-dimensional representation showed millions of dragunos emerging from the ocean.
“The Battle of the Dragunos,” Simon translated for them.
The scene then showed the magnificent city, which was even grander and larger than the current Highland City. Simon repeated the words from Holo’s lively narration.
“At one time, the larger Puds were the dominant force on the planet because they were well endowed with magic and physically stronger than the smaller Puds.”
“That’s ludicrous!” Dr. Troodle said.
Mayor Gordon broke in, “Shhh! I want to hear this.”
Simon continued as the scene changed to show the inside of the mountain. “But on the eve of battle, the two races joined forces to build a magnificent weapon that would save the planet and stop the vicious cycle of draguno destruction. Project Purification was envisioned by General Banton, set in motion by the president, and even endorsed by the High King himself. Its purpose was to eradicate the planet of all dragunos.”
The projection showed the gigantic machine from different angles and then zoomed in to eavesdrop on an intense conversation taking place at the base of the machine.
Simon listened in on their conversation but didn’t translate because they were talking too fast.
“We have to turn it on immediately,” the president said quickly.
“No,” General Banton argued. The small Pud held the little red book in his hand as though it were a delicate baby. “The generator doesn’t have enough power yet. Your people have been too greedy. If you would have enforced the restrictions on magical uses more severely, we wouldn’t be in this predicament.”
“General, our people are being slaughtered as we speak!”
“We have to think about our posterity,” the little man shot back. “If we don’t purify this entire planet, then generations from now our progenitors will face this same problem.”
Mayor Gordon interrupted, “Simon, what are they saying!”
Simon quickly explained, “They’re fighting over whether or not they should turn on the machine. The little Pud is General Banton. He says they have to wait until the machine has enough power.”
The projection showed the king walking up to them. “That’s King Pentagola,” Simon noted.
“The same king from the comic strip?” asked Thorn.
“Yep.”
“But he looks more like you and Tonya than a Pud.”
“He’s not from Pudo. He’s from another—” Simon stopped himself because he didn’t want to miss what was being said. “I’ll explain later.”
“What is the meaning of this?” the king roared. “Why haven’t you turned on the machine?”
“General Banton says the generator hasn’t stored up enough power yet.”
“What?” The king closed his eyes and raised his hand as if he were touching something invisible. “I sense deception in the room. General Banton, as High King of the known paraverse, I evoke my general authority and release you of your command.”
“But, my king!” the little man sputtered.
“Your military responsibilities have clouded your judgment. I’m not willing to sacrifice millions of lives just so we can make sure every single draguno is destroyed.”
Simon translated briefly, “The general just got fired.”
King Pentagola grabbed the little red book from the general’s hands and ran to the machine. The camera zoomed in to show the king sticking the key into a spot on the main control panel. It looked like he was about to turn the book, but, instead, the most peculiar expression appeared on his face. The viewpoint of the camera then panned out to show that General Banton had just stabbed the king in the back with a knife.
“Looks like you’re the one with the clouded judgment,” the general snickered. “You don’t realize how serious the situation really is.”
“You fool,” the king gasped as he stumbled away from the control panel and fell to the ground.
He left a trail of blood on the marble floor as he attempted to crawl away. Suddenly, a group of tiny soldiers rushed into the room with their weapons pointed towards the larger Puds.
The president uttered a spell but nothing happened because of the lack of E.M. waves in the cavern. “How could you do this?” he exclaimed. “What about our people?”
“Mr. President…” the general said coldly. A tiny soldier slapped the large Pud on the back of his legs, causing him to kneel down. General Banton walked up close to the president, stared him in the face, and said quietly, “Project Purification was not meant to purify the world of lizards… It was meant to purify the world of you and your kind.”
Before the president could respond, two small Puds snapped a security collar around his neck.
“You can’t…” The president’s speech became slow and awkward. “You… Um… You can’t…” He couldn’t seem to finish the sentence.
“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.
&n
bsp; “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
Prelude to Battle
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.
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