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 eats, ever hungry, consuming all
yet is never satisfied—wanting more and more,
devouring mighty kings of worlds,
as well as lowly paupers without lands or gold.
Peace, equality, and civility must subdue the beast’s hunger
lest this evil destroy you all
and the enemy, long since forgotten, returns to rule once more.”
“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 trickl
ed 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.
Simon looked over at Thornapple and got an idea. “Thorn, get the wand!”
The little Pud picked up the wand and yelled, “Do you want me to throw it to you?”
“No! I want you to cast the Foonati spell on the key!”
“What?”
A draguno swiped the mayor’s legs with its powerful tail, and the man fell to the ground.
“You heard me! Cast it now!”
A million thoughts raced through the little Pud’s mind. If he turned on the machine, would that mean the planet would have electro-magical energy once more, and if so, would the big Puds become the dominant race again?
He looked at Little Har bravely defending Tonya. How could such a dumb creature have such a good heart? After all the times Thornapple had mistreated him, Har had saved the boy’s life anyway. But we are the superior race! Thornapple fought within himself. Just think of our advancements…
The biting words Tonya had once said echoed in his mind. “Technological advancements are worthless if they don’t help you to become better people… Your people are the real animals because you don’t seem to have the power for compassion.”
Thornapple looked again at Har. The large boy had never been able to live with his family. He had never been able to go to school or make friends or even think for himself… he was a slave. Thorn realized he had played a part in that servitude… that injustice… that inequality.
Finally overcoming his pride, the young man raised the wand with determination in his eyes and resolution in his heart.
“FOONATI!” he yelled, waving the wand from one side to the other.
The book turned, and the great machine was at last powered by the E.M. generator. At that same moment, the dragunos leapt towards Simon and the mayor. A tremendous burst of energy erupted from the machine and swept through the cavern like a camera flash.
Simon saw the lizards above him get pulverized in midair. In an instant, the wave passed through Simon, leaving him unharmed, and penetrated the mountain. Like a massive tsunami, the magical energy spread over the land, destroying every lizard in its path.
At the same time, bright artificial light flooded the cave—as if someone had turned on a light switch. A bridge extended across the chasm where the spiders had dwelt, and a group of doors opened up near the machine.
Within a minute, every draguno on the entire planet was destroyed. After the huge tidal wave had vanished, a clear bubble surrounded Highland City. As a secondary precaution, the ancient scientists had decided to include a force field around the city—just in case the machine wasn’t as effective as they had hoped.
Inside the mountain, everyone cheered and hugged each other in joyful celebration. Then a dark silence fell over the party when they noticed the motionless body lying on the ground.
Chapter 26
Goodbyes
“What’s the prognosis?” Dr. Troodle asked the specialist.
“It appears the patient is undergoing some sort of biological change. Her DNA is out of alignment. Many of her nucleotides have been associated with the wrong corresponding base pair. I’ve been able to reverse most of the mutation using the biological scan you took of her when she first came to our world. However…”
“Go on,” Dr. Troodle urged.
“However, I’ve discovered an anomaly that I can’t explain. She received extensive damage to the frontal lobe, and as I was repairing the tissue, I realized she was exhibiting signs of brain activity in areas that normally lie dormant. It’s as if the machine jump-started a part of her brain that has never been active before. It’s really quite fascinating.”
Simon broke into the conversation. “Well, don’t say anything to her. She’ll probably think she’s turning into a reptile or something.”
“On the contrary,” the specialist said. “Her brain is extremely complex and resilient.” The man moved his hands around the holographic brain floating in the air. “Unfortunately, if she stays here much longer, I won’t be able to save her.”
Thornapple looked up briefly from the video game he was playing and said, “But I thought she was getting better.”
“Pudo has been contaminated with a radiation that only she is affected by. The longer she stays here, the more her body will mutate. Soon, nothing will be able to reverse the damage.”
Simon stood by Tonya’s side and stroked her dark brown hair. The last time he saw her hair this color, she was suffering from the E.M. waves on Earth.
“I also found something peculiar with you, Simon,” the specialist said.
“Really?”
“You have enough poison in your body to kill a full-grown ryophant.”
“How embarrassing,” Thorn joked, still glued to the video game.
Simon had no idea what a ryophant was, but he imagined something big.
“You appear to have some sor
t of antibody in your bloodstream with remarkable properties. Do you mind if I take another sample of your blood for further study?”
“Sure, I guess.”
The doctor brought out a medical gun and placed it two inches from Simon’s arm. With the push of a button, a microscopic laser shot into the boy’s flesh. Drops of blood crawled up the beam and filled up a clear vial attached to the gun.
Suddenly, Thornapple gave out a scream that made Dr. Troodle jump out of his seat. “I did it!” the little boy squealed. “I passed level ten!”
“Will you keep it down a little? Some of us are trying to sleep,” came a voice.
Simon turned to the bed and smiled anxiously. Tonya was sitting up.
“Butblacruze,” Thorn yelled. “I passed level ten!”
“I’m so happy for you,” she said sarcastically.
“Welcome back,” Simon cried. He grabbed her hand. “How are you feeling?”
The specialist turned off the image of Tonya’s brain and smiled at the young woman.
“I’m okay, but I was wondering, Simon. How did you know that Thorny over there would be able to cast the Foonati spell?”
Simon grinned. “Well, if you remember, my allergies were acting up in the cave.”
“Yes.”
“And for some reason, the closer I got to the machine, the less powerful my magic became.”
“I noticed that.”
“And that’s when I realized the generator must have been leaking. You said yourself that anything or anyone that gets exposed for a long time to high concentrations of electro-magical waves becomes altered. That’s how the spiders and gilaworms got so huge.”
Tonya’s eyes widened. “So is the E.M. energy back on the planet?”
“I think so.”
She felt her thigh and asked, “Simon, where’s my wand?”
Thorn pulled it out and tapped the little handheld video game machine, but nothing happened. “Simon, you need to teach me how to recharge these batteries.”
“Good gravy!” Tonya shook her head in disgust. “Give me that!”
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