Omegahedron . . . or if she did that it would be too late for Argo and the people she loved?
* * *
In her room, Selena was again entranced by her mirror, not to reaffirm her beauty (she had no doubts), but because it gave back to her a different sort of reflection, a reflection of her creative genius. She had actually only become aware of this satisfying aspect of her personality as she watched the monster—the Shape, she called it—oozing across the countryside. Now that it had left her and Bianca, despite the rude way it had exited and the crummy hole in the wall it had left her, despite all that, she had begun to appreciate it and, as a result, herself. How many genuinely disgusting, frightening, horrible, true monsters were out there, anyway? And who else was around who could do what she'd done? The monster was her creation. It was unique. Nothing like it had ever before walked, crawled, or oozed its way across the earth. And she, she alone, had brought it into the world. She had called it forth from the unknown realms, animated it, and sent it out on its mission to destroy. It was a genuine act of creation, and, therefore, partaking of genius.
Selena stroked her face lovingly. Genius. That she was beautiful, clever, and diabolical was already a given, but to add to that, "genius" was most satisfactory. And, indeed, confirmed her, not only in her desire to rule the world, but in the propriety of her desire. One wouldn't, she thought righteously, want to rule the world without the proper character attributes.
An audience of one (oh, well, two, counting Bianca), she watched intently the monster show that she, and she alone, had conceived and produced. Selena, she told herself, We (might as well get used to the royal locution), We are an amazement.
A storm was brewing. Lightning flashed pink, green, white; thunder rumbled and crashed; a strong wind moaned through the treetops.
The Shape, with the power of a tornado, carelessly uprooted an oak tree. . . . A steel-cable fence crumpled before it like string. . . .The Shape moved on mindlessly toward its destination, leaving in its wake a trail of flattened cars, demolished playgrounds, and trees splintered like toothpicks. Invisible to human eyes, its unimaginable weight and bulk gouged room-sized footprints out of the earth. (When discovered some years later, these curious formations, that resembled nothing heretofore discovered, would be explained by a classical scholar as abandoned prehistoric burial sites.) The land shook beneath its weight and buildings for miles around quivered and swayed. Earthquake warnings were broadcast; half the population of Midvale took shelter in their cellars, the other half decided if the end was coming, they might as well enjoy their last moments, and they did. So it was a merry night for many people of Midvale. . . .
* * *
Standing at her window, watching the approaching storm, Linda Lee decided she'd had enough of feeling lonely and sorry for herself. She couldn't do anything about missing her parents and Zaltar, except get back to them as soon as possible—and that meant finding the Omegahedron. She looked down again at Zaltar's bracelet, remembering how it had flickered into life that morning in Nigel's class.
Thunder rumbled again . . . or was it thunder? At that moment, Linda Lee saw something she couldn't put a name to, something vile and ominous dragging itself through the night. Neither human nor visible, it was a vast, shapeless, lightless mass . . . it was as if the darkness itself had gathered together and taken form. Monstrous . . . alien . . . perverse . . . and coming straight for her.
Rarely had she known real fear. Pain, loneliness, anxiety, yes . . . but not terror, not till this moment. More alone than ever, she shrank back with a stifled cry. And the Shape, the ground giving way beneath it, slithered toward her.
In her nice little cubicle, all fixed up the way she liked it, with the shades down and the
* * *
In her room, Selena was again entranced by her mirror, not to reaffirm her beauty (she had no doubts), but because it gave back to her a different sort of reflection, a reflection of her creative genius. She had actually only become aware of this satisfying aspect of her personality as she watched the monster—the Shape, she called it—oozing across the countryside. Now that it had left her and Bianca, despite the rude way it had exited and the crummy hole in the wall it had left her, despite all that, she had begun to appreciate it and, as a result, herself. How many genuinely disgusting, frightening, horrible, true monsters were out there, anyway? And who else was around who could do what she'd done? The monster was her creation. It was unique. Nothing like it had ever before walked, crawled, or oozed its way across the earth. And she, she alone, had brought it into the world. She had called it forth from the unknown realms, animated it, and sent it out on its mission to destroy. It was a genuine act of creation, and, therefore, partaking of genius.
Selena stroked her face lovingly. Genius. That she was beautiful, clever, and diabolical was already a given, but to add to that, "genius" was most satisfactory. And, indeed, confirmed her, not only in her desire to rule the world, but in the propriety of her desire. One wouldn't, she thought righteously, want to rule the world without the proper character attributes.
An audience of one (oh, well, two, counting Bianca), she watched intently the monster show that she, and she alone, had conceived and produced. Selena, she told herself, We (might as well get used to the royal locution), We are an amazement.
A storm was brewing. Lightning flashed pink, green, white; thunder rumbled and crashed; a strong wind moaned through the treetops.
The Shape, with the power of a tornado, carelessly uprooted an oak tree. . . . A steel-cable fence crumpled before it like string. . . .The Shape moved on mindlessly toward its destination, leaving in its wake a trail of flattened cars, demolished playgrounds, and trees splintered like toothpicks. Invisible to human eyes, its unimaginable weight and bulk gouged room-sized footprints out of the earth. (When discovered some years later, these curious formations, that resembled nothing heretofore discovered, would be explained by a classical scholar as abandoned prehistoric burial sites.) The land shook beneath its weight and buildings for miles around quivered and swayed. Earthquake warnings were broadcast; half the population of Midvale took shelter in their cellars, the other half decided if the end was coming, they might as well enjoy their last moments, and they did. So it was a merry night for many people of Midvale. . . .
* * *
Standing at her window, watching the approaching storm, Linda Lee decided she'd had enough of feeling lonely and sorry for herself. She couldn't do anything about missing her parents and Zaltar, except get back to them as soon as possible—and that meant finding the Omegahedron. She looked down again at Zaltar's bracelet, remembering how it had flickered into life that morning in Nigel's class.
Thunder rumbled again . . . or was it thunder? At that moment, Linda Lee saw something she couldn't put a name to, something vile and ominous dragging itself through the night. Neither human nor visible, it was a vast, shapeless, lightless mass . . . it was as if the darkness itself had gathered together and taken form. Monstrous . . . alien . . . perverse . . . and coming straight for her.
Rarely had she known real fear. Pain, loneliness, anxiety, yes . . . but not terror, not till this moment. More alone than ever, she shrank back with a stifled cry. And the Shape, the ground giving way beneath it, slithered toward her.
In her nice little cubicle, all fixed up the way she liked it, with the shades down and the
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