Chapter 2

chapter two We wait for hours. Then hours stretch into days, and days stretch into a full week. Seven whole days of waiting for this parade of evil monsters to pass. It's double lousy. Lousy #1: Let me tell ya—when you're gonna have to battle an evil army, a week of watching that evil army parade past you isn't exactly confidence-inducing. Lousy #2: We know Thrull is close to finishing the Tower. If we want any chance of stopping him, we need to be there, like, yesterday. But even if we ditched the Mallusk and went on foot, there's no way past that army... We're in a jam. A jam that has the many monster citizens aboard the Mallusk with us—Malluskians, I call 'em—on edge. Our buddy Johnny Steve, mayor of the mall, keeps trying to come up with fun activities to help everyone relax. But he's like a bad summer-camp director, and his activities are neither relaxing nor fun.

It's every human's favorite time passing activity RUNNING THE MILE WHILE A DISAPPOINTING GYM TEACHER YELLS AT YOU. I gotta admit, I'm half-relieved that our journey toward the Tower has been delayed. It's like when you show up for a dentist appointment, then find out the dentist is running two hours behind schedule. Part of you just wants to get it over with, but another part of you is happy for a stay of execution. 'Cause once we get moving again, we'll be at the Tower in no time. And there will be a battle—the BIG battle, for all the marbles. But what am I supposed to do?

There's something else that's got me anxious, too. Something that's been gnawing at me ever since we escaped the fortress... If we actually succeed, if we somehow defeat thrills and return things to some version of normal. And it's all over. And then what? Like my friends go back to school, I guess, back to their lives. But what do I do? Yeah, I'm having big emotions. But I'm not the only one all up in my thoughts. Quint, June, and Dirk have all been spending time alone, doing serious pondering, too.

What's on their minds? Don't know, no one will spill. I've learned the hard way that you gotta share the nervous, lousy thoughts that fill your brain. It's like having a crazed puppy in your house. You might not want to take that pup on five walks a day—but if it stays cooped up inside, it's gonna tear up your favorite sneakers. I get it, though. Sharing the hard stuff is... hard. It's time for me to give my buddies a nudge. That night, I find my friends on the deck of the Mallusk. I launch into my best impression of every movie interrogation ever... You're gon na talk. You're gon na spell it all. I've had it with your lip sealed secretly. Secret feelings keeping. SO START WITH THE YAPEN.

My friends stare at me, so confused they actually look scared. But it works. And, at once, they blurt out their innermost junk... There are people out there alive. We saw my parents names, quint's parents names. So where are they? How are we going to use Jeweller's ultra slime to actually take down the tower? Filling up Super soakers isn't going to be enough. Gas said there would be a battle of the tower, but Gass also said the tower will turn on, which means Rezak will come to our dimension. So won't there just be immediate destruction? And in a flash, Dirk, June, and Quint are firing thoughts back and forth at each other.

Quint says, "I have been pondering the same question as June. We know other humans are alive. So how have we encountered none of them?" June nods vigorously. "I've been watching the broadcast from the survivors. It hasn't changed in months. No new names popping up, no old names going away. So where IS everyone?" "Where's the military?" Dirk asks. He's clearly been bursting at the seams to discuss this topic. "We could use tanks. Tanks could deliver Drooler's Ultra-Slime real good." Drooler's Ultra-Slime is the one thing that can melt Thrull's vines. Which means it can destroy his skeleton soldiers... and maybe even break apart the Tower. "And like Quint was wondering," June says, "if .e...c. is gonna show up, how can there even be a battle? What does Thrull need that giant army for if .e...c. is all-powerful?" I shake my head, bewildered. "Don't know. But Ghazt told me that during the Battle of the Tower, there'd be a moment when a leader could turn the tide. And he seemed to be saying that leader was... me." Everyone is quiet for a second. "Yeah, we're definitely doomed," Dirk says.