Chapter 24

chapter twenty-four It's the only time it'll happen. Ever. It's the only time I'll be happy to see Blargus. Because grabbing him, hanging on to him, is my only chance. So, as I fall, I actually reach out to him with my Cosmic Hand. My fingers swipe at his cold, bony body. The Cosmic Hand grazes his side, and then—

YANK-SNAP! The Cosmic Hand's tiny suckers latch on to the bone. Pain shoots through my arm, and my lower body swings into him. The Slicer drops from my hand. For a second I just hang there, catching my breath. I peer down just in time to see the skeleton splashing into the Ultra-Slime below. My arm howls in pain. Then the calm is over, because Blargus is trying to rip me in half—and being ripped in half is not conducive to calm. Using the Cosmic Hand, I'm able to clamber up Blargus's back, leaping from bone to bone. He swats at me like he's trying to scratch an itch he can't quite reach.

Then he's swaying and jerking back and forth, trying to lob me off. But the Cosmic Hand holds like superglue. I'm searching the ground below, still dodging Blargus's furious flailing, when I spot Quint, June, and Dirk erupting out of the mouth of the slide. They're greeted by a swarm of skeletons. Nearby, I spot my zombies—doing nothing. They're like computers that aren't powered on. Without the Slicer, I can't control them.

And without the Slicer, I can't defeat Blargus. My eyes scan the ground, searching. Blargus's thrashing doesn't make it easy. But then I spot it— I need the Slicer. But I've never controlled a zombie without the Slicer. I've never tried. Could I do it now?

I've known Alfred the longest. It's a long shot at best, but I don't have time for anything else. Not with Blargus about to flatten me. Alfred. I concentrate, reaching out with my thoughts, toward Alfred—saying the words silently: Alfred. I need the Slicer. Retrieve it. Please. Alfred doesn't budge. He doesn't move one single, stinking, undead appendage. Come on, Alfred! I think desperately. You got this! I roll left, avoiding another of Blargus's attempts to grab me. I grip with the Cosmic Hand and scramble farther up his spine. Alfred! Please! Suddenly, Alfred looks up. The Slicer. I need it. Our eyes connect. Listen to me, Alfred! That's Blargus! He speaks for Thrull! You saw Thrull, in the clearing—trying to bring .e...c. here! The tree! The tree was going to swallow you, suck out your brains—but we saved you! Alfred's eyes narrow.

Please... the Slicer. The Slicer! And then he moves. One slow step. Then another. And then— YES!—Alfred is staggering toward the Slicer. He reaches out, wraps his thin fingers around it, and— YES AGAIN! He pulls it free from the Ultra- Slime, like some lowly squire destined to become the King of England. He's done it! He has pulled the sword from the slime! Now I just need to get it from him. I concentrate again. Letting the thoughts fill every corner of my brain. It works—and Alfred goes from butler to total, complete barbarian! He raises the blade high above his head and jams the blade into the tangle of vines that flow through Blargus's foot—