Zeronia And The Circus At The Edge Of The Universe

Chapter 17: The Other Side of the Wormhole

I was not sure how long we were plummeting inside the wormhole. It could have been minutes or weeks. Maybe even years. Time did not seem to exist from within the strange vortex.

Then I came to a sudden and painful stop. My cheek rested on what appeared to be cobblestone pavement. The kind my grandma has in front of her house.

"Toby," I heard Debra calling me.

The cobblestone was so nice and warm I just wanted to lay there.

"Toby," Debra repeated, sounding more urgent.

I rolled onto my back and gazed up at Debra, Judy, and Brian who were staring at me, concerned.

"Why are you all staring at me?" I wanted to know.

"You've been laying on the ground for quite some time," Judy replied.

I stretched my arms and said, "This cobblestone feels so warm."

The three exchanged glances.

"Toby, are you still on your period?" Brian asked.

I suddenly felt a wave of rising anger against Brian. I mean, how could he even ask me that?

"Are we on Earth?" I asked.

Brian shrugged. "If we are, then the planet had a major makeover since we've been gone."

I climbed to my feet as I gazed around me at the odd round buildings around us. Brian was right. Wherever we were it wasn't Earth.

"What do you think happened to Dark Seegnal?" Judy asked.

"Don't know. Don't care," I replied quickly. "Hopefully we have seen the last of him."

I then noticed Tak. She seemed to be wandering over the cobblestone in a daze, staring at the strange buildings in awe.

"Tak, are you alright?" I called to her.

Tak spun to face us. A grin appeared on her face. "This planet," she cried happily. "It's Zeron!"

"Your home planet?" Debra asked. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know how it's possible, but it is!"

"I thought Zeron was destroyed," I said.

"I've never say Zeron was destroyed," Tak snapped. "I only said that its people were wiped out!"

"Well, I guess we can stay here until we can figure out how to get back to Earth," I said.

Tak gave me a solemn look. "We may never return to Earth," she told me.

We all stare at her in shock.

"What do you mean by that?" Debra asked in horror.

"We crossed the Cosmic Order who control most of the galaxy," Tak explained. "They're not going to take that laying down. They're going to hunt us down throughout the universe and Earth would be the first place they look. They're not going to rest until they have our heads."

I wanted to cry. "You mean we can never see our families again?" I asked as tears began to sting my eyes.

"I'm so sorry," Tak said sadly. "But to see them would be putting them in danger. Sorry, but from this point on we're fugitives."

"Excuse me," Brian spoke up.

We all turned to Brian.

"The whole planet is deserted, right?"

"As far as I know," Tak replied.

"So all the people are gone?"

"Yes, the Zerons were destroyed by the Crillinarians," Tak said impatiently. "What's your point?"

"Well, I have a question," Brian said. "If the Zerons are all gone, then who are those?"

We all gazed over to where Brian was looking and saw an army of women in colorful armor marching toward us armed with swords, spears, maces, crossbows, and other types of weapons.

"Sisters, you're alive," Tak cried happily.

Unfortunately, the Zerons didn't seem as happy to see us as Tak was to see them as they surrounded us with their weapons pointed at us.

"They don't look too friendly," Judy stated.

"I've been away for quite some time," Tak said. "They must not recognize me."

Just then a woman wearing a headdress appeared on a floating chariot. As she floated by the Zerons began kneeling.

"The Queen," Tak gasped, then whispered to us, "This is perfect. I will explain the situation to the Queen and she would order her women to lower their weapons and they would welcome us with open arms."

The Queen floated her chariot to face us. She gazed down at us. Her lips curled into a frown."

"Quickly, kneel before you offend her," Tak whispered harshly, then dropped to one knee.

I shrugged and we all began kneeling.

"You may rise and explain why you are on our planet," The Queen commanded.

We stood up.

"Your majesty, I am Tak, chief inventor, and scientist of the royal court," Tak announced. "I am one of you. I've left Zeron years ago to revenge the tragedy that befallen Zeron due to the Crillinarians. These," Tak gestured to us, "are friends of mine from the planet Earth. We had made an enemy of the Cosmic Order and now we seek sanctuary here."

The Queen was silent for a while as though considering everything Tak had told her. Then she purred her lips and pointed a slender finger at us and ordered, "Execute them!"

To Be Continued

Thank you for reading the third installment of the adventures of Zeronia. Let me know what you think of it or let me know if you have any ideas on what you would like to see happen in the next story.