Wake Up

Chapter 6

Mayor Meanswell mopped dry the shiny skin on top of his head and tried to concentrate on organizing all the papers on his desk. His hands were sweaty however and the pages kept sticking together and smudging under his fingers. He looked up gratefully as Stephanie burst into the town hall, interrupting his work with a balmy breeze from outside.

"Uncle Milford! I need to talk to you!"

"My dear," Milford exclaimed, taking in Stephanie's baggy eyes and limp hair, "you look exhausted! Whatever is the matter?"

"Uncle," Stephanie said, "do you remember the nightmare I had? About that strange man? I think he's real, and he's coming after all of us!"

"A man?" Milford rubbed his head.

"He keeps showing up in our dreams," Stephanie said, "me and Ziggy and Trixie too, and he does these horrible things! And I think he got to Stingy but I can't get him to answer his door. And Pixel," she brought out a folded sheet of paper that she opened with trembling hands, "he found this..."

The printout was grainy and saturated in black ink. The splotches together made up the features of a man's long face, his teeth bared, his eyes glaring. Milford stared at the screen print for several seconds before breathing out a sigh.

"Not again..."

"Again? Uncle, who is this man?"

The mayor stood up from his desk and went around to the bookcase. He pulled down the largest tome on the shelf, the LazyTown Big Book of History. Stephanie came closer as he set it on his desk and flipped through the pages, finding the relevant passage.

"A long time ago," Milford said, "before I was the mayor, even before the mayor who came before me, one of the earliest mayors of LazyTown tried to follow the words of the LazyTown Stone just like we do today, that the town should always be happy. And it was," he rested his hand lightly on the book, "until one day a strange man came to town."

He paused, looking down at the book while the sweat beaded on his bald head. Stephanie remained quiet, watching his eyes as they roved over the pages.

"The man took over the town and tricked everyone into doing what he wanted. Terrible things happened with him around. He poisoned their gardens, framed townspeople and put them in jail, and chased the real mayor out of town. He kept everyone under his control with his machine that made LazyTown a very unhappy place to be."

"What did they do?" Stephanie asked when her uncle stopped. He looked at her.

"The mayor called on the help of a hero. Together they rallied the townspeople and challenged the man's villainy. They took away his power and took back the town, saving everyone."

"What happened to the man?" Stephanie asked.

"He disappeared," Milford said, "after swearing that LazyTown would be his again someday."

Stephanie's eyes widened. "But how is that possible? All of that happened ages ago!"

"Some of the best laid plans take time," Milford said. "And he had all of the time in the world to wait for the perfect opportunity to come back and take what's his."

"There has to be a way to stop him," Stephanie said. "We can get help, just like the last mayor!"

"I'm afraid that isn't possible, my dear," the mayor said. Stephanie's brow wrinkled.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because," he said, "this town belongs to me now, and I won't let go of it again."

"Uncle Milford?" Stephanie stared. Milford wiped more sweat from his head, dragging his fingers through the small tufts of hair over his ears. He gripped a handful in his fist and gave it a sharp tug.

The mayor's face came away like a rubber mask, revealing underneath the crooked leer and burning eyes of someone else. Stephanie stumbled back several steps as the shape of her uncle stretched, his trunk and limbs elongating, transforming before her eyes. The mayor's yellow suit split under the strain with a rending R-r-ri-i-ip— and fell away to expose the dark silhouette of the man, a living shadow.

"Uncle!" Stephanie cried as she bumped up against the railing keeping her from the exit. The long shadow of the tall man fell over her as he crossed the room, his hooked fingers reaching out for her.