�Where am I?� he asked sleepily.
�You are in the library of Savel, and it is 10'o�clock in the morning, on October the 24th, if you want to know,� answered Papa Resek gently.
�Papa Resek!� Chris exclaimed.
�Yes, I�m here,� said Papa Resek. �And you�re lucky to be here. A few more hours and we wouldn�t have been able to save you.�
�What happened, Papa Resek?� Chris asked. �Why didn�t you meet us?�
�Oh, I am sorry, Chris,� said Papa Resek sadly. �I was delayed . . .�
Papa Resek�s experience in the dark tower of Smokergard . . .
A friendship with Merrill is not lightly thrown aside -
Merrill waved her book and tossed Papa Resek around like a rag doll, clearly delighting in his suffering.
�It is over,� she hissed. �Embrace the power of the Disk, or embrace your own destruction.� She hurled him over the side of the tower, holding him in place with the power of Hamlet. As she laughed evilly, Papa Resek noticed a mosquito land on her forehead and begin feasting. Comprehension dawned.
�There is only one Lord of the Disk,� replied Papa Resek, climbing back to his feet. �Only one who can bend it to her will.� Papa Resek heard footfalls coming up the side of the tower. �And she does not share power.� On that dramatic note, Papa Resek jumped over the side of Smokergard onto the back of a large alpaca, which jumped lightly to the ground and trotted quickly into the fog.
�So you have chosen. . .death,� said Merrill to herself as she watched the odd twosome ride away.
- - - - - -
�Chris!� cried Dan, running into the room. �Bless you, you�re awake!�
�Dan has hardly left your side,� commented Papa Resek. �And thanks to the skills of Queen Savel, you are beginning to mend.� he added, gesturing to a graceful woman standing at his side.
�Welcome to Readerdell, Chris Glassburn,� Savel said formally. She left the room, evidently for other pressing business.
Chris got up and wandered around the library, meeting up with Brad and Becky. He also had a joyous reunion with Susan, whom he had not seen for some time. For a week and a half they did nothing but read books, play bingo, and stuff themselves with good food. However, all good things must come to an end, and eventually they had to do responsible things and go to the Council of Savel, wherein the fate of the Disk was being decided.
�Strangers from distant lands, friends of old, you�ve been summoned here to answer the threat of Conner. The fate of North Olmsted is bound up in the Disk; you will unite, or you will fall. Each department is linked to this Disk, this one doom. Bring forth the Disk, Chris.�
Chris walked forward and put the Disk on the circulation desk, where it lay alone, looking small yet ominous. Muttered whisperings filled the rooms.
�The Doom of the Faculty,� someone whispered.
�It is a gift,� said Kevin suddenly. �A gift to the foes of Conner. Let us use this Disk, and destroy the administration�s computers. By the blood of rebels like me is the administration kept on its toes. Give me. . .I mean the people. . . the weapon of the enemy. I. . .I mean we. . . can use it to save us all!� he ended passionately.
�We cannot use it,� disputed Master Z. �This Disk answers to Conner alone. It has no other master. Any of us who tried to use it would have our computers destroyed instantly.�
�And what would a history teacher know of this matter?� Kevin sneered. Ryan leapt to his feet.
�This is no mere history teacher,� said Ryan. �This is Zullo, son of Zullo. You owe him your allegiance.� Kevin inhaled sharply.
�Zullo?� he said, incredulously. �This is Patten�s heir?�
�And heir to the chair of the history department,� said Ryan, evidently intent on needling Kevin.
�Zug-zug. Bantha shmoo-doo, Ryan,� said Master Z, waving his hand.
�Typical SITES arrogance,� grumbled Kevin. �Speaking in languages normal people can�t understand. The history department has no chair. We need no chair.� He sat down, crossing his arms and frowning, virtually radiating hostility.
�But Zullo is right,� interjected Papa Resek quietly. �We cannot use it.�
�You have only one choice,� said Savel. �The Disk must be destroyed.� Kevin grumbled under his breath.
�Well, what are we waiting for?� shouted Nokuma. �Let it be done here and now.� He made a rush at the Disk, and swung his baseball bat with great force. When the smoke cleared, Nokuma was on his back, the bat lay in pieces around him, and the Disk was untouched.
�The Disk cannot be destroyed, Nokuma son of Sokuma, by any craft that we here possess. It was created in the fires of the main office; only there can it be formatted. It must be taken deep into the High School and cast into the fiery chasm from whence it came.
�One does not simply walk into the High School,� Kevin complained. �Its atrium is guarded by more than just hall monitors. There is evil there, which does not sleep. The Great Eagle is ever watchful. Not with 10,000 men could you do this. It is folly.�
�Have you heard nothing Queen Savel has said?� Ryan asked, standing up. �The Disk must be destroyed.�
�And I suppose you think you�re the one to do it!?!� Nokuma said, also jumping to his feet.
�And if we fail, what then?� asked Kevin angrily. �What happens when Conner takes back what is hers?�
�I will be dead,� Nokuma continued, �before I see the Disk in the hands of a mathematician! Never trust someone who understands calculus!�
This racist statement caused everyone to jump to their feet, yelling and shouting at each other. Chris thought he could hear a dark voice, chanting with fiendish glee at the chaos. He walked up to the Disk, trying to speak over everyone.
�I will take it!� he said. �I will take the Disk to the High School. Though,� he added softly, �I do not know the way.�
�I will help you bear it,� said Papa Resek. �For as long as you have it.�
�If by my life or death I can protect you,� said Zullo, �I will. You have my sword.�
�And you have my bow,� added Ryan.
�And MY tennis racket,� put in Nokuma, hefting it grimly.
Kevin glared silently for a moment, then stood up.
�Where the Disk goes, so do I,� he said, a glint in his eye.
�Hey, what about us?� said Dan, running into the room with Brad and Becky close behind him.
�You�d have to send us home in a sack to stop us,� added Becky. �Though of course, we were not eavesdropping.�
�Indeed,� said Savel seriously, though with the hint of a smile. �Nine companions . . .You shall be the Fellowship of the Disk.�
�Kodak picture moment!� shouted Brad. Everyone huddled in close, and Queen Savel took a picture.