�At nightfall, we will cross this practice field and approach the Main Office from the back, thus catching the agents of the Dark Lord unprepared.�
�Oh, yes?� snapped Nokuma gruffly. �You make it all sound so simple. Just a traipse in the woods to get through the library - an impassable labyrinth of oxymorons and dipthongs. And after that, why, it gets even better. A humid, odd-smelling hallway as far as the eye can see.�
�Nevertheless,� continued Zullo impassively. �That is our road. I suggest you rest and recover your strength for the journey. You�re looking kind of peakish.�
�Recover my . . .� Nokuma shouted, horribly insulted. �A gym teacher is never exhausted. They are tireless machines, like a superball in a room with walls made out of rubber. Pay no heed to that,� he added as Becky walked by with an armful of firewood.
�An excellent idea,� said Ryan. �I was just thinking about a hot meal.�
�I thought perhaps we might like a fire for that hot meal,� said Becky grumpily. �Funny how some of us do all the work while others only think about it. Speaking of which, where has Chris gotten to?�
They all looked around hastily, but Chris was gone. He had left his sleeping bag unrolled and his backpack behind, but of him there was no sign.
�Perhaps he just went to look for firewood,� suggested Brad hesitantly.
�Yeah. Right.� said Zullo grimly, pointing at a similar stash of belongings which Kevin had left behind. �Unless I am much mistaken, our young student friend is in a very great deal of trouble.� The others started, noticing for the first time that Kevin was just as gone as Chris.
Chris had wandered off alone, perhaps not the smartest of ideas. His initial intention was, in fact, to gather firewood, but he was also thinking about various other things. As he picked up a particularly fine specimen of wood, he heard a twig snap behind him. He turned quickly, thinking it was a janitor. He relaxed only slightly when he saw that it was Kevin.
�None of us should wander alone,� said Kevin, picking up a piece of wood Chris had dropped so as to look like he was doing something. �You least of all. I know how you suffer - I see it day by day. Be sure you do not suffer needlessly. There are other ways Chris; other paths that we might take . . .� Chris cut him off.
�I know what you would say, Kevin, and it would seem like wisdom but for the warning in my heart.� He began backing away, but Kevin followed after him.
�Warning, what warning??� he said, breathing faster and his voice beginning to rise. �The Disk is our greatest weapon. We are all suffering, Chris, but to destroy what hope we have of defeating Conner . . .that is folly.�
�It is the only way,� said Chris. �There is NO other way,� he added emphatically. Kevin was beginning to get angry, and he stalked towards Chris in a very meaningful way and clearly with violent intentions. Chris continued to back away, found that he could not continue walking backwards, and fell down. Kevin clutched at his foot.
�It is not yours save by unhappy chance,� Kevin yelled. �It could have been mine. It SHOULD have been mine!!�
Chris saw no other alternative. If he did nothing, then Kevin would take the Disk and all would be lost. Quickly, Chris delved into his pocket and flipped off the write-protection, thus becoming invisible. Kevin gasped, then collapsed in a heap as Chris kneed him in the crotch. As Kevin got shakily to his feet, he could not see Chris anywhere.
�I�m sorry!� he called out. �Chris, I�m sorry . . .come back!� As if in answer, a large tree limb floated up in the air and clobbered him in the back of the head. Kevin fell to the ground, out for the count.
Chris fled the scene, his only thought to get distance between himself and Kevin before the latter woke up. As he hopped a chainlink fence, he came upon a soccer goalpost, very tall and sprayed with ornate graffiti. Chris clambered up and sat on top of the goalpost. He realized that he could see for miles in every direction from where he sat. As he stared northward, the landscape seemed to shrink away, and he thought that he could see straight into the Main Office. A great eye, burning red, seemed to appear out of the smoke which surrounded the Office. As Chris continued to look, the eye seemed to speak to him in an alien, evil-sounding language.
�I know where you are . . .� it seemed to say. �Please, continue using the Disk so that I will know exactly where you are at all times.� Chris, putting two and two together, flipped the write protection back on. As he did so, a wordless scream seemed to blow past him, its force knocking him off the goalpost. As he stood up, recovering from the physical shock, he heard a familiar voice.
�Chris?� called Zullo, stepping out from behind a tree. �Are you all right?�
�It has taken Kevin,� gasped Chris. �He�s turned as bad as a rotten apple, just as we knew would happen.�
�Yeah, we gathered as much when we saw that he was gone,� agreed Zullo. He took a step forward.
�Back!� screamed Chris. Zullo stopped, a hurt look on his face.
�Chris, I swore an oath to protect you,� he said. �I would never hurt you.�
�Yeah, well, Kevin swore an oath too. It didn�t stop him. Would you destroy it?� he asked, holding out the Disk. He thought he could hear a faint whisper on the air. Zoooo-lo . . .Zoooo-lo . . . put me on. Zullo came up to Chris, then gently closed Chris�s fingers around the Disk.
�I must go to the Main Office alone,� said Chris. �Or else it will corrupt you all, one by one.� Zullo nodded, but there were tears in his eyes.
�I would have gone with you to the very fires of the Main Office,� Zullo choked out. Abruptly, he stopped, staring. �Chris!� he shouted, pointing. Chris looked, and saw that his trombone was glowing a bright blue. �Run,� he said grimly. �I�ll hold them off.� As Chris fled, Zullo turned to face Teddy-Ugluk and his onrushing hordes of screaming Garbage-men.