Read Online Paraworld Zero by Matthew Peterson - Free Book Online

was jerked to the floor. “ This! ” he yelped.
        They sprinted towards the exit, but halfway there, a tall server holding a
tray of food walked into their pathway. Tonya collided with the man, and they both fell in a
heap. French fries flew in every direction. Tonya picked up a sandwich from the floor and took a
bite.
        “Oh, I should’ve ordered one of these,” she said, taking another bite.
        “Come on!” Simon yelled. He pulled the girl to her feet.
        The loud music in the cafe blared wildly as Simon and Tonya made their way to
the front door.
        “Hold it right there,” growled the manager. His large fingers clamped down
onto Tonya’s shoulder from behind. Instinctively, the teenager flung her arm to get loose, and
the manager sailed across the room as though a great, invisible giant had just smacked him. He
landed on a table, splitting it in half, and sent food into the air.
        “Sorry!” Simon shouted before exiting the building.
        A dozen men dressed in green fatigues marched in their direction. “We are in
so much trouble,” Simon moaned.
        “This way,” Tonya said. In the bright sunlight, Simon noticed her hair color
had changed into a fiery red.
        They ran down the street and took a sharp right. The road ahead seemed clear
of danger, so they sprinted for two more blocks. Just as they reached the end of the third block,
however, another group of army men spotted them.
        Simon looked behind and saw the other party of soldiers approaching fast.
Frantic and scared, he scanned the area for cover. In less than a minute, they would be
surrounded. Maybe it’s for the best , he thought. Then realization dawned on him: If he was sent back
to the foster home, Butch would be there, waiting for him. With renewed vigor, Simon prepared to
run. Suddenly, Tonya grasped her stomach and fell to her knees.
        “What’s wrong?” cried Simon.
        “I feel nauseous.”
        “We have to go now!” Simon snapped. “If they catch us, who knows what they’ll
do to us?”
        He pulled Tonya to her feet and forced her to run across the busy road. A
barricade formed behind them as cars and trucks from every lane crashed into each other. Tonya
turned around and uttered a spell. A layer of slick ice crept over the street and sidewalk,
causing the soldiers and pedestrians to fall. Some of the people tried to clamber on all fours,
but to no avail. The ice continued up the buildings and even made the birds slip from their
perches.
        “Wow,” Simon whispered.
        The two children continued running until they found a row of parked cars.
Tonya hobbled from car to car, trying to find one that wasn’t locked.
        “What are you doing?” Simon yelled.
        “We need to borrow one of these motorized contraptions,” she cried. “I can’t
run any longer—something’s wrong with me. My whole body hurts.”
        “Are you crazy? We can’t just borrow a car.”
        Tonya approached an expensive-looking sports car, and a digital voice warned,
“ Please step away from the vehicle. ”
        “What is this?” she asked in shock.
        The voice spoke again while Tonya jiggled the door handle. “ You have ten seconds to leave the vicinity before an alarm goes off. ”
        “I think we’d better go,” Simon said, eyeing the black exterior.
        “Let me see here,” Tonya said. She pulled up her tunic a little and revealed
a small wand attached to her bare leg with a white garter belt.
         So that’s where she’s been keeping it, Simon thought.
        The car counted down: “Five… Four… Three …”
        Tonya took her wand, tapped the keyhole in the door, and said loudly, “ OPEN! ”
        To the surprise of both, the roof of the car peeled away like a banana and
flung itself to the ground with a loud