Free Paraworld Zero by Matthew Peterson Page A

going into standby mode.
        Tonya zoomed over a little boy’s bedroom window, which shocked the child so
much that he closed his curtains and ran down the hallway to get his parents, screaming the whole
way, “There’s a car driving up our building! There’s a car driving up our building!”
        The flying car shot twenty feet above the apartment and came to a slow halt
in midair—like a roller coaster reaching the summit before a great fall. Time seemed to stand
still as Simon, Tonya, and Butch gazed dreamily at the Apache helicopters hovering on both sides
of them.
        Feeling woozy, Tonya turned her head sideways to look at the helicopter to
her left. She imagined the aircraft’s blades twirling in slow motion. “I feel dizzy,” she
whispered.
        Tonya put her hand to her mouth and coughed. When she withdrew her hand, her
palm was wet with blood. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head. She didn’t know if the
sickness came about by the food she’d eaten, the bumpy ride she’d just had, or by the simple fact
that she was afraid of heights, but whatever the reason, it was enough to make her faint.
        The lethargic dream ended abruptly, and the car began to drop from the pale
blue sky. Plummeting downward with tremendous speed, it appeared as though someone had just
pressed fast forward on time itself.
        Simon felt his small body float away from his seat. He reached out and
grabbed Tonya’s paratransmitter, which was also levitating. Butch seized the other end of the
device and dragged it and Simon towards him.
        Back in the apartment, the little child’s mother ran to the bedroom window
and impatiently ripped open the curtains. “How many times have I told you not to make up stories,
young man?” At that moment, the car rushed by and created a huge gust of wind that blew the woman
backwards onto her son’s bed.
        “See, Mommy, I told you there was a car driving on our building,” said the
innocent boy with a proud smile.
        Outside, Simon turned his head towards the driver’s seat and yelled over the
loud whistling of the car, “Wake up, Tonya. WAKE UP! ”
        “ Good afternoon,” chimed the car as it awoke from its sleep mode. “Welcome to the RX1000 voice-activated guidance system. Would you like your daily
horoscope? ”
        Tonya opened her eyes and responded sleepily, “No, thank you, car.”
        “ Tonya! ” cried Simon.
        Realizing where she was, Tonya grabbed the steering wheel and forced the car
to glide upwards from its descent. Just before taking flight, the rubber tires brushed the same
cop car on the ground as before and knocked out the remaining red and blue flashing light.
        The Apache helicopters chased after them as they flew above the streets of
New York City. Tonya wove throughout the town, darting around buildings and flying under
billboards to lose her pursuers, but the convertible was no match for an army helicopter.
Although the Apaches were armed with air-to-air Sidewinder, Stinger, Mistral, and Sidearm
missiles, the pilots hesitated to fire within the confines of the city. Instead, they tried to
flush the car into the open where they could shoot it down without hurting innocent people.
        All the while, Butch and Simon fought for possession of the paratransmitter.
If it were not for the car’s sudden drops, dives, and jumps, Butch would have easily been able to
rip the book from Simon’s arms.
        “Give me that thing,” Butch said. He shook the young boy against the leather
seat.
        A row of flashing lights came to life on the paratransmitter. Strange
characters filled the digital place markers, and a three-dimensional image of a white planet
appeared on the display.
        “Tonya, something’s happening!” Simon yelled.
        Totally engrossed in her driving, the teenager rotated around the