By me, with art by Sam Messerly.
Click here to read from the beginning.
Against my better judgment, I opened the door. I think it was out of mortified curiosity as much as anything. And sure enough, that floating dark mass in the evening air was indeed the head of Warbell. My eyes must have been about as big as basketballs at that point.
“What’s wrong?” asked Warbell. “Oh, my head? I just wanted to show you my head so you wouldn’t freak out and think I was a ghost or something. Plus this is probably a good time to lie low for a little bit. What I said tonight about the virus was a risk, and it may not prove altogether to my benefit in the end.”
“Well, I didn’t mistake you for a ghost,” I said, putting my hand on my hip to try to appear chill. And sure enough a chill ran tip toe down my spine. “What is up?”
“A lot is up,” the old lizard said.
I saw the grass of my lawn shift, and then noticed that there were patches of green compacted flat, like footprints. I could see where Warbell was standing even though he was invisible.
“To be perfectly honest,” Warbell said. “I feel a little shocked.”
“You feel shocked?” I asked. “About what? You probably don’t feel as shocked as I do talking to a floating head on my front lawn!”
“Yes, that must be very confusing,” said the old lizard. “But I mean what the reporter said. About the skeletal remains in First Pumpkin. I have to go there.”
“Oh,” I said. “Tyrannosaurus Alexis?”
In the shadows, Warbell’s face looked suddenly darker—but not because of the light.
“That skeleton is my kind. It’s not just a set of bones for everyone to look at, and it isn’t just a hamster either. I need to go see… who that really is. But I wanted to come here and talk to you first.”
“Me?” I asked. “Why?”
“You let me live in your garage,” Warbell said. “You were the first person I talked to. You guided me around your city. You didn’t do a great job, but you did it, even though you didn’t want to. Even after I almost ate you. That means something. I owe you a real debt.”
That got me. Part of me wanted to protest that I didn’t do such a bad job, but then I remembered what sort of a job I had actually done. I had a distinct twitch of guilt.
“Right,” I finally said, and cleared my throat. “You do owe me one, don’t you?”
Warbell ignored my jibe.
“Did you find the documents?” the old lizard said.
“Documents?”
“Yes,” said Warbell. “Well, I guess you didn’t. I had thought you would dismantle the camera, but I suppose you didn’t do that yet, either, huh? Anyway, I need to get going. There may not be a lot of time to act. I am not sure. But I need to go straight away.”
The head started floating away from me.
“You are full of riddles and it just drives me crazy,” I said.
“True,” said Warbell. “But I left you the answers if you care to find them. Goodbye, Wal.”
Before I could say anything, Warbell’s head disappeared and I heard the rhythmic thumps of his footfalls as he left my yard and hurried down the street.