Chapter Thirty-Six
The Final Pitch
Sara accepted the ball without looking. She never removed her gaze from her target, even with Pan Gu so close at hand, snorting and grumbling in her face. She could just barely see the skylight over the shoulder of the looming dragon, but she did not let this become a distraction.
Her mind was clear of all but the task at hand. With nothing but confidence that she would succeed, she entered her windup and let the baseball fly.
It ripped through the air like a laser, and again her aim was true. The ball once more struck the center of the skylight, but this time, it traveled through the weakened glass, bursting into the air beyond. With a sound like one thousand disrupted wind chimes, the skylight shattered into countless pieces, raining down upon the museum floor.
“Yes!” Maria exclaimed. “You did it, Sara!”
With the removal of the colossal window, a torrent of fresh air suddenly surged into the museum. It brought with it the smells of salt water, and plant life, and the sunlight that existed beyond the clouds. It was the smell of the world that existed beyond the indoors, the aroma of the earth itself. And there were the sounds of seagulls, calling out to their feathered friends, as well as the pitter-patter of the first drops of rain.
Its nostrils flaring wide, Pan Gu abruptly turned toward the broken skylight, its attention riveted. Its eyes glowed with excitement, and it made a strange noise that the sisters believed to express joy. Moving with the speed and agility of a serpent, it scrambled for the opening.
The monster’s departure occurred within no more than a handful of seconds. Before the sisters could even believe that it was happening, Pan Gu was gone, free from the confines of the museum and set loose in the world – the place where forces of nature belonged. They could only hope that it would find its way to the peace of the nearby sea, and avoid demolishing the city of Portsmouth on its way there.
“It’s… it’s gone,” Maria said, in a tone of disbelief. They had been in such great peril, it was hard to adjust to the removal of the rampaging beast.
“Indeed, it is. Let’s just hope it doesn’t decide to eat one of those buses our school came here on. As for right now, I think we should focus on our own escape. Where’s Nibbler?” Sara asked.
They looked around, finding that the Labradoodle was gleefully sprinting in circles, leading the Guardian Lion on a merry chase. But the giant creature suddenly turned its head, captivated by the escape of Pan Gu. Apparently, the great beast meant to duplicate the feat, though it seemed as though it might be more difficult for the Guardian Lion, for it was significantly smaller than the dragon.
Nonetheless, it found success. Maria and Sara watched as the Guardian Lion leaped from one piece of debris to the next, improvising as it went. When it had scrambled to a place near the ceiling, it performed an extraordinary jump, disappearing through the skylight with impressive dexterity.
Maria and Sara watched this great escape with open-mouthed amazement. As striking as it was, it was of little use to them, as far as figuring out their own getaway. They knew they would not be able to repeat the Guardian Lion’s performance. It was, quite simply, not humanly possible.
Would there be consequences for setting these creatures free in Portsmouth – and if so, what would they be? The sisters could not afford to spend any time worrying about such things, for their own peril was both immediate and great. Pan Gu had left the museum in a state that was not sustainable. It was irrevocably damaged, and it would collapse, of that there could be no doubt.
“At least we don’t have to worry about that thing anymore,” Sara said. “Now, we have to find our own exit.”
With the Guardian Lion gone, Nibbler returned to the girls, happily barking and licking at their hands, his tail wagging at speeds beyond measure. He seemed to want them to follow his lead, and the sisters had no qualms about doing so.
Together, they heaved Evelyn to her feet once more, and supporting her weight, they fell in behind Nibbler. As he led them on, his incessantly wagging tail made his rump shake without pause, and this abundance of happiness made the sisters optimistic.
Surely, Nibbler knew where he was going… he had found his way into this crumbling museum, hadn’t he? Of course, they were thrilled to have a guide, for the museum had become a maze of fiery walls and smoky corridors, with every obvious exit having become an impenetrable inferno.
Within moments, Nibbler led them to the very hole he had scrambled through in order to gain entry to the building. He proudly stood beside it, his tail wagging enthusiastically. His face was stretched into a furry smile as he awaited the girls’ reaction.
When they saw the hole, and felt the cool, fresh air passing through it, the sisters wept with joy, overcome with relief and emotion.
“That’s a good boy!” Sara commended Nibbler, scratching him behind the ears. “That’s a good, good boy!”
Wiping the tears from her eyes with her free hand, Maria asked, “Nibbler, have we told you lately how much we love you?”
“Woof!”
Epilogue
From the Portsmouth Daily News
Yesterday morning, disaster struck the Portsmouth Museum of Historical Artifacts. In what is being described by officials as a “total loss”, the building was devastated by a series of explosions, which ultimately resulted in failure of the structural integrity of the museum. Numerous fires were instigated, the consequence of which was further, irreparable damage.
Though there is no firm dollar figure attached to the loss at this time, it is confirmed that countless artifacts were destroyed in the event.
However, things could have been far worse. At the time of the event, a field trip was in progress, and several hundred students from the visiting school of Hollow Oak Elementary were in the museum. Fortunately, no students were harmed.
Thanks to the quick acting of Ms. Isabelle Waffler, a teacher of Hollow Oak Elementary who was acting as chaperone, the vast majority of students were successfully evacuated. Two female students were initially unaccounted for, but they were successfully guided from the burning museum by what one Portsmouth firefighter described as “the weirdest kind of rescue dog I’ve ever seen”.
This heroic canine, who is known as “Nibbler”, also managed to lead the museum’s chief curator, Ms. Evelyn Magellan, to safety. Ms. Magellan initially appeared to be injured during the event, but she is currently reported to be in stable condition.
On a less cheerful note, two individuals are still unaccounted for, having never left the building once the event began. The first of these is Eli Weatherbee, museum employee and assistant curator. The other is Jasper Cragglemeister, a member of the staff of Hollow Oak Elementary, who was serving as a chaperone for the field trip. Searchers have been unable to locate these missing persons, and their status is unknown.
The search efforts are ongoing.
Though the museum suffered irreparable damage and was almost completely consumed in flames, the Portsmouth Fire Department was able to eventually get the burning building under control. They were aided by the onset of heavy rainfall, which began shortly after the event began.
Officials are blaming the disaster on a faulty natural gas line, which they theorize ruptured, triggering a series of explosions in the lower recesses of the museum. Such was the power of these explosions, some witnesses report that large, unknown objects were thrown as far as the harbor, creating enormous splashes as they landed in the water.
However, some of the Hollow Oak students who were present clearly let their imaginations get the best of them, and they had some other theories as to what may have triggered the disaster.
When asked if he knew what had caused the event, one sandy-haired boy provided the following explanation: “Sure, I know what caused this… it was a monster.”
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Author’s Note
Thank you for reading The Green Beans, Volume Three: The Curious Conundrum of Pan Gu. I had a lot of fun writin
g this story, and I hope you enjoyed your time adventuring with the Green Beans. Please consider leaving customer reviews for the books in this series at your favorite retailers. As an independent author, reviews are very important for building a readership, and I am greatly appreciative of your feedback. As always, thank you for your support and for exploring the world of the Green Beans with me… and I’m looking forward to our next adventure!
-GG
GabrielGadget.com
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