The Accidental King of Achoo
Page 9
“A house divided against itself cannot stand,” Lincoln said. “We need to bring the people in this village together and defeat the evil. This feels like a civil war in our community.”
Meanwhile, Orgizo loved his rallies. People cheer me! People love me! It’s too bad that Mom and Pop aren’t alive to see this. After all those years of thinking I would be a loser because of all the trouble I made, I have proved them wrong. I am the greatest. I will be the king for as long as I live, he thought.
On stage, in front of his supporters, Orgizo shouted, “I can’t tolerate all the people who are different from us or who don’t support me. I will get rid of my enemies, starting with Mikro. I will build a cage and lock her up.”
“Lock her up. Lock her up,” the crowd chanted.
“I have an idea,” Orgizo continued. “We need to protect ourselves from our enemies. It might not be enough to banish them from the village and build a wall. We need a way to protect ourselves … But first, get those news reporters out of here. What I have to say is not for their ears. They are crooked, and they will twist my facts. I will send a bird-mail later to tell them the truth as I see it. Now, get rid of them!”
Several of his bodyguards, men who were as big and tortured-looking as Frankenstein’s monster, grabbed the news reporters and sent them home, after first threatening their lives.
“Now, friends, we are going to go to the dead land,” continued Orgizo. “We will bring back the uranium rocks that cause people to lose their hair and die. We will bring these rocks to the village to protect us from our enemies. We need an army to protect us. We’re going to build up our military so big and so strong and so great that nobody is going to mess with us. We are going to have radioactive rocks in our homes and villages to protect ourselves. Let it be an arms race!”
The villagers looked shocked, and many were terrified. “He’s going to destroy us and everything we have,” they whispered to each other. “If he gets his way, the whole world will be gone. The man is crazy. He’s dangerous,” they all agreed. “He must never win.”
Overall, the villagers were sure that Mikro would win. She was so qualified and had spent her life in the village, being a support and helper for everyone. Orgizo lived in the mountains, and his only contact with the villagers was when he wanted something from them. Far more people supported Mikro than Orgizo. They were sure of that.
Soon after Orgizo’s announcement about bringing radioactive rocks into the community, voting day arrived. The villagers had a strange way of voting. Instead of giving every person one equal vote, they voted by neighborhoods, with each neighborhood getting a certain number of votes. It was all or nothing, by neighborhood. If nine people in a neighborhood voted for one person and ten voted for the other, all nineteen votes went to the winner.
Orgizo and his family got one vote. Many of the Truppers had moved to live together in one area of valley, and since there were not many of them, they also got just one vote. The rest of the villagers lived close together, and because they were most of the community, they got two votes. Despotis and his family lived in a mountain that was away from Orgizo and his family’s mountain. He demanded that because he lived in a separate neighborhood, he deserved a separate vote. The Truppers yelled and screamed until they got their way.
Of the people living in the smaller Trupper neighborhood, slightly more than half supported Mikro. But Orgizo had a plan for this too. “Everyone in this neighborhood must show a birth certificate to vote for Mikro,” he insisted. “We know that Lincoln doesn’t have one. My guards will be watching to make sure the election isn’t rigged.”
Orgizo and his family sent in their votes via bird-mail, and not surprisingly, it was unanimous for Orgizo. Despotis sent in his selection, which made two votes for Orgizo. The main part of the village added their two votes, making it two for Mikro versus two for Orgizo. The final vote count relied on the smaller part of the village, where there had been some problems in deciding who could vote.
“I’m here to vote,” said Lincoln. He was proud of his contribution to the community.
“I need to see your birth certificate,” the guard demanded.
“Here it is.” Lincoln had expected trouble, so he was prepared.
“I need to see the long form.”
“This is the long form,” explained Lincoln.
“I still don’t believe you. Go away and leave us alone.”
The guards also turned Dynami away. “Hatters aren’t being allowed here,” the guard said as he escorted Dynami out of the room.
Both Lincoln and Dynami lived in the smaller neighborhood. The vote was still two to two, with the last vote waiting to be counted.
One for Mikro, one for Orgizo … Ballots were placed in separate piles as they were counted. The final outcome was nine votes for Mikro and ten for Orgizo. Dynami had been denied a vote because of his hat, and Lincoln because of his birth certificate. Orgizo received the single neighborhood’s total vote, so the election outcome was three votes for Orzigo to two votes for Mikro.
Orgizo would be the next king of Achoo.
When the announcement was made, villagers stood in shock. Then many people began crying. How could this have happened? Would their village even survive under Orgizo?
“Get over it, snowflakes,” the Truppers said, tormenting the anguished villagers. “You lost. We won. Give it up!” they chanted.
Soon pigeons began flocking into the village with notes on their legs: Nah, nah, to my many enemies who have fought me and lost so badly. You lost. I won. Love! Give it up, losers! Let’s move on and let the past be the past. I won by a landslide!
Despotis stood on the stage, holding hands with Orgizo. Both men were smiling.