DEATH-ZONE PURPLE

Chapter Seven: Rapture
******************************

Trina and Kent Jr. awoke to the sound of squealing gears, the truck was braking
to a complete halt.  Kent Jr. checked his watch.  Since leaving their house, he
and his sister had slept for nine hours.  What was going on?

The heavy iron doors opened at the rear cab, and the children squinted in the
sunlight.  They were greeted warmly by a familiar figure.

"Good morning, Trina and Kent!  My goodness, you two really had a nice long
nap!" bubbled the fat purple dinosaur.  "We've arrived at my secret fun
hideaway here at Carlsbad!"
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"What are we doing here?" asked Trina.

"Trina curious!  Wants to know what we're doing here!  Curious!" gurgled Baby
Bop, who appeared alongside Barney.  "Think we should tell them, right Barney? 
Friends can always share secrets!"

"Oh Baby Bop, of course we'll tell Trina and Kent what we're doing.  But first,
I think we should all enjoy a delicious and healthy snack!"  With that,
everyone left the truck and made their way past a series of brush and rocks. 
Near a craggy outcropping, Barney bent over and shifted a purplish stone. 
Suddenly, a wide section of earth gave way with an ominous hum.  Trina and Kent
Jr. noticed there was an elevated lift built into the earth.  Looking around,
they also noticed they were probably a great distance away from any roads or
highways.  They were immediately scolded by two harried-looking Loved Ones, who
seemed uncomfortable with being outside.  The elevator, burdened with Barney,
Baby Bop, the children, and a squad of Loved Ones and Barneyian Minions,
quickly descended into the shaft.

                        *       *       *       *

When they all got inside, Trina and Kent Jr. gasped in surprise.  They were
Moreinside an immense cavern, filled with monitors and screens.  Railings and
balconies stretched along dark, rocky walls and from the shadows they could
hear the gurglings and croaks of Loved Ones.  

"Welcome to my underground fortress kids!" chuckled Barney.  "You and I are
going to stay here and play fun games for a long time."

The idea made the children smile.  "We love you Barney," they said in mindless
unison.

"Well that's super-deee-duupper!  And you know what, you two?  You and I are
going to meet a very special friend of mine.  He came all the way from Canada
to be here tonight, for a very special operation. "

"Is that him?" Trina asked, pointing to a human dressed in a purple and green
robe, standing at the end of the landing platform.

"You are absolutely corrrectt!  Trina and Kent, meet Jerome!"

The children smiled and greeted the human.  He was a man in his early twenties,
well-kept and appearing very excited.  When Barney approached him, the two
embraced in a very warm and powerful hug.
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"I love you Barney!" yelled Jerome ecstatically.

"And I _love you," replied the Purple Beast.  "Are you ready for your
operation?"

"Oh yes, Barney, yes!  I'm all a jitter, waiting for you to make me a true
disciple!"

"Then let's get a move-on!" squealed the pudgy purple reptile.  With a wave of
his hand, the entire ensemble embarked down a hall marked, "SURGICAL SECTOR". 
As they proceeded down the hall, the group broke into song:

        I love you, you love me, time for Jerome's surgery
        With a little purple luck, we'll do it right
        And Jerome will be a wondrous sight!

                *               *               *

Lieutenant McKalla had never expected to be relaying the news about a mediocre
movie to her superiors.  Yet, here she was, FAXing all available information to
General Brackenridge about the 1956 movie, "The Conqueror".  She and the
Moreavailable staff had watched the film several dozen times, hoping to know what
Barney the Dinosaur's fascination with the movie was.  It was simply a sloppy
retelling of Genghis Khan, coupled with a love story and banal battle scenes.
Nothing seemed clear to her now as she relayed critiques, plot summaries, cast
and crew lists, _everything relating to the movie.  Hopefully the general could
come across something.

                *               *               *

At the mobile reconaissance station, General Brackenridge reviewed all the
information he had: the script from "The Conqueror";  the photos of the
soil-laden trucks crossing over southern New Mexico;  the blueprints of SYZ-18,
the failed Soviet satellite that Barney invested $15 million in; a geographical
map of the southwest region; and many more seemingly unrelated clues that were
making him exasperated.

Brackenridge listened to the radio.  A news report was coming in about a
bizarre murder at a warehouse near Alamogordo.  The foreman and all ten of his
workers were found dead, many with crushed limbs.  A regular superintendent
could only relate the disappearance of several heavy crates painted purple and
green, that a `Mr. Yenrab' had ordered stored sometime ago.  

A strong gust of wind blew in, and Brackenridge was irritated at the dusty air
filling the station.  He was immediately reminded of the one truck that the
Barneyian convoy had left behind, filled with soil, nothing else.  When the
Omega base crews had done an analysis, they discovered it was all highly
radioactive.

And then suddenly, it dawned upon him.

Rising to his feet, Brackenridge hurriedly called into Omega Base.  Lieutenant
McKella answered.

"McKella, were there any other satellite photos taken of the southern New
Mexico
area within the past year, aside from the truck convoy?"

"I can check sir, though for the first half of the season, most of the relay
signals were taken at night.  Any shots we'd get would be too dark for any real
detail,"  McKella replied.

"Lieutenant, find any photos or recorded images that reveal unusual movement in
that region, if the satellite passed over in the evening, get Surveillance to
enhance the images!  No questions, just do it!"

"Yes sir," she replied.  "Will you want any of these photos FAXed to your
station?"

"Affirmative, McKella, and cut no slack in doing so.  I think I may have that
fat purple scumfreak figured out! "

Two hours later the FAX machine began to hum and chirp.  A series of
photographs crept out of the bay-feed, and were immediately snatched-up and
scrutinized by the anxious general.  The enhancement showed everything
Brackenridge wanted to know.  He stepped out of the station vehicle and relayed
an order to Garret.

"Garret," he said, sweating profusely, "call in our troops and have them
prepped for one hell of a battle.  We're shipping out from here as soon as
Surveillance relays to us the last-known possible coordinates of Barney the
Dinosaur and his cult.  Come with me into the strategy room, we've got to get
the purple s.o.b nailed and fast!"

                        *               *               *

Trina and Kent Jr. stared in fascination.  Strapped to the surgical table,
Jerome appeared happy and carefree.  Beside him stood Barney and a Loved One
assistant, who was cradling a handful of odd metallic instruments.  Barney
peeled back his green surgical mask and gently cooed into Jerome's ear.

"Are we comfy?"

Jerome giggled with uncontrollable glee.  "Yes, I can't believe it's going to
happen!  Barney, thank you, thank you!"

"When I'm through with you, Jerome, you are going to look stuuuppeendouss!"

With a snap of his chubby fingers, Barney signalled the Loved One to inject an
orange liquid into Jerome's cheek.  Jerome flinched a little, then suddenly,
his entire face collapsed into a drooping pile of flesh.

"Don't worry kids, this is a relaxant, to help Jerome's muscles rest."  Jerome
began snoring.  The two children giggled in amusement.

Trina looked about.  No one else was giggling.  The room, dark and metallic,
was filled with odd devices and containers.  There were also a fair number of
Loved Ones and Barneyian-cultists surrounding the operating area.  Trina wiped
the grin off her face and did her best to keep composure.
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"Face-locks, please", said Barney.  The blubbery Loved One pulled an intricate
set of wire braces and hooks from the tiny metal platter.  Barney inserted the
four shiny hooks around the corners of Jerome's mouth.  "Aaaannddd uuuppp!"
sang Barney, stretching the odd-device back around the unconscious human's
head.  When the face-locks were stretched as far back as they could go, Barney
fastened them in back with a series of clasps, then let Jerome's head rest back
upon the table.

Kent Jr. couldn't believe his eyes.  "Whooooaaa, that's something else!"

Trina was also amazed.  Jerome's mouth had been stretched apart to reveal his
shiny, perfect teeth, the surrounding skin pulled into a broad smile.  Barney
chuckled at the children's reaction, then reached for a vial containing a milky
substance.  He set about injecting it with a needle into Jerome's neck, sinal
cavities, and chin.  The sight made Trina and Kent Jr. cringe.

"What will that do, Barney?" asked Trina, her face scrunched in repulsion.

"Why this chemical will make Jerome's face tighten forever into this beautiful
smile that you see here!" beamed Barney, handing the needle over to the Loved
One.  Within seconds, everyone could see Jerome's skin harden and tighten. 
Jerome's face would be smiling forever.  Barney quickly undid the face-locks.
The grin was frozen perfectly into Jerome's tender features.

"And now the pretty part!  Please, please please, let me see!" shrieked Baby
Bop, breaking through the crowd.  

Barney chuckled.  "Please excuse Baby Bop kids, she always likes this part." 
With that, the bloated Purple Demon removed the lid off of a wide plastic
container.    He hung it from an overhead brace and inserted a series of tubes
and stems into the bottom of it.  At the end of the tubes were shiny metal
mouths which Barney proceeded to plunge into Jerome's tender pale skin.

"Changes!  Jerome changes, like a _chameleon!!" gurgled Baby Bop ecstatically,
dancing in circles and rocking her head back and forth.  Trina and Kent Jr.
watched on as purple fluid began seeping through the tubes and stems, emptying
into Jerome's unconscious body.  It was not long before patches of purple
began appearing under the human's flesh.

The children were speechless. Here was a human being, being changed into a
Barneyesque creature!  As they looked on, Barney grabbed an electric razor and
started shaving the hair off of Jerome's body.  Thick tufts of hair drifted to
the concrete floor, as Jerome's flesh began turning a more solid shade of
violet.

When Barney had finished shaving Jerome's hair off, and the man was a vibrant
hue of purple, the chubby dinosaur took out the tubes and applied bandages and
compresses to the gaping holes.  "And now, the final touch!"

In a process similar to the injection of the dye, Barney now administered a
thick, lardy substance into Jerome's lanky frame.  Trina had seen something
like this on a television show once, called liposuction.  But Barney was doing
it in reverse.  The plump reptile was actually _injecting massive volumes of
fat into his friend's body.  

The process continued for almost two hours, but the children never lost
interest.  At the conclusion, Jerome was revived and allowed to see himself in
the mirror.

The young man screamed.  Trina and Kent Jr. leapt back.  Was Jerome terrified?
The next instant the scream turned into a childish squeal and tears welled up
in the man's eyes.  Jerome turned from the mirror and faced Barney, who was now
removing the surgical mask and gown.

"How can I ever *thank* you?" gushed the man.
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"No thanks are necessary, just let me know how much you care and love your
friend Barney!"

Jerome wobbled over, purple, grinning, hairless, nude and obese.  He wrapped 
Barney in a great big hug and the lizard replied in turn by kissing the human 
lovingly on the head.  It was a tender moment experienced by all in the room. 
As the children looked on, Barney gave a wink to the two and whispered, "you're
next".

                        NEXT: The Conclusion of Death-Zone Purple
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