Mega Worm Apocalypse

TWENTY

The purples and pinks that settled at the tops of the rolling grassy hillsides made a sky of warm cotton candy. It would be dark soon.

Justin had been gone too long.

Kayla sat by the fire that Andres made, hugging her middle as the chill of night began to creep in. Andres stood at the edge of their make-shift camp, picking nervously at a twig as he kept his eyes on the horizon. They both had been gone too long.

"Should we go look for them?" Kayla said.

It was a long time before Andres answered. When he finally did, "No," was all he said.

"Why not?" said Kayla. "It'll be dark soon. What if something's happened to them?"

Andres nodded, considering. Then turned to face her. "They've got Gaisgeil with them," he said. "If there was trouble, Gaisgeil would have gotten them out of there. Brought them back."

"How can you be so sure?"

He grinned. "I've seen Gaisgeil fight enough times to be sure."

"Not fight worms you haven't."

He shrugged. "They seemed upset enough by her scream, didn't they?"

Yes, Kayla had to concede that was true. But still, something didn't feel right. After all, it wasn't just Gaisgeil and Nat out there. It was Justin. And Justin wouldn't want to be out, away from Kayla, after dark. Gaisgeil or no Gaisgeil.

At least, that was how it always was.

Before she nearly betrayed them all.

A wave of shame washed over as she remembered how she succumbed to the worms back in the forest. How she nearly got them all killed. Before Justin had looked at her the way he did.

Maybe now, Justin didn't care what happened to Kayla after dark.

And maybe that was as it should be. Wasn't that exactly what Kayla had wanted from him for so long? A bit of space? A bit of distance? A bit of time to re-evaluate whether Justin & Kayla should even still be Justin & Kayla?

It was safer for him if they weren't.

By being with Kayla, she knew, he could never be safe.

Maybe now, after what happened – after what she'd let happen – he was finally starting to figure that out.

And that was good.

That would keep him safe.

Why then, did her chest ache at the thought of it?

"There they are," said Andres, a heavy relief in his voice.

On the horizon they could see Gaisgeil pounding her way across the field. But there was no rider.

Kayla frowned. "Andres, do you see them?"

The cowboy didn't answer. His body tensed, his hands balling into fists at his side. Gasgeil was alone.

The way the unicorn ran – Kayla could tell – was wrong. The beast ran hard, too hard, legs pounding with a fierce determination as it drove straight for them – horn lowered for attack.

"What's wrong with her?" Kayla shouted.

But Andres was already running. He ran to Kayla and pulled her into the trees as the murder horse drove closer. "We have to get high!" he shouted at her. He pushed her at a sparse pine tree. "Climb!" he screamed, propping up her foot. Kayla pulled herself up, branch by branch, her body trembling, terrified to look down – to see what she didn't want to see – two meters of sharp spiraled tusk, dripping with poison and ready to impale her and Andres.