Mega Worm Apocalypse

TWENTY SEVEN

The worm stood there, wearing the same face as Franklin, blinking expectantly.

Kayla raised an eyebrow. "So you want to help us?"

"Not so much in the way you humans think of assistance, no. But for the moment, our interests are aligned and so my allegiance to your cause can be counted on."

"Our cause?"

"The defeat of the Whole, and by extension, my Queen."

"Don't you mean Queens?" asked Nat.

The worm thought a moment. "Yes, Queens. Naturally."

Kayla frowned. "And how exactly do you think you can help us?"

"How does an adult help a child? In here, this is the realm of the Whole. Forgive me, clever as you are for humans this is not your natural environment. Far from it. You are still babes in the woods, snapping twigs and leaving footprints. If I detected your movement through our ranks then it wont be long before the others do too. And that would not be beneficial for me. With my help, you can move through the Whole like ghosts."

"To get us to infiltrate the sharks?" she pressed.

"Sharks, sabers, unicorns," said the Worm. "Not to mention the host of other sharp toothed, razor fanged, armor plated creatures that make up the Whole's army."

Kayla swallowed. Others?

Nat laughed bitterly, and Kayla couldn't blame her. That a worm - not just any worm - THE WORM that had been hunting for them for so long would suddenly have an interest in helping them. It was a bit too convenient. A bit too suspicious.

"Why should we believe you?" Kayla said.

The worm smiled, his arms held patiently behind his back as he considered his words. "I can understand your skepticism - it is, after all, a result of your condition."

"Our condition?"

"Humans. Mentally isolated as you are, you have to poke and prod and question and interpret clumsy words to understand another creature. It is your instinct to question my intentions. But in this place," he held up a hand, gesturing to the dark that surrounded them, "my intentions are laid bare - made plain without deception or obfuscation. You can, after all, simply read my mind."

The worm was right, of course. Every one of his thoughts, every feeling, it was laid bare to Kayla. She could feel it inside her mind as sure as she could feel her own thoughts. But still, there was a wall there - she could sense it - for all the Worm let her see inside his mind, there was still a barrier to some other part of him, some hidden space where she could sense him simmering with rage. Whatever seethed behind the Worm's wall, that was why he was here to stop his Queens. Whatever his reasons for wanting to help, she couldn't deny that his desire to help them was real. She glanced sideways at Nat who chewed her lip. Kayla could tell she could detect the truth of his words too. But as much as she hated to admit the Worm was right, her instinct to question him was strong.

Nat's eyes met Kayla's, a wordless confirmation that the Worm was truthful. Kayla glanced at Franklin. The boy was scowling, hating that the Worm was his mirror image. But still, even he couldn't find deception in the parasite's thoughts because he nodded to Kayla.

So they were doing this.

A hand grabbed Kayla's arm - Justin. "Hang on," he said, muttering quietly as though the volume of his voice mattered in this place. "Kayla, all of this, coming out alive - it all hinges on trusting this guy?"

"I know," she said. It was a big risk. But moving without him was riskier still.

"Do you really trust him?"