My Friend the Worm

Chapter 7 Scaypia

I let out a gasp and sat up in semi-darkness, wildly feeling my thigh for the open wound. But I felt no pain. There was no blood. No tear in my muscle. I'd woken up on the sofa in the basement and recognized the faint glow from the LED lantern.

I exhaled deeply, relieved.

"Are you okay?" whispered a voice, Trinity's voice. I looked in her direction and saw her sitting up on the other sofa, watching me. Next to her, Brandon was sleeping on his side, with his back facing the lantern.

"Yeah, sorry. I just had a bad dream is all. I think I'll try going back to sleep," I replied. But I still appreciated her concern. Very much. Trinity, Brandon, Lola, the whole lot—would've never had any interaction with me before the invasion. Yet right now, Trinity was showing genuine concern for me. It was a nice feeling. An unfamiliar feeling.

"At least you didn't wake up screaming," said Trinity quietly.

"It wasn't your fault," I responded after a moment. "You forgot where you were. So did I. We're all in this together."

"Yeah," she muttered.

At last, I turned my attention to Lola in the recliner. She was gaping at me, probably overjoyed I wasn't dead. I wanted to scream at her, but I figured that would scare the living shit out of everyone. I lay back down on the sofa, trying to fall asleep again so I could unleash my rage at her in telepathy, except my heart was still pounding. No matter, the sleep deprivation was too much for me and my exhaustion returned with a vengeance. I felt myself calming and was soon drifting back to sleep.

Once again, I woke in the apartment. Following the normal routine, I dressed, left the bedroom, and waited around. A half hour or so passed and the bearded lady entered, which made me smile.

Grinning, as usual, the bearded lady hobbled straight for the refrigerator.

Shortly after, the brunette walked into the apartment and came to a halt as she locked eyes with the bearded woman, who'd stopped rummaging in the fridge.

"Please, just let her get some food and then she'll leave," I pleaded, wanting to avoid conflict this time around.

The brunette continued to stare at the bearded lady. After a couple of long moments, she shifted her focus onto me.

"I'll do it for you," she said and walked over to stand beside me.

The wary eyes of the bearded lady followed every movement of the brunette, as if to make sure she wasn't up to something. Seeing that the brunette was keeping her word, the bearded woman turned her back on the brunette and clumsily gathered a heaping armful of random items from the fridge. Things were toppling and smashing on the ground as she bustled out the room. But when she stepped into the hallway, she turned around to face the brunette, as if to leave her with a statement. After a pregnant pause, she stuck her tongue out at the brunette and made a spitting sound, before racing off.

"I'm taking the highroad," said the brunette, staying put. "I've matured since the last time we met."

"That's good to know." I had still not shaken the sense that something had gone wrong the last time I was asleep. Whatever the brunette saw in the hall, whatever was chasing her, had shaken me. Maybe Lola was right. Something was not right with my citizens.

"How are you feeling?" I asked the brunette, who was doing yoga stretches on the floor in front of me.

"Not too bad, ya know. How are you?" She glanced up at me in between poses.

"Ummm... yeah I'm fine, thank you." I rubbed the part of my leg that had been stabbed. I felt strangely great, energized even.

"Is you sure? I mean, with her trying to murder you and what not."