Destined: 2 Be Continued

33. Who Worries About a Giant Mosquito?

Penny rushed to put her clothes on before she dashed to the eating room. She checked her arm. Yup, those coordinates were still cut into her arm. She quickly sat down at her normal seat, grabbing a cinnamon roll and scarfing it down like a wild animal. She smiled at how ridiculous she probably looked, her hair wild and fuzzy while she pretended that a cinnamon roll was a deer corpse, and she was a lion in a beast-eat-beast world. Alex would have found it amusing.

Heather and Belle came in next. They sat down peacefully with their rolls, then ate them slowly. "You've woken up quite early," Heather noted. Penny nodded furiously, drumming her fingers on the table. Why weren't the boys awake yet?

After what seemed to Penny like an eternity, all three came into the eating room, peacefully and slowly grabbing their rolls and sitting down. As soon as everyone was comfortable, sure that the were going to have a fine and dandy day, Penny stood up and shouted, "Muskrel visited me in my dream!" Everyone stopped mid-roll and looked at her with their full attention.

"He's the mosquito. He's carved the coordinates in my arm. Based on my estimations, I think he's in northern Canada." August nodded, swallowed his roll, then beckoned Penny. The two walked together to the engine room, and August set the coordinates. The day resumed for Penny.

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After breakfast, Alex came to talk to her. "Nice tattoo," was his first comment, pointing to the bloody coordinates on her arm. Penny snorted in contempt, and that was the end of his jokes.

"Well, at least we know where Muskrel is," Alex tried.

"Yeah, but I'm not so sure that's a good thing," Penny responded.

"Really? How?"

"Well, he was insane out the--you know, let me just tell you. He spasmed all the time, but it wasn't like it was unhealthy. It looked like it was his natural movement--sudden and jerky. He would punctuate some of his sentences with these evil giggles, which chilled me down to the bone. He had this long needle mouth, which I guess he uses to absorb Destined powers, but he also does that by contact. He has these wings that give off this awful buzzing sound that seems to melt your brain, almost." Alex seemed frightened of Muskrel, the evil mosquito, based on his facial reactions as Penny described him.

"Well, this time the older Destined won't be testing us. We'll all be working together, and that might not be as frightening. I don't think we should worry so much." Penny scoffed at Alex's suggestion that they shouldn't worry so much. Of course she should worry, it was a giant insane mosquito that could melt your brain by flapping its wings and steal your powers on contact! Who would say, "Aw, gee, he's not that much of a threat. He's only a GIANT MOSQUITO!!" Penny tried to banish Muskrel from her mind, but the mosquito's evil giggles flooded her consciousness.

Alex must have noticed her increased breathing speed and intensity. "Uh...Penny, are you okay?" he asked reasonably, being a normal person with normal amounts of concern.

"What? Worrying? I'm not worrying! No, no, who would worry about a GIANT MOSQUITO?!?!?" Penny shouted at the top of her lungs. Heather came through her door and gave her a confused look. Alex gestured that he was attempting to handle it. Heather nodded and walked away.

"Penny, I'm almost certain you're overreacting. Let's talk through this," Alex tried again. Penny tried to scold him indignantly, tell him that she was most definitely NOT overreacting, but she could only spit out unintelligible bursts of what was almost words. Eventually, Alex got her to stop shouting and lay down on her bed, therapy-style.

"What is your issue?" Alex asked.

"I'm going to have to shoot poison darts at a giant, insane mosquito, fighting along a girl that can summon golden bears, a dude with a rapier, the Iron Man, and my best friend, who is also a storm cloud. So, nothing, as far as I know," Penny responded, taking deep breaths.

"Ah. I suppose that is an issue. How does that make you feel?"

"It makes me feel like becoming as insane as a giant mosquito."

"And what can we do to prevent you from doing such a thing as becoming as an insane giant mosquito?"

"I'd like some chocolate. That would help immensely." Alex immediately walked away and came back less than a minute later with a bar of chocolate. He gave it to Penny, who ate it slowly, savoring the milky smoothness that soothed her soul. It calmed her nerves. Maybe fighting a giant insane mosquito won't be so bad, as long as chocolate is still in the world, she thought slowly and calmly. Finally, she sat up.

"Are you feeling better?" Alex asked. Penny nodded slowly and calmly. "Good." Alex kissed her on the forehead, then stood up from the bed. "I've got to go practice my staff katas. Belle and August said they might be able to teach me the staff interpretation of Danse Macabre." Penny nodded, then flopped back onto her back. She looked at her crossbow, which sat on her working table. She could work on it later, but now, she had some chocolate to eat.

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Jeremiah laid down in his bed. He had been practicing Danse Macabre with Silverhorn, August, and Alex, as they all needed to buff their game if they wanted to defeat a giant insane mosquito. Alex had told him about some of Muskrel's characteristics, but had clammed up when Jeremiah asked what the screaming and unintelligible cries had been about. He guessed such a thing was between Alex and Penny, just like the things he and Heather talked about.

He began to drift off, his mind ascending into Dreamy. Soon, he would be having a lesson with Opal. Maybe this time, it would be working with August and turning him into an automaton. That would be fun. Maybe Penny, making her a reptilian. Who knew what would happen?

The answer is Despair knew, and Despair wasn't planning a lesson with Opal.