Mythical Link ▸ Link Neal {Book One}

Twenty Six

     Link pulled back with all of his might. Once the resistance had snapped, he flew backward. When his butt made impact with the ground, there was a squelch sound like he'd landed in a patch of wet grass, and he looked around him. His eyes widened considerably as whimpers croaked out of his lips. He was completely surrounded by earthworms, and he grasped at the ground feverishly. He took in fistfuls of the worms and squeezed so hard his veins bulged, his chest rising and falling with fervor. 

     "Hey, Link! Link!" Rhett took Link by the chin and forced him to look him in the eyes. "What's going on, man? Link! Come back to me, Link!" Link squeezed his eyes shut, then shook his head. When he opened his eyes, the worms were gone. Rhett released him and he looked around him slowly, Rhett being the last thing his eyes landed on. He couldn't even speak, his breaths so shaky that it rocked his body. Rhett tightened his jaw and took a deep breath, his nostrils flaring slightly. "Link. Tell me what you saw."

     Link shook his head as he brought both his hands up to the sides of his face. He had to touch his skin to make sure that he was still alive. That he was awake. That he was okay. 

     Rhett grasped Link by the shoulders. "Man, I can help you if you would just let me in. You told me about everything else so far. Come on, tell me what happened!"

     Link closed his eyes, and this time he kept them closed as he spoke. His voice sounded foreign and small, like a child whose lost their parent in the grocery store. "Worms. I saw worms. Lots of worms. This hand plummeted out of the dirt and grabbed my wrist." He opened his eyes again and looked at his wrist. The red welts had disappeared and the color returned to the tips of his fingers. 

     Rhett pursed his lips, and he narrowed his eyes. "Okay," he mused, running his fingers along his beard. "So Terra being attacked in your dream meant she was really going to be attacked, and the snakes in your bathroom meant the miniature horse incident— so what could this mean?" Rhett watched as Link's lips worked but no words could be said. He rose to his feet and began to pace. He didn't want to question Link to death and make him more uncomfortable than he already was.

     As he paced for several seconds, a sudden thought came to him and he snapped his fingers. "I think I got it. We'll do some research!" Rhett watched Link's face for any reaction, and Link slowly looked up at Rhett. 

     He then witnessed Link cup his hands behind his ears and wave them like they were antennas. "Bee boop boop." Half of his heart was into the silly gesture that he did whenever Rhett mentioned research, but it was enough to draw a huge grin out of Rhett.

     Rhett stooped to Link's level and looked him straight in the eyes. "Don't be scared, brother. We've got this." He rose again and offered Link a hand. Link took Rhett's hand and Rhett helped him up, and the both of them finished with the solar lights; placing them in two straight rows along the front walk. 

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     After they were finished, they went into Link's house and Link grabbed his laptop. He went straight to Google, the all-knowing browser that had the answers to everything.

     He typed as quickly as his fingers would allow him, with vivid detail of everything he had witnessed. Worms, hundreds of them emerging out of the soil. The month, the time of day that it happened, and every other detail he could think of. The search bar was soon inundated with keywords and he pressed enter curiously. A bunch of search results turned up, and he clicked on the first link. 

     Rhett sat in the chair beside Link and sipped a cup of ice cold water. He smacked his lips and turned his attention to the article that Link was reading. 

     Link held his glasses by the frame as he cleared his throat. "I'm getting something here about a 'full worm moon,' which happens on the last full moon of winter."

     "And that means what?" Rhett questioned as he shot a side glance at Link. He wanted to let Link take the wheel and steer them toward the answer, since it was Link that was having the experiences. He wanted Link to have validity that this meant something, and that he wasn't actually going crazy.

     "It means that what we think is going to happen will actually happen. The full worm moon signifies a rebirth so to speak, as the earthworms rise up from the soil all at once in time for spring. Because it's happening on a full moon and because we're dealing with a baby werewolf for lack of better terms—"

     "This isn't going to be very good for us. It's basically telling us that we just witnessed the birth of a werewolf," Rhett concluded.

     Link could only nod his head as he closed his laptop. "I just don't believe it. How can any of this be real? Rhett, this stuff isn't supposed to be real." Link looked to Rhett with desperation. Rhett could only shrug and give his best friend a look of sympathy. The both of them sat in silence for a few moments when Link's phone rang. It startled Link, and he just stared at his phone while it rang on the table. 

     "Aren't you gonna answer that?" Rhett asked, as he looked at the phone and saw a picture of Christy smiling pop up with her name underneath. "Here, I'll answer it." Rhett reached toward Link's phone.

     Link snatched his phone up and brought the phone up to his ear. "Hello?" He all but choked, and he squeezed his eyes shut and hoped that she hadn't noticed. 

     Christy's cheery voice was indicative that she had not. "Hey honey! Jessie and I were just talking, and we're planning dinner Sunday at our house after church. Is that okay?"

     Rhett heard Christy mention dinner Sunday night and his eyes widened. 

     "Oh yeah, that's totally fine baby! Have her bring the kids and even Barbara—" 

     Rhett made a gesture with his hand across his throat to get Link to stop talking.

     Link just gave him a funny look and kept on talking. "We'll have a cookout. Grill some hotdogs and hamburgers, make potato and macaroni salad. I'll even grab some snacks to have beforehand. How does that sound?" 

     Rhett's shoulders dropped as he propped his elbows against the table, and buried his face in his hands.

     "That sounds great, sweetheart! We'll be home soon. I love you!" 

     "I love you too," Link said and he pulled his phone away from his ear and waited for her to hang up. He then turned his look on Rhett. "What's the matter with you, man?" 

     Rhett pulled his face away from his hands. "Dude! Dinner Sunday night at your house? On the full moon? With not just one werewolf but two werewolves on the loose?" 

     Link's face fell and his shoulders dropped. His phone slipped from his hand and smacked against the granite counter. "Ah crap. I didn't think about that."