The Nibiru Effect

Memory 47

I'm yanked from my slumber by a blow to the gut. I struggle into a seated position, winded and confused. Still groggy, I try to make sense of the images my eyes send to my brain.

Centipedes.

That's the message my brain receives over and over again as I blink furiously. But no matter how many times I bat my eyelids, the impossible sight remains unchanged.

A dozen giant centipedes scurry about in a mess of limbs and exoskeletons. They resemble lava worms in size, only they are half as wide and twice as long. Their countless legs blur into streaks of colour as the giant arthropods scurry about. Their carapaces, which resemble giant armour plates, are the brightest shade of crimson I have ever seen. The same goes for the rest of their bodies, from their massive, boulder-like heads to their imposing, razor-sharp forcipules—a pincer-like mandible that's present only in centipedes. The horrifying creatures have no eyes, but make up for it by using their imposing antennae to touch everything around them. One of them slithers across my leg, and I scurry back, a pathetic whimper falling from my lips.

I shuffle backward until I'm at a safe distance. I probably would have kept going if not for the fact that I hit something. I yelp and roll away, thinking it's another centipede, but it's just Kara.

"Wh-what happened?" I stutter as I right myself and do my best to avoid looking like a complete coward. "Where did they come from?"

"I don't know," admits Kara, surprisingly calm given the situation.

"What should we do?" I ask, glancing around nervously.

Kara isn't listening. "Where's my father?"

I look around but see no sign of the grey-haired soldier.

"Have you seen Jonn?" I ask Korri.

"He's there," he says, pointing at the writhing mass of arthropods.

"Are you sure?"

Korri nods.

"What's going on?" asks Kara. "What's he saying?"

I take a moment to explain the situation. Kara's expression decomposes as soon as she learns her father's fate.

"We have to save him."

She steps forward, but Korri blocks her path.

"There's nothing we can do for him," he says.

"We have to help him," insists Kara. "Now!"

She tries to step around Korri, but he once again blocks her progression.

"Move!" she orders, but Korri refuses to budge. It would be funny if not for the fact that Jonn is in peril. Or is he?

"Wait!" I call out. "I don't think Jonn's in danger."

"Why not?" asks Kara.

I hope I'm right about this because Kara will never forgive me if I'm wrong and Jonn dies as a result.

"Think about it. Korri is still here. When was the last time you saw him stick around when there was danger?"

That gets Kara thinking, so I keep going.

"I suspect that, as terrifying as they look, the centipedes are, in fact, harmless."

"You're right," says Korri. "They wouldn't hurt a fly. Actually, they would because they eat them, but they won't hurt us."

"Are you sure?" asks Kara once I tell her what the korrigan said.

"I promise," says Korri. "There's nothing we can do to help Jonn."