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>Something big!
"Yeah. Like a—"
"Worm!" you say brightly. "Like a worm. Right? Like Annie?"
"Uh..." Gil sucks his lips in. "...Uh, that wasn't really— I-I-I meant more, um, a power... a power source, but..."
"She <span class="mu-i">could</span> be a power source. You don't know. And you can't say she isn't big, can you?" You lean your head back against the bench. "I rest my case."
"...Okay, I-I-I mean, we can try that..." He doesn't sound convinced. "I-I really don't have better ideas... do you have the worm with you?"
Well, do you? You don't immediately see any worms, or hear anyone yelling about worms. You feel nothing under your feet. Could it be possible Annie didn't make the transfer? Or is she trapped in some unworthy, unwormly body? (Is there some seagull out there with the heart of a predator?) No. Impossible. You're sure your special bond will see her through. You need only to concentrate to sense— to <span class="mu-r">s</span>ense—
—something coming from your pocket. What? Gil watches bemusedly as you pat yourself down, fishing out and putting back carefully sealed baggies of nails and powders and lozenges. (Claudia really thought of everything.) Finally you find a opaque, unopened packet of— you're forced to assume by the unsubtle branding— SEA-VIPER®.
You hold it speculatively up to your eye. "That's <span class="mu-i">not...</span>" Gil trails off.
The packet is a couple thousand times smaller than Annie, so you admit it reads as unlikely, but there's an unmistakable air of wormness coming off it. (You're sort of an expert on that sort of thing.) You just don't know what a SEA-VIPER® <span class="mu-i">is.</span> "Gil," you say, "I'm just gonna... um... real quick. Could you wake me up in thirty seconds?"
"What?"
It's less scary when he's right there on the bench with you. And when you don't really feel like being yourself anyhow. You hold the packet to your face so there's no chance of getting off-track. "Thirty seconds."
You loosen—
*
Your arm hurts. Why are you holding it in such a dumb position? Trying to disguise your face? You knew you should've brought the balaclava. Damn.
Whoever you're trying to hide from probably doesn't know your face, anyhow. How would they? You're not exactly a wanted criminal— not yet, at least. You lower your arm and unfold your fist.
...The <span class="mu-i">Sea-Viper</span> packet? Why? You were saving that to clog some inconvenient pipe, or maybe a storm drain. Or a toilet, if you really couldn't find anything. You have no idea how the geniuses who invented this managed to dry out a whole worm— or did it come dried out, and they figured out it expanded in water? Whatever. Supposed to be some kid's pet, or whatever, but it works much better for—
"<span class="mu-i">LOTTIE!</span>"
(1/2)
