Chapter 19 - This means war

The thing motions toward Beverly, poised to follow her... its appendages start forming in that direction.





.

Bev yips in surprise, seeing the creature reforming in her direction. Well, isnt that wat you wanted Beverly-Jean?! she thinks at herself.

Johnny was confused by the new girl rushing past him towards the entrance back to the surface and the presence of the worm monster. He didn't know who she was but he definitely believed she had the right idea! Let's get outta here! Johnny yelled to Logan and Alana. You don't fight a bear in its own cave and I think that goes for worn monsters too! We can come back with something better to fight it later! Go! Go! Unaware that Bev has the Fulcrum, he lets her rush past him as he motions to the Hunters to evacuate.

[outside]

[tree hole passage]

[round tunnel (Ripper)]

[root chamber (Johnny, Al, Bev, Logan, Worm Thing)]

Alana fearlessly takes a running jump into the body of the creature. Like before, the worms present a jelly-like resistance and let her through. This time, though, she seems to go straight for a specific point. It is very deep within the thing, and she is losing momentum. Her fingers just manage to touch something more solid, cold as ice, but feeling like clay.
Then she falls on the other side of the thing, worms closing again after her.

She spits out a worm from her mouth, and looks at her fingertips : they are stained by a black substance, where they grazed the cold clay thing!

What are you doing? Johnny asked, clearly rhetorically, to Alana. Let's get outta here before we really do become worm food! He looked to Logan to see what his intentions were, whether to escape or to fight. Whichever way the others chose, Johnny would throw in his lot. He thought retreat and regrouping was the wisest idea but he wasn't about to abandon his friends to this wormy monstrosity.

"What? And let that... thing follow us into town? You've seen what the Ajewia did!" he says, "we gotta stop it!"

Logan noticed how Al was after a specific point, and catches a glance of her blackened fingertips. He tries to aim at the same spot, charging the worm-thing again with his bat.

Logan charges and his bat swishes through the body of the thing as if through water!

Johnny follows, but his attack his half-hearted and misses its mark.

Bev may not know these kids, but she can follow where this is going; "Not to town! Out of the ground! Into the sun! A nearby clearing in the woods!"

Bev picks the largest rock she can find and throws it at the creatures head, hoping to keep its attention on her, thus making it Vulnerable to the others.

As she throws the rock she shouts, "I've got something it wants. It's after me, not you! Come on, follow me!"...Bev scurries further away to the Tree Hole Passage!

The rock Bev throws makes an underwhelming , short flight. It thumps on the ground, quite far from the intended target. The creature ignores it, and stays poised to go for Bev...

Bev scampers into the round tunnel, bumping into Ripper! Ripper whines and pees some more in fright!

[outside]

[tree hole passage]

[round tunnel (Bev, Ripper)]

[root chamber (Johnny, Al, Logan, Worm Thing)]

Bev tries to wrap one arm round the dog as she goes. "Come on girl--"all dogs are girls to Bev--"you're O.K., let's get you--"

She's cut off as tunnel goes pitch and she feels wet, gooey, wriggling worms try to grapple her...

...but she wiggles free!