Worms

Intro

I bounced down the stairs from Mom’s office to ground level. What a relief. I thought she’d called me in there for sneaking out the other night. But she hadn’t heard about it. Yay. She just wanted to yammer on about some lame party she wants to throw for my birthday. The cru and I already have a totally bitchin party planned at Frugger’s place since his parents are off planet. We set it for the weekend after my birthday since I was sure momsy would pull her dreadful party where she invites all her old work friends. Like I care about them. Oh, well. Some of them actually gave me some semi-okay presents last year. We’ll see.

I hit doors and walk outside onto the ground. Let’s see what flavor candy we have now. It’s lemon! I giggle slightly at the twin columns of soldiers dressed in neon yellow uniforms. The cru and I named them candies because of their ridic outfits. They had neon yellow, blue, and pink depending on which group they were with, I guess. Their calf-high brown boots were the sticks, natch, to keep your fingers from getting sticky. There were always a bunch of them lined up like statues facing outwards to protect the people coming and going from the mines and offices. At least you knew who they were in those outfits if you couldn’t figure that out by the helmets, rifles, and other gear.

I walked on between the columns thinking the cru and I should make up a candy song. I scuffed my feet a little to send up poofs of grey dust from the strip mines behind me. It was too bad you couldn’t figure out something to do with all this dust that rained down from the sky while the companies worked. We had plenty of it.

A little poof appeared in front of my foot. I stopped and frowned at it. The wind didn’t blow down here. What the buzz? Hundreds of tiny black feet appeared, and the dust moved again. I jerked backward, falling over my own feet onto my rear.

Worm! I screeched. How did it get past the soldiers? I raised up on my hands and feet. I crabbed backwards as fast as I could. It skittered toward me. It was going to spit acid or spikes or start eating me! I couldn’t get away. I’d seen the safety vids. I was gonna die.

A brown boot stomped onto the worm. Purple erupted around the bottom of the boot. I looked up past bright yellow into the face of my rescuer. There wasn’t a lot to see beyond the protective goggles and the breathing mask we all wore but I was sure this soldier was female. An acid scar ran from her temple over the goggle strap and partially onto her cheek. Wow.

“Just a baby. No acid.” She said holding out a partially gloved hand. Her voice sounded like she was talking through a kazoo with the breathing mask, just like all of ours did.

I took the scarred fingers for help getting up. Guess I’d panicked for nothing. She wasn’t laughing at me though. She was strong but not much taller than me. I hurriedly wiped away the tears. Didn’t want to look like a baby.

“See that skeeter?” she pointed to one of the hideous local things that looked like armored rats. “They run if a worm is big enough to hurt you.”

“Oh. Thanks.” I said. I didn’t even know they had a name.

“Yes, sir.” She said in answer to something she heard inside her helmet and nodding to me, she went back to her place in the lineup. Her rifle whirled up into her arms faster than those on that gunslinger movie Dad liked. And just like that, she was immobile and part of the outward facing candy lineup again.

I stared for a minute. I had to get home and call CynCyn. I was sure I was in love. I didn’t know if I wanted to be her or marry her but wow. I checked my mirror app on my wrist comm. Oh, no! I had smears on my cheeks from tears mixed with dusty fingers. What must she think! I ran away.