by Lanice C.

Summary:
In the Bitteroot Forest, fearsome creatures called Worbles roam around at night. Even without eyes, Worbles have sharp claws and a hanging jaw of jagged teeth, and they track the vibrations of their prey with frightening speed and precision. It would be a shame if someone were to stumble upon one of them. In the middle of this forest lays the village of Wheaton where happy residents live…except for 15 year-old Kelly. Kelly’s parents just found out about her dangerously low grades and how she has been hiding her good spider friend, Hunter, in her room. According to legends, keeping spiders in houses only brings trouble and attracts Worbles to them. Kelly’s parents kicked her out of the house as a consequence for putting her whole family house in danger, and she has no where else to go except the forest. With the dangers of being among Worble territory and a worrisome hallucination of them attacking her village, Kelly and Hunter will have to make the decision to brave their fears and rush back to save everyone in time. 

PART TWO

HUNTER

He skittered back and forth, but there was no sign of his owner in the cave. Kelly’s usual stench wasn’t there, and all her belongings were gone. All that was left in their old shelter were rocks and chocolate wrappers. Hunter let out a mini sigh and his tummy grumbled. It had been a while since he was successful at catching any flies. Kelly was usually the one who hand-fed him since he made terrible webs and, despite his name, was not a skillful hunter. He took a few sips of some odd-coloured water in a nearby puddle to soothe the hunger pains. After submerging half of his body into the peculiar liquid, he burped. It tasted like dirt filled with the scent of delicious, juicy insects; his favourite. Then, a tense feeling prickled up his legs. He twisted himself to see what was going on. Slowly but surely, his seven legs were growing. The same feeling moved up like lightning bolts to his torso. Alarmed, Hunter let out a little–

SQUAWK

Squawk? That was not his usual squeaking noise. Had his voice grown deeper as well or had he just hit a random growth spurt? He paced around in alarm as the room seemed to collapse around him. He barely made it out of the cave right in time.

Thud

Thud

Thud

What were those noisy stomping sounds? Was he about to come face to face with Worbles again? But the sun hadn’t completely set yet, so there’s no way they would come out this early.

Looking around, the trees have shrunk smaller and appear like normal-sized broccolis. Hunter squawked again and stomped, looming over bushes that used to be 100 times his size. Despite the initial shock, he realized something fantastic about his new body that came equipped with long legs. He could run faster than race horses and felt like he had more strength than twelve elephants. He could find Kelly quicker, and she’ll be able to spot him better because of his size. He was going to find his friend.

KELLY

“This is my stupidest idea EVER,” Kelly muttered out loud as she reluctantly trudged on.

Why had she agreed to stay in the woods, and why did she set out so deep into them? Now her trek back home seemed impossibly far. Her dad even admitted that he was bluffing, so why didn’t she just play it off like it was one big joke and save everyone, especially herself, from all this trouble? Plus, she could’ve just hidden Hunter for the rest of her life like she had done for the past years. All she had to do was pretend like she got rid of him and find him an even better hiding spot. What was she thinking when she made that decision? Her own big ego was like a blood clot clogging her brain, blocking the rational parts of her, and now she was stuck without a way out.

Thump

Kelly swiveled around in every direction as she felt the ground shake. Did a whole tree fall? 

Thump

An abnormal black tree branch stuck out through the trees followed by what looked like a ginormous lump of coal barreling forward towards her. Her heart leapt to her throat, and she quickly turned around to tumble deeper into the forest.

“SQUAWK!” the furry coal bellowed, twisting as if looking for something.

It looked like a mutated spider but sounded like a bird. Wait. Kelly tilted her head to the strange sound. Why did that creature remind her of someone?

“H-Hunter?” she asked shakily.

The spider turned abruptly in her voice’s direction. It shifted forward, legs loudly thumping the ground. 

Kelly slowly emerged from her hiding spot and stared up at him astonished, “W-What happened?”

Hunter squawked, his eight eyes gleaming with pride. He twirled around happily, as if to show off his new body, and carefully nudged his caretaker with one of his legs. Kelly flinched in horror. It seemed like life enjoyed throwing rocks at her while she was drowning.

“How did you grow so big? Did you eat or drink–” Kelly stopped herself and a thought hit her. The potion she dumped into a hole was probably the cause of this! “Did you go back to a cave and drink… a puddle?”

Hunter raised his nonexistent eyebrows at her and stomped his foot, indicating that it was a yes.

“Wait, it worked?” Kelly said, energy beginning to form inside her, “Hunter, I can be a mage! If the potion really worked, then I can prove my parents wrong! I can prove everyone wrong!”

Hunter snapped his fangs. Kelly’s excitement faltered.

“We have to go back to town and warn people,” Kelly said, her voice shaking, “They’re going to die, we need to save everyone.”

Hunter’s enthusiasm faded, and he looked at her with annoyance.

“I mean, I do hate them, but we can’t just let them all die!”

Hunter squinted his eight eyes at her which Kelly took as reluctance. Kelly grumbled, sliding her hands down her face.

“I’ll admit that I would love to not be the only one handling this huge problem, but think about what that’s going to do to my already guilty conscience! Let’s just check on the village to keep my mind at ease. Like, to see how they’re doing without me. Maybe my vision won’t come true anyway, and I’m just worrying for nothing.”

Hunter rolled his eyes and squawked at a low volume to agree. 

“Alright! Let’s go!” Kelly hoorayed, pumping a fist into the air.

Without permission, she quickly climbed on top of Hunter’s back. His fur poked her skin like a mini version of a cactus unlike the soft manes of lions. He turned his head ever so slightly and tilted his head. He fixed his eyes on her as if demanding an explanation. 

Kelly shrugged, “I thought it would be faster if I rode on top of you like a horse. My legs wouldn’t stand a chance against you.”

Hunter turned back without a squawk and proceeded to burst into full speed. Kelly gripped his fur at the sudden acceleration as the air blasted across her face. She screamed and held on tighter. It felt like a rollercoaster without a designated path or safety rails.

“Hunter, go slower!” Kelly cried, but Hunter only sped up, entertained by her yells.

HUNTER

They wandered around the endless forest without a clue of which direction they should continue to move towards. It was getting dark and both of them were nervous for a repeat of that particularly frightening night.

“Hunter, this is the STUPIDEST idea ever. Why did you have to agree with me?” Kelly mumbled, laying down on her stomach on the furry platform.

Hunter forced himself to sprint, but Kelly must’ve grown many inches overnight and she slowed him down like a boulder. He snorted at her statement. He didn’t think it was stupid; it was, in fact, magnificent. Of course, he couldn’t tell her that or else it’d make her ego grow into the size of a stuffed whale.

His attention was drawn to a faint glow emitting between two trees. What was that? He tittered excitedly, scurrying closer to investigate the ethereal loveliness. Realizing what it was, he shook his whole body to share the good news to Kelly. Kelly’s eyes widened, doubling in size as she hopped off Hunter effortlessly, leaving her weary friend to slump down on the grass. He watched her dash out to the other side of the thinly packed trees with joy he hadn’t seen in days.

“Hunter, HUNTER! We’ve found the village! I see the light! OH MY GOSH, WE DID IT!”

He heard her voice boom, energized. He saw her tiny figure in the distance wave her hands in triumph. He growled deeply. She didn’t even participate in all the heavy work of carrying a growing teenager on her back. He wearily stumbled back up and followed her.

KELLY

Her legs felt like jelly and her brain was halfway through shutting down completely, but that didn’t stop her excitement from bursting through and energizing her soul. She dropped her blanket-bag on the grass next to Hunter and squeezed in between the trees, stretching out her hands like the wings of a dove. She wondered what her family was doing right now and whether they had enough time to regret the last words they all uttered.

Obscure shadows of villagers drinking tea blurred from behind home windows, and a group of cats strolled along the sidewalk. Kelly heard loud but slightly muffled laughter come from a familiar shabby looking house at the edge of the street. She stealthily tiptoed across the road and peered into the window. 

The living room was filled with her family members, even her grandparents that she thought hated visiting sat on the comfy family sofa. They held long stemmed glasses filled with wine as they joked and pointed at each other playfully through their laughter. Kelly squinted her eyes at one particular person: Nelly. She sat gracefully like a queen at the corner of the couch, smiling wider than when she received her favourite giant birthday cake. The last time Kelly had an actual conversation that started off pleasantly with her sister, Nelly ranted about how unmannered and sloppy their relatives were. Now, Nelly was joking with them as if they were the best grandparents she never had issues with.

Kelly grumbled in annoyance. Grandma was never sunshine and lollipops, and Grandpa always had perfectly-timed excuses that prevented him from visiting. Were they at her house celebrating the fact that she left home? Kelly couldn’t help but wonder and felt a little hurt by that idea. They didn’t want to see their “useless” granddaughter and had preferred to wait until she ventured off into the forest, possibly to her death, before they decided to visit. Were they this happy about her absence? 

Kelly stomped her foot uncontrollably. This explains why her family was always so quiet whenever her grandparents visited, and why they made such cold remarks towards her instead of Nelly. It was clear they also had a favourite granddaughter. 

She shook her head and remembered what she was there for. She had to put aside her own hurt feelings and prioritize warning them of the danger. She stormed up to the door and knocked on the door with all her might, feeling queasy. Loud footsteps marched towards the entrance, and Kelly’s heart pumped faster. She gulped and was surprised by her nerves.

The door swung open and her father’s smile slowly disintegrated as he stared at the sight of her standing unsurely at the entrance. His eyebrows furrowed, showing mixed emotions of shock and fury, “Where have you been? Why are you back?”

“I don’t want to be back, but I need to tell you something,” Kelly said, voice wavering and on the verge of tears, but she hoped she wasn’t showing any of her anxiety. She had to be strong to get through this conversation.

Her father turned back and forth between the living room full of vibrant happiness and then back at Kelly’s serious face, “Is it something stupid? If you’re here to apologize for choosing that stupid spider over your family, forget it. The neighbours asked us why our own daughter would choose to live in a life-threatening forest rather than stay in our household. They think we’re abusing you, now! Get lost, you’ve caused too much shame already.”

Kelly snorted at that statement. They were borderline abusing her mental health. Sure, she messed up her room everyday and dozed off during her classes, but she didn’t deserve to be completely left out of the family. She was an angel compared to the neighbour’s son who tried to light the whole neighbourhood on fire for April Fool’s day. Yet, his parents were blind to his pranks and loved him unconditionally. They yapped about him to others as if he had discovered the solution for world peace. No one had the heart to tell them about his ‘funny’ little antics.

“No, I had a magical vision in the forest,” Kelly explained, but waved away her father’s puzzled expression, “I think I saw the future, so I came to–”

“ENOUGH WITH THE MAGIC!” her father roared, “POTIONS IN CLASS, POTIONS IN THE BATHROOM…POTIONS AND MAGIC ALL THE TIME! NOW YOU’RE RAMBLING ABOUT SEEING THE FUTURE? I DID NOT RAISE MY CHILD LIKE THIS!”

Kelly gulped and opened her mouth to say something, but her father shushed her with his index finger. He paced around the front entrance, fingers pressed against his forehead in frustration. Finally, he opened his wide mouth to spew out more hurtful comments on her again but was interrupted by an abrupt bang. 

Kelly jerked her head over to the sound and noticed a tree had tipped over. She sighed. Did Hunter overhear their conversation? The next bang took Kelly by surprise, and she nearly jumped out of her shoes when yet another tree crashed to the ground. Branches and leaves sprawled across the ground. Trees were knocked over like domino pieces in a rush towards where they were standing. Kelly backed up inside her house as her father did the opposite and pushed past her to investigate the commotion.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

Everything stopped. Birds squawked as they flew off from their fallen nests. It was eerily silent. Kelly saw the pack of cats leap up in fright and run into the opposite side of the forest like leopards. Then, she saw why they were so terrified. A skeletal pitch-black arm reached out and shoved a tree down. Kelly looked up at her father and saw his eyes widen like never before.

“Dad, are those–”

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

Villagers screamed as a flood of Worbles barreled out onto the streets. They slashed their powerful claws at houses and bystanders. One by one, bricks slid off roofs and lampposts teetered over, the glass shattering into pieces on the ground. A cloud of debris dusted a layer of fog over homes as Worbles continued their onslaught. She turned to her dad, but he was nowhere to be seen. How did he slip away so quickly? 

Kelly barely had enough time to register what was happening and what she should do when a Worble crawling towards her caught her attention. She shrieked and was about to slam the door shut but a large, furry marble-shaped body dragged her back by the back of her shirt. She looked up at her massive spider friend looming over her and back at the Worble that was getting closer and closer. Hunter bumped her with his head urgently. With trembling hands, Kelly clambered onto Hunter’s back. 

“Oh great,” a familiar, croaky voice rang from the doorway.

Kelly’s sulky grandmother appeared with the rest of the family, their arms crossed and faces full of disdain. Kelly squinted back at them. She thought she would feel a rage of fury after seeing her mother and sister, but a tingle of love for them nicked at her from the inside. Her dad hurried over next to her grandpa, and they were both holding pitchforks and torches. Kelly’s mom was holding a kitchen knife, her grandmother had a rolling pin clutched in her fists, and even Nelly, innocent and demure Nelly, was gripping a pair of safety scissors.

Her whole family didn’t look pleased to see her, but for some odd reason, Kelly only felt an unusual warmth at seeing her family’s collection of scowls. It felt awfully comforting knowing she was back with what was familiar instead of dealing with this by herself. Being among Worble Hunters made her feel safe, especially when the deep gurgling threats of Worbles erupted behind them in the distance.

“The girl is staring too much. We’re not unicorns to be gawked at! We’re family!,” her grandpa growled, his entire face creasing like a raisin.

Kelly couldn’t mask her look of confusion. Family? Grandpa has never referred to her as his family before. She tried to push down a grin, but it made her lip twitch.

She shook the warmth off and hopped onto Hunter, “Hurry, get on Hunter’s back, we need to–”

“No way,” Mom boomed. “Worbles are attracted to spiders, and you want us to ride one? You are guaranteeing our death, young lady! Get down from that thing right now before–”

“Are you sure what you are saying isn’t a hoax you heard about?” Kelly said, looking around. “Because I don’t see any Worbles coming to chase after Hunter right now.”

Her mother opened her mouth to argue but nothing came out. She scanned the area with fierce caution, and sure enough, none of the Worbles were paying attention to them. Kelly noticed that Mom had been stumped and held out an inviting hand. Mom took Kelly’s palms with hesitation and stepped gingerly onto Hunter, wincing as his fur pricked at her skin. The rest of the family rolled their eyes and tagged along.

“Nelly, hurry up,” Kelly ushered, trying to reach for Nelly.

“There’s no room, you dimwit!”

“Yes there is! Is this just an excuse so you don’t need to touch a ‘slimy insect’?” Kelly mocked. “Well, it’s not funny right now! The options are either meeting your death or sitting on a cute furry friend, and there seems to be only one answer that sounds like a win right now.”

“I’m NOT!” Nelly stomped her foot, frustrated. “Just look, your spider isn’t big enough to hold all of us.”

Kelly looked at all her family members perched on top of Hunter. There was, in fact, no more room for Nelly to sit. Her heart skipped a beat.

She started, swiveling back to her, “I–”

“I’ll get off.”

Everyone turned to the person sitting at the back. Dad slid down and gently guided a very shocked Nelly onto Hunter.

“But Dad!” Nelly cried, wriggling around her seat.

Dad gave her a reassuring smile, clutching hard onto his pitchfork. He turned to Kelly with a fake grin covering up his grimace. He hesitated before speaking.

“I’m sorry,” he patted her shoulder. “I know you wanted to pursue your dreams in…whatever mess you kept creating in your bedroom. I shouldn’t have tried to hold you back from everything you’re passionate about, but you’re still my eldest daughter, and I regret everything I said to you. I’m sorry. I love you.”

Kelly sniffled, rubbing her nose, “Same, I guess.”

She tried to stay nonchalant about her dad’s heartfelt message, but the tears that plunked onto the gravel betrayed her. She shifted the subject to refrain from feeling embarrassed of her family seeing her cry, “Just find some more space on Hunter, I know there’s enough room for–”

A piercing gurgle shot through the night sky. Alerted, Kelly swiveled to see a Worble facing them. Hunter ran with her frightened family members gripping tightly to his back but stopped short as he was perplexed by the projected scene. With one giant leap, the ferocious Worble pounced onto Dad and lashed its mighty claws at him, pushing his frail body into the house. Kelly watched the scene before her in slow motion as the brick walls shattered from the impact and began to crumble. The pillars holding the porch snapped like twigs and the whole brick roof collapsed on top of the bodies, and the last image Kelly saw was Dad being crushed by the debris. His groan of pain reverberated throughout the forest before it cut short.

“NO!” Mom yelled painfully.

 Hunter steered them into a safe spot hidden behind trees. Mom scrambled off of the spider, hair and clothing disheveled. Kelly followed along as her tears stung her eyes. The whole family mourned in silence. Her body ached, and it felt like she was completely drained of energy.

Grandma clambered off gingerly and found a hollow log to settle on. With a great heaving breath, she buried her face in her hands while her whole body trembled. Nelly was less quiet about her grief and bawled openly as she got off Hunter and stepped in mud, but Kelly could tell her mind was elsewhere because she didn’t once complain about getting her pristine outfit dirty. 

Gurgles and screams erupted from the town as people were captured and clawed. The family and Hunter shivered at the eerie echoes until Grandma stood up to say something.

“We must stop this attack,” she said, voice wavering as gestured shakily towards the village. “How are we going to let this catastrophe unravel? While we’re sitting here and stalling, our neighbours and their loved ones are being mauled to death!”

Nelly didn’t look up, but she perked up a bit. Kelly forced herself to face Grandma as Grandpa stared ahead through the slits between trees and watched houses break down.

“What are you talking about, Marie?” Grandpa asked. 

“Terry! You know what I’m talking about!” Grandma stamped, annoyed by his lack of memory. “We used to win Fighters of the Year when we were Worble Hunters! Remember the medals we received for keeping Worbles out of our village? Remember the Peace Keeper Reward, the Defender Reward, the Village Protector, the–”

“So what? We just lost our son, the entire village is getting attacked, and there’s nothing we can do for them! We don’t have enough people to defend our village the way we used to. For goodness’ sake, we’re old and retired! Our frail bones would go snicker-snack if we tried to put on the gear we used to bear.”

Grandma went quiet and solemnly sat back down onto the grass. The family was silent as they listened to the terrified screams and concrete and furniture clashing together as they broke. Mom laid curled up on the ground, mourning silently. Suddenly, Kelly had an idea. She gathered some mud and grass to plop them into an indent in the ground. No one had enough energy to pay heed to her nonsensical actions, but Kelly knew just the thing to create and hopefully it would help them.

After a while of mixing and patting it down with tired hands, she dumped a green swirl of dead insects and dirt to fill the rest of the hole.

“What are you doing with that?” Nelly sniffled and examined the chunky mixture through watery eyes. “I-is that another potion? You think your st-stupid potions can fight off the Worbles?”

“You’ve got that right!” Kelly replied enthusiastically.

“And where are you going to bottle your potion in?” Nelly asked, eyeing the sludge doubtfully.

Kelly froze. She was right. Again. What can she use to bottle the potion? She didn’t have any of her equipment, and any chance of finding leftovers that weren’t smashed was slim. When a sudden idea sprang in her head, she leapt up and made her way out of the forest grounds and sprinted towards their crumbled house. She ignored the surprised calls of her family members and ran as fast as her sore legs could carry her.

Now they decide to scream for me to come back, she thought bitterly.

She couldn’t help but remember how recently her father had kicked her out of the house. The screeches of the Worbles became louder as she ran faster. She leapt over the ruins of her house and navigated to the remnants of her bedroom. Worbles scrambled after her, feeling her vibrations as she stomped on the grounds searching frantically for what she  needed. She spotted something glinting among the rubble and quickly nabbed the last potion container that miraculously remained in one piece. Something huffed and rustled behind her. She swiveled around cautiously to meet the sight of a tall, slender Worble at her hungrily.

Hobbling around blindly, she decided to dive into a small crack between two pieces of debris. She silently crouched, praying to some unknown god that the Worble wouldn’t sense her. It thrashed its long arms wildly, stomping and crushing little bits of concrete. She leapt back into the forest in a hurry faster than ever and barely acknowledged her family when she scooped up the murky water. Off she went again as she sped back to the village heart. Being a hero was exhausting.

Adrenaline pumped through her body, ignoring all signs of wooziness. Kelly ran so much that the wind that bursted into her face started feeling warm. She made sure the bottle didn’t leak any water out. Spotting the familiar trees surrounding the park, she jumped over someone’s fence and latched onto the water tower. She clambered up, a sole goal settling in her mind. She was so far from the ground already, and if she fell, the whole village would be eaten by Worbles!

Nearing the last bit, she took a risk and threw herself up, foot and hands off the bars. She thunked onto the platform and scrambled up to open the water tank. Winding the cap open, she threw it far, far away. Why she did that, she did not know, but she did understand what she was doing next. Hands shaking, she poured all the contents of her bottle and dived back down the stairs. She had an amazing plan next.

HUNTER

They were all worried about her. Hunter, the most. Kelly had just bursted in and out of the woods to scoop up some of her disgusting looking creation to do heaven knows what with it. Hunter shuffled back and forth, anxiously waiting for the result of the Worbles. There were many of them moving strikingly fast through the town slashing at people who they came across; many civilians had already turned into the Worble’s dinner. A very brave person rallied a small, timid crowd who took it upon themselves to make a run for their lives into the forest. The other people were left to hide in the corners of their houses, praying that they couldn’t be sensed.

Hunter watched carefully as the humans screamed, running rather slowly away from their inevitable death. He saw each and every unfortunate person be torn up into shreds and the remains of their bones scattered over the ground. How nauseating. Then, something caught one of his many eyes. A small child was climbing up the tall water tower. Who would do such a dangerous thing while Worbles were around? Hunter grumbled and switched his attention to the half-silent conversation the family had.

“Kelly shouldn’t have gone. Terry and I should have! We’re going to end up having two funerals for my son and Kelly,” Hunter spotted a sneaky tear drip from Grandma’s eyes after saying that, but she hastily hardened her expression.

He turned to Mother who laid prostrate on the floor. She had given up on crying and seemed to have accepted that her husband was dead in numb silence.

“I don’t know what she’s thinking, but her potion is not going to do anything,” she said dully and so quietly that Hunter almost missed it..

Hunter disagreed. He had seen the magic happen in real time. He emitted a low growl and subtly turned to Nelly.

Nelly peered out the cracks of the woods. Hunter analyzed her eye movements and saw that she was staring at the same tiny person on the water tank. Must be a show-off to climb that thing at a time like this.

KELLY

Her energy drained quickly, and what reprieve she gave her sore body was useless now that her legs felt like jelly once again. She could barely move, but Kelly was determined to save her village, even if they wouldn’t do the same thing for her. After she hopped down from the ladder of the water tank, she grabbed a nearby hose and turned it on, praying under her breath that it would work. A few trickles of brown water sluggishly trickled out. Perfect, maybe she should’ve had a back up plan. Before she could hurry back to the safety of her family, a disgusting gurgle came from behind her. She slowly turned to see a Worble staring down at her. Panicking, she threw away the useless hose and made an attempt to run away.

The Worble chased after her, spraying bits of mud and rubble as its large feet thumped against the ground to catch up. Kelly may be small but she was a lot more graceful than the creature. She dodged and leapt over broken beams and furniture like a professional ballerina, but much to her dismay, she wasn’t paying attention and reached a dead-end. Kelly gulped and slowly turned around to face the hungry Worble. So this was the end of her journey. It inched closer, ready to devour its prey. She remembered her dad once telling her that Worble preferred the meat of young children instead of the tough, wrinkled meat of adults.

As its claws blindly waved about attempting to snatch her within its grasp, Kelly dove under its legs and sprinted. She had never run like this in gym class. Trailing back to the water tower, she spotted something shimmering on the grounds she was just at. Her eyes widened at the heavenly sight of the now gushing hose. Her plan had worked after all! She grabbed at the discarded hose, aimed it with her steady hands, and sprayed it directly over it.

The Worble shrieked in anger and pain and tried to slash at her, but in a matter of seconds, small blue flames sparked along the Worble’s taut skin. With a giant WOOSH, the entire creature was engulfed in a magnificent iridescent blue fire. It dramatically swung an arm inches away from her face as it roared loudly enough to make the ground tremble. Other piercing gurgles shot into the sky in response as the rest of the Worbles began to make their way towards the water tower.

Kelly’s heart skipped several beats as she was surrounded by more creatures she can count. She swung the hose in every direction to get them to back away. A few eager ones immediately caught on fire. Clear cracklings of small flames and the scent of smoke filled the sky. The rest of them tried to stumble away from their fellow burning soldiers but fire travelled faster than they expected.

Within minutes, Kelly was standing astonished in the middle of a ring of burning Worbles. One particularly large one took a stuttering step sideways and knocked itself into a house. Soon, the domino effect was set off and the neighbouring houses erupted in flames. Surrounded by the fiery inferno, Kelly tried to make out an escape through the heavy smoke, but all her brain could do instead of focusing on getting her to safety was: “You’re going to die.”

HUNTER

Nelly shrieked. What the family did not notice yet was a gigantic fire hopping from house to house. They all crowded next to Nelly and peered between the trees. A tiny silhouette was surrounded by tall, burning Worbles among a throng of fleeing villagers who took this chance to get to safety.

“Kelly needs help!” she cried. Nelly picked up an unattended pitchfork and, without asking for consent, sat on Hunter, “Hurry up you nincompoop, we need to save her!” 

Hunter peered closer at the silhouette. Now that he really paid attention, the person did look like Kelly. He squawked and bustled through the gaps of the trees, leaving the rest of the family to hide in their safe-place. They were going to save their friend.

KELLY

There wasn’t much she could do at that moment. The Worbles were, very slowly, turning into ashes. She tried to slither through gaps between the Worbles, but too many were coming in every direction. Biting her nails hard, she accepted her fate. Suddenly, there was a crash. Kelly whipped around in time to see Hunter dazed after accidentally slamming into a wall. The smoke stung his eyes and blurred his vision. In combination with his huge size and impressive speed, he hadn’t been able to stop himself on time.

Nelly hurriedly got off of Hunter. Leaving poor Hunter to steady himself and make the room stop spinning, her sister sprinted over to save Kelly. She wielded a pitchfork much larger than her, and she used it to push several enflamed Worbles aside to get to Kelly.

I underestimated her. Kelly thought, biting back a smile.

She had almost made it to her sister when Nelly was flung into the air as a surviving Worble smacked her aside. Hunter dashed over and slid under her just in time, cushioning a hard fall onto solid concrete. Kelly sped over, trying to hop on Hunter’s back as well so they could escape all together, but a giant hand with sharp claws grabbed her around the middle. Kelly screamed in surprise but thrashed and kicked while those hands tightened its grip and crushed the breath right out of her. The Worble brought her close to its face and she could smell its reeking breath. 

During her struggle, she was stunned with realization as she stared at the remaining Worble. Its appearance was nothing like she’d seen before. It was much bigger than the other Worbles she had faced. Much larger with bumpy scars criss-crossed all over its body and long sharp teeth. Before she had time to digest this information, the Worble leaned in with its jaws open ready to munch on its delicious freshly caught snack. Kelly screamed at the top of her lungs and squeezed her eyes. This was it. She accepted her fate once more, but pain never came. Instead, the Worble had frozen and released a stunned gurgle of pain, letting Kelly drop to the ground. She figured falling to her death might be a bit less painful than getting eaten alive, but a giant furry body appeared right below her and caught her like a prickly trampoline. Just in time.

Kelly reached for Nelly’s sweaty palms, desperately in need of comfort. She looked up to spot the Worble wobbling on its two feet. A person, looking no younger than 60, stabbed the Worble’s slender leg. Grandma took the pitchfork out as the massive creature bled. Kelly couldn’t help but laugh at the scene. Frail little Grandma, of all people, took out the biggest Worble with a single blow. The Worble howls filled the night sky and multiple smaller Worbles emerged from the buildings as if they were summoned. Kelly teetered back at the sight. She couldn’t take another fight with a Worble; she was too drained.

Instead of lashing out at the tiny townspeople, the larger Worble guided the others back into the forests on all fours, leaving a trail of heavy dark blood. The creatures surrendered and scuttled back into the forest, leaving the dead ones’ remains where they lay.

The rest of the villagers slowly came out from their hiding spots, and they all took a few cautious seconds to check if the Worbles were truly gone. They then turned their attention to Kelly, Grandma, and Hunter. Without missing a beat, they erupted into cheers.

Nelly, Grandpa, and Grandma crowded near her and huddled in to give each other a crushing hug that smooshed Kelly against their trembling bodies. While the family were praised for their heroic save, most of the villagers got to work right away and began sorting through the mess on the ground. Most of the houses were in shambles.

“We’re going to need a major renovation,” the mayor’s voice boomed through the crowd, putting a halt to all the celebrations. The village people mumbled in agreement, and those who were left shell-shocked jolted back to Earth and helped pick up crushed bricks.

Kelly’s family began helping too, but she herself grumbled and took her time. She kicked a shattered porcelain bowl away from her as she reluctantly joined them. After all that tiring work and quick-thinking that saved the villagers, she was going to have to do more as if she hadn’t done enough already. Great.

*

Kelly and her family hammered away at the pieces of their brand new house one by one. Dad was the only one who would have enjoyed this part of the job as he was exceptionally handy. Thinking about him made Kelly’s eyes sting. Even though they never fully made up, she couldn’t help but wonder if he had really meant everything he said before sinking under the rubble. Deep down, she had a feeling that anger could temporarily influence people to say and do crazy things.

After the gruesome war between the Worbles and the villagers, Grandpa vowed to organize a  magnificent funeral to celebrate his courage and sacrifice. Mom was still mostly silent as she helped with building, but at least she had stirred herself from her grieving stupor. Kelly sniffled hard and turned back to her job of mixing paint. She mustn’t dwell on what can’t be changed.

“So…why was there a bigger Worble than all the other ones anyway?” she asked out loud to distract her mind.

It was a stupid question because obviously most Worbles differed from one another, but she was desperate to spark a conversation so they wouldn’t be suffocating in silence.

“That was the Elite Worble,” Grandma mumbled, tugging out some dead plants from their roots. “If you got to look at its skin up close, you’ll see it covered in scars. That thing has gone through many vicious battles with its own kind as well as other villages in the surrounding area, but it has always managed to escape. Dunno how long it has lived for or how it keeps surviving, but it does. The only information that has been passed down is a warning to stay away from the Elite. There are legends that say it cannot die.”

“How do you know all this, Grandma?”

“Your grandfather and I were in the Worble Hunting League too. We were the best on the team until we retired of course, and then the torch was passed along to your dad.”

“Oh,” Kelly didn’t know what else to say. She wasn’t entirely surprised that her grandparents had also been hunters, which didn’t make sense that she was never forced into it.

“Y’know we don’t hate you,” Grandma said suddenly, while leaning back against a log and taking off her gardening gloves.

“What?” Kelly was astonished. All their interactions up until now had been rare and cold. 

“As much as I want to feel bitter and spiteful towards you, I don’t. You’re my granddaughter. We all knew you flunked school and were up to God knows what with your time, but we all admitted to each other that there was something special about you. Truly.”

Unlike the teacher, this felt genuine and real to Kelly, “Oh. Thanks.”

Silence stretched between them as the house slowly repaired. By the time the slow family had fully fixed their house, the village was already halfway rebuilt.

After the main buildings were reconstructed along with their town centerpiece monument, the funeral for her dad was held. Most of the sobbing came from Mom as she glanced at her dead husband every few seconds in the open casket. Kelly tried distracting herself by reflecting back on the adventure she had and how her father had acted towards her all these years. She couldn’t pay attention to the mayor’s boring speech without falling asleep, but she also didn’t want to spend too much time with her regrets.

Nelly nudged her gently which pulled her mind back to the funeral, “Go up, special lady.”

“What?” Kelly whispered.

“The mayor wants you to say some words about Father.”

Kelly scrambled to stand up, her cheeks turning a shade of deep red as all eyes set on her. She walked down the aisle and clumsily took the microphone from the mayor.

“So…Hi, I’m Kelly,” she fumbled for words, “And I would like to say some things about my father.”

Lovely speech, Queen Obvious, Nelly’s eyes had seemed to say. Kelly was too focused on what she wanted to say to stick out a tongue at her. She hadn’t prepared anything in writing, and there was a blur of feelings and emotions running through her. It was almost impossible to select one in the mess that was shifting too fast in her head.

“I know my father kind of hated me for doing so poorly in school and ‘tearing the family apart’ as he would say, but I realized something in my last moments with him.”

The crowd mumbled and a few people chuckled at what they thought was a joke. Her mouth felt dry and she gripped her hands into fists, but she caught a glimpse of a passionate thumbs-up from her usually hateful sister. It surprisingly cheered her up and gave her the confidence boost she desperately needed.

“After what feels like weeks of fending off the Worbles and losing my father, I felt like laying down to sleep. It felt like a horrible nightmare that I will never wake from. But, because my dad is a Worble Hunter, he dealt with this everyday whether he liked it or not. Maybe he didn’t kill or set a whole village on fire–”

There were some snickers from the crowd. Kelly bit her lip hard. Has the village not forgiven her?

“–but my stunt doesn’t even come close to what he had to do all these years. He comes home tired everyday with hopes to be with his family and live a happy, normal life. But he comes home to me instead. Someone who floods her room with potion experiments and leaves messes wherever she goes. I didn’t make his life any easier. He was gloomy after a long day of work, and I most often made it worse.”

Kelly sniffled. Her voice had cracked multiple times already, and crying would just make the audience find her weaker.

She stood up straighter, cleared her throat and spoke into the microphone again, “Before his death, he had admitted he regretted everything and that he truly does love me. The whole time I thought he wholeheartedly disliked me but that was further from the truth.”

She didn’t know whether to continue or to end the speech. She wasn’t sure if she was going anywhere with it, but maybe her message about their strained relationship could help some people here. Something told her to continue.

“Sometimes, people’s true feelings can be clouded by disappointment or anger from past mistakes. He sacrificed himself so his two daughters could live; if that doesn’t say anything about love, I don’t know what will.”

Kelly’s face was unusually flushed, and she felt like immediately digging up a hole and burying herself in it after her speech that felt painfully personal but it was done. She practically flew back to the pew and siddled up next to Nelly. Her sister squeezed her hand tightly and smiled reassuringly at her. Good job, she seemed to say silently, which made Kelly’s fast-thumping heart settle a bit. Kelly returned the grin and spotted a tiny black dot sitting in Nelly’s palm. A fluffy little ball with seven legs. Hunter!

He had become small again! And what are the chances that Nelly, the one with horrible arachnophobia, would be the one holding him? The girl that disliked any “slimy” insect? Kelly looked up. Maybe her sister had changed, just like the whole course of her life in a single night.