I raised both hands. Don't tell me... an ambush? Then what about Shorty and Rona? And this place...

  I took a quick sniff.

  The smell of blood. Could it be... No. Rona's luck is infinite whereas Shorty is not someone who dies easily. That could only mean...

  "I'm innocent! Don't shoot me!" I wailed.

  Click.

  The gun hovered inches from my head.

  "Hehehehehe." Rona's giggle echoed.

  I turned my head slowly. "Rona!" My face lit up, almost forgetting about the murder weapon still aimed at me.

  "Lil!" She twirled in a half-dance, half-kung fu move that looked... vaguely dangerous.

  Isaac sighed and holstered his gun. "That's your reaction to a gun? Seriously?"

  I shrugged. "What's the big deal? Why'd you even point a gun at me? What did I do wrong?" Don't tell me it's his PMS. No, that can't be. He's a male.

  He crossed his arms, eyes narrowing. "How did you end up at a cliff?"

  "I followed my instinct." I puffed out my chest.

  He immediately replied, deadpan. "Don't ever do that again, bozo."

  "They say to follow a woman's instinct."

  "Not yours. Most definitely."

  Rona suddenly held something out. "Food!"

  I looked down. Long. Pink. Slimy. A disturbing gravy (?) pooled around it. My body moved back instinctively. My brow furrowed painfully. What in the world is that thing?

  "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not hungry," I said as politely as I could, backing away even more. My stomach twisted. I'm not picky, but no way in hell I'm eating that. My intestines might draft a formal complaint.

  I glanced at her blood-splattered outfit. "Nice shade of red."

  Rona beamed. "Thanks, Lil!"

  Isaac leaned closer to inspect the 'food'. "Look at it properly."

  I leaned in, squinting at the 'gravy' until I realized it wasn't a sauce, but cooling plasma. The 'pink' texture wasn't meat. It was a segmented muscle. My brain did the math, carried the one, and arrived at 'Cannibalism.'"

  I regretted it instantly.

  "It's… long and pink. Smells like blood." I snarled. "…You didn't."

  "Oh, she did," Isaac confirmed.

  Rona shoved her hand into the 'meal' and began eating with a gleeful hum.

  My head spun at the monstrous sight. "…No wonder I smelled blood." I turned and puked at a corner while Isaac patted my back.

  For a moment, I couldn't tell if I was shaking from disgust or from realizing this was survival.

  "Your reaction is more normal than what you say," he muttered.

  Wiping my mouth, I noticed Isaac's arm. He was sweating, a cloth wrapped around his right bicep. Something isn't right.

  "You're injured?" I narrowed my eyes. "Why didn't you use a Health Potion?"

  Isaac waved it off, but I caught the wince. "Burn. One of the worms snuck up on me. Acid saliva. Less potent than Monica Jr.'s, but still enough to hurt."

  He unraveled the cloth, revealing a raw, blistered burn.

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  "Yikes. That looks brutal." I opened my inventory and rummaged through it. "Tadaa!" I proudly held out an aloe vera leaf.

  Isaac blinked. "Where did you get this?"

  "Somewhere in the forest," I said casually. "There's no place I haven't explored."

  "…Right." He grabbed a sharp stone he'd sharpened while waiting for us, scraped off the rind, and applied the gel. The tension in his shoulders eased. "Thanks. How did you know aloe works on burns?"

  "Oh, Ma taught me. Said it helped with burns and mixed it in her aloe mojitos."

  Isaac looked at me like I'd just grown two heads. "Your mother mixed healing herbs into drinks?"

  "It was healthy!" I paused a beat to think. "…Probably."

  He shook his head, then sat back. "Alright, listen up. I came up with a plan while waiting for you two."

  "A plan to defeat that giant worm? In under two hours?" I raised a brow.

  "Listen carefully," he continued, ignoring me. "Three of us. One splits off to find our mascot, Looney. The other two distract LM."

  "Looney?" I blinked. "You're planning something to that poor worm?"

  "Rona gets to eat Looney?" Rona lit up.

  I stared at her, horrified. "Didn't you just eat like ten servings of worm sashimi?"

  "Rona knows nothing is ever enough."

  "…Oui…" I scooted closer to Isaac, trying to grab his injured arm by accident. He swatted my hand away before I could touch him.

  Isaac cleared his throat. "Focus. We'll use Looney as a bargaining chip. Trade his safety for LM's surrender."

  "LM = Looney and Monica Jr., right?" I asked. Isaac stared at me with a dull look. Isn't it obvious?

  I received the signal. "Got it."

  "So… who's the bait?" I asked cautiously.

  Isaac pointed at me and Rona.

  I grabbed his collar. "What?! Are you trying to kill us?!"

  "W-Wait!" he stammered.

  After a solid minute of aggressive shaking, I let him go. His face had turned a faint green.

  "Ugh…" He slumped. His back was lying flat on the ground. "Look, you wouldn't know where to find Looney anyway."

  "You don't either!" I yelled, pointing at him aggressively.

  "But I do have a guess. Remember what Mr. James said? He'd be waiting at the dungeon entrance."

  I blinked. "Oh, right."

  "I'm betting Looney's still there. I'll grab him."

  "And you're sure you can handle that?" I crossed my arms.

  "You burned Monica. I can kidnap a worm."

  Again. I repeat. I didn't mean to burn Monica. But the words wouldn't come out. I grumbled with a pout. "…Fair."

  "While I'm gone, you two stall LM."

  How? By getting eaten and then digested? My mind spun through a million ways we might approach LM. Sadly, none of them ended with us outside of its stomach. I slapped my cheek, earning a blunt look from Isaac. "Fine. Rona and I will do our best. Right, Rona?"

  … Silence.

  "Rona?"

  We turned to find her curled up like a puppy, softly snoring.

  "Zzzz…"

  I laughed. "I'll tell her the plan later."

  "Yeah, you do that," Isaac groaned.

  I gently woke Rona. More like surviving through it. She kept trying to eat my fingers whenever my fingers got too close. Then, we equipped our weapons.

  Isaac tore the cloth from his arm. "We've got less than two hours. Make every second count."

  "No need to tell me twice." I rubbed my injured hand, still bearing Rona's bite marks.

  "Rona understood." Rona smiled, revealing rows of teeth. I shuddered.

  Isaac nodded at her. "Good luck, Rona."

  Rona spun her hammer and grinned.

  I stared at Isaac, waiting for his wishes, but he didn't say anything. I pouted. "What about me?"

  Isaac looked at me, then turned away.

  "What about you?"

  "ACK! So cruel!"

  Together, we stepped out of the cave, hoping it wouldn't be the last time.

  Step. Step. Step.

  "It's just the two of us, Rona. Excited?"

  "Rona is super excited! Rona can't wait to meet LM." Rona began running circles around me.

  "Oh… me too…" I sniffed, shoulders hunched.

  We walked for twenty minutes without stopping. Still no giant worm.

  "Shouldn't we feel vibrations or something?" I asked, kneeling to touch the ground.

  Nothing. Too quiet.

  "Lil!" Rona pointed ahead.

  A massive hole yawned in the ground.

  It wasn’t just a pit. The ground around it was torn open, uneven, and raw. Heat leaked from below, warping the air. Thick roots hung from the sides, snapped but still moving, twitching with a slow vibration that hummed through the ground.

  It didn't look like a tunnel.

  It looked like a mouth.

  "…Oui." I stared into the abyss. "It's definitely home."

  Ping.

  [You Got a Message]

  Isaac: Found LM yet?

  Llyne: Nope. But we found a huge hole that might lead to it.

  Rona: Rona found the hole.

  Isaac: Good job, Rona.

  Llyne: What about you?

  Isaac: On my way.

  Rona: Rona is bored.

  Isaac: How can you be bored when our lives are at stake?

  Llyne: You know what? LM probably has good hygiene. Shiny white teeth. If we're going to die, at least we'll die to a clean monster.

  Isaac: …Did your brain rot from all the worm chasing?

  Rona gave a thumbs-up sticker.

  Isaac: Is there no sane person here?

  Llyne: Why'd you message?

  Isaac: Worms react to ground movement. If you're hiding, stay completely still.

  Llyne: Heartbeats count as movement. Are you asking me to die?

  Isaac: …Sure. At least my headache would go away.

  Rona: Isaac is a meanie!

  Llyne: We'll be busy. Later!

  Isaac: Fine. Don't die.

  Rona: Adios!

  I closed the chat and looked back into the breathing dark.

  "…Oui."

  "We go, ya?" Rona asked. Her eyes gleamed, sharp and way too eager.

  I swallowed. Cold air drifted up, damp and sour. Well, we don't have a choice, do we?

  "Yup. We go."

  "Alrighty!" Rona jumped in without hesitation, hammer held tight to her chest.

  "…Eeeeh?!" I shouted out as her laughter echoed back up. "Wait for me, you lunatic!"

  I took a deep breath, squeezed my eyes shut, and threw myself after her.

  Wind screamed past my ears, smelling of wet stone and old decay, as I plummeted into the throat of the earth.

  This chapter leans into team chaos and humor before the real fight begins. Each character’s role is set. Strategy meets madness.

  The next chapter will push their “plan” to the edge of failure (and maybe genius).

  Appreciate everyone following along. Thoughts on their dynamic so far?