Banshee Worm King: Book Five of the Oz Chronicles (26 page)

I repeated what he said.
 
“Screamers most of all.”

“Yep, they lose all senses and bearings when they hear a
screamer.
 
That’s why I was able to run
the climbers and such off you earlier.”

I took the pack from him and pulled out an egg.
 
“You two move to the other side of the deck
and get ready to climb down.”

“What for?”

“Because what I’m about to do will buy us some time, but I
don’t know how much.”
 
I collected my
crossbow and one arrow. Moving to the side of the deck facing away from the
‘X’, I loaded the arrow, picked a tree that was 50 feet away, and slammed the
egg through the end of the arrow.
 
It
immediately started to scream.
 
As
quickly as I could, I aimed the crossbow and fired the arrow, sending it and
the screaming egg into the trunk of a distant tree.
 

“Go, go, go,” I said, gathering up the packs and remaining
arrows.
 

They scaled down the tree and dropped to the ground.
 
Given the load I was carrying, it took longer
than I would have liked for me to reach the ground.

“I’ll take one of them packs off your hands,” Max said.

I almost handed him the pack with the jubilee meat but
thought better of it. Handing him the pack with the eggs, I said, “Don’t leave
my sight.
 
You hear me?”

He nodded.

We ran towards the ‘X’ with one ear on the screaming
egg.
 
As long as it was making a
commotion, the worms and climbers would leave us alone.
 

A hundred yards away from the camp, the sound of the
screamer appeared to be fading.
 
I
couldn’t be sure if it was because we were farther away or the little slime
ball was dying.

My knee ached with each step I took, and I fell behind Ajax
and Max.
 
They slowed to wait on me.
“Ajax, keep going.
 
I’ll catch up.”
 
They both started to increase their pace, but
I yelled out for Max to stop.
 
“You and the
eggs are staying with me.”

He waited as I hobbled up to him.
 
“I can carry the meat if you want to switch
up.”

I chuckled.
 
“I’m
sure you will.”

“I will,” he said not getting my sarcasm.

I placed my hand on his shoulder and bent down to massage
my knee.
 
The screaming of the egg was
fading even though we weren’t moving.
 
By
the time I stood up straight, I couldn’t hear it at all.
 
“It stopped,” I said.

Max looked over his shoulder and then back at me.
 
“It sure did.”

“That’s not good, is it?”

“It sure ain’t.”

I removed the backpack with the meat and handed it to
Max.
 
“You get your wish.
 
Give me the other pack.”

His eyes lit up. He squirmed out of the straps of his
backpack and handed it to me.
 

“I’m trusting you not to run off with that,” I said as we
started moving towards the Myrmidons’ camp.
 

He was shaking with anticipation.
 
“I’ll do my best.”

A large mass approached from my left.
 
I got a glimpse of it before it knocked me to
the ground.
 
Bostic.

“Got you, little warrior boy.”
 

The backpack flew out of my hand, and I scrambled on my
hands and knees trying to regain possession of it. But Bostic yanked me back and
turned me over on my back.
 
“You nearly
cost me 100 head of Myrmidons,” he said carefully placing his feet over my
hands and stepping down.
 
He had me
pinned.

“I thought it was 36,” I said trying to work myself free.

He grinned.
 
“Talked
them up.
 
They want you pretty bad.”

“Let me up.
 
You
remember what happened last time we fought.”

“I remember.” He yelled over his shoulder, “Grab his legs.”

April stepped out of the darkness and knelt down, reaching
out and grabbing my legs.
 
She mouthed,
I’m sorry.

“The way I figure,” Bostic said, “I got a few minutes
before you go purple on me.”
 
He reached
into his pocket and pulled out a thinly sliced piece of meat.

Max backed away with a terrified look on his face. “Bostic
is bad. Bostic is bad.
 
He gets you hooked
on the jubilee meat.
 
Gets you hooked and
takes your life.”

“This should be enough to keep that purple inside of
you.”
 
He bent down and placed his thick
callused hand on my cheeks and squeezed.
 
“Open up.”

I shook and twisted my head trying to prevent him from
putting the meat in my mouth, but he was too strong.
 
I found myself hoping the Délon in me would
come out, but I couldn’t force it.

He stuffed the jubliee meat into my mouth and changed from
squeezing my cheeks to massaging them.
 
“C’mon, boy.
 
Swallow it and it
will be done.
 
Won’t have another care in
the world.
 
I guarantee it.”

“Bad Bostic.
 
Bostic
is bad!” Max stepped forward and swung the backpack full of jubilee meat,
striking Bostic in the head and knocking him out on his feet. The pack flew
free of Max’s grip. The giant man remained standing for a split second and then
tumbled to the ground.

April let go of my legs, and I turned immediately and spit
the Myrmidon meat out.
 
To be safe, I
kept spitting until I couldn’t spit anymore.

“I’m sorry, Oz.
 
I’m
so sorry,” April said.
 
“I had to do
it.
 
I just had to.”

“I know.” I said standing.
 
“Just please tell me you know where the others are.”

She nodded.
 
“They’re
in cages near the back of the camp, hanging from trees.
 
You’ll never be able to get to them.”
 

I smiled.
 
“Perfect.”

She didn’t bother asking me what I meant.

Max was dancing up a storm.
 
“I got bad Bostic.
 
Got him with
his own jubilee meat.
 
Sweet! Sweet!
 
Makes me want to dance on my feet!”

The ground started to rumble.

“Max, this isn’t the time to dance.”

He ignored me and continued to celebrate.

“Max!”

Tree roots, rocks, and dirt blew out of the ground behind
him.
 
A worm as big around as a tractor
tire shot out from the newly formed hole and rammed into Max, throwing him
forward.
 
He flew in the air a few feet
and landed on his face with a loud crunch.

I ran for him, but before I could do anything the worm
chomped down on Max’s leg and dragged him back into the hole.
 
He grabbed at the ground as he disappeared
into the blackness of the hole.
 
I told
myself there was a chance that would save him.

I picked up the backpack full of jubilee meat and gave it
to April.
 
“Run as far away from here as
you can!
 
They won’t follow you as long
as you hold onto the pack!”
 

She hesitated.
 
“Where am I supposed to go?”

“Anywhere but here.
 
Whatever you do, don’t eat the meat. I’ll find you.
 
I promise.
 
Just go! Now!”

She thought about it for a second.
 
Not eating the meat was impossible, as far as
she was concerned.
 
She turned and ran
back the way she had come.

I scooped up the pack with the eggs and ran as fast as my
bad leg would let me.
 
I was able to
block the pain, but the knee was still stiff.
 

Twenty feet from the ‘X’ I could see activity beyond the
trees. Dozens of Myrmidons were milling around, eating, chatting. It appeared
like a normal camp of soldiers resting after a long march or before an epic
battle.
 
And an epic battle was what they
were about to get.

I saw the silhouette of Ajax next to one of the trees that
made up the ‘X’.
 
He was peering into the
camp looking for the others.
 

“At the back of the camp,” I said as I ran toward him.
 
“They’re in cages hanging from some trees.
 
Go!
 
Wait for me there!”

He roared and barreled into the camp.
 
The Myrmidons were so surprised to see him
that they didn’t react right away.
 
They
stood slowly eyeing the great gorilla as he zoomed past them.
 

The ground behind me cracked and domed.
 
The worms were leaving a trail of mole-like
tracks in the ground.
 
It was impossible
to tell how many were following me.
 
I
could see the shadowy outlines of climbers jumping from tree to tree.

I reached the ‘X’ and quickly pulled an egg from the
backpack. The worms continued to tunnel toward me. I stepped between the trees
in full view of the Myrmidons.
 
They
shifted into attack posture.
 
One with jagged
battle scars all over its armored body stepped in front of the others and
released battle screech.

“Here,” I said tossing it the egg.

It caught it, sniffed it, and raised it above his head
letting out a triumphant squeal.
 
The
entire group of Myrmidons responded in kind.
 

I aimed the crossbow and hit the egg dead center.
 
The egg let loose its scream.

I saw the worms almost instantaneously redirect their
tunneling toward the mass of Myrmidons, and I ran to my left to find my way to
the back of the camp.

Three Myrmidons shot up into the air as the first worm
surfaced.
 
Six more went flying as I
rounded a group of mud huts.
 
The sounds
of a battle were in full swing.
 
The
Myrmidons were flocking to the scene of the Banshees breaking ground.
 
The worms kept coming.
 
The entire population seemed to be coming to
the egg’s rescue.
 
Climbers were joining
the battle from above.
 
The Myrmidons
were both confused and excited at the sight of the worms.
 
Their craving for Banshee meat seemed to have
total control of them.
 

Zipping between two mud huts I came out near the back of
the camp.
 
I saw the cages hanging from
the trees.
 
Ajax was on a limb climbing
towards them.
 

I started for them, but a Myrmidon stepped in my path.
 
He wielded a sword that was bigger than
me.
 
He clicked out a phrase with his
tiny little mouth and then raised the sword above his head.

I nervously fumbled for an arrow but before I could find
one, he pulled back. He was staring up at the roof of the mud hut behind
me.
 
I turned to see six climbers looking
down on me.
 
All of their eyes were
fixated on my backpack.
 

The commotion in the middle of the camp had died down, and
I knew why.
 
The egg had stopped
screaming.
 
I had one of the remaining
three eggs in my hand before the climbers had a chance to move.
 
I stabbed it with an arrow and tossed the
arrow in the middle of Myrmidons.
 
Chaos
broke out again. It was enough of a distraction to allow me to make it to the
cages.

Wes poked his head out between the bars of his cage. “About
time you got here.
 
You got any idea what
it’s like smelling these damn ant freaks all day?”

“Got here as soon as I could,” I said climbing up a
tree.
 
“Decided to go for a swim.”

Gordy and Tyrone stood in their cages.
 
“See you brought trouble,” Tyrone said.

“As usual,” Gordy said.

Ariabod roared and shook his cage.

I looked out over the camp.
 
The battle between the Banshees and Myrmidons was raging.
 
The bodies of dead Myrmidons and hacked up
pieces of worms were scattered all over the place.
 
It was a bloody gut-spattered mess.