CHAPTER SEVEN - THE NEST

I'm depressed. I have no idea why. I'm just depressed. Maybe this is just a new power, I think. Things are going on around me. Some of my friends are playing ERS in the corner, some are playing other card games like Nines and Trash (which I showed everybody). Brook and Daniel are in the bedroom, again. I think Daniel might have finally learned what condoms were, though. At least that's something. Mhairi is sitting near the back, checking on me. And I had an idea. I try something that had been said to work with Dragons in many stories that I had read, and my reasoning was that it might work with Draconians, too. I try to reach my mind out to others. I can feel everybody else's presence. I can sense their thoughts. I can see what they see, hear what they hear, and basically use all five (or six) senses. If I want to, I can use mind-control. I absentmindedly float around. . . OH LORD! OH NO! OH! OH NO! I have accidentally gone to Daniel. Only for a split second, but it was enough. I. . . oh. I'm sick to my stomach now, too. But I continue. I go over to Jack. He's playing around on his phone, talking to Emma, the only other person who has been through at least TWO YEARS of High School. Chris is over there too, since he's been through one. Jack is beginning to have some feelings for Emma, so good job to him with her responding! Okay. . . moving on. Justin is attempting to play nines. He has no cards in his hand and all three cards face-down in front of him. I look at those. Three tens. Oh yeah, he's going to win. Mhairi is worried about me, but mostly she's sad because she wanted to. . . okay. Never mind. Suddenly, something snaps me out of my trance state.

The RV stops. There is a huge hole in the ground ahead of us. I look, and it's the same cave from my vision. "No. . . no! No! I don't want to go! No!" I yell.

Everybody stares at me. "What's wrong?" Justin asks, genuinely concerned.

"Body Slug cave. But we have to go in. There are human captives in there." I look up. "And don't worry. We'll destroy it."

"Then what's wrong?" Justin asks. "If we're going to win, then what's the big problem about going in?"

"I don't know. . . just a bad feeling. Well, anyways, let's go."

We all head in. We get to the center. The human captives are there, not possessed. "No! It's a trap!" they yell.

Body Slugs come from everywhere and restrain us all. The chief (must be, he has such a clean host) looks around, and tells his soldiers to each infect one of us. I have a last desperate moment. I gain mind-control of one just as it is possessing me. So I'm controlling the Body Slug controlling myself.

"So, just so that I know that the possession worked, what is the code word?"

I search the memories of the Body Slug. The word is, "Shurashid," which means what it sounds like.

"SHURASHID!" I yell. I have no chance of fighting the others. Unless. . .

I attempt to send out a wave of sadness, like I thought that maybe I could. It works. Everybody is soon sobbing.

Except for the chief. "Sorry!" I say. "This new host is strange."

"Sure," scoffs the chief. "Fortunately for you, I need every able body that I can get right now. Make sure that it doesn't happen again." Everybody is soon back to normal.

Great, I think. What will we do now? My power for today is useless here, the guy up there looks like a Jack of All Trades, I. . . I can wait. That is all that I can do.

And so I do.

CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS - CHAPTER SEVEN

FRIENDLY-

No new friendly characters.

ENEMIES-

Body Slug Emperor - Leader of this tribe of Body Slugs.