I am warm when I wake up, even though the sun is no longer up. I crack my eyes and stare up at the sky. I can see a few stars and the faint outline of the moon. Did that crazy human ever build his robot, I wonder. I hope he did. It sounded pretty cool when he described it. I push myself off the ground and flick my tail. There's something on it.

I look down and see a centipede crawling up my tail. I freeze, watching it scuttle up and up and up. It's on my torso. I can't move because it is right there on my chest and I don't know how to handle this situation! My mind reels and I summon up every ounce of psionic power I possess. I don't need much, I just need to burn the bug off of me. I raise a hand, holding it closer to the centipede. It notices my movement and scurries higher, climbing up my neck. No, no, no! I squeeze my eyes shut and force my gathered energy at the wretched creature.

Nothing happens. I crack an eye open. The centipede is on my cheek, motionless. Right, okay, PSI isn't working. I need another solution. I can't let this filthy insect beat me. I can't! I won't! I just need to use my ingenuity and strength. I slap my hand against my face and miss the centipede. It scurries up and sits on the top of my head. I try again, and again, and again.

Tears form in my eyes. I can't hit it. What's wrong with me? I stretch a hand up towards it again, but I miss it again. I need to change my tactics. Maybe I'll have better luck if I pull it off my head and toss it into the grass. I reach for it and touch its segmented body for the first time. The centipede squirms and pierces my hand with its pincers. I scream and wave my arm in the air. The centipede crawls off my head and scurries away, out of my sight.

What do I know about centipedes? I remember reading about them a long time ago, but I can't focus because my hand hurts so much and what am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to put ice on it? I remember something about ice, but I'm not sure if it's relevant to this kind of bite. Wait, wait, is it even a bite? I don't think they have teeth, so maybe they have stingers or something else entirely. I just don't know and my heart is racing and I can't breathe so good since I'm panicking! I shouldn't panic, this is bad, this is bad, this is so, so bad! I'm not sure if centipedes have poison in them, but if they do, this is the worst thing possible because the poison could be in my blood and worrying and panicking just circulates it faster but I can't stop!

I flop back in the grass and stare at my hand. There are two puncture wounds, right in clear sight. The area around them is getting kinda puffy and red and this is not good at all. This is terrible. There must be some poison in centipedes. I scratch at the wound and try settling my mind but it isn't working. It still hurts and lying here in the grass, sobbing and scratching and I hate them! I hate centipedes! I hate them more than anything right now.

I roll onto my stomach and sob into the dirt. My hand isn't feeling better. If anything, it feels worse. Grass pokes my face and I feel burnt all over. I'm not sure how long I lie there crying for before I notice the spot of red not too far away. Right, I wanted to investigate it just before I fell asleep. I'd been curious about it and wanted to learn more. I shake my head. What a fool I'd been.

Out here, in the wilds of Earth, there is no time for idle curiosities. Not with cruel beasts like centipedes roaming the grass. Still, I reason, it can't hurt to look at the red thing. What if it's food?

My stomach lurches at the thought, even though I haven't eaten in over a day. This isn't good. I shouldn't feel sick. This is that accursed centipedes fault! I know it is! It's doing this to me! It's making me suffer right now. I clench my uninjured hand into a tiny fist and punch the ground with all my strength. It hits a rock and I howl in pain, my eyes burning with even more tears.

I stare down at both my hands. The previously uninjured hand hurts just as much as the one the centipede attacked. My eyes are locked on the red item. I push myself up and wobble towards it. I need something to cling to right now. Anything. Well, anything but a centipede.

My legs shake and I fall to my knees, still not close enough to the red item to see what it is. The thickening darkness doesn't help, either. I sniff and shuffle forward on my knees. My tail drags behind me, bumping against pebbles and small twigs. I stretch my aching hands out towards the red thing and fall forward with a thump. I close my fingers around the red thing and sigh. I have it.