Sam, who was nibbling on a mozzarella toast, was on his way back to the university library when he nearly walked into a large group of loitering students.

“Wow! Look at that!”

“Damn, is that a halo?!”

“Oh wow, I’ve never seen a halo before!”

“My gosh it’s so pretty!”

As Sam peered up at the optical phenomenon in the sky, an unexpected shiver began to trickle down his spine.

At first, Sam attributed the shiver to the cold. However, when the shivering didn’t stop, Sam inexplicably grew unnerved. Halos were uncommon, sure, but not so rare that he had never seen one before; why was it then that this one made him feel so uncomfortable?

Furthermore, the more he scrutinized the great circle of light, the more uncanny it got. Something was definitely different about this halo, he decided. Although dazzling and brilliant, Sam couldn’t help but to feel like the colossal circle of light was watching him…

… like a giant eye in the sky.

Sam’s eyes didn’t even have enough time to widen when the brilliant halo suddenly blinked.

Space twisted and warped as screams abruptly turned into echoes. The bustling campus folded into itself before exploding outwards. Colours and sounds turned into shapes and sensations. Pain turned into pleasure as confusion turned into bliss. And for the briefest of moments, in this a maelstrom of primordial chaos, Sam felt… empowered. It was a strangely familiar sensation which sort of reminded him of Christmas ­­­­­­­­­­— of family, belonging, and safety. Naturally, a soon as he noticed the strange power, Sam grabbed a hold of it. Even as the maelstrom of chaos pulled him asunder, Sam clung to it as if his life depended on it.

And maybe it did.

Then, just as abruptly as it had begun, the chaos vanished without a sound or trace. The ethereal shapes returned to being colours as the intangible became tangible once more.

“W-What was t-that?” A nearby student gasped for air.

Across the outdoor campus, confusion and panic ensued as students began realizing that some of their friends were missing all of a sudden.

“Devon, mate, where are you?!”

“H-Henry?!”

“Jess, fuck, has anyone seen Jess?!”

Sam, who was observing the campus in a dumbfounded stupor, nearly jumped when an extreme feeling of danger suddenly shot through him. Instinctively, he turned towards a specific spot near the second-hand bookstore. Next to it, he saw two girls arguing over something when Sam’s eyes suddenly widened.

“The ground’s trembling…”

But before he could say or do anything, it was already too late.

Sam flinched as the asphalt exploded, bits and pieces flying in every direction. In a mixture of awe and terror, he watched as a massive, mutated earthworm burst through the pavement. It's anterior, or head, revealed a freakishly large maw filled with teeth as it devoured one of the two female students, before it effortlessly dove into the ground again.

After a split second of silence, the screaming erupted.

““AARGHH!!””

““R-RUN!””

“WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!”

Throughout the campus, students burst into action. However, just as Sam was about to join them, the feeling of intense, paralyzing danger returned.

“Shit!” He cursed inwardly as he felt the tremors again. He couldn’t tell how he did it but, somehow, he could tell that the worm was moving his way.

Paralyzed with fear and indecisiveness, he sensed the subterranean worm burrow through the earth beneath him, past him, and towards the escaping students.

Realization set in as he saw the students running on the pavement.

“G-Guys!” He stuttered. “Don’t move!”

Naturally, in the on-going chaos, no one paid any attention to him.

“GUYS!” Sam raised his voice. “DON’T M-“ But again, it was too late.

Like a whale bursting through the ocean surface, the massive earthworm appeared once more.

After he watched it tear through the screaming students, a pale and sickened Sam forcefully turned his eyes away.

Slowly and with gentle steps, he began moving towards the nearest building — the second-hand bookstore.

The female student whose friend had been devoured stared motionlessly at the hole in front of her.

Sam was about to move past her when he suddenly stopped.

“Fuck, am I really doing this?” Gritting his teeth, he changed direction and moved towards the shell-shocked student.

Once he finally reached her, he gently nudged her shoulder.

“She’s completely out of it.” Sam remarked as he glared at the non-responsive girl.

Sighing to himself, Sam began deliberating whether to leave the shell-shocked girl behind when he suddenly felt another tremble.

“I-Is it back?!” He turned towards the screaming students before realizing his mistake.

For some reason, he’d stupidly assumed there was only one colossal worm.

As still as a statue, Sam prayed that the second subterranean invertebrate wouldn’t notice him.

Of course, that was when the female student finally noticed his presence.

“H-Huh?” She blinked at him with bloodshot eyes. “W-Who are you?”

Maybe it was the sheer panic in his eyes, or maybe it was the way he stood frozen like a statue, but Sam thanked his lucky stars when the girl’s eyes widened in realization of what he was doing.

Slowly, Sam moved his finger to his mouth.

The tear-eyed girl nodded as her eyes involuntarily moved towards the screaming students. For some reason, Sam knew right there and then that he’d never forget the horrified look in her eyes.

When Sam couldn’t feel the subterranean worm beneath them anymore, he immediately indicated for the girl to follow.

However, when the girl who was too compelled by the scene in front of her didn’t respond, Sam’s frustration grew.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

“We can’t stay here!” He wanted to scream as he waved his hand in front of her. Thankfully, that seemed to do the trick.

“Let’s go!” He mimed whilst gesturing towards the bookstore.

The girl, who looked ready to vomit, nodded silently.

…

Sam and the traumatized girl reached the bookstore without any further mishaps. Occasionally, they would have to stop and wait for a subterranean worm to pass, but thankfully none of the invertebrates noticed them.

Through the large facade windows, Sam saw several horrified faces looking back at them. It seemed the customers who’d been inside the store when the worm had appeared had made the apt decision not to step out into the carnage.

As silently as possible, Sam opened the door and joined them. Maybe it was silly of him, but once the door closed behind him, he immediately felt safer.

Looking around the bookstore, Sam noticed six or so faces looking back at him.

“W-Why’d you come here!” An older lady stammered in anger and fear, “W-What if you’d lured o-one of those… those t-things to us!?”

Sam opened his mouth to answer when another customer cut in.

“Then what would you have wanted him to do?” A younger female student with short-cut her blurted out, “Stand out there and die along with the rest of them?!”

The older lady didn’t say anything, but the look in her eyes clearly stated her opinion on the matter.

“Stop shouting, we don't want to attact any attention," The cashier interjected sharply before sighing tiredly, "What’s done is done,” The store cashier, who was most likely a student himself, looked out at the on-going carnage with a despondent face, “T-They did what they had to do in order to survive, if any one of you were in their shoes, would you have done anything different?”

No one answered.

“No... I didn’t think so either,” The cashier sighed before turning towards Sam, “But I have to say man, that was some real hero-like shit you displayed out there, helping that girl I mean,"

“Me?” Sam’s eyes widened. He didn’t think he’d done anything hero-like. If anything, he’d done too little. If only he’d noticed the tremors earlier, if only he’d shouted a bit louder, then maybe he could’ve saved someone.

“Yeah,” The cashier reaffirmed, “The way you helped her, ” He gestured at the girl standing next to him, “I don’t think many of us would’ve done that in your situation… Hell, I don’t think I would’ve.” At his candid admission, several customers looked at him questionably, some even looked displeased with him.

“I…” Sam looked at the girl standing next to him. Had she always been crying? How hadn’t he noticed? “Just couldn’t leave her out there…” He admitted quietly, more to himself than to anyone else.

The girl continued sobbing.

For a moment, the group remained quiet as they stared despairingly at the fleeing students. There weren't many of them left outside as they'd either left the campus, been eaten, or entered one of the university's many entrances.

Shaking his head, Sam was about to ask if they had any more information about the strange phenomenon he'd experienced earlier when the older lady opened her mouth again.

“So,” She looked at him squarely behind her rectangular glasses, “are you going to tell us how you did it or not?”

“Did what?” Sam answered out without thinking, not failing to notice the attention their conversation accrued.

“Don’t deny it,” Another customer said, a young man around Sam’s age. “We all fucking saw it, alright? You can obviously sense those creatures! Why else would you stop like that?”

At his words, all six of them, even the cashier and the girl next to him, looked at Sam curiously.

“I…” Sam wrinkled his nose in confusion. It wasn’t exactly rocket science, he just stopped whenever he had felt the tremors, “Maybe you couldn’t tell because you were in here,” Sam gestured at the bookstore, “but whenever one of those worms draw near, you can literally feel the ground tremoring.” He explained hurriedly.

The group looked surprised, and some even nodded at his explanation. The worms were gargantuan after all. It would be stranger if one couldn’t feel them coming.

Yet, before any of the other customers could ask anything else, the girl who’d been mourning her friend abruptly interjected.

“B-But t-that’s not true… though?” Her voice was soft, like a mosquito, but no one failed to hear her. Bolstered by the curious looks she received, the crying girl continued. “I-I mean, when Sarah-“ she choked on the name, took a deep, quivering breath, before continuing, “w-we didn’t feel anything… The ground didn’t shake at all, it just… appeared.” This time, when the girl began sobbing again, the short-haired girl stepped in and hugged her.

“There there…” The short-haired girl consoled her gently.

Sam, however, had to suffer through the dubious looks the rest of the group were giving him.

“Dude,” The cashier looked Sam in the eyes before shaking his head in disappointment, “Not cool, man."

“I agree,” The older lady looked like she was fuming, “Y-You would actually lie? You would lie about something as sinful as this?!” She gestured at the carnage outside, “How disgusting! Don’t think you can lie to us just because you helped her.”

“But I-“ An exasperated Sam tried to interject. He couldn’t understand why the girl would lie about something like this. The tremors were minute, sure, but they were definitely noticeable to anyone who paid attention.

“I knew it," The young male student hissed, "You two-faced bastard, I knew no one was that fucking altruistic. Fuck, and we even unlocked the doors for you!”

Sam stared in disbelief at the sudden bout of hostility the group was showing him. He’d told them the truth. And heck, even if he did lie, why would they all mutually side with her over him?

A righteous anger began boiling inside him. He’d told them the truth. Why would she lie? And after he helped her to boot? Sam shot a look at the mourning girl who at least had the decency to look uncomfortable at the situation she’d caused.

“Don’t you look at her like that!” The short-haired girl glared at him.

“Okay, that’s enough you guys,” The cashier finally interjected. Yet, when the group didn’t stop muttering, he snarled, “Enough!”

They bookstore immediately got silent.

“Man, I don’t know why you’re being difficult about this,” The cashier rubbed his eyes in irritation, “just tell us what you know?”

“But I literally told you the truth already?” Sam explained in exasperation. When the older lady looked like she was about to say something, he hurriedly continued, “After the world went bat-shit crazy, I began feeling them,” Sam recalled how his body had warned him of the danger. “The tremors I mean. And yeah, sure, I can understand if you don’t feel them at first as they aren’t readily noticeable. But if you focus, I swear to God they are there!?” Sam replied indignantly. He felt wronged, frustrated, and crossed. And he sure as hell didn’t deserve this inquisition.

Thankfully, his heartfelt explanation seemed to sway most of them. Or at least, they looked hesitant, like they didn’t know what to believe.

The young male student was about to say something else when the cashier’s glare shut him up.

“We understand…” The cashier sighed. “This whole… situation has us all on edge, I’m sure. And I admit it would be strange if one couldn’t feel those… worms rocking the earth.” The cashier frowned at the sobbing girl who meekly looked away.

“But let’s put an end to this grilling, okay?” He looked at the group.

“No way.” The older lady refused. “Not only did this young man risk us all by coming here, but he’s a liar too.” The older lady was so red she looked like she was about to pop. “I refuse to share this bookstore with him! The girl can stay, but this deceitful ingrate must leave!”

Now, it was she who’d drawn the attention of the group.

“You…” Even the short-haired girl looked affronted by her demand. “You can’t be saying you want him to go back out there?!” She gestured at the bloodied campus.

“Why not?” The young man interjected. “If he can truly feel the tremors, which he claims he can, then he shouldn’t have any problems out there!”

“But it’s a slaughter out there!” The short-haired girl exclaimed in disbelief.

For a moment, no one said anything.

“No one will be leaving.” The cashier’s sigh interrupted the silence. “And we all agreed to unlock the doors for them.” He shot a reprimanding look at the older lady who brushed it off with a snort.

“I don’t know why any of this is happening, but I’m sure the authorities — if not the military — will sort things out soon enough. All we got to do is stay here and wait.” The cashier gave them all a look before he shook his head and walked back to the counter.

Sam watched as the rest of the group looked at each other before they each went their separate way. Most of them stayed to look out the windows, but some retreated back into the bookstore.

The older lady glared at him and snorted before she directed her attention out the window.

Sam, on the other hand, felt both tired and angry. In fact, he could hardly remember a time when he’d ever felt this way before. Yet, before he could find a wall to rest against, three girls approached him.

Although he didn’t know their names, it was the girl he’d helped, the short-haired girl, and one of two students from the group who hadn’t said anything in the conflict before.

The short-haired girl looked ready to fight, but the two other girls looked uncomfortable. Surprisingly, however, it was the girl who’d lost her friend who led the group towards him.

“I-I’m sorry…” She began with tears trickling down her cheeks. “I’m so-so sorry, y-you helped me and I-“

Sam wouldn’t have it, however. Maybe if she’d waited a bit before talking to him, he would’ve shown more understanding. However, right now, something about her apology grated on him. Maybe it was harsh of him to think like that, but if she truly felt apologetic, she should’ve said something when the group was grilling him.

Therefore, in a fit of rage and disappointment, he said, “I don’t care.” Sam surprised himself at how hard his voice sounded, yet, at the moment, he truly didn’t care. “I know you just lost your friend, and I mean it when I say I feel sorry for you, but even a dog knows how to return a favour.”

“You!” The short-haired girl exclaimed, “Don’t talk to her like that! Can’t you see-“

“And you,” Sam directed his glare her way, “I don’t even know who you are, why on earth do you feel the need to butt in?”

The short-haired girl looked like her brain just got fried by Sam’s bold display of audacity.

Sam gave the three silent girls a hard look before sighing.

“Fuck, I’m sorry I snapped. I’m tired, please just…” Sam looked out the window, “Just leave me alone.”

Sam heard the short-haired girl snort loudly before barging away. However, he didn’t see the regretful and apologetic look on the crying girl’s face.

…