16.4

Worm, Chapter 16.4 Summary

Skitter’s team needs to reach the Trainyard to rescue Bitch, but the area is difficult to navigate by car. They brainstorm unconventional transportation methods, considering Sundancer’s power or even a “James and the Giant Peach” scenario with bugs, before settling on a risky plan using Shatterbird and Regent. They modify a door with embedded glass, allowing Shatterbird to pull them along at high speeds while Regent manipulates the makeshift vehicle.

Their reckless journey takes them through the Docks, barely avoiding obstacles. They finally arrive at the Trainyard, finding Bitch and her dogs locked in a prolonged battle with one of Dragon’s suits. The suit is smaller than others they’ve encountered, but it possesses formidable self-repair capabilities, absorbing scrap metal to regenerate.

Bitch is frustrated, having damaged the suit repeatedly to no avail. Skitter realizes the suit is designed to exploit Bitch’s stubbornness, engaging her in a war of attrition. The team discusses their limited options, aware that reinforcements could arrive at any moment.

Skitter formulates a plan to overwhelm the suit. They coordinate their attacks, with Shatterbird hurling glass and Barker and Biter providing offensive support. Skitter uses her bugs to hinder the suit, attempting to seal valves and restrict its movement with silk cords. The team manages to damage the suit, but it continues to repair itself, absorbing nearby metal.

The battle intensifies, and the suit demonstrates new tactics, including a grappling hook and the ability to turn itself inside out, revealing a fresh, undamaged form beneath. Skitter recognizes this form as the one Dragon used against Leviathan, confirming its self-repair capabilities.

Realizing they can’t win a prolonged fight, Skitter decides to retreat. They plan to hit the suit hard enough to slow it down and then escape. Bitch is reluctant, but Skitter convinces her by framing their repeated attacks as “victories.”

They launch a final assault, aiming to disable the suit. The suit retaliates with a stream of blue flame, forcing them to take cover. Skitter improvises a new plan, using Bastard, Bitch’s largest and most dangerous dog, to deliver a decisive blow.

Bastard, significantly enlarged by Bitch’s power, impales the suit with a wooden post. Shatterbird then fills the resulting hole with glass, effectively immobilizing the suit as the glass melts and solidifies within its mechanisms.

Bitch declares another victory, and the team retreats. They leave the suit behind, hoping it’s truly disabled. They fashion makeshift sleds from doors and use Bitch’s dogs to pull them towards Ballistic’s location.

As they travel, Skitter deploys her relay bugs to search for the other team, only to find they are dying. She reflects on the bugs’ limited lifespan and their struggle to survive without a digestive system.

Skitter eventually locates the final Dragon suit, Azazel, before finding her missing teammates.