17.3

Worm, Chapter 17.3 Summary

Krouse, desperate for medical help for Noelle, confronts the soldiers at the quarantine fence, but they remain unresponsive, guns trained on him and his group. The Simurgh reappears, buildings orbiting her like weapons. As Scion attacks, debris rains down, forcing Krouse’s group to take cover.

Noelle remains unconscious, pale and still breathing. Krouse, assessing his friends, sees fear in Jess, grief in Marissa, pain in Luke, and anger in Cody. They decide to seek shelter in a nearby house, hoping to find supplies and warmth for Noelle.

Inside, they discover the house is empty and messy. Noelle is laid on a couch, her condition worrisome. Jess, pressed by Krouse, explains the Simurgh’s effect: a temporary break in sanity, ramping up emotions and lowering inhibitions, especially fear. This, she implies, is why the soldiers are so wary and why Grandiose was killed by his own team.

Krouse, however, suspects there’s more Jess isn’t saying. While searching for supplies, he finds a caged bird, driven to self-harm by the Simurgh’s song. A chilling despair grips him as he realizes the true horror of their situation. He kills the bird, a mercy, and hides the evidence, a dark understanding dawning on him.

Armed with a makeshift spear, Krouse confronts Jess, demanding answers. She resists, prioritizing Noelle and Luke’s immediate needs, but Krouse persists, sensing a deeper, more terrible truth. Their tense exchange is interrupted by gunfire as a monster approaches the fence, forcing them to take cover.

Noelle’s condition worsens, her abdomen swollen and hard. Krouse, desperate, decides to search for a doctor, despite the risks. Cody and Marissa volunteer to accompany him, armed with makeshift weapons from the house’s cluttered basement.

As they venture out, Krouse grapples with the truth he and Jess share but haven’t voiced. The Simurgh hasn’t just attacked their city; she’s transported them to another Earth, Earth Bet, a world ravaged by parahuman conflict and threatened by Endbringers. This is why the evacuation was so swift, why the heroes are so ruthless. They’re not just fighting the Simurgh; they’re fighting for survival in a world where humanity is on the brink. The soldiers, the guns, the quarantine – it all makes a terrible kind of sense. They’re not just dealing with crazed civilians; they’re containing a potential outbreak from another dimension.

Krouse, Cody, and Marissa, armed and desperate, step into this new, dangerous world, their families a distant, perhaps unreachable, memory. They are trapped, not just by the Simurgh’s song, but by a reality far more terrifying than they could have imagined. Their immediate goal is to save Noelle, but looming over them is the larger, unspoken truth: they are stranded on Earth Bet, with no way home.