20.4

Worm, Chapter 20.4 Summary:

Charlotte’s text had Taylor on edge, bracing for disaster. Fresh from resolving the Greg situation, she’s caught off guard when a guard stops her, hands on her shoulders, preventing her from running.

Without her weapons, armor, or powers, Taylor avoids a fight. She needs to escape, discard evidence, assess the threat, and then react. She tears up papers, using bugs to survey her surroundings. Someone likely knows she’s Skitter.

The school’s layout is a problem. Two buildings form an “H,” with the main office in the center. Exiting would expose her to windows and alarms. She can head to a four-story building with classrooms, a cafeteria, and a gym, leading to the parking lot, or to a similar building with an auditorium and the front doors.

She heads for the front door, discarding the paper scraps. She spots Adamant and Sere with two guards. Ducking into a stairwell, she avoids them. The guidance counselor’s office and staff meeting rooms have Shatterbird-resistant windows.

The building’s sealed windows make it hard to get her bugs inside, limiting her swarm. She places bugs strategically, creating a rough map. Flies reach the principal’s office, letting her listen in.

“…fight on my campus…” the principal says into the phone. Taylor gets bits of information, translating with her bugs.

“…of my students are …ly sensitive … to … them feel unsafe…”

The unfamiliar layout is a hurdle. She heads towards the staircase furthest from Sere and Adamant.

“…if that’s an order… yes… fine…”

The principal hangs up. Taylor speeds up. Bugs on the principal’s pants indicate she’s turning to the computer.

As Taylor reaches the stairs, every guard, Adamant, and Sere react. Students are also leaving classrooms. It’s the Protectorate, or someone connected to them.

The doors lock, the front gate closes. Taylor could run or fight, but it’s risky without her costume and with few bugs. She didn’t bring bugs or wear her costume, fearing a search.

“May I have your attention please?” Principal Howell’s voice fills the school. “The school is now being locked down… there is no immediate danger.”

The plan is to clear classrooms one by one. The Protectorate might have ways to find her. Clockblocker and Kid Win are changing into costume.

They know Taylor was in the school, but not that she’s still there. Outside, she has her bugs. She creates a decoy with her swarm.

A guard sees the decoy, alerts Sere. Taylor splits the swarm. “A supervillain is currently near the school entrance…” announces the school.

The office empties. Emma heads to the cafeteria with other students. The guidance office evacuates, the counselor invites Taylor to join them.

Taylor could ask to go to the auditorium, but she wants to be invisible. She joins the group heading to the cafeteria.

Students fill the cafeteria. The principal and staff are at the door. Emma glares at Taylor. Taylor finds Charlotte, carrying the ladybug-marked paper cube.

Sere destroys one decoy. Spiders suffer the most, their hydraulic movement system failing. Taylor tells Charlotte it’s best if she doesn’t know her.

“Is this about you?” Charlotte asks.

“I think so,” Taylor mutters. She sits at a back table, hidden but observant. Her bugs search for escape routes.

Sere attacks the decoys. Taylor tries to blind him with dirt, using flying bugs to drop small stones. In the cafeteria, more students arrive, sweaty from the gym.

Around 350-400 people are in the cafeteria. A group takes the end of Charlotte’s table, she stands and joins Taylor.

“What’s going on?” Charlotte whispers.

Taylor explains about Tattletale’s list and the principal’s warning. She couldn’t escape in time, and now she’s trapped.

“Shit,” Charlotte says.

“Exactly,” Taylor agrees. She tells Charlotte to prioritize the kids under her care.

Kid Win heads for the front door. Taylor’s bugs block his thermal goggles, then swarm him when he opens the door.

“What are you going to do?” Charlotte asks.

Adamant watches the students and the fight outside. Clockblocker heads to the front, wearing a large gauntlet.

“I have a few options,” Taylor whispers. She could attack the people at the door and escape. Her bugs are causing chaos outside, giving her an advantage.

There are escape routes, but she needs keys or a distraction. The principal might help, but she’s surrounded, and Emma’s watching.

“What if she’s the one who made the call?” Charlotte asks about the principal.

Taylor doubts it, based on the overheard phone call. Charlotte suggests the principal might know about Taylor’s bug-hearing.

Kid Win is swarmed. Sere is tied up with silk cords. Taylor takes Kid Win’s tools and phone, then lets him go. He heads back inside.

Taylor ties Kid Win to the door, gets keys from the guards. “I think I’m set,” she tells Charlotte.

Students are getting food. Taylor heads for the kitchen, confident. She finds a door outside, her bugs on the other side.

An impact shakes the building. Dragon’s suit lands outside. The door is deadbolted, but the figure outside – Armsmaster, now calling himself Defiant – breaks it down.

He’s in green and gold armor, with a lizard-themed spear. Dragon flies in behind Taylor.

“Dragon,” Taylor says, “And Armsmaster.”

“The name is Defiant,” he corrects.

“Skitter,” Dragon says, her voice gentle. “I’m sorry it worked out this way. My hand was forced.”