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The vent hole slowly curved to the side as Thorik slid and tumbled his way down the tunnel. Rolling head over heels at times, he fruitlessly attempted to protect his head and face from any injuries.

  Avanda rolled and bounced behind him until a fork in the tunnel split them up. Her path, down a new tunnel, was longer than Thorik’s and finally opened onto the floor of a large cavern, as she skidded to a halt on her stomach.

  Thorik’s travel through the tunnel ended with a short drop onto the top of an enormous pile of loose grains coated with thin layer of small pebbles. Pulling his arms in tight, he rolled his way down the massive pile for what felt like minutes before reaching the bottom.

  Once he had come to a stop, his first duty was to determine where he was and where Avanda landed. He was coated with debris from the pile and his body now itched, as though a thousand tiny pins were pricking him. His arm, which Bryus had recently repaired, was throbbing in pain and needed attention as well. He immediately began brushing off the debris while his eyes slowly adjusted to the low light.

  Thick crystals were embedded into the walls and lit the caverns with a soft bluish glow. Scraggly vines covered large sections of the light-blue crystals, absorbing light and warmth from the crystals as well as moisture from the thick humid air. It only took a few seconds for Thorik’s eyes to adjust to the darker surroundings.

  The pile, which Thorik had tumbled down, was in fact a pile of guano from the tens of thousands of bats hanging from the ceiling. Bats, however, were the least of his issues. The pile’s outer layer, which he had assumed were pebbles, was instead a layer of predator roaches and centipedes eating the guano.

  As hideous as the sight was, the realization of his own body still covered with the same properties finally sunk in. Guano was in every pocket and had stained his clothes, while the roaches and centipedes crawled up his pant legs, under his shirt and in his hair.

  Panicking, he began to quickly disrobe in an effort to get the insects off of him. He felt millions of little feet moving up his legs and across his back. Frequent bites pinched Thorik as the insects attempted to burrow their heads into his skin.

  Ripping at his clothes as quickly as he could, he screamed from the pain as he stumbled away from the pile of guano and bugs. But the pain was just beginning. Now that he had removed the free crawling insects, he needed to uproot the ones that had latched themselves onto him.

  The first one he pulled off his stomach snapped in half, its head still buried in his skin and working its way deeper. There wasn’t much left to grab on to and he would need to dig into his own skin to grasp the head for removal.

  Thorik pinched his skin around the head and forced the head back out, but the insects pinchers still held tight. Using his other hand, he grabbed the insect’s head and yanked it out of his body. Skin tore, blood spilled, and the poison from the insect burned like acid under his flesh, but at least it had been removed.

  It was at this point that he realized the severity of his situation. Dozens of these insects had burrowed their head into his stomach, arms and legs. Each one eating their way through his body as though they were in a race. Each one was extruding an acid-based poison into his system. Each one looking for a nest to bury their offspring in this new fresh host.

  Thorik screamed from the pain as he grabbed one after another in an attempt to rid himself of them. His face was covered with tears as well as a few of these insects. One of which burrowed its way through his cheek, falling into Thorik’s mouth.

  An instant gag reflex caused the Num to spit up the insect along with a shower of vomit. Thorik fell forward to his hands and knees as fluids dripped from his mouth. The insects on his chest and stomach hung like fish on hooks, flapping back and forth as they attempted to grip his skin with their feet.

  The poison from the bugs caused him to be light headed and dizzy. He pinched another insect out of his arm and screamed from the pain. He then pulled another from his leg. But his eyes were starting to give him visions of the insects flying and changing shapes. Reality blurred into a hazy unreal world where there was no pain.

  Thorik collapsed onto the cavern floor as he viewed what appeared to be a giant insect, nearly the size of him, approach from the distance. He watched helplessly as it ran past his backpack and stood up on its back legs, before it pounced onto him.

  Thorik tried to kick. He tried to roll away. But it was no use. He had lost control of his body. He would now lie powerless as he watched himself be eaten alive.

  Chapter 3

  Avanda