I started and took a sharp gasping breath, heaving against the water pressure that wasn't there anymore. My head twisted back and forth, panic rising with bile when I couldn't see anything around me, black like the water had been and--

  Cotton, cloth, slightly scratchy. I quieted my panicked gasps and pulled down my hood, eyes roaming the concrete walls around me. This wasn't the PRT headquarters this was...oh, right. I whipped my head back, then sighed with relief; Amy was still here, still asleep. I groaned and shifted, realizing someone had put a blanket on me at...some point.

  Jesus, I'd really gone and fallen asleep on watch. That could have wasted the last...I checked my watch and swore under my breath; too many hours. Okay fine, I guess I did need to sleep. I cast the blanket off and rose unsteadily to my feet. Everything hurt, but I ignored it, pulling my hood back up to shield against low, but too-bright light. Unfortunately, I couldn't ignore the grumbling of my stomach, or the feeling of it being an empty pit. I stumbled over to a table that had a bunch of ration packs on it, joining the small line of early risers.

  “Hey there,” the volunteer that greeted me last night smiled. “You sleep okay?” I frowned.

  “Fine.” Never mind that I shouldn't have slept. “Um, can I have two?” His smile turned around.

  “Sorry,” he replied a little tensely. “We have to be fair, everybody gets one.”

  “It's not for me,” I countered, crossing my arms. “I told you I was looking for a friend and...well, I wouldn't have stayed here if I didn't find her.” His smile returned.

  “Well, I'm glad.” He sighed and glanced over my shoulder. “Okay, two packs, and here.” He turned around and I caught the scent of fresh, cheap coffee. He came back and set two paper cups on the counter. “On the house.”

  “Thanks,” I replied, a little taken aback.

  I stuffed the rations in my hoodie pocket and grabbed the two cups, then made my way back to Amy's cot. She was just starting to stir when I came back in sight, eyes blinking slowly in the low, early morning light. She focused on me as I walked towards her, wary of the stranger that seemed to be coming her way. I stopped by the pillar and put my cup of coffee and a ration pack down, then took the two steps over to Amy's cot, pulling off my hood.

  “Morning,” I croaked as her eyes widened and cheeks paled. “Here.” I tossed the ration pack on the bed next to her.

  “W-what are you--” I held up a finger to cut her off, shaking my head.

  “Breakfast,” I grunted, holding out the steaming cup of coffee to her. “Then talk.” She stared at me, tension written all over her face. After a moment though, she took the cup and sipped, grimacing.

  I sat with my back against the pillar and took a swig of my own, almost gagging at the bitter taste. Well, it woke me the fuck up at least. I put it down and tore into my ration pack, eyes occasionally flicking to Amy to make sure she wasn't doing something stupid like making me go on a god damn thirty hour--

  I took a deep breath and tore my eyes away, instead becoming grossly invested in the contents of my rations. I put aside the bean salad, definitely not breakfast food, and the lentil soup. There were spreads, thank god, of peanut butter and jam plus a packet labeled 'flat bread'. Tearing into it, I found two piece of definitely-flat allegedly bread. They felt more like big crackers but...whatever.

  They tasted pretty good at least, once decorated properly. My gaze kept drifting to Amy, despite my best efforts to not stare. It was only fair, since she was openly glaring at me whenever she looked up from supping her coffee or nibbling a cracker. Whatever, I didn't even have the energy to be bitter about how shitty she was acting. Bigger problems and all that.

  As usual, I scarfed down my food quicker than a starving dog. I picked through the rest of the ration pack, stuffing protein bars and extra spreads in my pockets. I wasn't sure how long testing would last, but once they really got started I figured I wouldn't get much chance to stop. Now was the time to stock up with go-food.

  I quietly sipped the awful concoction that I assumed was supposed to imitate coffee. It was close, in the same way that American bombing raid on Switzerland was close. It was, if nothing else, warming me up. I finished it by the time Amy was done eating, then stood and leaned against the wall beside her cot. I kept my gaze roaming across the room, not because I didn't need to keep an eye on the escape artist next to me but because even she couldn't teleport. Plus I needed to keep an eye out for...ambushes.

  “What do you want?” Amy spat. I looked down, saw her shooting me a bitter glare, and sighed.

  “A hot meal, decent coffee, and a smoke,” I replied, only slightly sarcastic. “What do you think?” She scowled.

  “Here to take me back to the heroes,” she muttered. “Make me use my power again, make me...” I rolled my eyes.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Don't know if you noticed, but I'm not exactly dressed for it.” This time I didn't hold back on the sarcasm. Originally I'd been planning to slap her, so she should be glad I was so reasonable. “No, I came to talk.” She scoffed.

  “Talk,” Amy repeated angrily, draining her cup and crushing it. “About what, how I'm a monster?”

  “About how to keep it down, for one,” I retorted. “More about how to survive all the shit that's about to be thrown at us. Shatterbird sang last night you know?” She grimaced.

  “I know.” I could hear the guilt rife in her whisper.

  “And I know why you didn't...do your thing,” I said quietly. Her head snapped up and she opened her mouth, but I was quicker. “And I'm not here to guilt trip you about either. If you're anything like me, you're good enough at doing it yourself.” She shut her mouth and chewed her lower lip for a moment.

  “I'm not like you,” Amy said at last, glumly. “You're actually trying to be better, I'm just failing.” I rolled my eyes.

  “If you haven't noticed,” I said, gesturing to the room. “I'm the only 'hero' here. You think they'd let my dumb ass off the leash to come find you alone?” She studied me, eyes narrow.

  “So you ran too.” I nodded and she scoffed. “And you told me off...”

  “Yeah, I did, and I was right.” That got a glare but I bulled on. “Do you really think things could have gone worse if you stayed, with everyone there to help?”

  “Yes.” Amy didn't even hesitate. “And don't bullshit me, you couldn't have--”

  “I could and did know,” I interrupted, lowering my voice. “Unfortunately for everyone, I'm apparently a precog.” Her eyes widened further and I nodded firmly. “Yeah, exactly, and Amy? I'm sorry.” She hid her face in the blankets still swaddling her.

  “How can you say that?” she said a moment later, voice trembling. “If-- if you know then...how?” I sighed.

  “It's fucked up.” She flinched. Even though I didn't say what 'it' was, we both knew. “Not going to say it isn't, but wasn't it a mistake?” I furrowed my brow. Amy's reaction was maybe the one thing in Worm that was jammed into my brain too deep to unstick. 'Oh god. Please, let me undo it'.

  “...”

  “What?”

  “I wanted to,” Amy said, like admitting to murder. “For...so long. I told you, I'm a monster, I always have been.”

  “And I want to go put a bullet in Tattletale's skull,” I replied flatly, apparently shaking her enough that she peeked out of the blankets. I lowered my voice and continued. “You've had your powers for years, right? If this was something you wanted, really wanted Amy? I don't think you'd have waited.”

  “Fuck you, Lia.” I shrugged at the abuse. Sticks and stones wouldn't break my bones, neither would that. “I didn't get a choice, I was born to do...something monstrous. One way or another, I'd have turned into...this.”

  “Bullshit,” I snapped. “Evil isn't a bloodborne illness Amy, you of all people should know that. You don't get to shrug things off that easy, and neither do I; evil is a choice, one you have to walk into knowingly. You can justify it to yourself all you want, and people can justify themselves into a hell of a lot, but you still have to choose.”

  “Then I did,” Amy retorted sharply. “Because of who I am I chose to be bad, that what you wanna hear? That it was just me all along?” I sighed and pushed myself off the wall, then sat beside Amy. She pulled away as I hung my head, swallowing against a dry mouth.

  “Bonesaw gave me my first test too,” I said quietly, barely more than a whisper. I saw her shift. I let out a huff of laughter, just so I didn't burst into tears out of nowhere. “Fuck, I...she brought someone with her, someone I was supposed to kill.” I sniffed and blinked. “His name was Mark he— I never had a dad, not really, my mom raised me mostly on my own. Mark and her were together and he was...close.” I swallowed again, shaking my head. “I don't know how I did it but...” I trailed off, I just couldn't finish.

  “Fuck.” I couldn't agree more. “That's...jesus.”

  “I don't get to blame that on my mom,” I said bitterly. “I don't get to blame it on anyone but me. But...that's not the end of it, you know? I still have to keep going and keep, keep making choices.” I raised my head and looked in her eyes. I couldn't really see through the tears, but she looked like she was frowning. “You do too. We just have to...try and make the right ones.” I wiped my eyes and took a shuddering breath.

  “You...you're...”

  “If you call me a monster,” I said low, dangerous. “We're going to have a problem.” She winced.

  “Maybe...you're...not?” Amy said slowly. “But we're not--”

  “The same, no, your Mark is still alive right?” The bitter words came out of nowhere and my eyes widened. “Shit, Amy, I'm sorry I just...” I put my head in my hands. “If I don't believe you can get better, the person who literally saves peoples' lives for a living, what fucking hope do I have?”

  “More than me,” she said dryly, then sighed. “It's not that easy, Lia. I did all that because I knew this shit was coming, that one day I'd snap. Your theory is nice, but it doesn't fit reality.”

  “Mm, so what's the plan then?” I asked, out of steam to argue right now.

  “Run,” she replied simply. “Skip town, probably. It'll make sure no one else gets hurt.”

  “No dice,” I said, shaking my head. “You're up shit creek, like me. If any candidate leaves town, Bonesaw unleashes a plague as 'punishment'.” I didn't realize Amy's eyes could get wider, and yet. “So let me suggest an alternative: survive. That's one of my own.” Not one I tended to follow closely...

  “Survive,” Amy repeated, spitting it out like venom. “You're a dumbass.”

  “I've never claimed to be smart unironically,” I said with a shrug. “Got a better one?” She looked away, staring at the floor. Suddenly she jolted.

  “Skitter.” I saw a series of bugs swoop around, some dragonflies...

  “Shit...”

  “And she knows I'm here now.” Amy sighed and began shrugging off the blankets. “Should go see what she wants, make sure she can't hurt anyone here.”

  “Good idea,” I replied, rising from the cot and stretching. “Let's go.” I turned my head and found her staring at me, brow furrowed. “What?”

  “You're coming with me?”

  “Duh, I didn't come all this way to let some bug bitch mess with you.” I'd known this was coming, but I thought it happened earlier. Now if only I remembered how it went...

  “Whatever,” she snapped, getting up and beginning to walk away. "Try not to get hurt.”

  “Oh please,” I said dryly, hot on her heels. “I never have to try.”