Hotel Nade

The First One

  He smiled and I turned my head to watch the worm, still tearing up the floor.

  –Are you up for the challenge?

  –What kind of challenge? –he asked, but he already knew.

  –Since we didn't end our bet last time, then the one that deals the final hit on this one...

  –Will be called the original by the other one.

  –You know the drill –I said and then turned to nahuátl girl –. But you have to go outside, it's too dangerous for you –she looked offended –, and please get help just in case we fail.

  –But we know that's not going to happen –the boy exclaimed.

  –Of course not, if we work together; original and copy side by side.

  –We'll tell you later who the original is. But just a teaser: it's me –he whispered.

  –We'll see.

  We heard the worm suddenly stopping and then crawling in our direction.

  –Now! Run! –I yelled and nahuátl girl, maintaining her offended expression, got out of the room.

  Without even teasing each other about being the copy, we jumped downstairs and split up to avoid the worm's rapid strike, injecting itself on the ground.

  I stared at the boy.

  –Are we really doing this?

  He nodded slowly, but insecurity showing in his face.

  –We have to –he said.

  The ground in our feet shook as we waited for the thing to show up again. We didn't move. The illumination on the room was low, but not so much as to affect our sight, dust floated in the air...

  And the earth stopped moving.

  –It stopped, what is it waiting for? –the boy exclaimed.

  –Maybe it's waiting for us –I suggested.

  –You mean, like stalking us? –he asked.

  –Yup.

  –Of course –he lifted what looked like a fragment of an urn.

  Poor urn.

  –But apparently not with sight –he then threw it as far as he could. Pretty good for a copy if I'm honest.

  Just as it hit the ground the whole room trembled even more intensely and soon the worm showed up from underneath the object.

  –Let's go! –he said. I raised my sword and followed him in the giant worm's direction. Never thought I'd write that.

   The beast quickly turned to us and launched itself against us.

  We dashed aside and the worm munched off a section of the floor.

  I ran towards its body, the boy besides me, and we cut the beast in half.

  Its upper part fell to the ground with a racket and disappeared in a flash of light.

  –Wait. That's it?

  –That was easier than I thought –I said.

  But something was wrong, the lower half of the beast's body didn't disappear, or was it not supposed to?

  Suddenly the tip of the half-worm's tail (does that count as a tail?, practically its whole body would be a tail then...).

  There was another flash of light that lasted for almost a minute... and when it faded out, the worm was back.