The Haven High Book Series (Wattys2017)

Chapter 26

When the worm burst out of the ground everyone converged on it. Megan kept loading and reloading her crossbow faster than she had ever done before. But to her horror she noticed with her keen eye sight that the bolts weren't penetrating the worm's tough hide. They were bouncing off uselessly.

Kelly was standing on the other side of the worm and Megan could see that even with her preternatural aim, strength and speed her daggers were having no affect either. Megan felt like crying when she saw Xander standing directly in the path of the worm duel wielding his sigs firing as fast as lightening emptying cartridge after cartridge, and yet it didn't deter the worm from his path.

It was moving surprisingly fast on land as well and heading straight for a furiously retreating Marley, but fortunately for all concerned it was not fast enough. That's when it flew up in the air again and dove into the ground. She was going to scream with frustration, but then she noticed that it was leaving sand waves in its wake. It was moving at such a shallow depth that was making it remarkably easy to track it.

Zach look she screamed in her head, pointing at the waves that somehow almost caught up with Marley.

Zach yelled to everyone in their heads, its hide is impervious to melee weapons. Anyone with magic wield it and the others aim for its mouth.

Just then the worm came out of the ground and sprang over Zach's head to get at CJ. Zach did a matrix bend and slide under its mouth and swiftly slashed with his sword just barely catching the corner of its mouth near its first row of teeth. Droplets of red rained down on him when all of a sudden green slime came flying out of the beast's mouth, but there was not time for Zach to roll out of the way.

Lauren used her fae speed to shield Zach from the venom attack. She moved faster than lightning to his location across the sand and threw up a round blue glowing shield approximately eight feet in diameter in front of him.

Zach turned and looked at her his eyes big as saucer he must have thought he was done for.

Thanks Lauren, he said, guys keep hitting him with everything you got. We have to keep him on the surface. Don't let it dive; it's too fast.

I've got a plan. When it went over me and opened it maw I saw its venom sack and behind that its heart. If we can somehow pierce its heart from its mouth without piercing the venom sack we can kill it and save the venom.

It may be impervious to us from the outside but it isn't inside. Kelly you're designed to never miss can you hit it? Zach thought excitedly.

What's the clearance past the venom sack on all sides? Kelly thought while she continued to throw her daggers at the beast.

Possibly an inch Zach said give or take.

No can do! My smallest daggers width is one and a half inches an arrow or a bolt could do it. Kelly looked to Connor and Megan then.

Megan hand began to shake at the idea of it. Could she make that kind of shot on the fly? She doubted it very much. Connor couldn't do it with his arrows. The fletching of an arrow was too wide, her crossbow bolts had a smaller fletching though, It would have to be her.

I-I-I've got a better chance considering the clearance. Megan stammered in her head, but I'd need a steady target.

I've got it Travis said from next to the beast.

No way Brah! Kyle yelled, diving for his foster brother.

But it was too late Trav had already grabbed the worm around the neck closest to its mouth, fortunately for him he turned his entire body to stone before making contact, but that didn't stop his clothes from melting off him with a sickly acid smell.