This was a horrible idea.
"Aren't you coming over?"
I took a deep breath and stared at the barbed wire before me. Lady Angeltwice was already on the other side with her hands on a small boat, all too eager to push it into the water.
I jumped and fluttered over the wire.
"I just want a couple of specimens. Not a word about this to the others."
"Not a word." I sighed.
I peered into the water. Beyond the reflections of the stars and moon— and my own hideous face— was something undeniably sinister. It wasn't something that could be seen. It was a feeling.
Angeltwice gently pushed the rowboat into the deep, black ink. I stepped in, one foot at a time.
The boat was cramped. My knees almost touched my chin.
"I'm afraid I've never done this before." I took hold of the oars. The boat churned.
Angeltwice took a fishing net off her back and dipped it into the water. "You'll do fine."
I breathed in the crispy night air and pushed the oars back. Gently drifting away from the shore, I watched as the world turned black.
Not even the stars shone here.
In their place, my mind filled in the blanks. The lake became a mass of jumping purple fuzz as the boat rolled up and down.
My arm tickled.
There was something on my arm.
I jerked my hand back and shook it vigorously.
I dropped the oar. It slid silently into the water. Not a splash. Not a sound.
"Shit."
"What?"
I bent way, way over until my face nearly touched the water. And from the dim light of my eyes, I could barely make out the broken outlines of long, writhing strings.
Most of Hirudian Lake's volume wasn't water.
I nearly shrieked. A pain shot through my forehead. A piercing headache. I wanted to scream.
"Ohh there're so many! This is wonderful!"
Her net plopped into the worm-water.
"I'd love to take one of the bigger ones home, but I don't think I could hide it."
An endless sea of worms. My insides sank downwards. My brain turned to mush and seeped down my neck, collecting into my stomach.
There was nothing I could distract myself with. The only sensations were the wood in my hands and the gasping of a thousand small mouths.
"Oh my! Could you help me out, friend?" She laughed. It was too dark to see what was going on.
"I've got a couple on my arms. Actually, there's quite a few! Ravenous little things."
My brain started to sink again.
"There's a bottle of holy water in my left pocket. Spritz some on my arms."
I took deep, controlled breaths to fight off my lightheadedness as I knelt over just behind Angeltwice. I put my hands on her sides and felt my way down to her pockets.
There was the tiniest glass bottle in there, smooth as a pebble and cold as a seashell, with a rubber bulb attached to the top. My hands felt bruised just touching it.
I slid it out, took the bulb in my other hand, and wrapped my torso around hers to get close to her arms.
From the dim light of my eyes, all I could see was the swarming of greedy children. The worms moved like a sticky liquid, covering the lady's arms in a thick, black ink.
And I was so close to them. I felt as if they could latch on to me at any second.
I closed my eyes and squeezed the bulb a couple times. The worms let go and plopped back into the lake.
The lady ran two fingers over her fresh wounds. "Circular! How wonderfully intriguing!"
She took a roll of gauze out of her other pocket and wrapped her arms.
"That should be enough specimens. Time to go home."
I didn't need to be told twice.
I placed the bottle on the floor of the boat and snatched the oars. I rolled them foreword, but my hands had become weak and shaky. I could've dropped them at any moment.
The eyeless faces of the worms creeped up the sides of the boat. I tried to row faster, but there was too many of them. I couldn't get anywhere. I couldn't keep my fists closed any longer.
Their faces... round, gaping suckers with hundreds of teeth... there were more of them now... they were in the boat now... I couldn't see anymore... my head was empty.
"They seem more interested in you than me!"
Were they on me? Were they on me? I couldn't tell. Couldn't tell. They were on me. Swarming me. I couldn't tell.
Angeltwice's voice modulated in and out. I couldn't tell what she was saying. But she sounded just as excited as she always did.
Maybe this was what dying felt like.