De Vermis Amoribus

1:46 AM According to Deb, the Pisces are planning to do a Deep Clean of Bartlett at 5:00 AM this morning to rid the area of worms. If we want to save Maria, we need to get her out of the building and out of town before then. I still have Deb's spare key to her truck. If I find some way to lose that too, I know how to hotwire. The next town is 30 minutes away. Calm down, Tess. You still have time. //[[Focus.|Story10]]//

Blood Worms //Uncinaria tyranniculus//. Bloodcrawlers. Fucking maggots. A colony of demons who resemble and behave like blood-dwelling parasitic worms, these parasites have apparently made their way into enough of Bartlett’s population that DAWN’s apparently considering writing off the whole damn city as a lost cause. And I mean, it’s not hard to see why. Once they’ve crawled into your body, they eat away and replace your nervous system before taking over everything else. In large enough quantities, they can regenerate flesh and reinforce muscle to an unnatural degree, making their hosts especially durable puppets. Or so I thought, anyway. We killed their prime host yesterday, the one who's supposed to be giving them guidance, but they apparently didn't need Marcus's help tonight. [[//Focus, Tess.//|Story20]]

Blue Links This is where Tessa will give her thoughts, feelings, and memories on the selected subject. Much has happened before this point, so her various thoughts may give you a better idea of the goings-on of this world. While you, the reader, can query her on these subjects as much as you'd like, she'll need to Focus to bring her mind back to the present. Hit //[[Focus|Start]]// once you are ready to return with her.

(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-delay:1s)[ Welcome.] (transition: "dissolve")+(transition-delay:3s)[This story fragment depicts a problematic relationship dynamic, and contains references to violence, self-harm, suicide, domestic abuse, bullying, trauma, and gore. A girl forces herself onto another girl. There is mention of blood, penetration, and subcutaneous parasites.] (transition: "dissolve")+(transition-delay:7s)[If you're okay with this, please [[proceed.|Start]]]

(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-delay:2s)[Chapter 34: //De Vermis Amoribus//] (transition: "dissolve")+(transition-delay:4s)[//Tunnels of Vextro, Opus #3//] (transition: "dissolve")+(transition-delay:6s)[Written in 2024 by Zeloz Mk.II] (transition: "dissolve")+(transition-delay:8s)[Based on the unfinished novel: //What Bores Me// by Zeloz Mk.I] (transition: "dissolve")+(transition-delay:12s)[[[Happy End|Content Warning]]]

DAWN Fuck the Pisces. Fuck the Aves. Fuck DAWN. They couldn't help Deb. They'll never help me. They //can't// help me. Or Marie. They can all go to hell. [[//Focus.//|Story60]]

Deborah Crowley Aunt Deb, the chillest chemistry teacher and my one decent relative, also turned out to be part of the Aves, one of the many eyes and ears of DAWN. When her org failed to send her any backup to deal with Bartlett's worm problem, though, she brought me and Guy in to help. Against all odds, we were able to cut off the head of the problem yesterday when we buried Marcus Delapore underneath his Grand Southpointe Hotel. //That// was supposed to be the end of it, but... Fucking hell, she believed in a failure like me right until the very end. (link-goto: "//Focus.//", "Story20")

Guy McMillen A freshman who transferred over from another school earlier this semester. Poor kid. I met him right after he'd been in a car wreck with his mom, right when one of Marcus's failed blood worm hosts came in to eat any survivors. If there is a heaven, I hope he got to meet up with the rest of his family there at the end. He might've gotten good with spellcraft, but a gentle kid like that shouldn't've had to go through all this worm shit. I need to (link-goto: "//focus.//", "Story20")

Marcus Delapore Wormfucking piece of shit. A heartless CEO, a scumbag of a father to Marie and Vee, and the rogue magus behind all this. He was the one who originally made a contract with the //Uncinaria tyrannuculus//. He was the one who’d filled Bartlett with those awful blood worms, first in his gaudy-ass hotels before moving on to cultivate them throughout the city. I could drop another one of his hotels on him, and I think he'd still be getting off easy. Fuck, I may need to anyway. I mean, if these worm zombies are still here, still able to kill, maybe he's not really dead. Maybe. Yeah. (link-goto: "//Focus.//", "Story25")

Maria Delapore She's alive. Oh thank god she's still alive. At Guy's suggestion and my insistence, she's been away from school and her own home for close to a week now. Her dad was growing more unhinged and abusive towards her as Deb and I were closing in on his operation. We didn't want her caught up in whatever happened next. I don't know where she's been all this time, but I'm so, //so glad// she's still alive and unharmed. I don't know what I'd've done if she wasn't. I promised Vee I'd reconnect with her, that we'd all hang out like we did eight years ago. But so many things have gone wrong in the meantime, and I... christ, I'm such a fucking //idiot.// If I'd had really tried reaching out at any point within the last 3 years, instead of moping around and angsting about //cliques// and //rich kids// like a dumbass emo kid, maybe it wouldn't've taken the literal //worm apocolypse// happening to bring us this close together again. Dammit, I just wanna scoop her up in my arms right now. I wanna break through the glass window and just, run for the nearest vehicle. I //need// to make up for being such a fucking idiot for so long. But what happened tonight raises so many questions, and I'm scared of what her answers are going to be. (link-goto: "//Focus.//", "Story10")

A bit of context before we begin: [[Blue Links]] are aspects of the scene that stick out to Tessa. You can click these if you want, but they will not advance the story. [[Red Links|Title]] are either actions or things to act on. Clicking these will advance the story. ... To start the end of this story, please click the red link above.

(transition: "instant")+(transition-delay:4s)[[[I throw open the door.|Story10]]]

Once inside, I slam the door behind me and pull the nearest desk over to barricade it. I know there were a few more shambling freaks tailing me, but after a few moments I realize no one's trying to get in. At least, not yet. The digital clock next to the door says [[1:46 AM]]. To my surprise, the light has been on this entire time. It wasn’t always on, was it? I don't think it was when I reached the end of the hallway. The thought doesn’t linger in my mind for long, however. I turn and realize someone is here with me in the room. She stands, framed against the thunderstorm outside, waiting for me at the center of this classroom, at the center of this high school, at the center of this nightmare. “Hey [[Tess]],” [[Maria Delapore|Maria]] greets me with a smile I haven’t seen in days, ever beautiful, ever sad. Seeing it makes me want to cry. Instead, I can only bring myself to [[ask “Why?”|Story20]]

Marie’s smile falters. “Where should I start?” A crack forms in my initial awe. Suddenly, I remember a face drained of blood. I remember a 26-year old schoolteacher buried under a swell of [[worm-infested|Blood Worm]] students. “Wh… y-you can start by telling me why the fuck [[Deb]] and [[Guy]] had to die!” I slam my bloodied fist onto the nearest desk. The pain helps me remember. “Why did //Guy// have to die? He was our //friend,// Marie! If we had known there were going to be those worm zom... no, our fucking //classmates and teachers// waiting for us at the front of the school, he’d still be alive! //They’d// still be alive!” “I know. I’m sorry.” She looks at me with her deep, brown eyes and says only this. I'm so angry I'm shaking. I want to cry. I want to //puke//. But against my better judgment I can’t help but [[feel soothed|Story25]] by Marie’s soft, peaceful, pitying face.

“I needed to see you, alone,” she continues with no change of expression, “And I needed to see you quickly. There’s something I need to tell you about, and I don’t have much time to explain it.” “I know, I got your text yesterday evening. That’s why I- //we// came. But that doesn’t tell me shit about why any of //that//-" I point to the door "-had to happen.” We are standing five desks apart from each other. We've spent years away from each other, and more years not talking to each other. And yet, in this moment, as she regards me placidly, I feel an even deeper gulf opening up between us. “First off,” Marie says, her gaze floating down as she traces circles on the desk in front of her, “I want to earnestly thank you for killing my [[father|Marcus Delapore]]. “As you can probably guess, he also..." Marie's slender finger stops, and she took a breath before continuing, "...shared, his curse with me. With both me and [[Veronica]]. He wanted us to perpetuate his ambitions in business, as well as... well, in the total control of others. But Vee... she was always so headstrong. She couldn’t take it anymore." Her hand falls away from the desk and she sighs. "You know, a few months ago, I found her diary. She wrote about how the pain and the guilt makes her want to die so badly. She writes about the ways she's tried to kill herself. Pills, slitting, hanging, guns... worse, even. Though, eventually, she managed to find a way the worms couldn't fix.” "I've... figured as much," I manage to say. My throat is dry and my head is dizzy with emotions. Marie just stands there, completely defenseless, halfway into her own thoughts. A part of my brain reminds me that I have a knife in my pocket. It would only take a few steps and one smooth motion, and... The brief thought makes my blood run cold, but I am scared of what'll happen if I //don't// do anything. [[I finger the sticky, plastic handle.|Story30]] [[I calm down and listen to Marie.|Story30]]

Marie slowly looks up at me. The edge of her mouth twitches. “I could have helped her escape, you know. I could have helped her… helped //both of us// escape. If she had just let me know, I’d have done... Tess, I'd have done //anything// for her. But she told me //nothing//. She never has.” She looks strangely imposing as she takes a step towards me. My heart starts to beat faster. Has the fluorescent lighting in this place always been this harsh? “I was always so jealous of Veronica. She got to maintain contact with you, while I had every aspect of my life carefully monitored and controlled by my father. Once she left for college, she never returned to our house. Oh, she would sometimes call me, for birthdays and christmases and other such events. She’d talk about how much she still loved me and cared about me. But she never visited me. “And when she committed suicide... when she //abdicated// her previously-promised duty to my father…” There is a hitch in Marie’s voice. Her face is flushed, her shoulders are shaking. “Who do you think took the brunt of that disappointment?” I gulp, but my throat remains dry. Dread crawls up and down my spine. Butterfiles claw at my stomach. The girl I've adored my entire life is looking to me with pain in her chocolate brown eyes, and I can do nothing but- //[[blush.|Story40]]// //[[stammer.|Story40]]// //[[imagine the point of entry.|Story45]]//

“I wasn’t supposed to be the Queen, Tessa. I thought... I thought Vee would protect me from this.” She clutches tightly at her heaving, soft, modestly round chest, “I always knew I’d inherit some of my father’s rotten research, but I didn’t want…” She starts to fold. Her shoulders - so slender - are trembling as though she were cold. I hear her sobbing. Eight years ago. If this were eight years ago, I would have taken her into my arms and held her tightly until she stopped crying. For these last eight years, I’ve deeply wanted to do that again. And yet now, I find myself glued to the floor by sheer dread. I can’t move forward, and I can’t run away. Just like with [[Val and Dante]], just like with Vee, just like with Guy and Aunt Deborah, I can only [[watch.|Story50]]

"An ice pick to the brain will not kill a developed worm colony. They can repair and replace brain tissue in a matter of minutes," I hear Deb say during one of our "Anime Club" meetings, "but that will put them out of commission for that duration." She taps the side of her head. "If you can jam a sharp something into this bit right here, behind the eyes," and then taps underneath her jaw, "Or this soft bit right here, nine times out of ten you'll at least knock them out for a bit." Three inches is not long enough for under the jaw, under the perfect curve of her neck- no, Tess, //[[focus!|Story40]]//

“It hurts, doesn’t it? Being powerless?” Marie raises her head at me, a wide-eyed look that sends ice down my spine. “It hurts so much, being adrift in the sea of your own life, watching others slowly drown. I know that’s been your entire life, and it’s been mine as well.” Two more steps. She’s a desk and a half away from me. I’m scared of something that isn’t //her//. Or maybe I //am// afraid of her. [[I don't acknowledge it.|Story60]] [[I do acknowlege it.|Story60]] [[I decide to stab her and run while I still can.|Story60]]

“But //you// didn’t have to suffer alone. You had friends take care of you, including my own older sister.” She smiles at me so serenely. She is so close, my heart is about to burst. It is suddenly very hard to breathe. “I had friends too, friends my father dictated I have, but in the end they were no better than me. They were kids also bearing their parents’ legacies, cracking under the pressure. I know you didn’t like them, my little clique of rich snobs, the student council, but they were hurting too you know.” She is so beautiful, my brilliant childhood friend, this reluctant Queen of Worms. “And my father, ever striving for more control, also gave them our curse… made the entire city of Bartlett his... this //fucking //worm farm,” Marie breathes hard through her sobs, “No wonder those monsters at [[DAWN]] want us all to die.” Before I realize it, she reaches me, drapes her entire body over me. She embraces me, and I- (link:"take the knife and stab her.")[] [[still cannot move.|Story70]]

“But I…” she whispers in my ear. My nerves are on fire. I cannot move. “I won’t let them kill me. I won’t let them destroy Bartlett just because of my father. I will protect Bartlett.” (transition: "dissolve")+(transition-delay:4s)[And I won’t be alone anymore.] (transition: "dissolve")+(transition-delay:6s)[She does not speak the words, but [[I hear|Story71]] them.]

“But I…” she whispers in my ear. My nerves are on fire. I cannot move. “I won’t let them kill me. I won’t let them destroy Bartlett just because of my father. I will protect Bartlett.” And I won’t be alone anymore. She does not speak the words, but [[I hear|Story72]] them. Somehow, I’ve been able to hear her words before she’s spoken them. Somehow.

“But I…” she whispers in my ear. My nerves are on fire. I cannot move. “I won’t let them kill me. I won’t let them destroy Bartlett just because of my father. I will protect Bartlett.” And I won’t be alone anymore. She does not speak the words, but I hear them. Somehow, I’ve been able to hear her words before she’s spoken them. Somehow. Somehow, [[I hear her-|Story80]]

[[Ah.|Story81]]

Ah. She has a [[worm|Story82]] inside of me, doesn’t she.

Ah. She has a worm inside of me, doesn’t she. I can [[hear|Story83]] her thoughts. I can [[hear|Story83]] her hearing me.

We fall to the ground together. I can’t feel my body hitting the ground, but I can feel Marie wrapped around me. My hand moves finally, (link-replace: "to the knife in my pocket, and")[I’m able to feel the softness of her cheek, the softness of her long brown hair. (link-replace: "I need to stop her")[Her eyes are so fucking pretty. (transition:"dissolve")+(transition-delay:2s)[“DAWN is so much bigger than either of us. The Pisces are so much bigger than either of us,” I want to say, “They’ll erase this entire city without a trace.” No words come out of course, but Marie smiles and shakes her head as if she’s heard anyway. “I don’t need to fight them. That was my father’s mistake, trying to stop them from interfering.” She whispers in my ear, knowing full-well that the sensation melts me further. “I’ll work with them. //We’ll// work with them. I’ll even donate bits of myself for their research if need be, it’s all they care about anyway. I just want to keep my hometown safe.” She runs her fingers through my hair, and I whimper at the sensation. She’s slowly letting me have control as I (link-replace: "slowly lose my will to fight.")[[[quickly unfold out the knife.|Story84]]]]]]

"A-aah... (transition:"instant")+(transition-delay:1s)[//aaaah... gghh!//"] (transition:"instant")+(transition-delay:3s)[Marie gasps, her face wincing in pain. Oh god. I can feel something wet and warm coating my lower abdomen. Oh god oh god oh god. I cannot move my face away to see what it is. Fuck, no. My left hand is also coated in the warm wet. Shit, what have I done? There's more. There's so much. It is soaking into my shirt, onto my skin.] (transition:"instant")+(transition-delay:6s)[(link-replace: "And I plunge the knife deeper.")[(transition:"instant")+(transition-delay:1s)["Aaa](transition:"instant")+(transition-delay:2s)[AAAhahaha](transition:"instant")+(transition-delay:3s)[nnn](transition:"instant")+(transition-delay:4s)[...................!"] (transition:"instant")+(transition-delay:6s)[[[No, //she// presses harder against me.|Story90]]]]]

The face that looks down at me is unmistakably Marie's, but the expression is too //human// for her. Her face is twisted in pain, but there is an unmistakable smile on her lips. Her eyelids flutter invitingly even as a great strain is etched into her brow. “I know you’ve wanted me all this time,” she manages to whisper. "I’ve wanted you too, Tess...! I’ve always... loved you.” The blood doesn't stop. It's so hot, it's melting my insides. It's like I'm melting into her. She kisses my cheek, my neck, my collarbone. The numbness in my extremities cannot fade quickly enough. "This is... like a dream come true, isn't it? I'm so... so happy... I got to do this with you... and not s-some man m-m-my father picked out... aha..." My nerves are exploding, my heart rages against my chest. It's almost like it's my heart that's pumping out all this blood. Oh god, is this my blood? “Let’s stay together. Forever.” She’s hovering over me. Out of the corner of my eye, I see little stringy bits crawling from out of her shirt sleeves. Jesus, she’s not wearing a bra. I can feel the crawling things underneath her shirt, crawling out to meet my skin. [[I feel amazing.|StoryA0]]

I stare in euphoric horror as those stringy little parasites crawl out of Maria Delapore’s perfect body and burrow slowly into my forearms. I finally choke out a moan as I feel several dozen little things crawl out from the hole in Marie's rapidly-mending abdomen, onto and into my arm. [[I feel|StoryA1]] each little detestable worm like a tiny vibrator, plunging deep, devouring my senses, bringing orgasm through their violation.

I [[am|StoryA2]]

I am, [[being|StoryA3]]

I am, being, [[violated,|StoryA4]]

I am, being, violated, [[eaten,|StoryA5]]

I am, being, violated, eaten, [[composted,|StoryA6]]

I am, being, violated, eaten, composted, [[rebirthed, |StoryA7]]

I am, being, violated, eaten, composted, rebirthed, [[embraced|storyB0]] by the most beautiful woman in the world.

It is (transition: "dissolve")+(transition-delay:2s)[everything] (transition: "dissolve")+(transition-delay:4s)[I have] (transition: "instant")+(transition-delay:6s)[ever] (transition: "instant")+(transition-delay:9s)[wanted.] (live:15s)[(go-to:"Credits")]

Yeah, that's my name. Tessa Knopf. I'm not great with self-introductions or shit like that, and I'm honestly not in the mood to give my life story. I can't use magic, so don't even ask. All I've got now is a 3-inch pocket knife I'd pulled out of Maddie Madsen's dead fingers, after she'd plunged the thing into Guy's chest over and over and over. And all my useless ass could do was watch as it happened. (link-goto: "//Focus.//", "Story10")

(align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-delay:2s)[[Chapter 34] (transition: "dissolve")+(transition-delay:4s)[//De Vermis Amoribus//]]] (live:7s)[(go-to:"Story00")]

Val Hawthorne and Dante Travis I don't think I knew what true powerlessness was before watching the fucking //Chess Club// cyberbully my only friends out of town. I hope Mr. Padgitt got eaten by the worms. "No Evidence" my ass, you bigoted fuck. Daniel Dohn and his goons, too, fucking monsters. I hope Dante got to live as the man he wanted to be. I hope they both found their happiness. I hope those two found it far, far away from all this. //[[Focus.|Story40]]//

Veronica Delapore The most important person in my life also happened to be Marcus Delapore's eldest daughter and Maria's older sister. We had been friends since Marie and I were in elementary school. When Vee moved away for college, she was my one contact with the Delapore family as Marie was shuffled off to more prestigious schools. She also stayed friends with me. She did so much to help me through navigating being an adolescent lesbian in this southern hellhole, one with a hopeless crush on her sister, even. I'm still a little bit fucked up from learning she committed suicide a few months ago. //[[Focus.|Story25]]//

It was(live:3s)[(go-to:"StoryB1")]