Bandana scraped the dirt with his shoe like he was removing bubble gum from the bottom before he waved to a crowd of growing Worms. There were at least ten, some on the crispy side, likely having barely escaped the base’s destruction. He held his combat knife close to his chest and flashed one worm’s face with the small misshapen light reflecting off the surface. The invader didn’t react, though he had hoped the creature would at least put its hands up to block the light.

He shook his head and shrugged, then, after a deep breath, shouted.

“We were a band of ordinary folk; what to do when the world goes up in smoke.”

The Worms froze as the man walked close; he kept shouting his rhyme.

“So now, I must tell you the story of everyone, even those who are now gone.”

Bandana stabbed his knife into the head of the nearest worm many times while shouting; black blood spewed out, and eventually, the invader fell over. As he breathed heavily, he continued,

“I’m sorry to bore you so, but I always fancied myself a bard, don’t you know?”

He sauntered to the next worm with his blade ready as he told the story of three who left their small town with them, giving details of their lives as he knew and how they met their ends. Each rhyme carefully being emphasized to keep the crowd of Worms at bay.

“And Mia came from accounting; she was a beauty and a bit of a string bean. Old Coat, John as we knew him, had a crush on the sweet girl, but he was so inactive it made me want to hurl.”

Bandana stabbed another worm as he coughed. The shouting tickled his throat, but he knew he couldn’t stop the rhyme before killing all the opponents. He continued with strain underlying his words.

“She left us during a snowy season, crushed by a Reaper without reason.”

Bandana continued with the stories, his throat getting rawer at each word but holding out to take down another Worm. Five had been killed with effort, and he knew that was nowhere near enough.

With a cough, he continued.

“But the Reapers weren’t all that bad; there was a yellow one that would eventually bring a new comrade.”