Chapter 12

Freyja could see Gunner's eyes were a bit irritated, probably from being so close to a cat. The mask he was wearing was only a stopgap measure. Damien sat in the office chair with Zoe in his lap, while Gunner paced back and forth. Odin, meanwhile, had assumed a loaf position on a clear spot of the work bench where he could see the whole room. Sure, the worm inside Odin had basically killed and absorbed the original tom cat's mind, but he still had the same body. She thought about asking him to shapeshift away his fur or something but figured he would be reluctant to try. She decided to instead limit how long her brother and family would have to be near the not-cat.

Gotta convince them to leave town as soon as possible.

"I d-d-do not believe this is happening," Gunner said. His stutter was back, which meant his anxiety was high. Not that his pacing wasn't also a huge indicator.

"Me either, and I'm the one the talking cat bit."

"What?" Gunner moved to look over his sister, stopping short of grabbing her by the shoulders, his hands hovering just above her shirt. "Are you okay? How bad was it?"

"I'm fine, it's, weird, and also the reason I have to stay here," Freyja replied.

Odin let out a huff that sounded a bit like a little sneeze.

"What? You thought it would drive me insane," she said.

"Telling them about it will only frighten them more," Odin scoffed. "But, by all means. Terrify your family."

She rolled her eyes. "The cat biting me gave me superpowers. I have to stay here and do what I can when the rest of his people show up to take over the world."

"What?" Damien asked.

"Auntie Freyja magical girl!" Zoe shouted gleefully.

"Uh, kinda," she replied

Odin huffed again.

"Okay, you can't just tell us you have magic powers and not show us," Damien said with a nervous laugh.

"They're not magic. The little worms just don't know how the powers work," Freyja said

"They work because they are a gift from the gods," Odin replied.

"Sure," Damien replied.

"Space worms have religion?" Gunner asked.

"Apparently. It's something about Blood and Water and Bone and Flesh. I didn't get a good look at it when the worm and I were linked," Freyja said while shaking her head.

"So, powers?" Damien asked skeptically. "The cat said they'd scare us."

"That's just because I scared him with them," Freyja replied before taking a couple steps away from her brother. "See my hair? Kinda reddish blonde, right? Not super long?"

Everyone nodded.

Freyja reached up, untieing her ponytail. She shook her head and used her powers to make her hair grow two feet while it turned light blue. She struck a pose like Sugar Sky, a character from a magical girl show aimed at elementary school kids.

"SUGAR SKY!!" Zoe cheered.

"Holy shi-mokies," Damien breathed.

Gunner just stood, slack jawed, starring at his sister as she tied her, now very long hair, back into a ponytail.

"So, now I have shapeshifting powers," she said.

"And why c-can't you just leave the cat? Run with us?" Gunner asked shakily.

She took in a deep breathe then let it out slowly. There had to be a nice way to say 'because the worms eat people' that wouldn't upset Zoe or scar her for life or something.

"You'd be able to protect your family if you went with them," Odin said with more hope in his voice than she thought he had in his whole tiny body.

"Okay, the killer space cat wants you to go with us, which makes me think it's a bad idea," Damien said.

"No one said he was a killer, right?" Gunner asked, hopeful.

"She said they plan to invade the planet. That usually means violence, Babe," Damien replied. He gestured up with his chin. "Not hard to see why they chose this house and that cat. Right, Freyja?"

"Yeah, they're after the guns."

"How is a cat even supposed to use a gun?" Gunner asked.

Freyja looked over to Odin, who continued to sit as a fluffy gray brick on the workbench. There was no point in asking him to demonstrate his powers.

"I have shapeshifting powers because he does. They can look human if they ea-" she stopped herself.

"You were about to say 'eat,' right?" Damien asked.

"Uh...yeah."

"Eat what?" Gunner asked.

"Well..."

"I was going to eat Freyja, but she became too much of an obstacle. I could eat another human to gain power. The closer the relation to her the better," Odin replied calmly.

Gunner took a step back, putting his arms up to guard his chest. Freyja just glared at Odin and frowned.

"What?" Odin asked. "You wanted to tell your family. I said it would scare them."

"You told them that because me changing my hair didn't scare them, you little worm."

"Stop calling me a 'worm.' I am not a worm. I am a member of the Hive," Odin sneered.

"Really? You've seen what you look like when you're not in a cat, right? Like a little flat worm," Freyja replied. She looked at Gunner. "Remember when you took me to that museum as a kid, the one with the river ecosystem exhibit and the big display about flatworms and nematodes? This guy looks like a combination of both those."

"Shut up, I do not look like that," Odin protested with a hiss.

"Stop trying to scare my family, little worm."

"You want to fight?" Odin asked sharply, getting to his feet and arching his back.

"Enough!" Gunner shouted.

Odin's hair stopped standing on end and Freyja, reluctantly, looked toward her brother instead of the cat.

"We believe you," Damien said. "Now what?"

"You were told they're gonna focus on cities, right?" Freyja asked.

Odin sat down on his haunches and proceeded to lick one of his scarred up front paws. "Yes."

"So, they just need to head for a rural area to wait this out," she said.

"Yes."

"B-b- but I've still got to handle the estate," Gunner said.

"I can guarantee that won't matter as soon as the next wave from the Hive gets here," Freyja said.

Damien adjusted Zoe in his lap as the little girl squirmed. She mumbled, "Sugar Sky Suuuugar Sky" repeatedly. Freyja reached up to grab her ponytail tie, then shifted her hair back to normal. Grabbing the tie was just to make sure it didn't pull too badly while it became two feet shorter.

"Aww," Zoe pouted.

"Wh-what are her chances? Fighting?" Gunner asked.

"If she uses the weapons here? Marginally higher."

"And i-if you ha-ha-had someone to eat?"

"You're not seriously suggesting the cat eat someone, are you?" Damien asked. The look Gunner gave Damien answered his question. He was suggesting just that. Freyja had a good idea of who her brother had in mind too. "Oh, I see."

"How long d-d-do we have?" Gunner asked.

"I was supposed to check in with the Hive in ten days, but Freyja believes they already know I have failed and will send a replacement sooner."

"And the rest of the invasion? How long until then?" Damien asked.

Odin thought a moment. "It can vary. Traditionally, I learn that timeline upon making contact with the Hive after taking a Host. The longest has been two years, the shortest less than one of your months. It really depends on the assessment from the top cats."

"'Top cats?'" Damien asked.

"I thought the term was apt for the members who oversee the Hive's operations," Odin replied.

"Dee, take Zoe to your m-mother's. Then take them both to that cabin we stayed at for our honeymoon. It was in that Montana resort, right? Should be empty this time of year."

"Wait, Babe. What? What about you?" Damien asked as he got to his feet.

"I'll stay here for a couple days, then meet up with y'all."

"I am not leaving you."

"I need to get them to...you know. Then I'll catch up with you. We have time, it'll work."

Damien looked at the cat. "If anything happens to my husband, you're going to pay."

Odin huffed, "I do not need his help. He should go with you."

"You need me to get you to the body," Gunner replied.

The cat's eyes lit up for a moment. It was brief but unmistakable. The emotions Freyja felt off the worm emphasized his desire to do what Gunner suggested and that he hadn't realized it was even an option.

"Okay, so. When can we go get it?" Freyja asked.

"I'll call today but might be tomorrow. They might not be open right now, but I think I can schedule for you and me to view it, tomorrow, maybe," he explained. His stutter had calmed down a lot, which was a good sign.

"And the cat?" Damien asked.

Freyja looked down at Odin. "I'm pretty sure I can get him in without a problem."

"I don't like this, Babe, but, I...I want to support you. Just, be safe, okay?" Damien said before setting Zoe on the floor and reaching up to kiss his husband.

Zoe raced over to the workbench toward Odin. Freyja narrowly caught her before she had a chance to grab the cat.

"Kitty gonna eat Bad Man!" Zoe cheered.

Right. Kids are way more observant than people realize, Freyja thought to herself while she held her squirming niece.