Meanwhile, Rona was perched atop a tree, legs swinging freely, humming to herself while admiring the lush horizon.

  The wind brushed her face, teasing her hair. "LalalaNanana~" she sang, completely at peace, waiting for her so-called new friend.

  Thud!

  "Hm?" She perked up as a cluster of trees collapsed in the distance.

  Her eyes narrowed. "Oh?! What's that?" She stood, leaning forward and squinting, but the rising dust cloud swallowed whatever it was.

  She crossed her arms, nose flaring. "Hmph, I can't see anything."

  Yet something was coming.

  Fast.

  Very fast.

  A blurred shape tore through the forest below, leaving a wake of broken trees and flying debris.

  Rona gave a little twirl and waved cheerfully. "Lil! Isaac! I think our new friend is here!"

  "Friend?!" A chill slid down my spine.

  Normally I wouldn't doubt someone saying friend. But Rona is a very, very special case (VVSC).

  "Don't tell me our 'friend' is behind the earthquakes!" Isaac shouted.

  "I'm an introvert! I don't need new friends!" I yelled. "All I want is a 'Me' time!"

  "Rona, stop waving! You'll get us all killed!" Isaac snapped.

  You mean chewed and digested.

  But Rona didn't listen. She kept waving enthusiastically.

  Bang!

  Another tree collapsed just meters away, and the tremors finally ceased.

  "Oui?"

  My arms gave out. I dropped from the lower branch beside Isaac and landed hard on the mossy ground. Normally I'd scream bloody murder. Right now? I couldn't feel a thing. My nerve must have been shaken out of me.

  Then it hit me.

  Pressure.

  My body locked up, every instinct screaming don't turn around.

  Isaac and I slowly turned our gaze to a fallen tree. We exchanged glances, our thoughts unanimous:

  We're screwed.

  Above us, Rona’s voice rang bright and polite, still perched on the highest branch like this was a picnic.

  "Hello, friend! May I know your name? My name is Rona. The other two are Llyne and Isaac! We've been waiting for you!"

  Like hell we are!

  Silence.

  No reply.

  Just... watching.

  I motioned for Isaac to look up and tell me what our 'friend' looked like.

  He ignored me.

  Tsk. Coward.

  Fine. I'll do it myself.

  Breathe in. Breathe out. I repeated it until I found a sliver of courage.

  "If Rona can look, so can I..."

  I turned.

  And instantly regretted it.

  "Huh? What is that?"

  A worm.

  A pink worm.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Enormous.

  At first, all I saw was its round, fleshy body wriggling in place.

  "...Wait...Don't tell me..."

  I tilted my head upward.

  Higher.

  Higher.

  Silence swallowed everything.

  My mind went blank.

  A pink worm towered above us. Too tall to measure.

  White teeth jutted from its mouth.

  Not sharp.

  Crushing.

  Drool slid from its jaws.

  Sizzle.

  I stopped breathing.

  "I-I've always been told to make f-friends with everyone," I muttered, lips shaking, "but I'm pretty sure t-there's a size limit…"

  The ground where the saliva touched hissed violently, disintegrating into a blackened crater. My legs had the courage of a hero. My eyes hid behind my fingers like a cowardly cat.

  I stepped closer, back bent and took a quick peek into the hole. It was beautifully black. No light could pass through it. It would look marvelous in a painting. Definitely not like this. "Oui..." I had seen a year's worth of horror.

  Another glob of thick, translucent saliva fell from the creature's jaw. It struck the mossy ground just inches from my left boot.

  SIZZLE!

  I shrieked, scrambling backward, my heels catching on a root as I narrowly avoided losing a foot to the bubbling crater.

  Then it clicked.

  That mouth...

  "I-Isaac. That entrance we went through at the start of the dungeon… it looked exactly like that." I pointed at our 'friend' mouth.

  Isaac frowned at first. But when he looked up, his expression slowly fell. He blinked repeatedly, cleaned his glasses for clarity. His face drained of color.

  "We went into him," he said quietly. "We entered through his mouth."

  No one laughed.

  The forest felt… wrong. Too quiet. Too warm.

  The silence was suffocating. I decided to break it. As always. "Luckily, he doesn't have super-fast digestion!" I laughed badly.

  Isaac growled at me.

  I looked away. "It was just a joke."

  He shook his head, glancing back at our massive 'friend'. "I've lived in the jungle my whole life. I've seen big worms maybe the size of a finger. That... that is the size of a skyscraper. One of its teeth is bigger than our house."

  I turned back to the worm, just as Rona kept chatting away.

  I sighed. "How are we supposed to tell Rona that this 'friend' of hers has zero pure intentions? It'll crush her."

  "Don't worry," Isaac said, stepping beside me. "I'll do it."

  I smacked his head. "You'll make it worse, foul-mouth oaf."

  GUUOOOO...

  A deep, guttural noise echoed.

  "Huh?"

  GUUUWOOOHHHH!!

  The worm shrieked. It wasn't just a sound, it was a physical force.

  The air pressure slammed into my chest, knocking the wind out of me. Nearby trees were stripped bare instantly, leaves turning into a green mist. My ears popped with a painful crack, and the very ground beneath us turned to jelly, vibrating so violently I could feel my teeth rattling in my skull.

  The worm writhed, screeched, almost... sorrowfully?

  Isaac stood up again. "Is it… weeping? Worms can weep?"

  Step. Step. Step.

  Rona strolled toward us. "Looney and Monica Jr. seem awfully angry. I wonder why?"

  Isaac lunged, grabbing Rona by her collar just as another tremor nearly knocked them flat. "Looney and Monica Jr.? What kind of name is that?" He shook her, his eyes darting between her grinning face and the towering wall of pink flesh above them. "What did you tell it, you imbecile?"

  Rona puffed up with pride. "I told them about what happened in the 1st game until now."

  Isaac's face went white. "Even how we burnt down… Monica?"

  "I might have said we accidentally burn something or someone." Rona tilted her head. "And...tried to eat? But only because we were starving."

  Isaac launched toward her. "WHY YOU LITTLE...!"

  "Uh-oh!" Rona darted away, laughing.

  Once the ringing in my ears stopped, I looked up. My eyes narrowed.

  That's when I saw it. Shimmering in the smoggy air above the creature's head, a massive, pulsating crimson bar appeared.

  No one spoke.

  The forest felt smaller. Like it was holding its breath.

  [RAID BOSS: LOONEY & MONICA JR. – THE MOURNING SON(?)]

  HP: 999,999 / 999,999 | Status: Suffocated

  I blinked.

  Once.

  Twice.

  Third.

  Because Ma always said third time's the charm. But even after the third blink, the number still sat there. Heavy. Rotten.

  I didn't move. More like I couldn't move.

  "Huh? It can't be… Why is there an HP bar all of a sudden? It wasn't there before!"

  I rushed toward Isaac and Rona and smacked Isaac on the head. "What's gotten into you?!"

  "Me?! It should be her! She told that thing we burnt his mother and tried to eat his father!"

  "WHAT?!! Looney and Monica were a couple?!"

  How did they... I slapped my cheek hard. Isaac and Rona flinched for a second. No. That's not the most important part.

  I shook Rona. "Why did you tell that monstrous worm everything?!"

  Isaac placed a hand on my shoulder. "Wait. There might be a solution."

  Hope sparked. I stopped shaking Rona. She dropped and puked.

  This time I grabbed Isaac's shoulder. Isaac's shoulder stiffened for a while as his eyes drifted from Rona to me. "What solution, smarty-pants? Spill it."

  "I don't know. I'm just trying to be optimistic." Isaac raised a finger and said with full confidence.

  I clenched my fist, eye twitching. "Your optimism is USELESS! That worm is going to EAT US!"

  Suddenly, everything froze.

  Even the worm.

  Time… stopped.

  "…Now what?" I whispered.

  A bright blue screen shimmered to life.

  [Now that you have met your friend, I would recommend bonding with him.]

  "WAAAHH!!" We all screamed.

  I grabbed the edges of the holographic screen, shaking it with hysterical strength. "Oh! My heart nearly stopped. Don't spook us like that, Mr. James."

  The screen flickered. Mr. James appeared, waving, wearing a sickeningly polite smile.

  "Mr. James!" Rona pouted. "You said we were going to be friends!"

  Mr. James smiled brighter.

  [I didn't lie. You were friends… Until someone ran their mouth a little too much.]

  "Honesty is the best policy," Rona said proudly.

  Isaac deadpanned. "Honesty also kills."

  He loomed toward Rona. "Mercilessly."

  Rona backed behind me. "I can't lie! Lying is bad. Rona is good!"

  "You can not tell things like how we burnt his mother or tried to eat his father!"

  "Okay okay! I'll try harder next time!" she squeaked.

  "What's the use of next time? We're already dead," Isaac muttered.

  I sighed and looked toward the blue screen. "More importantly, Mr. James, what do you mean by bond? How do we bond with something that wants to kill us?"

  [Here's a tip: If you want to bond, let him eat you. Easy, right? So, good luck, little bunnies.]

  "EAT US?!" I screamed.

  Rona’s diplomatic skills: 0/10. Honesty: 100%. Survival rate: pending.

  Next time, can they survive “bonding time”? Or is this the shortest friendship in history?