‘So you deliberately got yourself turned back? Weren’t you only a worker, though?’

‘The human I was before I evolved was set against my species. As a scientist, he was sent to work at the crater, once the spores had been murdered, to study the effects the spores had on the area. He spent a lot of time there, among the trees.’ 284

‘Right, I see how it happened,’ I say.

‘Such a prolonged exposure to…’

‘I said I get it,’ I interrupt. ‘You don’t need to bore on with your bugsplaining.’

He looks so mad. It’s great.

‘As the first of the new evolution, it was my job to build the swarm so that we can eradicate vile humans like you.’

‘So you started working at Straybridge University because Straybridge won the XGen investment. You wanted to make XGen look like a sack of trash so that other towns wouldn’t use it, because the signal messes with your hive mind. You probably also wanted revenge on me and my friends because we kicked your waspy butts last time. You worked your way up to Chief Science Officer so that you’d have the power to carry out your plan. Then you started bringing the trees into Straybridge, and faked the explosion at the lab, which was kind of obvious because there was no real damage, the sprinklers didn’t go off, and nobody was hurt. Did you generate some kind of sonic boom?’

He opens his mouth to speak.

‘No, wait, don’t tell me. I don’t care. With the 285 story about the escaped test creature, who happened to be Digger, and who you released to do your dirty work, you could keep everyone tucked up inside so you could go about your business while more and more people transformed into creepy bugs like you. Blah, blah, blah.’

He is fuming, now.

‘Sorry, did I steal your moment?’ I smile, cos even though I’m in a load of danger, this is a bit fun.

‘Enough of this,’ Dale barks. ‘As much as I would enjoy watching you die, I have to acknowledge that your brain would be a valuable addition to the hive mind.’

‘You must be thinking of someone else,’ I say. ‘I failed my last maths assessment, by a lot.’

‘So…’

‘I mean literally, like, I got twelve out of fifty.’

‘You…’

‘Also did pretty bad in art. I said it through primary, and I’m still saying it now: drawing is not a skill I possess. I just can’t do it.’

He opens his mouth to speak again, so I just carry on.

286 ‘I’m average in geography, though. Just about getting through that.’

‘SILENCE!’ Dale yells, his face burning red.

‘Man, I’ve never been good at listening to people who tell me to be silent. It’s my human right to decide when I should be quiet and when I need to speak up.’