Conqueror Worms

The idea of a possible end of the world has, for centuries, stirred the minds of people on Earth. Each generation imagines it differently, painting in vivid colors all the horrors of the planet’s final days. Reality, however, turns out to be far more prosaic and ordinary.

One not-so-fine day, it started to rain. A simple, harmless rain—yet, contrary to expectations, it didn’t stop the next day... or even a week later. Instead, it kept pouring with the same ominous monotony. Attempts to evacuate people met with little success: where, exactly, were you supposed to relocate them if the rain was falling everywhere?

At the center of the story is an old man, Teddy Garnett, who decides to meet the apocalypse face-to-face in proud solitude, in a secluded cottage perched on a height. Day after day passes in the same way, leaving nothing particularly memorable, until Ted learns that he is not the only person in the area who hasn’t evacuated. A little later, the old man notices abnormal activity from the worms—who, in weather like this, felt like fish in water. The very next morning becomes truly momentous: Teddy Garnett sees a worm of cyclopean proportions, which, in theory, should not have existed even in nature...