Unseen (Will Trent / Atlanta Series)

stunned, then slightly panicked.
    She tried not to use the same tone as she had with the boy. “Why don’t you tell him a joke?”
    Will seemed at a loss for words. He was always telling her silly jokes. She had no idea why he couldn’t think of any now.
    Sara prompted. “How about SpongeBob? Didn’t he get into some trouble lately?”
    Will took a candy out of his pocket. He fumbled with the wrapper. Sara was about to let him off the hook when he said, “Butterflies taste with their feet.”
    The boy just stared at him. Sara did, too. She had no idea what he was talking about.
    Will popped the candy into his mouth. “Butterflies don’t have mouths that can chew or bite, but they’ve got these straw things that they use to suck nectar. That’s how they eat.” He cleared his throat. “But how do they know what to eat? They land on leaves and things with their feet, and that’s how they taste whether or not it’s good. Their taste buds are in their feet.”
    The boy’s eyes narrowed. He was skeptical, but intrigued.
    Will could obviously tell this, too. He pulled his chair a few inches closer to the bed. “Did you know that most turtles can breathe through their butts?”
    The boy shot an excited look at Sara, probably because Will had said “butt.”
    “It’s true.” Will pulled his chair closer. “They’ve got these little air sacs in their butts. So they keep their heads down under water and just stick up their butts when they need to breathe.”
    The boy had stopped gripping the sheet around him. He stared at Will with open curiosity.
    Will said, “Actually, I just heard there was some kind of battle going on in the forest.” He cleared his throat again. She hoped he didn’t get cut off by another coughing fit. He said, “Insects versus the animals. Did you hear about this?”
    The boy still would not answer, but he was leaning slightly forward.
    Sara said, “I think I read about it in the newspaper.”
    “I’m sure you did. It’s been all over the news.” Will asked the boy, “Did you see it on television?”
    There was an almost imperceptible movement from the boy as he shook his head.
    Will told him, “They finally decided to have it out. The animals and the insects. They scheduled a football game. The winner gets to be the king of the forest forever and a day. And I mean forever, plus an extra full day.” Will leaned his elbows on his knees. He asked the boy, “Are you sure you didn’t hear about this game? It was huge.”
    This time, the headshake was more apparent.
    “It was an epic game,” Will said. “I mean, unforgettable. For years, the insects and the animals will be telling their kids about it.”
    The boy leaned forward even more, waiting.
    “The first two quarters, it was no contest. The animals were pounding the insects. I mean, obviously, they’ve got physical superiority.” Will feigned throwing a football. “One after the other, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown. The animals dominated the field. The insects couldn’t do anything to stop them. Then halftime comes.” Will held up his hands as if to stop everything. “The insects were crying like babies in the locker room. They were going to lose this thing. They knew it. They could feel it in their exoskeletons. Humiliation for the rest of their lives. But they still go back out onto the field. They can’t just walk away, right? Not after all these years. They may be invertebrates, but they’re not quitters. Am I right?”
    The boy nodded. He was hanging on Will’s every word.
    “So, they start the third quarter, and suddenly, the caterpillar walks onto the field. He’s strutting his stuff. He takes up the wide receiver position—and I mean really wide. You can imagine the turning radius on this thing. So, the cricket snaps the ball, and suddenly,
whoosh
”—Will swooped his hands through the air—“the caterpillar takes off. He’s hogging the ball, running up and down the field like crazy. Touchdown after touchdown. I mean,the caterpillar is on fire. He doesn’t just win the game. He runs up the score. At the end, it’s animals 34, insects 212.”
    The boy’s lips parted at the very thought.
    “The insects are ecstatic,” Will continued. “They all run out onto the field. They lift the caterpillar up in the air. They’re carrying him around. They can’t believe it. They’re king of the forest forever and a day. And then somebody says to the caterpillar, ‘We could’ve won this thing