Skitterscourge

They only showed up in the dark and the darker it was, the better she could see them. They had been there as far back as Myriam first had memories. She had been looking for her favorite blankie and saw the corner of the bright purple fabric sticking out from under the bed.

She laid her little toddler body on the ground and reached for her blankie, but it jerked back just as her fingers grazed the furry underside and landed in the deepest darkest corner. She scooted closer and closer to the bed and reached under, pinching the tip of the blankie and pulling. As she pulled a little black ball, merely a spot in her eyesight, rolled away from her and disappeared.

Myriam saw it next on her tenth birthday. It had been a stormy night and the power had gone out, but her family sat together and lit the candles. They sang her a happy song and she blew out the candles.

There they were. At least three of the little black balls, except they had gotten bigger. As fast as she could take in her next breathe she saw one uncurl and release several dozen spiny legs. The sound of her family cheering stilled as the creature arched its back in an awkward attempt to roll over. Then there was a flash of lightning, and the power turned back on. There were no creatures.

By Myriam’s teens they were crawling out of the woodwork at night. They would unfurl their legs and wriggle their way to the walls clacking in their bony armor. Some were now the size of manta rays and they would dangle their wormy antennae into her face.

She wasn’t sure when they began to hang, spinning and swaying to rhythm of her breathing, from the ceiling. Opening and closing their claws mimicking a desperate need for a hug.

She wasn’t sure when she started seeing them with her eyes closed.

She wasn’t sure when they started hissing.

Here she was now, an adult, and Myriam had only a single white sheet between herself and the infested pile of writhing swarm that scurried wall to ceiling, through her mattress, and under pillow.

If she turned to the left she could hear them grinding their claws. If she turned to the right she could hear their armor scraping as they crawled over each other in a constant war to be on top.

Every time she closed her eyes the creatures moved millimeters closer. Every time she closed her eyes the creatures appeared clearer, haloed in red and orange shimmering light, like a afterglow of a darkened lamp.

They blacked out her thoughts.

When the lights came on they were gone in an instant, scattered to the netherworld where they belonged. They were always somewhere.

She had strict drinking limits before bed to avoid having to get up and out of bed for the bathroom. She slept with the sounds of the rainforest to drown out the scratching she heard up and down the walls of her long hallway. They would skitter scatter up and down the painted walls in time with a set of footsteps the stepped slowly.

One foot.

Then two.

Three foot.

Then four.

Then five, six, seven, eight, and nine all in a row.

Then it stopped and scraped a hairy leg against the wall.

“I can’t take it anymore!”

She screamed and threw the sheet off her body. It snagged at several of the low hanging creatures, knocking several to the ground.

She flew out of bed, stomping at a squirming pile with a squishy crunch. The hiss of the room grew louder and the footsteps began again in rhythm.

One, two, three.

Four, five, six.

Seven.

It had to be right outside the door by now. Myriam tossed on her robe. The tie hung loose and dragged on the floor as she ran to the door.

Just as a massive shadow filled the doorframe, pinching its claws up and down, there was a triple series flash of lightning and the creatures momentarily disappeared.

Myriam let out a sigh of relief, but when the lightning stopped: Myriam was never seen again.

~~

There are creatures called the Skitterscourge.

They put your mental state on the verge.

If you neglect it,

when you least expect it,

The creatures will hum a dinner dirge.

~~

THE END