The Daughter Of The Sea God

Things That Go Bump

Blood thickened the air, making it difficult for me to breathe without gagging. Thank the gods we ran before it could get us.

"We have to get out." Jason says, panic evident in his voice.

I don't respond. I'm too out of breath. There's a pressure in my hand as I feel a circle being drawn. The light flares again. Jason does the same to his own and intertwines our fingers. The instant our palms touch, there's an electrifying burst of energy. It takes a while, but the lights in the room flicker on, allowing the demons to become visible. But with the lights, goes my sanity.

A golden wreath lands in a pile near my feet. I bend down slightly, to see what it is. Then I jerk up. And I meet Jason's eyes.

I watch in horror as the blond hair on his head falls out in clumps. The clumps continue to fall until there's no more, leaving behind a shiny white egg. My hand flies to my mouth as he starts to wriggle. As does everyone else around him.

They wriggle like the demon worm as they fall to their knees. I jump back but I can't go far without crashing into another wriggling body. The wriggling becomes violent twitching which turns into a seizure like spasm. Then, they are all lying down, their faces pressed against their hair. Blond locks, mixed with brown ones sit atop my feet. Then my eyes drift and as they do, my mouth begins to scream.

White maggots the size of gum balls are crawling over my feet, finding targets. My eyes follow a horde of them ,watching them crawl to Jason's shiny white head and starting to make chittering noises. It's not until the red starts to leak from the skin that I realize what they're doing.

My screams increase in intensity and volume but I can't do anything. My feet are planted to the floor as the maggots, now swollen with blood, writhe over them and slide away. The screams are erupting from my mouth, and I can't seem to stop them.

But the high-pitched sounds coming from between my lips are doing something to the maggots. They stop moving, some of them still on my feet. Then they start to implode.

It's silent other then my screams. But what else could cause the blood and white flecks to be sprayed across the room? The ones nestled at my feet burst open, splattering my arms and legs with the disgusting matter. The bodies become covered in the sickly fluid, turning the floor into a soggy, squishy mess.

I scream until my throat is raw. Until long after the explosions have finished. I scream until my breaths rattle and my lungs are crying. Even when my throat is too hoarse to make any sounds, I scream. I scream though nothing comes out but puffs of air.

Static fills the air. I want to clamp my hands over my ears, but they won't move. They're limp against my sides. As the static begins to shriek louder, I can feel wetness on my cheeks. I don't know if it's blood or tears.

The static fills my ears, to the point I don't even notice when it dies down. But when it does, my ears finally register the sound of silence. I find that I'm able to move again. But my footsteps are unsteady, unsure. I don't know where to step without stepping on the bodies.

Tears blur my eyes as I see a glimpse of blue eyes staring lifelessly at the ceiling. I drop to my knees, the blood covering the lower half of my legs.

"Wake up." I whisper.

My voice echoes through the empty room. There's no response. Not even a twitch. I see John lying a few steps away and shake his shoulder.

"Wake up." I repeat, with more strength in my voice.

Still no response. I get up then, the blood running into my shoes. I step on John's fingers as if that will get him up.