Reddit Stories 2019

Bugging Sarah

It would be quick. A simple whap timed just right, Sarah mused, and it would all be over. But as her hand hovered the buzzing creature that pumped blood from her leg (and malaria to it, probably), horrible memories of the last time flooded through her.

She hadn't seen the ant hill.

But she certainly felt it.

Nergal's curse was simple, expansive, and all-inclusive, like a luxury vacation to pain. The fly god (god of flies), annoyed by Sarah's unerring destruction of creepies and crawlies, devised a unique torture to punish her for her sins. Nergal was a kind and just (fly) god, and gave her ample warning, even risking his own six-legged immortal life to tell her in person.

When she killed a bug, it died a painless death. Fair.

Because she felt its pain instead. Less fair.

And the mosquito still buzzed around her. Annoying.

The curse was meant to last for a week. Long enough to convince Sarah to change her pesticidal ways, but not long enough to actually punish someone who was, technically, not in his divine jurisdiction (not a fly). Unfortunately, most of the message was lost in translation (all Sarah heard was a loud buzzing) and on his exit from her ear, Nergal met a faceful of Sarah-hand.

Pain, it turned out, was the better translator.

Sarah was quite surprised to discover the excruciating pain that followed (fly) deicide. In her own words, it was "kinda the fucking worst." She was also unprepared to deal with the consequences. Champions of the bug pantheon swarmed to her home in order to avenge their fallen god and though each fought valiantly, they lost all the same. Each death elicited a series of painful sounds and spasms from Sarah.

After surrounding her perimeter with defenses in the form of bug spray and roach traps, Sarah learned that the curse was very loose. The pain was more mild, but spread out over a longer time. Though she (fortunately) never suffered any lasting damage from her bouts with the insect army, the pain was enough to make her wave a white flag of defeat. The punishment was just supposed to be a week.

But Nergal was dead.

Realizing she was forever cursed, Sarah quickly developed a new affection for those with more than four legs (or perhaps a begrudging respect). She let them have their space, even vacating her apartment when the spider problem became too much. She researched what plants would benefit the buggy environment, buying them in surplus and sectioning a portion of her land (her apartment) to a bug utopia.

All she asked was that they stay away so she did not accidentally kill any of them. For the most part, the bugs respected her wishes, hiding in dark corners and staying out of site. Rarely she disturbed her office by screaming in pain. She did sometimes disturb her office other ways, but her coworkers were long used to that. Except for the occasional outburst (like when she stepped on an anthill), life returned to normal. As time passed, the bugs forgot their quest for vengeance (gone and forgotten, Nergal), forgot their deal with Sarah (though she never forgot), and generally returned to normal (doing bug stuff).

All was well.

Except for the mosquito that sat on her leg, happily drinking her red life nectar like a thirsty kid and soda. It would be quick. Just an unbearable pain that felt like a lifetime of torture condensed to a few seconds. Pain that made her cry and gasp for air and generally ruined her entire day. She could simply let it go away. She could.

Whap.