Devastation Erupts by A E Faulkner

Author:A E Faulkner [Faulkner, A E]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781949193039
Published: 2020-07-19T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 41

Grasping the stick, Jeff pokes its belly. As if its contents were secured by a flimsy piece of taut plastic wrap, it splits open. A mini-cluster of legs, antennae, and bean-shaped bodies spill out. They tussle briefly, ensnared within each other’s limbs as they attempt to separate, fleeing their former prison. How can they be alive if they were eaten? Wouldn’t the bird’s digestive juices have smothered or dissolved them? I probably should have paid more attention in Biology class.

Turning away in disgust, I survey the rest of the clearing. Sure enough, the other nearby black lumps mirror this one’s size and shape. There must be at least thirty of them.

Leaning closer, Jeff bobs his head in various directions, conducting a thorough visual inspection of all angles. He inches nearer the dead body.

“Don’t touch it!” Aidan snaps. “You could get some virus or something if that’s what killed it.”

“I wasn’t planning on touching it,” Jeff huffs. “I just want to see if we can figure out what happened.”

“I don’t feel so good,” Riley says, thrusting a hand over her mouth. Aidan’s concerned eyes land on me. “Why don’t you two go back to the car? We’ll be there in a minute.” I nod and wrap an arm around Riley’s shoulder, leading us both away from the ground-level grave site.

She shakes her head, “What do you think happened to that one? Do you think they’re all like that?”

I hunch a shoulder. “I don’t know. I mean, that one looked pretty healthy. You know, other than being dead and having its stomach split open. How could those bugs still be alive and so active if—”

Riley pales, raising a delicate hand. “We don’t have to guess. It’s okay.”

Trudging back to the car, we claim the front seats, indirectly relieving Jeff of his driving duties. Then we sit in silence, looking anywhere but outside.

Aidan and Jeff return to the car and slide into the back seat. “Ready to go?” Aidan asks a little too cheerfully. Riley starts the car and pulls onto the road. I twist in my seat to face the guys.

“So, did you find anything back there? You know, figure out how they died?” The guys share a pinched look before Jeff answers.

“Well,” he stretches his arms casually, as if we’re just catching up on last weekend’s activities. “We checked four more and they all looked the same. Other than their stomachs, nothing was out of place. But some of them,” he runs a hand through his hair. “Some of the others had really swollen stomachs.”

Aidan nods. “And those were the ones that had hardly any bugs…coming out of them.” He shakes his head and takes a gulp, muttering, “I don’t get it.”

“It’s like the bugs did this,” Jeff adds, rubbing his chin. “From the inside out.”

“Lethal bugs?” I scoff. “I know there are poisonous spiders and frogs, but are there bugs poisonous enough to kill?”

Aidan’s head drops and he squints his eyes shut. “Guys. It’s like Wes.”

Heavy silence consumes the car.

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