Page 186 - The Houseguest

DAY SIXTEEN
After enjoying the night’s festivities, I slept peacefully until I was awakened by butterflies in my stomach like a kid on the first day of school. The addition of mental torment to the existing starvation would surely expedite the completion of Ravenge, or at least add an unanticipated bonus of excitement. I had taped the bottom of the door to guarantee none of the little bastards would escape. I opened it slowly and scanned the floor in front of every cautious step I took as I entered the room.
Disturbing doesn’t accurately describe what I saw when I walked in. Rachel’s face looked like that of a not-so-fresh corpse. Her skin was a pale and freakish hue with tracks of dried tears. She was still trembling and there were quite a few sand crabs who had burrowed themselves in her hair. My own skin began crawling imagining what that must have felt like. On her arms, I noticed raised red spots where I assume they’d pinched her, perhaps as a defense mechanism or possibly testing their surroundings. Either way, the scene was grotesque, reminding me of something out of a horror movie.
I hadn’t thought about removing the spent crabs, nor did I consider how long they could survive without their food supply. In addition, sand crabs commonly carry parasitic worms. Even my own corrupt thoughts couldn’t have foreseen that fact. I would just have to wait and see how this unfolded, though I’d planned to replenish the claw bearing population.
I carefully reached over to replace her water supply and noticed a stillness among the creatures. I wasn’t certain if they were weary from
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The Houseguest by Linda Ellis www.LindaEllis.life