He had been in bed for what seemed like weeks. He did not have the radio turned on and had left the curtains closed, it was winter so it was cold and dark. He was fighting bad ‘flu’ with what medication he had in the house and hot drinks plus cups of soup, but every day he felt either worse or certainly not better.
His phones, both landline and mobile, had been cut off months ago because he couldn’t work, and therefore had no money and could not pay his bills. He had a hot drink, luckily his electricity had not been cut off, and his electric blanket still worked so he retreated to his bed.
One thing he had noticed is that it was very quiet out, he had a ground floor flat just off a main street, but he did not even hear people walking past. He had not had any mail, not even junk mail for over two weeks.
He skipped through an old magazine and read an article about spiders. He was a total arachnophobe, but liked to be ahead of the horrible eight legged scuttling web spinning beasties. If he saw one in his flat it was always kill it first, no mercy. The article said if it weren’t for spiders the world would be twenty feet deep in insects within two weeks. He laughed a little at that, there was still no way he would ever tolerate a spider living.
He went to the window, pulled the curtain back a little, but it was still dark. He didn’t know what time it was and really didn’t care, so went back into bed. He was still cold and so he turned the electric blanket up to the maximum. He’d not had a bill, or checked the meter (which was outside) so he decided it was fine to get heated up.
Sleep came once again.
He didn;’t know how many hours he had slept, but got up and went to the loo. He flushed the toilet but it almost filled up then drained very slowly. He had only had a pee so there should be nothing blocking the water flowing away.
He washed his hands and the sink started to fill up, but then drained very slowly. He might have to get someone to have a look at it, but that would mean going out, and that was not going to be happening any time soon.
On the way back to bed he thought he stepped on something, but didn’t let it bother him, as long as it wasn’t a spider, or if he crushed it , then it would be fine.
He then started thinking, he had not seen any spiders for ages, and he started thinking about the magazine article. He switched the light on and looked down.
The food was a carpet or beetles, ants and other creepy crawlies but there were no spiders. They were crawling over his feet, he went back to the bathroom and they were coming out of the toilet , sink and the shower plug.
He looked at the back door and they were coming in under the door.
He went back to his window and pulled the curtain fully back. It wasn’t dark, the window was a mass of insects pressing against it. He did not know how long it would be before that crashed inwards. He could not get out, he knew what would happen if he opened the door.
He was one of the ones who had done his best to kill all spiders. Others had done it on an industrial scale, and now he was sat on his bed wondering whether he would drown in the tide of insects rising from the floor or the deluge that would bury him when the glass in the window gave way.
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Expert insights and opinions
Arguments were carefully researched and presented
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
Comments (3)
Eeek! Perfect tension, Mike. Love it! When we lived on the equator we had our fair share of large and scary arachnids. I dislike them entirely, this story is the stuff nightmares are made of!
Good story Mike! Makes me think of the old song. Worms crawl in and worms crawl out. In your stomach and out your mouth. 🥰. Interchange the word bugs. 😂
Ughhh, creepy crawlies! I'm scared of all insects, even a butterfly, lol. Truly creepy story!