Am I Bugging You?

Alantia saves the day.

"Hold on!" Ella held out an arm, barring Alantia from leaving the room. "What was that white ball you pulled out?"

"An egg. It's freak species of the bed bug." Alantia replied curtly. "Created by Charlotte herself. They went wild, started eating the flesh off of living human beings, escaped the facility where they were being held, started breeding, infested this bed, and ARE GOING TO HATCH UNLESS YOU REMOVE YOUR ARM AND LET ME STOP IT!!" Ella jumped and quickly moved her arm.

"Are there more in other bed?" Sadie asked, looking terrified.

"No." Alantia's answer had us all release a relieved sigh. "Only one impregnated bug escaped the facility, and this is its first batch of eggs. You can tell by the shape and white color. However, now that the eggs have experienced a human touch and feel a human presence in the room, they may hatch at any time. Therefore, we need to kill them now."

"What do we do?" I asked anxiously, now all too willing to help.

"Get me a spray bottle, hydrogen peroxide, and some rubbing alcohol." Alantia ordered, and we ran to fetch the supplies, blurting out a quick explanation to the others outside as we stole one of the clean spray bottles, and an even quicker explanation to Jeremy as he located the rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide.

They all trailed behind Ella, Sadie, and I as we sprinted back to the infested room and practically threw the materials at Alantia. All of us watched with bated breath as Alantia dumped some of each liquid in the bottle, shook it vigorously, and sprayed every inch of the mattress and bed frame, leaving under the mattress for last. Perspiration was evident on Alantia forehead and upper lip, as quietly motioned Damien to come closer. He willingly complied, seeming a tad amused by Alantia's anxiety.

"I'm going to count to three, and you lift up the mattress." Alantia whispered. "Got it?"

"Why are you whispering?" Damien asked curiously, and Alantia hushed him with a wild look in her eyes.

"Shut up, you moron!" she hissed. "You do not understand the severity of this situation. These bugs have the full capabilities of moving several feet in one jump exactly forty-two seconds after they hatch. They will rip your flesh from your bones and eat it like you're the world's largest chicken drumstick. It'll take so long, you'll be begging for death's sweet release by the time they've stripped your arm. Too many will be here to stop, and this is the only way. Don't screw up." Damien was now a tad pale, and he nodded as he carefully gripped the edge of the mattress, trying to put as much space as possible between him and the bed.

"Ready?" Alantia whispered, and Damien gulped, but nodded. "One, two, THREE!" Damien yanked up the mattress, revealing thousands and thousands of eggs. There were so many, you couldn't even see the bed frame anymore. Worse still, the eggs were starting to wiggle and crack, revealing tiny pink maggot things, who hissed and writhed. Alantia clamped the spray bottle's trigger lever, and the bottle let forth a spray of the hydrogen-alcohol mixture.

As the moisture rained over the bugs, a high-pitched squealing emitted from the maggots, and we all had to cover our ears, except for Damien and Alantia, who were too busy killing the things.

After about thirty seconds of spraying, the whining sound had lessened to a tolerable volume, as the scream was coming from the last alive maggot. Alantia picked it up, crushing it between her fingers. The unhatched eggs had ceased moving, the bugs dead before life. Alantia dropped the spray bottle, her nerves clearly spent.

"Get rid of the bed." Alantia ordered. The purple from her eyes disappeared, and Auriela was back.

"You heard her. Let's get rid of this." Damien opened the window and picked up the mattress, shoving the egg-encrusted thing through the opening. Eggs were scraped off the mattress onto the floor in the process, and I shuddered, vowing to scrub that area fifty times. The bed frame was too big to fit through the window, and I refused to let it be carried to the door, which would drop eggs everywhere, so Damien started ripping off pieces of the bed and tossing them out the window piece by piece.

We all left Damien to that, and went outside to finish up washing the cleaning stuff, except for Jeremy, who resumed his plumbing and tinkering. I took the dirtiest rags to the laundry room, started a load of sheets. As the washing machine did the work, I went back outside and gathered up the now-sanitary cleaning stuff. Dexter and Kate went to wash windows, mirrors, and tables, while Ella was sent to clean up the kitchen. Sadie and Peter volunteered to go through the bedrooms, and see what we would keep and what we would trash. I got the vacuum and started to plug it into a nearby outlet. Jeremy, who was still working on the hole, saw me.

"That won't work." Jeremy scoffed. "There shouldn't be any water or electricity here. Nobody has been paying the bills."

"The washing machine worked." I told him calmly, and switched the machine on. The vacuum turned on immediately, sucking up dirt and debris. Jeremy stared, then shook his head, obviously not bothered enough by it to press the issue any further.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Dexter and Kate finished all the windows and mirrors, then polished and dusted all the furniture. Ella organized the entire kitchen, salvaging what food she could, and washing the filthy silverware and dishes. Auriela helped to the best of her abilities, usually helping Jeremy with little odd jobs and fetching things, while Jeremy himself finished the floor with some planks he found, sandpaper, a can of penetrating stain, and an old bottle of polyurethane finish. He also got the toilets, fridges, sinks, showers, and repaired the weak parts in the house's walls and roof, more than he had promised.

Damien, after he finished with the bed, took the bodies and bed and threw them as far as he could into the woods. The heavy things flew farther than I thought possible, but to Damien, it was like throwing a baseball. After that, he went and helped Jeremy with all the heavy lifting he was doing. Peter and Sadie went through all the clothes, toys, knick-knacks, jewelry, tools, cosmetics, toiletries, and other things in the house, and Peter torched the stuff that was just a nuisance.

I was able to vacuum all the floors, carpets, and rugs, and also finished the laundry, which included the clothes we decided to keep, the cleaning rags, and the sheets, which I put back on the beds when they were done.
When the day was finally over, I lay on the bed I was sharing with Auriela, absolutely exhausted. Damien carried his and Peter's two beds into the same room, while Sadie, Kate, and Ella volunteered to share two beds, including the king-sized mattress. Dexter and Jeremy got the bunk beds, and the house was now completely silent. My lids began to droop, and I rolled over to get more comfortable. As I finally drifted off to sleep, my last thought was of my parents, and a single tear slid down my nose before I passed into a dreamless slumber.

Author's Note

This chapter was mostly used for the purpose of the house and it becoming livable.

Reviews

[CrimsonBlaze]

Oh my gosh. I read this at midnight in my bed, and I'm like ... NEVER AGAIN... will I look at my bed the same way... LOL just kidding, though the bugs did creep me out.. Anyway, it's good to know that you put your characters to rest (not as in dead rest but yeah you know sleep rest) and give them some time to contemplate what was at hand.