Hey guys. Surprise post!

A flash fiction; written by yours truly. It’s my entry for the Flash Fiction Challenge. A weekly contest hosted over at Terribleminds.com.

This weeks challenge? To write a 500 word story that is purposely unfinished. Then, someone else might come along and finish it. Who knows? But whatever the case, it was a lot of fun to write.

If you’re interested in participating, the link is right here: CLICK ME!

Otherwise, here we go!

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Plumbing Issues

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Darkness, their home. A thousand bodies pressed up to each other, communicating through nothing but a torrent of clicks. A swarm; chirping and scuttling. Carapaces pressed up to each other, rubbing. The sound was deafening. The smell, even worse.

They ate, constantly. It was all they knew. A screaming fire in each stomach. Everything was food; rot, blood, skin. Everything.  Every inch of the surface picked clean. Any other creature, anything that was not an ally, devoured. Cracked open and slurped up. A few brothers had died, they too were eaten.

Every feeler started to twitch at once. A new noise had appeared. Booming, alien. Something was talking, something massive. The ceaseless noise, ceased. All stood at attention, wanting to hear.

“Where is it?”

“I already told you on the phone”

“Well, could you tell me again, please?”

“The bathroom. It’s always the bathroom.”

“I said I’d fix it.”

“That was a year ago.”

“I will, I just haven’t gotten around to it. Okay?”

 “Okay.”

“No, I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-“

“Just fix it.”

“Look honey, I got a bonus coming up. The vacation can wait, we can-“

“Not know. I don’t want to argue. I just wanna sleep. Could you just handle it, please?”

“Yeah, of course, good night.”

“Night.”

A thumbing noise, more akin to thunder than anything else, sounded across the entire hive. A single twitch of alarm turning into a wave of feelers. The pyramid of bodies began to crumble as individuals tried to move, to escape.

It descended into mayhem, bodies pressed against bodies. Towers made, purely by accident; collapsing just as quickly as they formed. The Queen attempted to calm them. Pheromones screaming for order.

They went unheard.

Their spiny legs found purchase, and raced on the sides. A burst a fresh air gave them a destination. Upwards. A barrier prevented them from passing, and they hungrily tore at it. The porcelain proving itself just another food source. Acid spat, melting it, mandibles scooping it into thousands of wailing mouths. Progress was slow, but they were persisting. More and more climbing up to attack the obstruction. When one grew too full, it would drop down. Its six legs, flailing in the air, being eventually righted by a shift of the mass.

This frantic pace continued for a while, the edge of the barrier weakening. Holes dug, but not yet wide enough to go through.

Then the noise sounded again, and all was still.

“No….no you know what, it’s that mother of her’s. Made one comment about the toilet being dirty….and what does she do? She wants me to replace the whole God-damn thing.”

A noise of metal against plastic, followed by compressed air let free. A large weight dropped down parallel to the entirety of the hive.

Something, large, hit against the surface of the barrier.

The obstruction disappeared and the swarm, now uninhibited, rose forth in-mass. Spilling across the floor; thousands of them. Rushing forward. Manic with hunger.

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Alright, it’s your turn now. Finish the story. Post the link in the comments, or over at the source.

See you next time!