Ants
They came back the year the soil softened.
Not the birds. Not the stray cats. Not even the neighbors who had long since decided the lot was cursed.
The ants.
At first, it was a line—thin as a thought—threading
Tag - insects/bugs
The Humbug Swarm
Captain Bob Cratchit yawned as he adjusted the holographic scanner, slowly bringing Sector 213A into clearer focus. It had been a long flight between the stars, and all he could think about was getting home to Earth for Christmas.
Alarms suddenly shrieked as the sector
A Delver’s Rite
Yohva chitters nervously beside me, white fur bristling down the length of her thorax. I whistle a few notes from a half-remembered lullaby and place a reassuring hand above her first pair of eyes. She settles into the shade of the smooth-stone building but keeps her focus on the tree line.
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The Mountain of Death
Liam entered the Mountain of Death at dusk.
He adjusted his headphones, checked the volume unit—or VU—dial on the mixer strapped to his belt, and reasserted his grip on a boom pole carrying a shotgun microphone. With his headlamp’s yellow beam piercing the darkness, he pointed the mic’s windscreen into…
On the Brink of Extinction
“The taniwha traveled in the canoes of our Polynesian ancestors. They were kaitiaki, life-protecting guardians.” The stocky Islander gazed over the water, his slumped shoulders, usually strong, reflecting his regret. “The white settlers, on the other hand, brought the black rats in their boats. Those filthy predators extinguished almost all of our island’s endemic
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The Failure of 4787
In the chill of the pre-dawn air, the kingdom slept. Sisters huddled close and dreaming, unaware of the coming beast. In the darkness they were sheltered, unworried, ignorant. Until at last, dawn broke. And with it, the tranquility of night gave way to the cacophony of day. Lorikeets squawked and flies buzzed and
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The Lightning Squad
Puddles along the street mirrored the blue neon glow of the Chiang Mai business district. Tiny zips of lights flashed across the roadway, adding their spark to the reflective glow. Flickering lights continued to fill the street, until finally the mighty lightning bug army descended, rippling the puddles, at the rendezvous point chosen months
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The Blue Scarab
“A blue scarab!”
I glanced over at the spectacled woman currently interested in my daughter’s new… pet. While I wasn’t a big fan of bugs in general, our metro had been delayed twice already, and the beetle had kept Zahra occupied. Since an insect crawling across Zahra’s arm was more preferable than…
Love and Insects
I linger in the shadows of the antechamber door. Of all the places a lady should never be, a dank, dark, and—I wrinkle my nose—malodorous cave tops the list.
You’ll chicken out. The mysterious peddler’s voice haunts me. Turn and run like the spoiled princess you are.
I clench my fist…
The Scaterpillars
Matt Caterpillar raised his guitar, looked out across the crowd at the Garbage Bowl, and heard crickets. And ants. And roaches, beetles, and myriad other insects—all cheering for him and his band.
As he strummed the opening chords of their new ear-worm hit, “Gimme Some Leaves,” he marveled at their
The Prairie Smuggler
The lisuxx were on the move, rising like a lake of miniature stars over the dark prairie. I crouched at the edge of the forest, watching with a familiar sense of awe tightening my chest. They were a blinding, bright yellow. The color of poison. Forbidden to the tribe. Millions of
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Bite Size
Chomp.
Chomp.
Swallow.
Wonder at the sharpness of her new teeth. Wonder at her new teeth.
Chomp.
Swallow.
Even if she had been counting, she would have lost track long ago of the number of bites she had taken; the number of times her teeth had dulled to uselessness, only to be magically renewed
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