Bogleech.com's 2013 Horror Write-off:

" Have You Ever Seen One? "

Submitted by Cody Jacobs

Have you ever seen one?

They just sit there, out of sight, patiently waiting, stalking, until it's time and they have their turn.

There are things that trigger them. Get their attention. Why? Who knows. Stress, a missed meal, lights. It varies person to person. Then they spring to life, suddenly darting over on their spindly legs. They're fast. They hit their host, slapping them on the back of their head, except their hand passes right through. The host never feels a thing. Then it happens, the host loses control, spasming, and it laughs and runs away. Except it never makes any sound, and it never clear where exactly it goes, it just does.

Sometimes there isn't even anything to trigger them. Nothing we can see anyways. They just decide it's time.

My uncle was the first one I ever met, the first host. I was still young, young enough that my cries and fear could be attributed to an overactive imagination. And when I saw the first attack, well it was reasonable even for those that couldn't see them that I might be scared. They can't seem them, but they can see the attacks. That's the only trace they leave is the attacks.

My mom would tell me it was just a problem he had, there was nothing to be scared of, it just happened sometimes. But I knew what it was.

Eventually I began to realize I was the only one who could see it following my uncle. It still made me uneasy but I kept it to myself and tried to hide it. No one believed me, and there was nothing I could do to convince them anyways.

Sometimes they decide they're done with their host. Maybe they get bored. Maybe they've had their fill. It starts out like any old attack. But this time it doesn't run away. It stays. And watches. Following the attack, the host dies. Cardiac arrest. That's what happened to my uncle. They didn't understand it. It was sudden and unexpected. It had happened to others too, I found out later, who had the same disease as him. They would just die from unexplained respiratory failure or cardiac arrest after an attack. It never seems like anything caused it. But I knew what it was.