Bogleech.com's 2014 Horror Write-off:

" Macrophagia "

Submitted by Jacobguy

The day started like any other, it was warm and sunny and everyone was outside for lunch to enjoy the sun and maybe get a few bars so they can text. That's what I was doing at least, just sitting on the wall next to the trashcan trying to get a couple of bars so I could mindlessly browse the internet and avoid talking to people. It was around then when a nice little breeze picked up. It was a nice and refreshing coolness along the abnormal warmth for that fall day but it carried something odd on the breeze.

At first it looked like a low cloud, but it wasn't a cloud, it was a huge collection of dandelion seeds. I love dandelion seeds, i think they look like little faeries floating in the breeze, and everyone was so enchanted by the thought of all those dandelion seeds blowing by. But it was when they got closer that I realized something was off. First of all, the actual seed part was a little too big if you get what I mean, and the feathery part that helps them float stuck out a little too far apart, like there was less of them. I was completely fascinated by the seeds.

I was so enthralled in the seeds floating by on the breeze that I almost didn't realize the growing panic that was going on over yonder. "It stings! It stings!" someone was screaming. That's when I realized they weren't seeds. I don't know what they were, but I didn't have time to think about it before one landed on my arm. It landed with the feathery floating part, which, upon closer inspection looked more like legs.

I didn't actually get any time to think that before the stinging started. It was either like a huge bee was stinging my arm, or someone was forcing a burning hot needle through my arm. In my pain and panic I blacked out a little and I remember coming to in the cafeteria, the little thing on my arm was gone, and in it's place was a little burning welt. The teachers gathered everyone together to try and see who was "bitten" as they said. They explained that whatever came by on that breeze must have been some kind of biting fly.

So they gathered everyone in the cafeteria to see who was bitten. I was among the 84 kids out of about 300 who were bitten. Some of the kids got lucky like me, but others were completely covered in red burning whelps and were extremely hot to the touch. The nurse just gave everyone ice packs and told the really bad kids to take some ibuprofen and sent us home early that day. On my way outside to get in my parent's car I could vaguely see the cloud floating away.

That was about 50 years ago, and I'm seeing the cloud again, but there's more of them now, a lot more. People all over the country are breaking out in some strange disease. They all have this type of super aggressive HIV and some new virus no one's seen before. It makes them break out in these huge pustules all over their bodies, almost completely covered, they become delirious, start babbling and even hallucinating it just gets worse and worse until it can be compared to dementia or insanity, and that's when the vomiting starts. They just vomit and avoid water so much they they become extremely dehydrated and die a dry, desiccated husk.

My grand-kid just died of this disease, and that's when I noticed it. The clouds, they always hover outside the homes of those who had passed. I'd had it, I was going to devote all my knowledge to finding out what in hell's name was going on. I looked through as many medical dictionaries as I could. Hell, I even looked through books on bugs to see what those damn things were. they started stinging people again.

I was Reading through a biology book on viruses when I found it. It all made sense now, but now I wonder how long I have.