It was 11 a.m. on a Sunday morning and the clubhouse was deathly still. The entire Pasadena chapter of the Black Mass Reverends was passed out after a night of partying. Some were lying on the bar, some were in backrooms snuggled up with their old ladies, some lay in puddles of their own sick, but all were unconscious.
Kent woke up with his head wedged between the toilet and the wall. From the smell of things some of the guys had used the toilet without waking him first. He was a prospect; he wasn’t going to complain. He’d just get up and wash himself off. The bathroom was dimly lit. It had only two bulbs, and one had blown out weeks ago. The entire clubhouse was rundown, but nothing like the pisser.
There were big cracks in the walls, strange molds on the fixtures and graffiti all over. The graffiti was all pentagrams, 666’s and arcane writings, sprinkled with a few dirty pictures. Above the broken bathroom mirror, “HAIL SATAN” was scrawled in permanent black marker. Kent thought all this Satanism stuff was pretty dumb. He wanted to join the gang for the money, women and drugs. This stuff would look more at home on an Iron Maiden album cover than a criminal organization. He giggled to himself as he turned the faucet.
He put his hands under and waited. In his hung-over stupor it took him a moment to realize his hands weren’t wet. He turned both knobs, but nothing happened. Banging on the top of the sink Kent began to get angry. He stopped when he heard a noise; a light scratching in the pipes. He lowered his face to the tap.
Slowly a long, black leg extended from the end of the faucet, then another. The writhing insect looked like a big drop of tar oozing from the tap.
The bug landed on the porcelain with a light plop. Kent jumped back. He hated bugs, and this one was huge and mean looking. It was long and hairy like a caterpillar but had long legs like a spider. It had a single dash of red on its back. He couldn’t see any teeth or stingers, but he didn’t want to stay in the bathroom long enough to find out if it had any.
He decided it would be better to use the sink behind the bar. He quickly turned to open the door and get away from the bug.
The door wouldn’t budge. He checked the lock; it wasn’t thrown. He put his shoulder into it to make sure it wasn’t just stuck. Sometimes the wood would expand if it rained. No luck.
“Hey! Anyone awake yet? Fuckin’ door is stuck,” there was no answer. He banged some more and waited a second.
While he listened for an answer he heard another plop in the sink. There were three now, trying to get up the sides of the sink with their delicate legs. They would get to a certain point and slide down. Kent was disgusted to look at them.
“C’mon guys!” he yelled, a tremor rising in his voice.
“Door’s not stuck brother, it’s locked,” the voice belonged to Lazarus, chapter high priest. That’s what they called the leaders in this gang: priests. Kent almost laughed the first time he heard it.
“Well, that’s funny and all but the jokes over, Laz.” The sink was a teeming mass of bugs now. They were able to stand on each other and make it out of the sink.
“No joke, brother” his voice was calm “Our boss tells me you’ve been having a crisis of faith.”
Black furry bodies were moving across the floor towards him. Kent stamped a couple and then turned back to the door, punching and kicking. He knew what the crazy bastard meant by “boss”.
“Open this door right now! I don’t care who you think your boss is!” Kent had never heard anyone speak to Lazarus like that, and he had seen the man kill for less. Shit, I’m dead.
He heard the pipes groan behind him and then heard the toilet start to bubble.
“Don’t worry brother. I’ve arranged for a miracle.” Lazarus didn’t sound angry at all. “Don’t be disappointed, Kent. Not all prospects make it.”
Kent heard laughter behind the door; the entire chapter must have been out there listening. He felt tiny bodies under his pantlegs and turned just in time to see the toilet explode upwards.
The room was filled with a cloud of red and black. Millions of insects pressed together so densely they made a chattering noise as they moved on him. It got so bad they blocked out the bulb.
In the darkness all Kent could do was scream. Once they got in his mouth, all that was left was to pray.
—
©2009 Adam Blomquist
Adam Blomquist is a young horror author just starting out in the industry. His fiction is slated to appear in Shroud Magazine #7, on Luridlid.com and in Macabre Cadaver Magazine, where he spends some of his time as a Content Contributor. Visit him at www.adamblomquist.blogspot.com and be sure to friend him on The Haunt at http://www.horror-mall.com/haunt/Adam_Blomquist
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Tags: Adam Blomquist
May 7th, 2009 at 5:45 am
I like the description of the bugs. Good concept too and good ending. Excellent job.
May 7th, 2009 at 8:41 am
I love it. Very fun and campy…like a classic ’80’s horror flick.
May 7th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Nice little tale - really creepy and well written.
May 7th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Great job, Adam.
May 7th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
I liked it . Very well written. Good descriptive language. Memorable imagery. Good job
May 7th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Nice work. I found myself scratching when I read about all the bugs.
May 7th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
Wow. Thanks to everyone for the encouraging words.
May 8th, 2009 at 4:59 am
Very good desriptions, Adam, about the bugs and the bathroom. Good mix of bikers, bugs from “the boss” and horror!
July 6th, 2009 at 10:15 am
Bugs - *Shudder* - definitely creeped me out.