Zombie Ant

by Howie Amourscow

Add to AIMShare

They were in the rainforest before they were in Jude, before he went there for the college. Now they were inside his head, though he didn’t know it.

Did they drill into his skin when he was waistdeep in muddy water? Were they in the spit of some tiny biting bug? Was it something he ate? Regardless, his brain was a fine starter home for three weeks.

His first Monday back, he thought about seeing a doctor until he stopped thinking. Tuesday, he went out and bought fertilizer. Wednesday, household cleaners. Thursday, PVC tubing, copper wire and a 12-volt battery.

That night he made a hat.

Friday, he walked to the school down the street.

Mrs. Helms’ third-graders laughed at the pale, oblivious man who entered room 115. While Mrs. Helms left to get a SRO , Jude took two copper wires between his fingers and tapped the battery. Mrs. Helms heard a gun (she thought). She ran back; her kids seemed unhurt once the gore was wiped from their wide eyes and gaping mouths.

But now there was nothing in Jude’s head at all.

Prequels

Write a prequel

Sequels

Write a sequel

Comments

Average Reader Rating: 5.0 stars out of 5

  1. Zombie Ant

    Howie Amourscow's Buddy Icon Howie Amourscow

    Posted 9 months ago

    The title comes from a phrase coined by Bernard Weber. See:
    http://www.weichtiere.at/Mollusks/Schnecken/parasitismus/dicrocoelium.html

  2. Zombie Ant

    SKermitgorf's Buddy Icon SKermitgorf

    Posted 9 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    ewwwwwwwww thats just creepy and sick. which means you did a good job on the challenge cause ya freaked me out

  3. Zombie Ant

    Howie Amourscow's Buddy Icon Howie Amourscow

    Posted 9 months ago

    Thank you.

  4. Zombie Ant

    YodaOnCrack's Buddy Icon YodaOnCrack

    Posted 9 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Creepy sick, agreed. Engaging though, in a revoltingly yecchy sort of way. : )

  5. Zombie Ant

    THX 0477's Buddy Icon THX 0477

    Posted 9 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Ewww, a chilling telling of parasitosis, the delusion of being infested…unless you meant he really had bugs up there. Either way, at least the kids are alright. Sure, they’re emotionally scarred for life, but alright.

  6. Zombie Ant

    Howie Amourscow's Buddy Icon Howie Amourscow

    Posted 9 months ago

    Are the kids alright? If there were creepy crawlies in Jude’s head, they’re not there anymore… and they went somewhere, no?
    I prefer not to dictate meanings… but the title references a species of flatworm that spends part of its life in sheep, another in snails, and a cycle in ants. The fluke gets back into sheep by moving into an ant’s head and causing it to kill itself (go to the url in my first post for a short summary).
    The beauty of nature freakin’ creeps me out.
    Happy dreams, tonight…

  7. Zombie Ant

    Howie Amourscow's Buddy Icon Howie Amourscow

    Posted 9 months ago

    I don’t know if it’s necessary to add that I’m not saying that Jude had lancet flukes. The existence of such creatures was merely inspiration. But this is the internet, so there’s the clarification. Thanks.

Want to comment on this ficlet? You need to sign in!