Snacks From the Butler's Pantry

I was in charge of surveying abandoned houses to see if they could be rehabilitated. I was sent to measure the abandoned house in the crater, just outside of town. When I got there with my partner, everything seemed normal. It wasn't until we entered the basement that we angered the Centipedes and the Millipedes. At first, there were only one or two of the small millipedes. They were poisonous, but nothing we couldn't handle. A quick tap of my boot, a satisfying crunch, and they were out of the picture.

After crushing three or four of these fast little twerps, the big Centipedes came out to investigate. They were the size of small dogs, two or three feet long. Their segmented bodies were fuzzy and black. Shiny round red shells lined their backs like a stack of soup bowls. They appeared from the shadows in large groups. They would only approach us one at a time to examine us, then run back into the swarm.

I became more and more nervous, but we were almost finished with our measuring. My partner taunted me, saying "Whats wrong, scared of the little bugs?". I ignored him, kept alert, and finished measuring fast. As we exited the building, the swarm of giant Centipedes followed us up the stairs. They seemed angry now. From the corner of my eye, I saw one charge straight towards me. The thing was faster than I had previously thought. I fled up the stairs and out of the house, only pausing long enough to kick down the dilapidated front door.

I looked back over my shoulder in time to see the Centipede curl up like a spring, and then leap in the air. It landed on my back, and dug its razor sharp armored plates into my upper arm. I felt it squirm around like a snake as it worked its barbs deeper into the meat of my shoulder and upper arm. As I struggled to wrench it of my flesh, I saw more of the miniature Millipedes squirming all over my back. They were all over me, biting and stinging me in a thousand places. I realized that I had been covered in the millipedes the entire time I was in the house. I had only noticed the ones that had fallen off my back and dropped onto the floor.