Treasure Chest

by Adam Bennett

  Several hours later, after helping to clean the corridor, Claire entered the medical clinic. Lisa was standing by three body bags. She looked around the room. “Jim?”

  Lisa shook her head.

  Claire sighed. “Can I be of any help?”

  “If you are willing, I need to examine these bodies before the worms totally devour them. But first, hazmat suits.”

  After suiting up, Lisa unzipped the body bag containing Val. With Claire’s help, they scooped up as many worms as possible, placing them in an airtight container. They then wiped down the body as Lisa carefully examined it.

  Lisa rolled Val’s body onto its left side. “Take a look at this.”

  Claire moved to stand behind Lisa.

  “Val complained of a bug bite on her buttocks. Bites like that are not uncommon up here. So, when I initially looked, I didn’t think much of it. But now that I see it again, this might be the original source of the infection.” Lisa stood up and thought. “Let’s check Jim.”

  They uncovered Jim’s body. Worms had exited through the fleshy parts of his face, several were in his nostrils. Lisa pulled what worms she could find from him, throwing them into another container. She carefully examined his body.

  “Yes, there it is, on his left gluteus.”

  Claire pondered. “So you think the infection is introduced through a bite. So why in the butt? Didn’t Mike think it was in the food supply?”

  “I checked all of the fresh food, there is no sign of worms. The water supply is harder to determine.” Lisa moved to Mike’s body bag. “Two makes a coincidence. Mike was asymptomatic. Let’s take a look.”

  Lisa unzipped the body bag then carefully examined his body. “No obvious signs of worms. He definitely died from exsanguination caused by the laceration of the carotid artery.” She continued her examination. “Ahh, there it is.” She looked up at Claire. “I’m going to have to open him up and check his gut. Hand me that scalpel.”

  Lisa made a cut across his abdomen and then carefully pulled the incision open. She looked inside. Several worms were wrapped around his intestines. “There they are.”

  She zipped up all of the body bags. “I’ll put them in the deep freeze.”

  Claire pulled off the hood of her hazmat suit. “So, three people, three infections, and they all had a bite on their ass. How?”

  Lisa slowly removed her own suit as she contemplated. “We’re going to have to check everyone in the camp for bites.” She shifted her gaze to Claire. “Might as well start with you. Drop ‘em.”

  ***

  Claire collapsed into a chair in Lisa’s office. “Okay, so we have three more people with what appears to a bite on their rear end. Of those three, two are women. Four others, plus ourselves, don’t have any bites. How are they getting bitten? What’s the common denominator?”

  Lisa threw up her hands. “The only thing that comes to mind is that they have all sat on something infected by a worm. The only common place where they all sit is in the cafeteria, but surely you would notice something on your seat. Other than that— Shit!”

  “What?”

  Lisa got out of her chair and headed out of her office. “Where else does everyone sit, especially the women, and expose their backsides?”

  Claire got up and followed. “The toilet? But wouldn’t the worms be flushed down the sewer?”

  “We don’t have a septic system. This is a temporary camp, it moves from year to year. The latrine is basically a big porta-potty.”

  Claire paused her walking. “So if anyone who is infected either vomits or poops, some of their worms leave and then they crawl back up through the pipes and literally bite you on the ass.”

  “And the more people that are infected, then the more worms in the holding tank and the faster the infestation spreads.”

  “What if they like eating faeces?”

  Lisa picked up her pace. “Then we are going to have a whole lot of worms, and we’ll be in a pile of...” They rounded the corner to the women’s washroom. “Shit!”

  One of the stall doors was ajar. There was a body sprawled on the floor, completely covered with worms, devouring their unfortunate host. More worms streamed out of the toilet bowl, over the side, landing on the corpse. At first it was small worms, then larger ones, until some of the worms were half a metre long. As the worms exited the holding tank they pulled the effluent along with them. The smell of human waste was overpowering. The floor was a wriggling mass of worms that appeared to flow towards the door to the corridor. Across the hall, the women could see more worms squirming under the opposite washroom door and into the corridor.

  “We have to get out of here!”

  The pair ran down the corridor. Lisa pulled the emergency klaxon alarm as she passed it. They rounded the corner to the cafeteria. Within minutes six other staff members arrived.

  “Are we all here?” Lisa did a quick headcount.

  “Where’s Ann?” A concerned Doctor Richards looked around. “Has anyone seen Ann?”

  Claire moved to his side and took his hand. “I’m sorry Ben, she’s...” Doctor Richards sank into her arms.

  Lisa took the floor. “That alarm is connected directly to CFS Alert which is the nearest military base. They are a three hour copter ride away. The worms are coming up from the waste storage tanks in numbers faster than we can deal with. Until the rescue team can get here, we need to all stay in a safe area. Under no circumstances should you go down to the living quarters.

  The group fell into a nervous tension. Occasionally, over the hours, several people quietly talked amongst themselves. The silence was broken by a great snapping sound. Then a metallic moan. Everyone paused.

  Piqued by curiosity, Connor Darby went to investigate. The air was heavy with anticipation as everyone stared at the corner he had disappeared around.

  The building shook from a tremendous crash.

  “What the hell was that?”

  Claire advanced to the corner that Darby took. She carefully peeked around to peer down the corridor.

  “Oh shit!” Claire turned in haste. “Get to high ground!”

  A torrent of water washed down the corridor bringing with it worms of various sizes. The water spilled into the dining hall. The staff scrambled first to chairs then to the table tops. The impact of the water pushed empty tables around, colliding them into those the staff took refuge on.

  Lisa looked about at the deluge. “The must have gotten into the water supply. Their combined weight collapsed the tower.”

  Connor crawled from around the corner. Dozens of worms clung to him. “Get them off of me! Get them off!”

  Claire raised a hand to her mouth, pity in her eyes.

  From outside they heard the approach of helicopters.

  After a long wait, the door to the cafeteria opened. Several military personnel in combat gear appeared. One of them stepped forward, ankle deep in the water.

  “I am Sergeant McCann, First Royal Canadian Regiment, who’s in charge?”

  Forty five minutes later, the survivors of Camp Shackleton were dressed in hazmat suits heading to Edmonton for the start of their seventy two hour quarantine and observation.

  Claire sat across from the sergeant. He removed his beret and rubbed his temples.

  “Anything wrong?” Claire peered at him through tired eyes.

  Sergeant McCann replaced his beret. “No, ma’am, just a little headache.”

  Infestation was first published in FULL METAL HORROR 2: A Bloodstained Anthology along with 22 other fantastic stories. You can find it on Amazon in ebook or paperback.

  AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES

  Zombie Pirate Publishing

  Emerging from the primordial rainforest of Australia, Zombie Pirate Publishing began in 2017 with the goal of producing short story anthologies and helping emerging writers. It has since gone on to publish nine anthologies with many more planned. They recently hosted the inaugural Zombie Pirate Writing Week. Authors were challenged to write a complet
e dystopian novelette in a week. The results will be published in a forthcoming anthology, AND MAN GREW PROUD.

  Blake Jessop - Bubbles in the Drina

  Blake Jessop is a Canadian author of science fiction, fantasy and horror stories with a master's degree in creative writing from the University of Adelaide. You can read more of his stories in other great ZPP anthologies like "World War IV" and "Full Metal Horror," or follow him on Twitter @everydayjisei.

  Lannah Marshall - Cœur de Dieu Mécanique

  Lannah Marshall is a speculative fiction author from the shorelines of the UK. While her studies to explore the universe or the deepest depths of the ocean have been on hold, she has turned her focus on exploring the human condition, ethics and the evolution of man and machine in her science fiction and fantasy works.

  Shawn M. Klimek - The Captain’s Dinner

  Shawn M. Klimek is an internationally published writer of short stories and poems, chiefly speculative fiction, humor, or both at once. More than 100 of his short stories and poems have been published online and in anthologies since 2018. He lives in Illinois with an Air Force Nurse and a frisky Maltese. Find a complete index of his works on http://jotinthedark.blogspot.com, or follow his writing adventures on Facebook '@ShawnMKlimekAuthor'

  Mel Lee Newmin - Mandy Villanova Loves Her Work

  Science fiction and fantasy author Mel Lee Newmin is a native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA, home of the Amish and not much else. Following careers in corporate accounting and technical writing for the defence industry, Mel began a new career as a fiction author with short stories appearing around the world (US, Canada, UK, Australia) in Ligurian Magazine, On the Premises, Sixfold, The Collapsar Directive, Full Metal Horror, Rapture, Carrier Wave and many others. Mel also produces a popular weekly fiction blog about Niles Gule, vampire hunter and detective in Baltimore.

  Sam M. Phillips - The Hunters

  Conceived in the mighty fires of El’darsh, Sam M. Phillips is a Level 20 Lava Golem (with working rocket launcher). When not battling Frost Giants he writes fiction and poetry, appearing in anthologies and magazines such as World War Four, Flash Fiction Addiction, and Dastaan World Magazine. He is the co-founder of Zombie Pirate Publishing, and besides setting the mortal realms on fire, he enjoys drumming, walking, and juggling.

  Read his poetry and fiction at www.bigconfusingwords.wordpress.com.

  David Bowmore - The Butcher of Blengarth

  David Bowmore lives in Yorkshire with his wonderful wife and a small white poodle.

  He has worn many hats in his time; chef, teacher and landscape gardener.

  His first collection of short stories ‘The Magic of Deben Market’ published by Clarendon House is available in paperback and Kindle through Amazon and Lulu.com

  www.davidbowmore.co.uk

  Adam Bennett - Jackson’s Revenge

  Seven billion years ago an O Class star exploded in the distant reaches of the Virgo Supercluster. Over the course of eons, particles of the star’s dust spread through the universe until finally a series of them coalesced in New South Wales, Australia during the mid eighties. Thus was born the author and publisher Adam Bennett. His writing shows his yearning to return to his rightful home among the stars, a wish he will achieve, even if he has to wait until the heat death of the universe.

  Jonathan Inbody - The Séance of Madame Moreau

  Jonathan Inbody is an author, filmmaker, and podcaster from Buffalo, New York. While he mostly writes surrealist horror, he also dabbles in scifi, fantasy, westerns, and pretty much anything else that can have monsters in it.

  He can be heard every other week on his improvisational movie pitch podcast X Meets Y (xmeetsy.libsyn.com).

  Rich Rurshell - Moon Shrine

  Rich Rurshell is a short story writer from Suffolk, England. Rich writes mainly Horror, Sci-Fi and Fantasy stories. Having a childhood interest in fantastic creatures, many of his stories feature monsters, whether it be dragons, demons, foul beasts, or monsters of the (in)human variety. When not writing stories, Rich is a musician and writes music instead.

  Daniel Craig Roche - Gums

  Daniel Craig Roche is the author of over thirty short stories and ten novels, the first of which, Corpse Lily, comes out in 2020. Find him on all the usual social media, or on his YouTube book review channel.

  Laurel Bucholz - Dude, Where’s my Dong?

  Laurel Bucholz currently resides in Denver, CO. She has short stories published with Zombie Pirate Publishing, the Taipei Writers Group, and The Five59 Authors Group. Her first short screenplay, "Millennials Ruin Everything", is currently in post-production. Look for her latest internet project launch, 'Laurel's Letter's' in 2020.

  Follow or contact her at facebook.com/thewriterimposter/

  Pat Woods - The Confluence

  Pat Woods is a writer from Nottingham, UK, who moved to Taiwan in 2008 for an adventure that turned into a lifetime commitment. His short stories have been published by Zombie Pirate Publishing, Spring Song Press, and elsewhere. He writes fantasy and speculative fiction, and was nominated for the 2016 Pushcart Prize for his Sherlock Holmes pastiche ‘The Adventure of the Etheric Projection.’

  Brandon Scott - Associate Boogeyman

  Brandon Scott is a writer from Western North Carolina of supernatural suspense. He has recently released the novel 'Vodou', the first in a three book series from Devil Dog Press. Brandon spends his time up in the mountains, romancing the dark.

  P.A. O’Neil - The Pain of Responsibility

  P.A. O’Neil has been writing professionally for three short years. In that time, her stories have been featured in multiple anthologies (many of them international best-sellers), as well as on-line journals and magazines from several continents. She and her husband reside in Olympia, Washington, with her adult children living nearby. Links to stories she has had published online, go to the Notes section of this FB page, for links to books which feature her stories, look under the Photo section. Follow her career on the Facebook author page: P.A. O’Neil, Storyteller, or visit her Amazon author page: P.A. O’Neil.

  M. W. Brown - Run

  M W Brown likes to sneak away and travel to planet Bowie to write horror, supernatural thrillers and anything dark that pops into the imagination en route. Ziggy, Aladdin and the Thin White Duke supply copious amounts of coffee while keeping the mood suitably twisted. While on planet earth, M W Brown wanders around in the middle of the UK and, when not working, can be found people watching and searching for the elusive ‘normal person’ to study and dissect. For further information and details on publications please visit mwbrown.co.uk

  Dan Combs - Gotcha!

  Dan Combs was born in Pontiac, adopted by a loving couple, and moved with them to Lansing, Michigan. He spent eighteen years there before following his inner wanderer across the U.S., Europe, and the rest of our world. Musician, Composer, Screenwriter, Playwright; currently living in Houston and loving every opportunity the city offers.

  Donald D. Shore - Pastrami

  Donald D. Shore is an American writer with short stories published in The Western Online, eFiction Magazine, Freedomfiction.com, and by Zombie Pirate Publishing. He lives in Huntsville, Alabama and you can follow him at facebook.com/donalddshore.

  James Pyles - Joey

  James Pyles is a information technology textbook author, editor and technical writer as well as a published author of science fiction and fantasy tales. This year he has several short stories appearing in anthologies and is currently working (albeit very slowly) on his first full-length novel. Find out more about James at http://poweredbyrobots.com/

  Isabella Fox - The Flat Cap

  Isabella Fox, aka Lynne Phillips is a semi-retired teacher who works with gifted and talented students. She lives in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales Australia. Her stories have been published by Zombie Pirate Publishing, Black Hare Press, Fantasia Divinity Publishing and Our Wonderful Anthology. She is enjoying learning the craft of writing stories. Her priority is sp
ending time with her family while her passions are reading, writing, and keeping fit.

  Brian MacGowan - Infestation

  Contrary to the photos on Brian’s passport and driver’s license he really is a reasonably nice guy. The Canadian born Brian would like to stress that he is not the crazed homicidal maniac that his IDs suggest; although his writings do seem to substantiate the photo evidence. When not being pulled aside for extra questioning, Brian is plotting the demise of his characters.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  A special thanks to all of the people who have submitted for our anthologies. We cannot wait to see what you all send us for our next anthology, RAYGUN RETRO, available May 1st, 2020. If you would like to submit stories to us please visit zombiepiratepublishing.com for submissions guidelines and email your double spaced indented word document to submissions@zombiepiratepublishing.com today.

  To help support Zombie Pirate Publishing, please visit our Patreon page at patreon.com/zombiepiratepublishing, where you can learn about our goals and become a patron for as little as $1 a month. We also have a merch store at zombie-pirate-publishing.myshopify.com where you can buy fantastic Zombie Pirate Publishing t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, and limited editions of our books.

  Thank you to all of the people who have helped and supported us in any way since we started this crazy little venture. We couldn’t do it without you. It is much appreciated. We are thrilled with the result thus far, and are excited to see what the future brings. There are big things coming for Zombie Pirate Publishing.

  Cheers,

  Adam Bennett and Sam M. Phillips