INPESTATION [PAN2014] (Non-Writer status)

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PART II
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Dave's jaw dropped onto his chest, "Oh My GOD! Their GM bugs survived!!!
...They've killed off all the weevils and are looking for new hosts!"

"Whaaat??? What's wrong? What's going on??" cried Alison.

"On TV!!!! It's a Bug, a superbug... GM.. artificial... those stupid idiots have tried to use them to eradicate a pest insect, but they were too good at it. They've killed off all the pests and now they're spreading out...
IN THE COTTON!!! My GOD!!! They're in the cotton on the T-Shirts!!! and they're seeking new hosts!! - US!!"

Gregs attention was now focused entirely on his dad as the seriousness of their situation sank in, and his expression swung from joyful smiles... to confusion... to fear, in the space of a split second. He ripped the shirt from his body just as quickly, and instinctively stomped on it.

Alison was still scrubbing at her arms... screaming as she saw the movement under the skin for the first time.

"hold on!!! Shhhh!!! LOOK!" cried Dave, forelornly peering at the TV again.

"tratamiento de emergencia / EMERGENCY TREATMENT.
luz ultravioleta! / ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT!" had appeared in big bright-red flashing letters on the screen.

"Ultraviolet??? UV light?? wtf? Where in gods name...?" Dave's voice trailed off in desperate desolation...

Alison scrubbed and screamed louder and faster than ever.

"The... tan... th.. the tanning room in the salon!" stammered Greg, "There's sunbeds in the tanning room, behind the laundry - aren't they Ultraviolet??"

"Whaat? What did you say???" asked Dave, as hope dared to creep back into his thoughts.

"The sunbeds in the tanning room - They're UV! They might help us??" came Gregs reply as he began to compose himself.

"Go! GO NOW!!!! RUN!!!!"

The three of them were out of the cabins' front door before Dave had even finished shouting, and they raced across the lawns towards the laundry area.

Their minds were racing, hearts pounding, lungs bursting, and yet everything around them seemed so... calm?
It was like a dream, all floaty and serene.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion all around them.
It felt like an hour had passed in the 20 seconds or so that it had taken them to reach the laundry, with it's tanning room to the rear.

They dived onto the vacant sunbeds and pressed the tan-cycle buttons to start them up. The purple tubes blinked a few times then glowed a steady glow.
Dave's heart was in his mouth.... was it working?
He felt.... nothing.
Greg glanced back and forth towards his Parent's sunbeds on either side...
"Is it working???? Is it doing anything?? I can't tell!!"

The room fell silent as the family searched for even the slightest clue... and then all hell broke loose!

Alison flung her arms up and clasped her hands over her ears as she heard the loudest SCREAM she had ever heard.
It penetrated her head and shook her chest, and she couldn't seem to keep it out, no matter how tightly she clasped.
It was only after several horrifying seconds that she reolised why... It was her own scream!

The pain in her hands and arms was excruciating as the UV light penetrated the tissues and began to break down the superbugs.
They writhed and clawed and bit and stung as they fought to survive, but nothing could save them.
Nomsantos had included a UV sensitive gene in their DNA as a last-gasp failsafe and now those protocols were all that stood between this family and their horrible infestation.

The screaming died away, and the family began to bring their breathing and heartrates back to normal.
The pain subsided now, and they dared to open their eyes and look at their skin again.
There were a few small areas of scarring in strange wavy-lines on Alisons hands and forearms, and Dave had one long line down the back of his neck, but Greg seemed to be OK.

Even now, they couldn't bring themselves to leave the safety of the sunbeds until the tanning cycle ran out and the beds automatically clicked off.
Slowly they rose to their feet, checked one another closely for signs of the bugs, then gradually began to break into relieved smiles.

It was over.

They returned to the cabin and quickly burned the T-shirts!

"Good riddance!" said Dave, as the fire hissed, burned and popped in the brick-built BBQ pit behind the cabin.

They fell inside and slumped together on the sofa, hugged and stared blankly at the TV.
The coverage was a lot calmer now, focused on the UV treatment messages and images of GM bugs popping and breaking up.

The family were exhausted. Drained. It felt like the day had gone on forever.
So they put the word out that the rest of the birthday celebrations were cancelled, and decided to have an early night.
Greg hugged his mom and then made his way up to his room, "At least I won't forget THIS birthday for a while!" he joked over his shoulder, shutting his room door.

Dave and Alison slowly made their way through to their bedroom and slumped onto the bed, and it's beautiful, comforting new sheets.
"Hmmmmmm, you can't beat the fresh feel of new sheets" purred Alison as she rolled over to turn out her bedside lamp.
"Yeah..." came the slightly less enthusiastic reply from Dave, as he reached out for his lamp switch, and caught sight of the packaging for the new sheets, now lying crumpled in the bedside trash bin;

"Quality Egyptian Cotton Bedsheets with U-V fade resistance Guaranteed!"

Dave slowly shut his heavy eyelids, and felt a slight itch in his leg as he turned off the light and said... "goodnight".

a reply to: Gordi The Drummer

All Right Gordy! Very Good addition to the main story!!! I like this!!!

ARRRRRGH!!! Well. (mutter mutter...poor kid...mutter mutter...poor parents...) You've creeped me out again. Luckily, I have the whole day to get over it!

peace,
AB

a reply to: AboveBoard

Sleep tight tonight AB!

...wait.... was that.. an itch???



G

DEFINITELY star and flag worthy! Definitely WRITER's STATUS worthy! I love a story that grabs you by the throat and doesn't let you come up for air till the last sentence. Definitely made my skin crawl (pun intended).

a reply to: AccessDenied

WOW!
Thank you so much AD.

I am..... speechless! (First time I've really tried anything like this!

Although I have "contributed" to the informal cooperative writing in
The SHED
and The SHED2

Maybe you'd like to check them out? LOL

Thanks again!
Gordi