Read "Weirder Than Weird" 18 Bizarre Tales From a Disturbed Mind Page 31
“I struggled my way back up the rope and headed for the tower itself. I wanted to take a few more pictures for my book, which would include the interior of the tower as well as my old jail cell. My motivation for coming back had always been, first and foremost, the destruction of the creature, but I also had my friend Carlos in mind. I fully intended to give him a proper burial; perhaps that would help him find everlasting peace.
“I made my way up the winding stairs and entered my old room. I was, of course, a bit apprehensive about returning but my nemesis was now dead and I knew that I had nothing left to fear. I called out for Carlos a number of times but he didn’t answer. This wasn’t unusual and I thought that it might be for the best; after all, I wasn’t looking forward to explaining to him that he was actually dead!
“I stepped into my old cell and walked over to the window. The daylight was fading fast and I pulled my camera out to get one good picture of the tree. I suppose my adrenaline was finally wearing off because my shoulder began to ache terribly. I obviously lost a good deal of blood and suddenly felt light headed and extremely weary. I decided to lay down for a while in the hay, just to take a quick nap and recover my strength.
“I quickly floated off into a wonderful dream where I found myself back in my hometown playing a game of baseball with my childhood friends. It was my turn at bat and I stepped up to the plate, feeling extremely happy and sporting a huge grin. I looked down and tapped my bat against the plate, but saw that it was covered in dirt so I asked the umpire to clean it off. He dutifully bent down with his small whisk broom and moved it back and forth across the plate. It made a strange scratching sound that, for some reason, started my heart racing. While he was bent over I could hear him mumbling to himself the same words over and over in rhythm with the brush strokes. His intonations were indistinct at first but to my horror, I soon recognized the words, ‘FEED! FEED! FEED! FEED!’ When he finally looked up at me, I reeled back in terror because I could see that he wore the same ghastly face of the Praying Mantis!
“I awoke with a scream and jerked to a sitting position. I took in a deep breath. It was all just a dream. Or was it? I say this because the scratching noise never stopped and I was still hearing the words ‘FEED! FEED!’ I slowly lifted my eyes to the window and at that second, all the life seemed to drain out of me, for there outside was the same Praying Mantis creature frantically scraping away at the mortar that surrounded the last remaining bar. Only, this one was a female!
“If my mind hadn’t been so damaged by the sheer terror of it all I could have easily ran from the room to safety, but I seemed to be frozen in place. There came a violent wrenching of the last bar and the creature slithered its way into the room and toward me. What little existing sanity left to me completely evaporated in those final few moments of my life, for amidst my screams and struggles, I clearly heard my old friend Carlos yell out in a loud voice, ‘Please, Senior Wilson… You are making enough noise to wake the dead!’
“At hearing this, I was reduced to a fit of hysterical and uncontrollable laughter, even as I was being helplessly dragged through the window. A few moments later, I found myself at the creature’s nest. She tossed me through the opening and I tumbled into blackness. I was still laughing when out of that darkness, hundreds of tiny yellow eyes popped into existence. I could sense the she-creature standing victoriously over me and in her fell insect voice, I heard her say, ‘FEED CHILDREN FEED!’ That’s when the laughter stopped and the screaming—Oh God, the screaming!
IN THE COMPANY OF GEESE
When a flock of geese fly overhead, do you ever wonder what all that squawking is about? I do. That’s why I decided to give my own weird interpretation as to what it is they might be saying. Like all of us, I’m sure they struggle with everyday problems and are probably a bit dopey and smart-alecky as well. And really, who’s to say I’m wrong?