These are my responses to the Writober prompt post Intense Fear of Phobias.
OctPoWriMo
Phobia’s Panic Cascades
Voices coming through the walls
too muffled and quiet to understand
like invisible webs across doorways
sticking to our cheeks and lips
start the silent pounding pulse
cold sweats moist upon flushed skin
and the cycle of slowly racing thoughts
of voices coming through the walls
Slithering snakes hiss along nerves
as spiders tickle our neck hairs
bringing blood-matted dog fur memories
too muffled and quiet to understand
Sudden gagging like unexpected cilantro
unnecessary systems shut down
tunnel vision narrows to only one escape
through invisible webs across doorways
Though we feel the squeeze of vivacious death
it will release to cleansing tears
leaving only fear’s residue
sticking to our cheeks and lips
Writober Flash Fiction
Phobias Reproduce Asexually Like Brain Parasites
The pictures of ravaged brain tissue in the pages of a book left open in Dr. Lee’s lab, horrified his grad student, Charles Benedict. As he turned the pages, he felt a sticky residue on his fingers. Dr. Lee must have been reading it on his lunch break, Charles thought. How could he stomach it?
Charles couldn’t get the images out of his head. They took residence and burrowed into his thoughts like the parasites that had caused all those diseased gyri and sulci. His sleep suffered from nightmares filled with giant fanged parasites trying to slip into his ear canals. Charles began avoiding water, washing with Purell, drinking alcohol and tonic.
But it wasn’t meningitis, or encephalitis that Charles needed to fear. Dr. Lee’s genetic experiment, designed to attack the and kill the invaders before they could cause any tissue damage, had been improperly stored, perhaps because Dr. Lee’s undetected brain worm was causing him to be careless. When the genetic mutation burst from Charles’s head—writhing, pulpy, all eyes and teeth—Charles was no longer afraid. He didn’t feel anything at all.
Halloween Photography Challenge
For today’s images, I got over my fear of the spider that’s been camped out in front of the pretty orange glass to the left of my front door. I got up really close, taking its picture with the different art filters built into my camera. The image above was taken with the “miniature left” filter. I just love how it captured the colors.
Experience Writing 