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"Ants"

Pests, the unwanted guests of the home. Once trespassed, they seem nearly impossible to get rid of. You waste money trying to fight something that seems immortal. But what if you were somehow successful in your attempt to get rid of them. You've gotten rid of the only reason they entered your home for. But what if their anger drives them to a twisted revenge?

I closed my apartment door and plopped my beach bag down on the floor beside me. It may have toppled over, causing some of the items within to roll out. I didn't care all too much. Sure, I missed the time I spent with my friends at the lake, but I was tired more than anything.
My friends and I had gone camping overnight by the lake. We'd rented out a canoe and planned taking it out on the water. Me and both my friends took on the water, leaving one behind in the sand. I lost count of how many times we'd almost hit something but luckily steered clear of the obstacles. Reflecting on it now, the time spent out there was the best time I'd had in months.
Working an exhausting amount of hours every other day takes a lot out of you, driving your mind into a repetitious state of tiredness. All you want to do is sleep, you don't even care about eating. It eventually becomes a fight in staying awake, tearing you from your reality. The cycle is a nightmare and nearly impossible to escape from.
I sat down on my couch and turned on my television in hopes of escaping the stress in my mind. As soon as I turned the TV on, I saw a thin string of black coming down in a curved line from the ceiling. That wasn't there before, I thought. I moved closer and my heart nearly dropped when I saw what it was, ants.
I quickly grabbed a paper towel from the kitchen and swatted at them, smashing most of them. I lifted the paper towel to find that they had all scattered, going off in different directions. I was lucky and smashed a few of them until there were none in sight.
Great, I thought. I'm gone for a few days and now there is an ant infestation. If my landlord came in here and saw them, it would mean the end of my lease. There's too strict of a pest rule in this apartment complex for something like this to happen.
I made my way into the kitchen and wiped down all my countertops, swept and vacuumed every floor in the house, and by nightfall, bagged up everything the ants could get into. I finished the day off by bagging up the trash and tossing it in the dumpster.
After the long day, I was surprised to find very few ants crawling around. Of course if I ever came across any I smashed them with my free hand until there was nothing left.
I yawned and turned off my television. I had it playing in the background because without it, the silence of the apartment was deafening. I made my way into my bedroom and turned on my lava lamp before crawling into bed. I don't know what it is, the idea of sleeping in a completely dark room bothers me.
I closed my eyes after an exhausting day and drifted to sleep.

I was back at the beach with my friends. We were all laying on our towels and baking in the sun. There were a handful of people running around, some kids screaming with their parents telling them to slow down. It was a bit of a hilarity to me.
One of my friends took off their sunglasses, revealing a faint pale outline of them imprinted on his face. He suggested we all go for a swim. I considered it. After all, it was hot and the water felt like the best way to cool down.
I followed them all out to the water. Upon entering, the coolness was just the relief I needed to escape the blistering sun. I swam out a little further to meet them. As I swam my legs began to feel itchy. I assumed it to be the sudden cold hitting my sunburnt legs.
Swimming out even further, the itching on my legs turned into a burning. I needed to get out. The water was too murky to see what was going on with them.

I awoke, scratching at my legs. Perhaps a remnant of the dream I'd just had, carrying over briefly into reality. I pulled back the covers, expecting to see red patches. Instead there was a mass of ants piled onto my legs to packed that it seemed my legs were completely black.
I swatted them away, killing many with each swipe. I turned my attention back to my legs, which were picked dry by the ants, clean down to the bone.

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