Brown Spots

May 25th, 2017.

I think there’s something growing in my bathroom. I live in what can best be described as a town house with my parents, brother, and cat. My room’s on the second floor, as is my brother’s, and we have a small bathroom, along with an office, on the same floor. Recently, I’ve started noticing little, brown specks on my shower walls. Considering that I have my back facing the wall where the specks mostly appear, I assumed it was my hair conditioner, which is also brown. But at the same time, the specks on the wall are darker than my conditioner. Mold or fungus, maybe? Maybe it’s just my brother being a dick and trying to prank me. It wouldn’t be the first time.

May 27th, 2017.

Okay, so the specks are still showing up in the shower stall, even though I clean the hell out of those walls whenever I see them. I don’t know why, but if I’m in the bathroom and see something dirty like the sink or shower, I absolutely have to clean it then and there. Probably because I’ll forget until the next time I walk in there. Nothing that some wipes and bleach can’t fix, right? If this is a prank by my brother, I’ll give him kudos. Usually, he doesn’t have the patience to make these kind of things last for more than a day.

June 9th, 2017.

… I’m starting to think this isn’t just limited to my bathroom now. I went downstairs to take two Benadryl pills, because I have a horrible case of insomnia and can’t sleep without them. Nyquil won’t even do the trick. Anyway, while I have that and a teacup of water in hand, I flicked the light on and noticed little, brown specks on the wall next to the switch. Needless to say, I didn’t fancy seeing that and cleaned the little turds away. I’m getting sick of seeing these brown specks, and I’m going to get on my brother’s case about it.

June 10th, 2017.

My brother’s not the one who’s making this happen. He might be a goofball, but he’s one of the most honest people I know. I pestered him about these brown dots, and he told me that he thought I was the one making them. He even started getting a little annoyed by my accusations towards him and shut the door in my face. The dots aren’t even that big, but they’re annoying as hell.

June 12th, 2017.

My cat won’t even go near the bathroom anymore. She used to love drinking out of the sink. It was a tough habit to break, because she’s spoiled rotten. But there were more times than I can count where she would just sit on the left side of the sink and would drink out of it while I was in the shower. Weird, I know, but I guess she liked being near me so to make sure I wouldn’t slip or something. Now, she avoids the bathroom as if it was me getting asked by my boss to stay late at work. If I try to coax her into the bathroom, she’ll either bolt into my room, or her fur will stand up. I’ve listened to enough of these stories to know that’s a bad sign, especially since she loves drinking from other faucets.

June 13th, 2017.

Bugs! It’s bugs! Thousands of them! I don’t know what kind, but they’re ugly as sin and won’t stop coming. I can’t find where they’re originating from, but for someone with a terrible case of Entomophobia, this is keeping me awake at all hours. I wanted to nap so badly today, but I know I saw a stink bug crawling along the floor. Anything that small with more than four legs will send me into a panic because of a traumatic reason from my past. You’ll probably laugh, but when I was in the second grade, I believe it was, the kids in the grade above me one day decided to wait until our daycare class was outside to hold a Daddy Longleg in front of my face. The way it wriggled and moved its legs was enough to give me a horrible panic attack, especially with how close it was to me. I was sitting next to the teacher’s aid when this happened, so I very vividly remember clinging to her arm and crying my little heart out. She scolded the kids and took a good ten minutes to calm me down. So seeing these bugs everywhere and not knowing where they’re coming from is a huge problem for me.

June 15th, 2017.

They’re not just in the bathroom, they’re in the kitchen. My cat hunts bugs, but even she won’t touch these fuckers. It’s getting to the point where I firmly believe hairspray and a torch of some kind will solve the problem. My parents are just as concerned and upset as I am, as mom hates creepy crawlies.

June 19th, 2017.

The bugs have cut the power. I’m using my phone to write this. I can hear them flicking their wings and crawling about. We tried opening the windows earlier, thinking they’d go away. Nope. More came. If the bugs don’t run us out of here, the home owner’s association will. I’m terrified. I’m crying. I don’t do well with bugs. I saw a wasp nest outside my window earlier and it took my dad and brother to keep me standing up, because I nearly fainted. Mom’s just as traumatized as I am, and she’s been more pale than a toilet seat because of this.

June 20th, 2017.

Pest Control can’t do jack shit here. We’ve called them many a time in the past because bugs, spiders, and slugs kept getting into the house somehow. But now I know. Now. I. Know. It’s the dots. This shit only started when the brown specks in the shower and kitchen became more prevalent. Oh, and boarding the windows and doors doesn’t help. The termites just gnaw their way through! Moths do the same thing with bed sheets being put under the doors. I haven’t slept in days, because I keep hearing them crawling or flying. I don’t want to fall asleep and wake up with a grasshopper in my throat or something. This is the last of my phone’s battery. Someone… send help please. Burn this house to the ground, send in the CDC, do anything it takes.

June 22nd, 2017.

This morning, the phone rang at the station. One of the town houses from across the street of the department had been eerily silent, which is apparently exceptionally out of character for anyone of that household. Officer Nottingham was sent in to check on the family, but when he didn’t receive a reply of any kind, despite both of the cars being parked outside, the neighbor who had placed the call provided a spare key. Oh my god… this was something straight out of The Candyman movie. Bugs of all kinds were swarming the interior. Four human bodies were found in different areas of the house, along with one belonging to what looked like a house cat. These bodies… they looked like they were devoured. Skin barely clung to them, dry blood was everywhere, and bugs of every kind were feasting. I won’t go into any more detail. Don’t make me do it.

Officer Nottingham called for back up and within an hour, several squad cars were parked outside of the residence and police tape was wrapped all around the building. While interviewing the neighbors, all of which the household got along with, every one stated that the family hadn’t even lived there for a year yet. No one was aware of where the bugs came from, but pesticides were sprayed out the ass, I’ll say that much. I pity Officer Nottingham. He had to go in there and saw everything. You don’t forget that kind of thing. This is Officer Watkins, and I’ll be filing more reports whenever I can.

June 23rd, 2017.

Officer Watkins again. No one could find a crack or hole anywhere for the bugs to come into the home. Could that many even manage to get in all at once? No, that’s impossible. I’ve updated family members about the deaths, but left out all of the gruesome details. One thing I’ve noticed, however… are these sudden brown spots appearing on mine and Officer Nottingham’s personal items. Clothing, cars, phones, you name it. Probably just a weird type of mold.

Credit: Laura Kent