{"id":261,"date":"2017-07-08T17:22:12","date_gmt":"2017-07-08T17:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/?p=261"},"modified":"2022-10-26T10:23:53","modified_gmt":"2022-10-26T10:23:53","slug":"specks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/specks\/","title":{"rendered":"Specks"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Joe Stanley<\/span><\/p>\n

T<\/span>HE INTERIOR WAS IN ORDER, unlike the exterior. Given its remoteness and few (if any) visitors, however, its state was understandable. <\/span>My uncle’s life was a sad and lonely one. He saw me as the child he never had. I could barely recall him, but he had named me his heir.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps he knew how much alike we were. I also enjoyed long spans of solitude, as far from the world as I could manage. Lonely souls seem to recognize each other, but we give no more than a nod and then move on.<\/span><\/p>\n

This place would suit me perfectly. It was filled with the treasures of a learned and well-adventured man. Each room was a museum that granted me hours of wonder.<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, I often felt a presence while I wandered. In his study especially, I felt driven away by unseen eyes. For a time, I avoided that uncanny place.<\/span><\/p>\n

One sleepless night, I set out to conquer that puerile fear.<\/span><\/p>\n

He kept many journals with copious, scrawled notes. The difficulty of deciphering his handwriting was formidable, but the words uncovered made me weep.<\/span><\/p>\n

It seems that he lost his mind near the end of his life. In light of this, his disappearance was all the more tragic. At least it made more sense.<\/span><\/p>\n

Continuing my search, I found a strange pair of spectacles in his desk. They were more than lenses and a frame, sporting odd electronics or machinery. Trying them on, I found them quite blurry, but a knob allowed them to be focused.<\/span><\/p>\n

A glimpse around the room was quite a different experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

Certain things jumped out. Some were bathed in darkness, others seemed vivid, nearly luminescent. For a considerable time, I examined everything around me.<\/span><\/p>\n

The lenses tired my eyes and gave me a headache. Absently, I stuck them in my pocket to scour the countless journals for any notes about them.<\/span><\/p>\n

As I worked, I discovered that one of the bookshelves concealed a door. Beyond it, a staircase spiraled down into darkness. Finding a candle and matches, I soon had it burning and slowly descended the steps.<\/span><\/p>\n

A large room spread out around me. Part was beneath the house and the remainder stretched on away from it. A fuse box near the bottom of the stairs flooded the cavernous chamber with light when I threw that venerable switch.<\/span><\/p>\n

There were many benches covered in tools and the dust of years. But the center of this space captured my attention immediately.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some bizarre contraption surrounded an arch of stone, apparently attached to it. This arch stood separate from any wall.<\/span><\/p>\n

Seeing a control panel, I examined the dusty labels until I found a great button labeled ‘power.’ At the press of my thumb, it roared to life with a thundering raucous.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instantly, I became aware of warm air. I would have thought I stood on a tropical beach instead of in that dusty vault. I began to fear the machine was burning.<\/span><\/p>\n

A strange sense of presence confronted me again. I was certain that someone else stood with me, but all around, I saw nothing. I began to itch all over, maddeningly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Suddenly, one of the light bulbs popped.<\/span><\/p>\n

I scrambled to shut the machine down and panicked as the power button had no effect. Thankfully, I recalled the fuse box and threw the switch.<\/span><\/p>\n

The machine fell silent and the lights went out, leaving me in darkness. I stumbled up the stairs scratching.<\/span><\/p>\n

With the door sealed and concealed again, I examined my arms and hands and found them speckled with tiny, red welts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Somehow, I must have blundered into a nest of spiders or mites. The thought of countless, tiny things crawling all over me drove me to the shower. The water was so soothing that I sat down and filled the tub.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was thinking of hiring an exterminator when something caught my attention.<\/span><\/p>\n

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a strange, blurry speck. When I looked, there was nothing. As I settled back into the tub, I saw it again, zipping across the floor.<\/span><\/p>\n

Again, when I looked, there was nothing. I waited, and, as nothing further happened, I put it out of mind.<\/span><\/p>\n

While dressing, I recalled the spectacles and my task of sifting through the journals. The sun was up, and, though I was exhausted, I decided to press on.<\/span><\/p>\n

While reading, I felt another bite. I searched but the culprit escaped me. I was on the edge of exasperation when I saw, in my periphery, another small, blurry speck.<\/span><\/p>\n

Slipping on the spectacles, I was astounded.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some small kidney or bean-shaped creature crawled along the floor. The cleft was pointed up and it went about on no fewer than nine spindly and multi-jointed legs. Using an empty jar, I captured this… bug.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Removing the glasses, it vanished, leaving an apparently empty jar. Through the lenses, I could see it plainly.<\/span><\/p>\n

If this had been the biting creature, I wondered at the condition of the vault. With glasses ready and a lamp, I descended the stairs.<\/span><\/p>\n

The walls, floor, and ceiling were covered in quivering beans.<\/span><\/p>\n

Grabbing a board, I set about smashing every one I found. Many jumped on me, biting, but now I could see them!<\/span><\/p>\n

Catching my breath, I turned to the arch.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now that I knew what it was, the ravings of my uncle didn’t seem so far-fetched. I moved in to inspect it.<\/span><\/p>\n

But, in the dusty floor, I found tracks leading away into the darkness. These were not the tracks of anything tiny. As I estimated its size, something scuttled slowly toward me.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was right, it was the size of a couch.<\/span><\/p>\n

They were mentioned in my uncle’s notes. Without their warm environment, they cannot last long. This is no comfort to me.<\/span><\/p>\n

As I look at the countless tiny specks that cover me, I ponder his observation:<\/span><\/p>\n

They do not bite to feed, but to lay their eggs.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

-end-<\/span><\/p>\n

back to previous episode<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0 forward to next episode<\/a><\/p>\n

back to list of stories<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Joe Stanley THE INTERIOR WAS IN ORDER, unlike the exterior. Given its remoteness and few (if any) visitors, however, its state was understandable. My uncle’s life was a sad and lonely one. He saw me as the child he never had. I could barely recall him, but he had named me his heir. Perhaps […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[113],"tags":[8,129],"class_list":["post-261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-joe-stanley","tag-joe-stanley","tag-specks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2741,"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261\/revisions\/2741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}