The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

The Worst Part 
by Elaine Pascale 

The worst part wasn’t that the spores had been identified in enough time to order evacuations. The government was fully aware of the infestation and of the devastation that the plumes would cause once they matured. The information was not released, allegedly to avoid panic.

The worst part wasn’t that the roads and highways that should have been escape routes were blocked. The citizens were told to shelter in place, to seal doors and windows, to gather supplies. If they procured less than they needed, if they let the mold seep into a forgotten vent, then that negligence was their responsibility. No one would be coming to help. It would be too dangerous to help.

The worst part wasn’t that the mold stung like electrified barbed wire as it traversed the sinuses into the lungs.  It traveled with such a speed and intensity that the smell of scorched flesh registered before the pain did. The suffering was the cause of the suffocation, which would be the name for the death written on the certificate after the invasion was over.  There was an anti-venom, but the government was not sure how to distribute it. Who should get it first? Most importantly, how much should it cost?

The worst part was that the victims were stacked like firewood, facedown to hide both the damage from the mold and the accusations in their eyes.

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Fiction © Copyright Elaine Pascale
Image courtesy of Pixaby.com

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