Outside the front door appeared the shadow, with the bugs inside it circling the cat. It meowed again, the sound of Cain’s voice echoing close by as it was attacked. It ran towards the door, scratching claws against it before falling, squealing as the bugs smothered it.

They slipped under the door, unaware by Cain as he stood by the stairs. The vibration of his movements gave him away, his shouting drawing the bugs closer to him. They watched, waiting for him to attempt the first step, his head pounding as he reached for the bannister. He gripped it until his knuckles glowed white, the other hand still stinking of blood and puke rubbing his eyes. He made it on step one, his balance steady, but as he stared awkwardly to the top knew it was going to be like climbing a mountain to reach it. He walked step two, three, and four with ease, but the fifth baffled him. He slumped, crashing his knees on the step, his hand letting go of the bannister as his head banged on step nine.

The bugs followed as he walked the rest of the stairs. They crept along the wall behind, but Cain was too drunk to notice. He stared at the clock on the landing wall, the time reading 00.15 when he scaled the last step. He laughed, acting like some form of hero upon staggering to his bedroom. He bumped into the door, his hand shaking as he reached the handle to open it. The room spun, almost making him puke again, but he breathed deeply, kicked the door shut and collapsed on the bed. He stared at the ceiling, watching shadows perform a kind of puppet show in his mind, his eyes closing to the sound of snoring.

The cloud crawled up the bed, the bugs leaving it to cover Cain’s body. Some clung to his face like a death mask, their feet itching his skin. He spluttered while scratching his face, but the bugs stung his lips to numb his mouth. He tried to scream, but fluid pumped through his body to leave him paralysed.

He felt bugs crawl inside his nostrils, leaving his mind fearing the worst after they bit into bone. Tears streamed from his eyes as his nose sank, his face swelling to turn his cheeks crimson. He shuddered, knowing where the bugs were heading, their razor-sharp teeth burrowing into the back of his eyes to pop them over his face. Sweat poured off him, the dark juice flowing down his cheeks like tears of blood.

The bugs appeared from the sockets, sliding down the sticky liquid like it was a water-slide to team up with the ones escaping his face. They attacked his body, dismembering him with the precision of a surgeon to leave body-parts resting on the bed like a jigsaw. 

 Abel finished off his drink, the noise upstairs silent to him. He lifted from his seat, his legs struggling to keep him upright. He squinted at the mess on the floor, the aroma of the puke reminding him of what Cain did. He staggered towards the door, holding his nose as he neared, but the closer he got to leaving the room, the further he seemed to be. He rubbed his head before focusing again, his feet finally going in the right direction.

“One in front of the other, one in front of the other,” he told himself.

He reached the door, his eyes closing as he left the room. He slapped himself in the face, staring at the stairs, a nervous smile etched across his mouth as he stumbled. He looked at the top after hearing a noise, his thoughts turning to Cain.

“Sorry if I woke you, brother.”

No more noises arrived as he walked up the stairs, but each one seemed harder than the last. He stood outside Cain’s room before falling back against the wall.

“Sorry!” he said again, placing a finger on his lips.

He leaned against the bedroom door, the sound of something dripping confusing him.

“Hey, I hope you’re not peeing on the floor,” he shouted, knocking on the door.

He waited for Cain to shout back but was left surprised after nothing arrived. He turned the handle, opened the door and froze, the sight of blood dripping from the side of the bed shocking him. Below it was Cain’s right leg, the boot still attached the reason for the loud noise.

“Cain!” was all he had time to say before bugs flew at him, sticking to him like he was a human flycatcher.

He swiped at them, feeling lost as to why there were so many. The drunken state he was in slowing the process for his mind to convince him he was in trouble. He smiled, thinking it was some kind of game, but the leg caught his eye again to quickly change his decision.

“Hey, Cain, what is going on?!” he screamed, as the bugs raced across his face. “You need to clean your…….”

They stung his mouth to rapidly end his words.

He lashed out more frequently, but they kept coming back. Panic hit him as his face became numb. He saw the bugs bite into him, the pain causing him to shake at speed to get rid of them. But they wouldn’t budge. He tired, his legs becoming heavy. He crashed down against the base of the door, his face bleeding, his heart pounding as more of them pounced.

One attacked his right ear, ripping away the bottom, while others avoided his swinging hands. Abel placed them over his face to avoid more attacks, but the bugs smothered them.

He was injected again, and again, but managed to rise before his body became stiff. He shook his face and hands violently to release the bugs, but some burrowed into his skin. He sobbed, desperate to get away, digging his fingernails inside the blood-soaked holes to try to capture them. But the more he tried, the more quickly they moved. He could feel them biting him, their hectic movements similar to that of a blood-crazed piranha.

His legs stiffened tight as bugs raced towards his eyes, his body falling like a cut-down tree. He hit the wall face first before rolling down the stairs, his neck broken as he landed.

The bugs scampered from beneath his skin, running over his body to wait for others to join them. The shadow floated down the stairs like a flying carpet, covering his body like a blanket. The bugs inside surgically dismembering him like his brother, carrying the body-parts away like ants carrying food. They waited for Cain’s body to appear. Other bugs brought it down the stairs, their movement quick. They all lined up before waiting for a signal to make their next move.

The cat’s body started to lift as insects burrowed underneath it, and, just like watching the characters of ‘Star Trek’, they, plus the other bugs vanished with pieces belonging to the brothers.