The prompt is: The exterminator’s job is to fumigate and prevent the destruction of homes by termites and other pests, but one day those pests are able to speak with the Exterminator, with new voices the Exterminator can understand... how will they continue their job? Will they continue their job

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“So you’ll be back in three days?” I asked the homeowner.

A woman who stood in front of her car turned toward me. She had been trying to quiet her children, who were busy beating on each other because one had taken the bite of the other’s popsicle. Their racket even attracted the eyes of the jogger on the other side of the street. It was even more impressive, given the fact she had earbuds embedded in her ears. 

“Yeah, we will. Is that too short?” The woman asked.

I shook my head. “No ma’am. I’m the best in the state. It would be a miracle if I don’t even have this done by the end of the first day.” 

The woman smiled so brightly that it could have blinded me if I looked directly at her. I crave the smiles of the customers I help out. My job is one that people don’t think of all the time when someone thinks of jobs that save people’s lives. An exterminator would probably be at the end of that list, if it was even on the list to begin with. Anytime I see the smiles of my customers, it gives a warm feeling in my stomach.

“Well, I can only hope that the best is even enough.” The woman whispered under her breath.

“Do you doubt my skills?” I chuckled.

The woman gasped as if she didn’t expect that I’d hear her. “It’s not that. It’s just that, well,” the woman scratched the back of her neck. “I’m a special case.”

“Yes ma’am, I heard about the case from my boss.” 

I looked at the report my boss gave me early morning the day prior. According to the client, her house was an interesting case. Apparently, her home was infested with all different kinds of bugs. Insects and arachnids seemed to get along for the first time in a while, just for the sole purpose of terrorizing this family. From termites to brown recluses, and a ton of bugs in between, her house was filled from top to bottom.

One day, her son woke up feeling sick. When his mother put him in a warm bath, she found the possible cause. On his back, at the base of his neck, were two small holes right next to each other. Right away, she recognized the spider bites and took him to the hospital straight after. 

Before that incident, she just ignored all the bugs in her home, intending to uncomfortably coexist with the six and eight-legged creatures. The bite was the final straw, and that’s why she contacted us. 

“I know your situation. Trust me, I’ll deal with it in no time flat.” 

I could have sworn there were tears coming from the woman’s eyes, but before I could confirm it, she had already straightened herself up. 

“Alright then, I’m heading out now. Thank you for this.” 

“No problem ma’am.”

The woman got in her car and started the engine. She drove out of her driveway, leaving me by myself in front of an infamous sounding house. As soon as her car disappeared down the road, I got to work right away. Before I set up the tent to surround the house, I needed to investigate the home. I needed to know the places in the home with the greatest buildup of bugs before placing in the bombs.

I entered the home with a plan of the house in hand. It was a normal one-story house that radiated suburban energy. As soon as someone enters the house, they’d find themselves in the living room. Directly in front of them, as soon as they walk in, is a sizable kitchen and dining room. Turning immediately right as soon as they enter the kitchen, they’ll find themselves staring at a laundry room where a washer and dryer sat side by side. To the right from there is the backdoor that leads to the fenced-in backyard.

Backing up back to the living room, if a person were to walk in, and instead of looking straight ahead, they’d look to their left and find a hallway. Down the hallway were several rooms lining the corridor. There was one room to the left of the hallway, and on the right side was a bathroom and closet. At the very end of the hallway was the master bedroom, but if they were to turn to their left, they’ll find two more rooms. 

As soon as I entered the living room, I began searching around. Just on a surface level inspection, there didn’t seem to be any sign of bugs. There was an occasional roach here and there, but nothing to fear all that much. 

However, as the skilled and experienced exterminist I am, I knew exactly where to look to find the jackpot. Right away, I made my way to the TV and looked behind it. Thanks to the shadow, there wasn’t much to see. When I brought out my flashlight, the story changed drastically. The light turned on and right away I could see several dead and alive roaches, termites, and ants. Sitting on their webs were three different spiders. 

Once my light hit their little bug eyes, they looked at me and ran away. Some stayed behind and continued to stare at me or mind their own business. A clumsy roach accidentally crawled into one of the spider webs, and immediately, the spider raced toward its prey. 

I looked away from the back of the TV, but my attention was drawn back to it. I thought I heard a ringing coming from the TV. I shine my light again and see the roach already covered in death web. Digging into my knowledge of spiders, I know that it’ll let the roach rest for a few hours before it sinks its fangs into the poor creature’s carapace. 

Humming to myself, I look around the living room a bit longer. I found a few more insect ridden places. Under the couch was the worst spot as I spotted around three different species of spider living under it, and one of them had an extremely painful bite. It didn’t have enough poison to kill, but if it bit a small child, it would make them sick. It was probably the one that bit the son that time. 

Making my way to the kitchen, I immediately approach the cabinets. Insects love dank and dark places that would give people an intense sense of claustrophobia. As soon as I open the cabinet, I expected to find an immeasurable amount of bugs crawling on the walls and contents within. Strangely enough, I see nothing. I turn my gaze to the door itself, and I spot a large centipede wriggling along the inside of the door. 

I shout and back away. The centipede stays on the door but it nearly fell off itself thanks to me tossing the door aside. Out of everything here, why was there a centipede? Not only are they not common in this state, but out of any bug that I’ve seen, centipedes are the ones that freak me out the most. 

I took a deep breath and looked back at the centipede. It stared at me. I just knew it. Putting my hand back on the handle, I shut the door and back away slowly. I keep my eyes on the cabinet door, expecting it to crawl out from the cracks, but nothing ever does.

I take a deep breath and make my way into the laundry room.

Intruder

Out of nowhere, I heard something speak. I turned around, but I saw nothing out of the ordinary. Not a single dust particle was out of place since I came in here, yet I was sure I heard something speak to me. I wasn’t exactly a religious person, but if this place turned out to be haunted, that wouldn’t stop me from completing my job. I’d just bring a cross with me the next day.

The laundry room was next, and of course I found nests and webs everywhere. Thanks to all the moisture coming from washing clothes, it transforms the room into an insect’s paradise. 

Intruder. Intruder.

Once again, I heard something speak to me, but no matter where I looked, I just couldn’t find where they were coming from. Leaving the laundry room, I make my way into the hallway. 

I turn on the hallway light, and right away I spot something interesting. On the ceiling, I spotted a hatch. I looked back at the floor plan, but the papers say and show nothing about there being an attic in the home. Most houses have attics, but if there was a way to get up there via a hatch or staircase, then the floor plan should have said something about it. 

Obviously, the attic would be the place with the most insects, so I decided to leave that for the end of the inspection. Instead, I headed to the room on the left. Opening the door, I noticed right away it’s the daughter’s room. The walls were painted blue and pink, and the daughter’s name was written in purple paint along the wall. 

It didn’t take long to find a bug utopia. The spiders became daring, and instead of hiding under the bed or in the closet like a child’s monster, they made webs along the corners of the walls. Another centipede crawled down the wall, and roaches crawled along the floor. I looked down and found a roach climbing up my legs, so I bent down and swiped it off me. 

Intruder.

Once again, another voice popped out of nowhere. And once again, I found no one else in the room with me. Either the woman was playing a prank on me and she hid a voice recorder somewhere in the house, or the house was actually haunted. 

I moved out of the room and headed into room after room. As I expected, the bathroom and closet were the most infested out of the entire house. I could barely take a step without stepping on a bug. Just like the other rooms, voices trailed behind me, and this time, instead of sounding as if they were speaking in the same room, it was almost like the voice came from my own mind.

The other two rooms were bedrooms. One was the son’s bedroom and the other one was a guest room. They both had around the same amount of bugs crawling around as the daughter’s room, so I checked them in my mind as a similar priority. All that was left to check was the master bedroom and the attic.

Opening the master bedroom door, I notice something strange right away. For first off, it was probably the dirtiest room in the entire house. I expected the room that the mother slept in would be the cleanest, but the children’s rooms were basically germ free compared to the master bedroom. 

Not only that, but there were almost zero bugs at first sight. With every room, I could spot at least a few bugs upon entrance, but this room seemed to be completely bug free. However, that was probably due to the fact they were buried under all the stuff thrown haphazardly around the room. 

Instead of inspecting, I just checked this room off as top priority and went to leave and enter the attic. Before I shut the door, the voices spoke again, but there was something different.

Intruder. Intruder. Intruder. 

Voices shouted all around me, filling my brain so full it all became white noise. I felt something crawling on my pants leg, and I looked down, only to find my legs completely overtaken by roaches, ants, and spiders. I screamed, only to look around and find centipedes crawling out from the walls and falling to the ground. 

My heart began pounding against my chest, trying to get a head start out the door. I decided to oblige my heart and began running out of the room. As soon as I stepped out of the room, the attic hatch burst open and the stairs leading up to the attic folded out and fell on the floor. Bugs crawled out of the attic and spilled onto the floor in heaps and droves. 

I screamed, which only attracted them to me. They began crawling up my shirt and into my clothes. Not only was I screaming from fear, but all the bugs that made contact with my bare skin began biting me. Their nimble little legs tickled my skin, prodding and poking until they found a good spot, then sank their fangs or stinger into my flesh. 

They began crawling onto my head, biting my face as well. My screams turned into nothing but gurgling and choking as they crawled their way into my mouth. Before they completely covered my eyes, I saw one last thing before my vision went black. 

The eyes of something inhuman stared back at me through the darkness of the attic.

***

A small boy walked down the motel hallway and opened the door to his room. Inside, his mother dropped to her knees and prayed to God. He couldn’t hear her, but her lips moved as if she were muttering something.

“Mom.” The boy called for her attention.

His mother didn’t move from her position. She continued to mutter her prayer to herself for a few seconds longer. Once she finished, she opened her eyes and turned toward her son.

“What is it?” She asked.

“Why do we bring someone in every year? It’s not like it fixed anything. All the bugs just come back.”

The mother smiled and brought her son closer. She hugged him, pinning his head to her breast and cuddled him as if he were the most precious treasure in the world. Her son groaned since he considered himself grown enough to not have to be hugged by his mother all the time. 

“Once you grow older, I’ll explain everything to you and your sister, alright.” She said. She let her son go and looked him in the eyes. “Now go to bed. We’re only staying here for a few days longer.”

Her son grumbled about unfair bedtimes were before heading out. The mother took a deep breath and returned to her prayer, muttering unhearable words under her breath.