Chapter 114: S#19. Good Morning Creeps (2)

I quietly packed a bone saw and anesthetic from the storage room.

An unexpected visitor stood at the counter when I emerged.

Black suit. Black sunglasses. Shoulders squared like they were stuffed with bricks.

It was Agent Frank from the FBI.

Frank puffed on a cigarette, exhaling acrid smoke repeatedly.

Zelda frowned. “Sir, smoking isn’t allowed in the pharmacy.”

“My apologies, miss. How rude of me.”

Instead of putting it out, Frank took a long drag.

In one inhale, the ember traveled from the tip to the brown filter. Ash fell with a soft plop.

Impressive lung capacity.

After swallowing the smoke, Frank glanced at me and smirked. “Summer, long time no see.”

“What brings you here? I thought you swore never to show up again.”

The alien abortion operation in Area 51 had somehow succeeded, wiping clean my criminal charges and the Hyper sisters’ illegal drug manufacturing charges.

That day, Frank himself declared I’d never have to deal with the FBI again.

So why was he at the pharmacy now?

“I’m here to consult an expert.”

“Consult?”

“You’re the expert, Summer. A Martian invasion has become reality.”

Martian invasion?

My head was already throbbing from the Strode mother-daughter duo and Hyper sisters’ confessions, and now this.

“An unidentified object from Mars is rapidly approaching Earth.”

“But why come to me? I’m no Mars expert.”

“That remains to be seen.”

Frank pulled out another cigarette.

I snatched and crumpled it, earning a slightly annoyed look.

He asked me about the Texas Nazi family.

I didn’t know what connection Mars and Nazis had, but I recounted everything from the desert without omission.

The sawshark attack. Nazi-face’s appearance. Entering the giant shark’s mouth and escaping by slicing open its belly…

Frank diligently jotted notes in his pad.

“Thanks for your cooperation, Summer. This has been very helpful.”

“Agent Frank, is this your usual line of work?”

“Yes. My main duty is emergency response to unidentified life forms or anomalous phenomena.”

“Then you must know a lot about strange creatures?”

Frank leaned in slightly. “I’ve encountered beings most people couldn’t even imagine. Many of them straight out of nightmares.”

He said this in a low voice.

Maybe he’d know about them.

The red worms that infested my nightmares. The worms likely controlling the Strode mother-daughter duo and Hyper sisters’ minds now.

“Then Agent Frank, let me ask you one thing.”

“By all means.”

“Do you know of any mollusks that invade human skulls?”

“…I know of an amoeba called ‘Naegleria fowleri’ that eats human brains, but-“

“No, it’s not just eating brains.”

“Then what?”

“For instance, causing delusions, making people fall in love…”

It was hard to explain since I hadn’t actually seen it.

Frank looked at me like I was insane. “I’ve never heard of anything like that.”

—
Raei  Translations
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I headed home after work.

A delicious aroma hit me as soon as I opened the front door.

My feet naturally drifted towards the kitchen, as if pulled by a magnet.

A feast was laid out on the table. A perfect gourmet spread with candles for ambiance.

Was it someone’s birthday today? Not Nancy’s, not Ellen’s.

I felt a bit thirsty.

After checking no one was around, I took a sip of wine from a glass.

A crisp flavor. Sweetness tapping on my tongue. How would it feel going down?

Just then, Nancy came down the stairs.

“PFFFFFFFFFFFT───────────!!!!!!!!!!”

I violently spat out the wine in my mouth.

Nancy’s makeup was heavier than usual. Her beauty shone under the lighting.

But that’s not why I spat out the wine.

It was because of Nancy’s outfit.

A dress with a plunging back. Not only did it reveal her slender back and smooth muscles, but the sides of her ample breasts were also fully exposed.

They say there’s a fine line between eros and beauty. I could see what that meant now.

“Summer… Why did you spit out the wine…?”

“Sorry… You just look really pretty today.”

It was an honest compliment.

Nancy paused mid-step. Her pale face flushed bright red.

I noticed she’d done her hair too. What was the reason for all this primping?

Just then, Ellen walked in from the living room.

“Nancy, what on earth are you wearing…!”

Ellen chided Nancy’s revealing outfit.

The daughter shot her mother an incredulous look. “Mom, what about you?”

Ellen wore a sports bra and short dolphin shorts.

It accentuated her healthy, slender figure. She was in no position to criticize Nancy’s clothes.

“I just worked out. I’m a bit sweaty~.”

Ellen nonchalantly replied as she sat at the table.

I took the seat next to her.

Ellen put a hair tie in her mouth and pulled her hair back. As she raised her arms, her smooth, sweat-dampened armpits were exposed.

It was somehow an erotic, provocative pose. I averted my gaze.

Nancy clicked her tongue at her mother, as if disgusted by the sight.

The mother-daughter tension was still ongoing.

“Summer. Have you decided?”

“I trust you’ll make the right choice.”

I decided to play dumb.

I tilted my head as if I had no idea what they meant, and both mother and daughter simultaneously grabbed knives.

Fearing for my life, I apologized.

“I’m sorry… But do we really have to do this? Can’t we just go back to how things were before?”

But the mother and daughter’s reactions were cold.

“Summer, are you an idiot?”

“How can we go back after we’ve kissed?”

“Hurry up and choose. Mom or me.”

At this point, there was no other choice.

I had to make a decision.

“My choice is…”

Nancy and Ellen focused intently on my lips for the answer.

But no answer came.

I pulled a damp handkerchief from my pocket and covered Ellen’s nose and mouth.

The liquid soaking the handkerchief was chloroform, an anesthetic I’d swiped from the pharmacy storage.

Ellen lost consciousness instantly.

Caught off guard by this unexpected turn, Nancy sitting across from me was stunned.

I reached out and covered her lower face too.

Nancy passed out and collapsed.

I brought some rope and tightly bound the mother and daughter’s arms and legs.

I hoisted their bodies onto my shoulders and carried them upstairs. I laid them on the bed in my room.

I went back downstairs and headed to the garage.

That’s where I had the kidnapped Hyper sisters.

Let’s rewind a bit.

After leaving work at the pharmacy, I escorted the Hyper sisters to their home.

But before going inside, Zelda and Hilda wanted my answer about their date proposal.

So I knocked them out.

The same method I used on the Strode mother and daughter. A chloroform-soaked handkerchief.

No one anticipated my sudden change. They were caught completely off guard.

“Phew…”

I carried the unconscious Hyper sisters up and laid them next to the mother and daughter.

The innocent, lovely women lying unconscious on the bed…

It felt like I’d committed an extremely heinous crime.

But it couldn’t be helped. This was all to save them.

As time passed, they started regaining consciousness one by one.

“Summer……?”

“W-what is this…?!”

I spoke calmly. “Listen carefully, everyone.”

I pulled out a scalpel I’d brought from the pharmacy storage.

“There are worms living in your heads. Red worms that look like slugs. Those worms are controlling your minds. We need to remove them right now.”

The sharp blade.

The color drained from the women’s faces.

“What the hell are you talking about…? Did you eat something weird?!”

“Summer, I’m fine!! There are no worms!!”

I shook my head.

The nightmare had shown me.

I had to eliminate the red worms.

As the corpse covered in red worms proved by opening its skull, they devour brains.

The Strode mother-daughter duo and Hyper sisters’ minds were warped because of the worms.

Otherwise, they’d never confess to a man like me.

I had to save them.

They were irreplaceable and precious to me.

I approached with the scalpel.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make the incision clean so there won’t be scars. Once I extract the worms from inside your skulls…”

“…Who are you?”

Suddenly, Nancy glared at me fiercely.

Flustered, I answered. “Who? …It’s me. Summer.”

“No, you’re not Summer.”

Nancy abruptly sat up and hurled herself at me.

A body slam.

Nancy’s weight is nearly triple mine.

I could have withstood or countered Nancy’s attack, but not wanting to hurt her, I simply fell backwards.

“Mom! Now’s our chance, jump!!”

Nancy urgently called out to Ellen.

But she said “jump” instead of “run.”

Ellen made a high jump from the bed. The spring’s elasticity propelled her head to the ceiling.

Her second jump’s landing point was on my fallen abdomen.

Ellen’s feet stomped on my stomach like a missile.

The impact made my insides churn…

“Ugh.”

My mouth flew open.

A red, slug-like worm shot out.

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