Fragmented
By Todd LeDoux

I'll never forget the fear I felt.
My eyes opened to an unfamiliar sight.
I was in my bed
peering outward from my cover;
a strange creature was resting on the foot of my bed.
What is it?
What is it doing?
I watched in horror as it flinched with rhythmic movements.
I was frozen in fright.

It seemed to have small shells,
like a crustacean, covering its extremities.
It had 5 divisions, separating each flinching limb.
Its color was familiar.

My heart was pounding.
I had to do something.
I had to get rid of it before it...it um...
bit me or pinched me?

I reached for the baseball bat lodged between my bed and the table.
Slowly I got into position, reared back, and WHAM!!!
At that moment I felt the worst pain I had ever felt.
I didn't see the creature get away
I jumped out of bed and on to my feet.
My right foot was throbbing with unimaginable pain.
I looked down at my foot
my toes were smashed and broken, as if they had been slammed in a car door.
F**K! I can't f**king believe it,
that f**king mother f**ker bit me
and ran away.

Writing can be like sex, you start out with a bottom line desire to fulfill a need, then you become overwhelmed with sensation until you reach your limit and blow your linguistic load...then you do it all over again, each time hopefully increasing your effectiveness and creativity.