The sun was out and the weather was mildly humid. The mud pits had dried up in the summer heat and there was plenty of forgotten litter half buried. Little Blathers set his basket of utensils down on the ground and sat next to the mud pit. He ruffled through his basket and found a small shovel and a brush. He set them aside, adjusted his explorers hat and got to digging. He would visit this spot often as it was only a few steps away from his backyard, and was close enough to where his mom could keep an eye on him.
She'd always asked him to stay away from the mud to prevent his clothes from getting dirty. The dried mud pits were perfect because it minimized any dirt stains and he always made sure to keep his digging secret from his mother.
He proceeded with his routine of digging up old objects, brushing them off and then determining whether it was trash or treasure. Nearly all of them were deemed trash but every once in a while he would come across something of value.
Little Blathers noticed something hard like a rock but shiny like treasure poking out of the freshly dug ground. He dug around its perimeter and exposed a piece of metal. After some more brushing it was sticking out of the dirt he'd been excavating. He gave it a yank and it seemed to be coming loose. He moved some of the surrounding dirt away with his his shovel and gave it another tug. He pulled out a half rusted muffler. Treasure!
He brushed the remaining dirt off of it and admired his find. He had no idea exactly what it was or how it got there, but the find was exhilarating. He rotated it and inspected it with great curiosity. He gently set it next to his basket and inspected the empty hole where it was dug out of. Using some of the tools out of his basket, he dug some more and came across more pieces of metal, ones that resembled the muffler. He excitedly pulled them out of the dirt, which at its depth was now quite moist.
"Blathie, give me a hand with these clothes!" Called out his mother. She was in the yard collecting the semi damp clothes off of the clothing line, "This darn weather's making drying clothes so much harder." She looked around shielding her eyes from the sun, trying to spot Blathers. "Blathie? Where is that boy?"
She spotted a young Blathers on his knees in the mud pulling out hunks of rusty metal. With a gasp she called out to him again, "Blathers! What did I tell you about playing near the mud?"
Blathers was too occupied with his newly found treasure to notice his mother approaching from behind. He felt a sudden pull on the back of his shirt, "Good heavens! HOOT! Don't touch any of that!" She gave him a slap on the wrist and ordered him to get inside the house, "Wait until your father hears about this! The germs! You're covered in filth! I can't believe the germs you've dowsed yourself in!"
Blathers hadn't seen his mother that upset before. He didn't dare speak.
"You're forbidden to play with these ever again! Go wash up! My goodness, the germs!"
He quickly went inside and left his excavating tools behind, along with all his treasure. He knew he wouldn't be seeing any of them again.
After a quick bath he changes into some fresh clean clothes, clothing that was more acceptable by his mothers standards. He looked around at his tidy room, "Everything's clean, I should get some homework done!" He thought to himself.
He had a small personal desk across from his bed where he would complete all his school work. His mother was very demanding when it came to his grades, so he made sure to always have it complete before dinner. Maybe once his mother saw he'd finished todays homework, she would be more forgiving for his outdoor excursion.
The outdoor heat was getting into his bedroom so he thought it a good idea to shut the window. Before he shut it, however, he noticed something curious on the branches of the bushes just outside his bedroom window. It was something curious indeed. He inspected it for a while and looked over his shoulder to make sure his bedroom door was shut. The curious object looked silky and was smooth to the touch. His curiosity demanded to know more about the strange object on the branches, but he needed the window shut as he was letting the cool air conditioned air out. He snapped the branches off and shut his window.
"What could this be? Strange treasure?" He pondered. As he inspected the object, his focus was broken by something moving that he caught through the corner of his eye. He turned to face it but there was nothing there. He shrugged and moved the branch to his desk to continue his observations. Such a peculiar object. Silky, soft, and growing on a branch. Or perhaps it was left in the bushes and the heat melted it to the branches.
As he continued to ponder there was a knock on his door, "Blathers, you in there?" his dad called.
"Yes, hello father." Blathers said as he opened the door only slightly, "I'm just working on some homework at the moment."
"I just wanted to know if you had any dirty laundry, son."
"None in here!"
His father left him to continue working on his homework and Blathers shut the door. Just then he saw another movement in the corner of his eye. He was sure he saw something this time. Something moving across the bedroom floor. Blathers ignored it once more and returned to his desk to continue inspecting the object lodged on the branches. Almost immediately as he sat down, the object budged. He looked at it a bit closer to make sure what he saw was correct. It was. The object was starting to move. His enthusiastic curiosity was slowly dwindling away. He started feeling a bit nervous.
Now he saw the movement on the floor again, but this time he got a perfect view of what it was. It was a mantis. He locked eyes with it and he felt as if it looked right into his very soul. The object on the branches hatched and without warning, thousands of baby mantis rushed out of it. His desk was absolutely covered with an army of baby mantis, all rushing towards him. He his chest tightened and his heart skipped a beat. Attempting to leap out of the way, he fell back in his chair and the swarm of freshly hatched mantis all drop onto him.
Blathers' vision became hazy and he let out a piercing shriek that filled the entire house.
----- Author's Note -----
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