by Maggie D. Brace

Blindly, my capitulum squirms, seeking the sweet spot as I splay my grasping palps upon this hairy creature. Sensing throbbing hot blood, I gnash my chelicerae, slicing a channel into moist flesh. Legs akimbo, I jut my torso at an angle, lower my hypostome, and begin to satiate myself. I eject the anticoagulants that suppress all defences. For days, I alternate between feeding and pulsing out my toxin filled spittle. Slavering onward, I trace the life-giving juices transverse my foregut, as my body slowly engorges. Satiated, I release. Dropping downward, I can only pity the paralysed hiker’s throes of death.

Maggie D. Brace

Maggie D Brace, a life-long denizen of Maryland, teacher, gardener, basketball player and author attended St. Mary’s College, where she met her soulmate, and Loyola University, Maryland.  She has written ‘Tis Himself: The Tale of Finn MacCool and Grammy’s Glasses, and has multiple short works and poems in various anthologies.  She remains a humble scrivener and avid reader.