averygoodun42 | Apropos Dream

Last night I dreamt we were visiting a school for some reason involving my parents. As we were touring the facility, we came upon a bug. A big bug. A big, weird, scary-looking bug. Our tour guide, Lisa, saw it and picked it up off the banister and tucked it into her bag, excitedly saying, "Oh wow, that's a rare one!"

Her enthusiasm made me curious as to what kind of bug it was, but by then, it was safely out of sight. I figured I could ask her later for a peek.

Meanwhile, we wandered around. Soon, though, whispers of a disease reached our ears and we decided it might be time to leave. And that's when we saw them. More big, weird, scary-looking bugs. At first it was just one or two, but as we walked around, more and more appeared.

At first, I thought they were scorpions. They had distinct, articulated bodies, with a long, tapered tail, but when someone (me?) picked one up, their structure became malleable, like a leech.

We decided it would be best to just avoid them, but it was becoming more and more difficult. They were everywhere. Some were huge, as big as a hand, while others were just babies. All of them, however, creeped around looking for food.

I became concerned that the infestation couldn't be good for the people in the hospital wing. Geoff was in there getting tests done for the flu symptoms he was suffering, but at ever corner there were more bugs, and it became apparent that it was too late for them. Those who could leave needed to just leave.

I went to my room to pack up and found the floor crawling with the bugs. They were fairly slow moving, so it was easy to avoid the ones on the floor, but I brushed against a doorjamb and found one of them on my arm. As I pulled it off me, I saw it must be part leech, because there was a bloody spot on my right elbow where it had been sitting.

Some people were content to just avoid the leechions, saying that they saw how the bugs like the cool air of the air-conditioned rooms. Turn off the ac, and they'd avoid you. And it was true, but I couldn't live like that. I would be miserable. I needed to get away from the infestation site.

I ended up leaving without my stuff. I walked out of the dorm hall into the light of day. People were everywhere, though most were going to the underground theater. I decided I would prefer to remain outdoors where it was sure to be bug-free.