“
Once the travel bug bites there is no known antidote, and I know that I shall be happily infected until the end of my life
”
”
Michael Palin
“
Brigan," she said, annoyed that he had not understood.
"I’ll always be beautiful. Look at me. I have one hundred and sixty two bug bites, and has it made me any less beautiful? I’m missing two fingers and I have scars all over, but does anyone care? No! It just makes me more interesting! I’ll always be like this, stuck in this beautiful form, and you’ll have to deal with it."
He seemed to sense that she expected a grave response, but for the moment, he was incapable. "I suppose it’s a burden I must bear," he said, grinning.
”
”
Kristin Cashore (Fire (Graceling Realm, #2))
“
Think of me as the praying mantis of the supernatural world.
Aren't those the bugs that bite the heads off the males? Link looked skeptical.
Yes. Then they eat them
”
”
Kami Garcia (Beautiful Darkness (Caster Chronicles, #2))
“
I've just been bitten on the neck by a vampire... mosquito. Does that mean that when the night comes I will rise and be annoying?
”
”
Vera Nazarian
“
If Los Angeles is a woman reclining billboard model with collagen-puffed lips and silicone-inflated breasts, a woman in a magenta convertible with heart-shaped sunglasses and cotton candy hair; if Los Angeles is this woman, then the San Fernando Valley is her teenybopper sister. The teenybopper sister snaps bug stretchy pink bubbles over her tongue and checks her lipgloss in the rearview mirror, . . . Teeny plays the radio too loud and bites her nails, wondering if the glitter polish will poison her.
”
”
Francesca Lia Block (I Was a Teenage Fairy)
“
Sometimes I’d get mad because things didn’t work out so well, I’d spoil a flapjack, or slip in the snowfield while getting water, or one time my shovel went sailing down into the gorge, and I’d be so mad I’d want to bite the mountaintops and would come in the shack and kick the cupboard and hurt my toe. But let the mind beware, though the flesh be bugged, the circumstances of existence are pretty glorious.
”
”
Jack Kerouac (The Dharma Bums)
“
Daddy, you would say, look at my braids. Look at the worst bug bite ever. Look at my handstand, my eggroll dive, my finger painting. Look at my splinter, my spelling list, my somersault, the toad I found. Look at the present I made you, the grade I got, the acceptance letter. Look at the diploma, the ultrasound, your granddaughter. I couldn’t possibly remember all the things you’ve asked me to look at. I just remember that you asked.
”
”
Jodi Picoult (Vanishing Acts)
“
Emotions flickered in the amber depths, one after another, like lightning bugs winking on and off. Disgust. Anger. Mistrust. Suspicion. Curiosity.
”
”
Jennifer Estep (Spider's Bite (Elemental Assassin, #1))
“
Because scratching this particular itch would only spread it. This isn’t a bug bite. This is poison ivy.
”
”
Adriana Locke (Crank (The Gibson Boys, #1))
“
What’s all them blue jars for?” I whisper, “Vicks VapoRub. Daddy uses it for everything. Colds, bug bites, cuts, bee stings, dry skin, bruises, headaches, sore muscles.
”
”
Leah Weiss (All the Little Hopes)
“
What's the latest beast in your collection, I wonder?"
"Me." Metal clanged as Gabriel flipped the helmet's visor. "I'm her latest beast."
The Irving sisters choked on their laughter, then swallowed it hard.
He took a clanking step forward, towering over them. "Let me tell you, Lady Penelope has her hands full. I'm vicious. Untamed. I won't come to heel." He leaned forward, lowering his voice to a growl. "And I bite."
He turned, and- confronted with the wall of hedges- stormed through it like the Ottomans breaching the walls of Tyre. Once he'd cleared a path with his armored body, he extended a gauntlet, inviting Penny to follow.
She put her gloved hand in his shining one.
Rather than leading her through, he pulled her to him, slid his hand to her backside, and lifted her off her feet, keeping her slippers free of the trampled shrubs.
Her beast in shining armor.
As he carried her through the hedge, she waved farewell to the bug-eyed Irving sisters. "It's been lovely seeing you.
”
”
Tessa Dare (The Wallflower Wager (Girl Meets Duke, #3))
“
Travel experiences are emotionally loaded. Often there is excitement and stimulation. The tingle-factor though comes partly from the fact that we're stressed, just a little.
”
”
Jane Wilson-Howarth (The Essential Guide to Travel Health: Don't Let Bugs, Bites and Bowels Spoil Your Trip (Cadogan Guides))
“
with ringworm, lice bites, and a million bugs. Men so sick they are dying
”
”
Sebastian Barry (Days Without End (Days Without End, #1))
“
Good night, Owe,” she whispered.
“Good night, Red. Sleep tight. Don’t let the bedbugs bite.”
“You would have to mention bugs,” she muttered.
Owen laughed.
”
”
Joan Johnston (The Texan (Bitter Creek, #2))
“
The first glance at the pillow showed me a repulsive sentinel perched upon each end of it--cockroaches as large as peach leaves--fellows with long, quivering antennae and fiery, malignant eyes. They were grating their teeth like tobacco worms, and appeared to be dissatisfied about something. I had often heard that these reptiles were in the habit of eating off sleeping sailors' toe nails down to the quick, and I would not get in the bunk any more. I lay down on the floor. But a rat came and bothered me, and shortly afterward a procession of cockroaches arrived and camped in my hair. In a few moments the rooster was crowing with uncommon spirit and a party of fleas were throwing double somersaults about my person in the wildest disorder, and taking a bite every time they stuck. I was beginning to feel really annoyed. I got up and put my clothes on and went on deck.
The above is not overdrawn; it is a truthful sketch of inter-island schooner life.
”
”
Mark Twain (Roughing It)
“
I loved you enough to bug you about where you were going, with whom and what time you would get home. I loved you enough to insist you buy a bike with your own money even though we could afford it. I loved you enough to be silent and let you discover your friend was a creep. I loved you enough to make you return a Milky Way with a bite out of it to the drugstore and confess, “I stole this.” I loved you enough to stand over you for two hours while you cleaned your bedroom, a job that would have taken me 15 minutes. I loved you enough to say, “Yes, you can go to Disney World on Mother’s Day.” I loved you enough to let you see anger, disappointment, disgust and tears in my eyes. I loved you enough not to make excuses for your lack of respect or your bad manners. I loved you enough to admit that I was wrong and ask for your forgiveness. I loved you enough to ignore what every other mother did or said. I loved you enough to let you stumble, fall, hurt and fail. I loved you enough to let you assume the responsibility for your own actions at age 6, 10 or 16. I loved you enough to figure you would lie about the party being chaperoned but forgave you for it—after discovering I was right. I loved you enough to accept you for what you are, not what I wanted you to be. But, most of all, I loved you enough to say no when you hated me for it. That was the hardest part of all.
”
”
Erma Bombeck (Forever, Erma)
“
Then this other guy, the thirteenth guy, comes crashing right into me. Even with all that was going on I thought, Drug addict. He was pale and sweaty, stank like raw sewage, and had a glazed bug-eyed stare. Sick bastard even tried to bite me, but
”
”
Jonathan Maberry (Patient Zero (Joe Ledger, #1))
“
What's Toraf's favorite color?"
She shrugs. "Whatever I tell him it is."
I raise a brow at her. "Don't know, huh?"
She crosses her arms. "Who cares anyway? We're not painting his toenails."
"I think what's she's trying to say, honey bunches, is that maybe you should paint your nails his favorite color, to show him you're thinking about him," Rachel says, seasoning her words with tact.
Rayna sets her chin. "Emma doesn't paint her nails Galen's favorite color."
Startled that Galen has a favorite color and I don't know it, I say, "Uh, well, he doesn't like nail polish." That is to say, he's never mentioned it before.
When a brilliant smile lights up her whole face, I know I've been busted. "You don't know his favorite color!" she says, actually pointing at me.
"Yes, I do," I say, searching Rachel's face for the answer. She shrugs.
Rayna's smirk is the epitome of I know something you don't know. Smacking it off her face is my first reflex, but I hold back, as I always do, because of the kiss I shared with Toraf and the way it hurt her. Sometimes I catch her looking at me with that same expression she had on the beach, and I feel like fungus, even though she deserved it at the time.
Refusing to fold, I eye the buffet of nail polish scattered before me. Letting my fingers roam over the bottles, I shop the paints, hoping one of them stands out to me. To save my life, I can't think of any one color he wears more often. He doesn't have a favorite sport, so team colors are a no-go. Rachel picked his cars for him, so that's no help either. Biting my lip, I decide on an ocean blue.
"Emma! Now I'm just ashamed of myself," he says from the doorway. "How could you not know my favorite color?"
Startled, I drop the bottle back on the table. Since he's back so soon, I have to assume he didn't find what or who he wanted-and that he didn't hunt them for very long. Toraf materializes behind him, but Galen's shoulders are too broad to allow them both to stand in the doorway. Clearing my throat, I say, "I was just moving that bottle to get to the color I wanted."
Rayna is all but doing a victory dance with her eyes. "Which is?" she asks, full of vicious glee. Toraf pushes past Galen and plops down next to his tiny mate. She leans into him, eager for his kiss. "I missed you," she whispers.
"Not as much as I missed you," he tells her.
Galen and I exchange eye rolls as he walks around to prop himself on the table beside me, his wet shorts making a butt-shaped puddle on the expensive wood. "Go ahead, angelfish," he says, nodding toward the pile of polish.
If he's trying to give me a clue, he sucks at it. "Go" could mean green, I guess. "Ahead" could mean...I have no idea what that could mean. And angelfish come in all sorts of colors. Deciding he didn't encode any messages for me, I sigh and push away from the table to stand. "I don't know. We've never talked about it before."
Rayna slaps her knee in triumph. "Ha!"
Before I can pass by him, Galen grabs my wrist and pulls me to him, corralling me between his legs. Crushing his mouth to mine, he moves his hand to the small of my back and presses me into him. Since he's still shirtless and I'm in my bikini, there's a lot of bare flesh touching, which is a little more intimate than I'm used to with an audience. Still, the fire sears through me, scorching a path to the furthest, deepest parts of me. It takes every bit of grit I have not to wrap my arms around his neck.
Gently, I push my hands against his chest to end the kiss, which is something I never thought I'd do. Giving him a look that I hope conveys "inappropriate," I step back. I've spent enough time in their company to know without looking that Rayna's eyes are bugging out of their sockets and Toraf is grinning like a nutcracker doll. With any luck, Rachel didn't even see the kiss. Stealing a peek at her, she meets my gaze with openmouthed shock.
Okay, it looked as bad as I thought it did.
”
”
Anna Banks (Of Poseidon (The Syrena Legacy, #1))
“
Ledoux's face was pebbled with mosquito bites. Forget the Cutter's and that means every needle-nose bug in the woods spare-changing you for blood like cornerboy hustlers spotting a strung-out Kennedy trying to score on Seventh. Like you got plenty to give.
”
”
Daniel Woodrell (The Bayou Trilogy: Under the Bright Lights, Muscle for the Wing, and The Ones You Do)
“
I won’t even try to pretend to know what bugs think about during sex, but right about the time the male praying mantis is probably thinking that he’s quite the stud, the female does something pretty surprising. Yes, even for horny, bat-shit-crazy, homicidal copulating bugs. Once she has had enough of copulating, she moves on to the next phase, which is masticating. No, not masturbating... masticating. This is a fancy-schmancy word for chewing. She chews his head off. And no, I don’t mean like, “Why didn’t you bring me flowers and chocolate?” Oh, no. She literally bites his head off... and here’s where it gets really interesting: She eats it.
”
”
Michael Makai (The Warrior Princess Submissive)
“
Our journey progressed very slowly, because Danny wanted to stop and look at everything. Absolutely everything. If I didn’t love him so much, I would have already told him—several times—that not every plant or rock or bug warranted a thorough inspection and ten questions. Is it poisonous? What are those spikes for? Will it bite me? Why does it look like a dick?
”
”
Lily Mayne (Wyn (Monstrous, #3.5))
“
But it wasn't all bad. Sometimes things wasn't all bad. He used to come home easing into bed sometimes, not too drunk. I make out like I'm asleep, 'casue it's late, and he taken three dollars out of my pocketbook that morning or something. I hear him breathing, but I don't look around. I can see in my mind's eye his black arms thrown back behind his head, the muscles like a great big peach stones sanded down, with veins running like little swollen rivers down his arms. Without touching him I be feeling those ridges on the tips of my fingers. I sees the palms of his hands calloused to granite, and the long fingers curled up and still. I think about the thick, knotty hair on his chest, and the two big swells his breast muscles make. I want to rub my face hard in his chest and feel the hair cut my skin. I know just where the hair growth slacks out-just above his navel- and how it picks up again and spreads out. Maybe he'll shift a little, and his leg will touch me, or I feel his flank just graze my behind. I don't move even yet. Then he lift his head, turn over, and put his hand on my waist. If I don't move, he'll move his hand over to pull and knead my stomach. Soft and slow-like. I still don't move, because I don't want him to stop. I want to pretend sleep and have him keep rubbing my stomach. Then he will lean his head down and bite my tit. Then I don't want him to rub my stomach anymore. I want him to put his hand between my legs. I pretend to wake up, and turn to him, but not opening my legs. I want him to open them for me. He does, and I be soft and wet where his fingers are strong and hard. I be softer than I ever been before. All my strength in his hand. My brain curls up like wilted leaves. A funny, empty feeling is in my hands. I want to grab holt of something, so I hold his head. His mouth is under my chin. Then I don't want his hands between my legs no more, because I think I am softening away. I stretch my legs open, and he is on top of me. Too heavy to hold, too light not to. He puts his thing in me. In me. In me. I wrap my feet around his back so he can't get away. His face is next to mine. The bed springs sounds like them crickets used to back home. He puts his fingers in mine, and we stretches our arms outwise like Jesus on the cross. I hold tight. My fingers and my feet hold on tight, because everything else is going, going. I know he wants me to come first. But I can't. Not until he does. Not until I feel him loving me. Just me. Sinking into me. Not until I know that my flesh is all that be on his mind. That he couldnt stop if he had to. That he would die rather than take his thing our of me. Of me. Not until he has let go of all he has, and give it to me. To me. To me. When he does, I feel a power. I be strong, I be pretty, I be young. And then I wait. He shivers and tosses his head. Now I be strong enough, pretty enough, and young enough to let him make me come. I take my fingers out of his and put my hands on his behind. My legs drop back onto the bed. I don't make a noise, because the chil'ren might hear. I begin to feel those little bits of color floating up into me-deep in me. That streak of green from the june-bug light, the purple from the berries trickling along my thighs, Mama's lemonade yellow runs sweet in me. Then I feel like I'm laughing between my legs, and the laughing gets all mixed up with the colors, and I'm afraid I'll come, and afraid I won't. But I know I will. And I do. And it be rainbow all inside. And it lasts ad lasts and lasts. I want to thank him, but dont know how, so I pat him like you do a baby. He asks me if I'm all right. I say yes. He gets off me and lies down to sleep. I want to say something, but I don't. I don't want to take my mind offen the rainbow. I should get up and go to the toilet, but I don't. Besides Cholly is asleep with his leg thrown over me. I can't move and I don't want to.
”
”
Toni Morrison (The Bluest Eye)
“
I am the Little Bug Spirit. I come to people when they begin to take themselves too seriously. They think they are big. I cut them down to size." This angered me. I tried to speak, but I couldn't get my thoughts together. The person went on, “I am the stone under your foot. I am the bug that bites you in the ass. I am the fart that comes when you are introduced to the important visiting professor. I am menstrual cramps and diarrhea." I kept getting angrier. “My tools are lies and tricks, misunderstandings and accidents. Everything stupid and undignified happens because of me. Hola! I am something!
”
”
Eleanor Arnason (A Woman of the Iron People)
“
Encapsulation is a good thing, right? Well, don’t ask testers about that; they are liable to bite your head off. Classes that are too big often hide too much. Encapsulation is great when it helps us reason about our code and when we know that certain things can be changed only under certain circumstances. However, when we encapsulate too much, the stuff inside rots and festers. There isn’t any easy way to sense the effects of change, so people fall back on Edit and Pray (9) programming. At that point, either changes take far too long or the bug count increases. You have to pay for the lack of clarity somehow.
”
”
Michael C. Feathers (Working Effectively with Legacy Code)
“
Distractions. . . . that's what makes up a big part of our lives, y'know? The distractions. Lots of times, we're like moths fluttering around a porch light. Bugs'll swarm around that bult, all distracted, forgetting in their minuscule insect brains that there's something else they should be doing, like biting people or making more bugs. We're like that, although our brains are generally larger. . . Human distractions are bigger, better lightbulbs. We got TVs and computers. We got blinking casino lights and live bands on cruise ships playing yet another version of 'Hot, Hot, Hot' until you wanna puke, but in the end, they're all just porch light. So we go from one bright bulb to another until we hit the bug zapper, and it's all over.
”
”
Neal Shusterman (Ship Out of Luck (Antsy Bonano, #3))
“
That's what makes up a big part of our lives, y'know? The distractions. Lots of times, we're like moths fluttering around a porch light. Bugs'll swarm around that bulb, all distracted, forgetting in their minuscule insect brains that there's something else they should be doing, like biting people or making more bugs...Human distractions are bigger, better lightbulbs...but in the end, they're all just porch lights. So we go from one bright bulb to another until we hit the bug zapper, and it's all over. I'm not saying it's a bad thing. What fun would life be without our chosen porch lights? But every once in a while, we get these moments where we look away from the lights, and it scares us, on account of there's nothing but darkness until our eyes adjust. And that's when we get to see the stars!
”
”
Neal Shusterman (Ship Out of Luck (Antsy Bonano, #3))
“
So what's going on with you and your boyfriend?" Eli asked me right before he shoved a forkful of eggs into his mouth during breakfast the next morning.
I made a face in the direction of my plate before shooting a glance upward to find Gordo’s eyes on me, a smirk on his face.
"Mason?" I asked, going back to my food.
Eli made a gagging noise, elbowing me hard in the ribs. "I'm not gonna go into details on how disturbing it is that I say ‘your boyfriend’ and you automatically think of fucking Mase."
"He's always calling me his wife, or telling people I don't know that we're getting married," I replied, elbowing him back as hard as he got me. It was partially the truth… but mostly, I didn’t want to talk about the man who had been kissing my shoulder hours ago.
"I love Mase, but it'll be a sunny day in my asshole before you and him get together," he mumbled.
I snorted, biting into my biscuit. "Who the heck else would you be talking about?" I asked, but I knew. Oh, I knew damn well he was referring to Sacha.
Freaking Gordo snickered from across the table before putting his hands up in surrender when I glared at him. "I didn’t say anything."
"Sacha, Flabby. Sacha. Your boyfriend. Your snuggle bug." Eliza finally answered.
Suddenly the half-eaten biscuit on my plate needed to be eaten immediately. I shoved the entire piece into my mouth to avoid the conversation my brother was trying to edge into. I'd had talks about boys with Eli in the past, and they never ended—or started—well. "There's nothing going on between us. We're just friends."
Because we were.
Eli made a noise that sounded like “hmmph” deep in his throat. It was incredulous and disbelieving. Then he asked the question to prove it, his attention back on his band mate. "Gordo, do you think I'm blind?"
Gordo shook his head.
"Gaby, do you think I'm blind?" he asked.
"Not blind, just dumb.” I smiled.
He shot me a frown. A moment later, he threw his arm over my shoulders and started shoving his plate away with his free hand. "Flabby Gaby, that kid is in love with you."
In love.
With me?
I leaned forward and tried to sniff his breath. “Are you still drunk?”
But my brother kept talking before I could keep going. "Anyone with eyes and ears knows that guy thinks you shit out Lucky Charms."
Gordo and I burst out laughing.
"Is that a good thing?" I asked him.
Eliza shoved my face away with his palm, ignoring my commentary again. "And I think that you love him, too."
The noise that came out of my mouth sounded like a hybrid “moo” and squawk at the same time. "I—,” I slammed my mouth shut before opening it again with a sputter. “What?
”
”
Mariana Zapata (Rhythm, Chord & Malykhin)
“
More vigorous yet is the strategy practiced by the influenza, common cold, and pertussis (whooping cough) microbes, which induce the victim to cough or sneeze, thereby launching a cloud of microbes toward prospective new hosts. Similarly, the cholera bacterium induces in its victim a massive diarrhea that delivers bacteria into the water supplies of potential new victims, while the virus responsible for Korean hemorrhagic fever broadcasts itself in the urine of mice. For modification of a host’s behavior, nothing matches rabies virus, which not only gets into the saliva of an infected dog but drives the dog into a frenzy of biting and thus infecting many new victims. But for physical effort on the bug’s own part, the prize still goes to worms such as hookworms and schistosomes, which actively burrow through a host’s skin from the water or soil into which their larvae had been excreted in a previous victim’s feces. Thus, from our point of view, genital sores, diarrhea, and coughing are “symptoms of disease.” From a germ’s point of view, they’re clever evolutionary strategies to broadcast the germ.
”
”
Jared Diamond (Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (20th Anniversary Edition))
“
Recipes TOM PEPPER’S HOT BREW To soothe the throat or otherwise ease a long day. 1.4 drachm (1 tsp) local raw honey 16 drachm (1 oz) scotch or bourbon ½ pint (1 cup) hot water 3 sprigs fresh thyme Stir honey and bourbon at bottom of mug. Add hot water and thyme sprigs. Steep five minutes. Sip while warm. BLACKFRIARS BALM FOR BUGS AND BOILS To subdue angry, itchy skin caused by insect bites. 1 drachm (0.75 tsp) castor oil 1 drachm (0.75 tsp) almond oil 10 drops tea tree oil 5 drops lavender oil In a 2.7 drachm (10 ml) glass rollerball vial, add the 4 oils. Fill to top with water and secure cap. Shake well before each use. Apply to itchy, uncomfortable skin. ROSEMARY BUTTER BISCUIT COOKIES A traditional shortbread. Savory yet sweet, and in no way sinister. 1 sprig fresh rosemary 1 ½ cup butter, salted 2⁄3cup white sugar 2 ¾ cup all-purpose flour Remove leaves from rosemary and finely chop (approximately 1 Tbsp or to taste). Soften butter; blend well with sugar. Add rosemary and flour; mix well until dough comes together. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Form dough into 1.25-inch balls; press gently into pans until 0.5-inch thick. Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake for 10–12 minutes, just until bottom edges are golden. Do not overbake. Cool at least 10 minutes. Makes 45 cookies.
”
”
Sarah Penner (The Lost Apothecary)
“
Gian Pero Frau, one of the most important characters in the supporting cast surrounding S'Apposentu, runs an experimental farm down the road from the restaurant. His vegetable garden looks like nature's version of a teenager's bedroom, a rebellious mess of branches and leaves and twisted barnyard wire. A low, droning buzz fills the air. "Sorry about the bugs," he says, a cartoonish cloud orbiting his head.
But beneath the chaos a bloom of biodynamic order sprouts from the earth. He uses nothing but dirt and water and careful observation to sustain life here. Every leaf and branch has its place in this garden; nothing is random. Pockets of lettuce, cabbage, fennel, and flowers grow in dense clusters together; on the other end, summer squash, carrots, and eggplant do their leafy dance. "This garden is built on synergy. You plant four or five plants in a close space, and they support each other. It might take thirty or forty days instead of twenty to get it right, but the flavor is deeper." (There's a metaphor in here somewhere, about his new life Roberto is forging in the Sardinian countryside.)
"He's my hero," says Roberto about Gian Piero. "He listens, quietly processes what I'm asking for, then brings it to life. Which doesn't happen in places like Siddi." Together, they're creating a new expression of Sardinian terreno, crossing genetic material, drying vegetables and legumes under a variety of conditions, and experimenting with harvesting times that give Roberto a whole new tool kit back in the kitchen.
We stand in the center of the garden, crunching on celery and lettuce leaves, biting into zucchini and popping peas from their shells- an improvised salad, a biodynamic breakfast that tastes of some future slowly forming in the tangle of roots and leaves around us.
”
”
Matt Goulding (Pasta, Pane, Vino: Deep Travels Through Italy's Food Culture (Roads & Kingdoms Presents))
“
On the deck was a skeleton. Some of the bugs seemed to be fighting for the last scraps of flesh but pretty much everything but bone and some scraps of skin and hair were gone. Bugs were even crawling in and out of the eye sockets, cleaning out the brains.
“Holy crap,” Woodman said, “I don’t want those getting on me!”
“I just figured out what they are,” Gardner said, stepping through the hatch after a flash around with her light. Every step caused a crunch. “And they won’t bite.”
“They stripped that guy to the bone!” Woodman said.
“That’s what they do,” Gardner said, bending down and picking up one of the beetles. It skittered along her arm and she shook it off. “They’re carrion beetles.”
“Carrion?” Woodman said. “So they eat people?”
“They eat dead flesh,” Gardner said. “I’d heard Wolf say he’d ‘seeded’ the boat. I didn’t know it was with these.”
“Wolf did this?” Woodman said angrily. “To our people?”
“Six of us came off, Woodie,” Gardner said softly. “Ninety-four and twenty-six refugees didn’t. You’ve carried bodies. You know how heavy they are. Now . . . they’re not.”
“That’s horrible,” Woodman said.
“No,” Gardner said, flashing her light around. “It’s efficient, simple and brutal. It’s Wolf all over if you think about it. These things only eat dead flesh. They may get into some of the electronics but those are mostly thrashed by the infecteds, anyway. It cleans the boat out of the main issue, the dead meat on the dead people. If we ever get around to clearing this out, all we’ll have to do is bag the bones.”
“We won’t know who’s who,” Woodman said.
“Does it matter?” Gardner said. “There’s a big thing, it’s called an ossuary, in France. All the guys who died in a certain battle in World War One. They buried them, waited for bugs like this to do their work, then dug them back up. All of certain bones are on the left, all the others are on the right and the skulls are in the middle.”
She picked up the skull of the former Coast Guard crewman and looked at it as beetles poured out.
“I don’t know who you were but you were my brother,” Gardner said. “This way, I know I can give you a decent burial. And I will remember you. Now, we’ve got a mission to complete, Woodman, and people waiting on us. Live people. Let the dead bury the dead.
”
”
John Ringo (Under a Graveyard Sky (Black Tide Rising, #1))
“
lived in the house. There were aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and friends. A grill was set up on the patio, and delicious smells wafted from platters of burgers on picnic tables in the yard. It was the perfect sort of day for Munchy to get her fill of people blood. Who would have thought that giving a person one tiny bite could result in such a delightful snack? Munchy was aware that most people thought she was a pest. They tried to swat her whenever she got near, but Munchy was fast and an expert at dodging humans’ flailing fingers. I don’t want to hurt anyone, Munchy thought. But a mosquito bite just takes a second, and then I fly off to find the next person. Satisfied at last, Munchy buzzed back to the garden where she lived with her best friends Wiggly Worm, Rattles Snake, and Snarky Snail. “I’m full!” she announced. “I don’t think I’ll eat for a week!” “There’s some kind of celebration going on over there,” remarked Wiggly, who was playing in the dirt. “I know!” smiled Munchy. “The family has so many guests over—so many guests with delicious blood.” Snarky made a face. “I think it’s the Fourth of July or something—but, Munchy, do you really have to do that to people? Mosquito bites make them awfully uncomfortable.” “Only for a second,” Munchy replied. “It’s just an itty-bitty sting.” “No, it isn’t,” protested Snarky, who ventured into the backyard more than any of his friends. “Mosquito bites are itchy and uncomfortable for a long time—sometimes several days. I’ve seen those two little kids scratching and complaining about bites you’ve given them.” “I think that’s true,” agreed Rattles, who also went into the yard more often, now that the humans knew he was a friendly rattlesnake. “Oh, no,” murmured Munchy. Mosquito bites hadn’t seemed like a big deal before—but they did now. She didn’t want to be responsible for making people feel itchy all the time! With a sigh, Munchy said, “I guess I’ve got to quit. From now on, I’ll stick to sugar-water shakes at the Garden Town soda fountain—but it isn’t going to be easy!” With some help from her friends, Munchy was able to stop biting people once and for all. And, when the other mosquitoes that lived in the garden heard about her new lifestyle, they decided to give it a shot, as well. In no time, the backyard was practically a mosquito-safe zone! The kids and their friends could now play in the yard for hours with no worries about being bitten. They had no more itchy skin and no more discomfort. Munchy felt like she had done a wonderful thing. And no one ever tried to swat her away again! Just for Fun Activity Make itty-bitty bugs using circles of Fun Foam for bodies, tissue paper cut-outs for wings, googly eyes (you can find them at craft stores), and shortened pipe cleaners for long, skinny noses and legs. Have fun!
”
”
Arnie Lightning (Wiggly the Worm)
“
I kept a wary eye on the large huntsman spiders, which grew as big as your hand. It took me a long time to get my mind around the fact that Steve wasn’t going to come running every time I saw a spider or a big bug. After a while I figured out that there was really nothing from which he needed to save me. Neither the strange insects nor the spiders were dangerous.
In fact, eventually one of the giant spiders would eat one of the giant cockroaches. The subtropics featured great indoor ecosystems, as well as outdoor ones.
Steve always patiently explained to me that the giant huntsman spiders rarely bit humans. One night he had the opportunity to prove himself wrong. He rolled over one in his sleep, and the next morning he had a bruise and two little fang marks on his body. He was most concerned because of the specific location of the bite. I gleefully explained to anyone who would listen that Steve had this giant spider-bite bruise on a part of his anatomy that “will remain undisclosed.”
That story made the rounds for a long time.
”
”
Terri Irwin (Steve & Me)
“
I must have passed out, because one minute I was biting my bottom lip and fighting back tears and the next I was sleeping on top of a pile of Pillow Pets—unicorns, lady bugs, and brown floppy dogs—covered in a zebra-striped Snuggie. Strange, but definitely comfortable. He
”
”
Angela Scott (Anyone?)
“
a Debs socialist. His son—my old man—sat down and cried when Taft lost the nomination to Eisenhower in ‘fifty-two.” She leaned back in the leather chair. “So when did the vote bug bite?” “In high school. I was a pretty fair debater and I got the notion of becoming a lawyer and maybe going into politics after I discovered how good winning made me feel. Winning anything. Later, I discovered there’s nothing like winning an election. Absolutely nothing.” “How old were you?” “When I first ran? Twenty-seven. I got elected county attorney, served a couple of two-year terms, sent some rich crooks to jail, got my name in the paper and then went back into private practice where I made a nice living defending the same kind of rich crooks I’d once prosecuted. When I thought I’d made enough money, I ran for the supreme court and won.” “How much was enough?” Adair shrugged. “Two or three million, around in there.” “How’d you get to be chief justice?” “The members of the court elect one of their own every four years.” “Sounds weird.” “It’s a weird state. After I’d served on the court four years, they always elected me for some reason.” “For some reason,” she said. Adair nodded and leaned forward, elbows on his knees. He made no attempt to hide his curiosity when he said, “I’m obliged to hear about it.” “About what?” “How you really got elected mayor.” Huckins examined Adair dispassionately, as if he were some just-caught fish that she could either keep or toss back into the lake.
”
”
Ross Thomas (The Fourth Durango)
“
The disease is spread by a particular bug that bites. This bug is certainly common in tropical environments, hence why it is important to keep travel bags and food off of the ground.
”
”
Ronald Williams (Tropical Disease Survival Guide: The Top 10 Tropical Diseases and How To Treat Them When You Have No Medicine)
“
Before I know it, I’m already outside, riding my bike down the hill, the autumn wind biting at my face, peddling as fast as I can, foolishly hoping that if I could just break the speed of light, then … maybe I could be the first boy ever to travel back in time and maybe then … I could go back. Back to when I had a real family.
”
”
P.S. Greenwood (The Goodbye Bug)
“
TODAY IS GONE TOMMORROW IS HERE ! DO YOU HAVE PLANS ? STAY WITH YOUR PERCEPTION HOWEVER GOD COULD PULL THE REIGHNS IN ON YOU . HOLD TIGHT DONT LET THE BED BUGS BITE . EMERGENCY BROAD CAST! GOOD OLD DAD WARNED ME . GO TELL IT ON A MOUNTAIN . YOU MIGHT BE HEARD !
”
”
SGG
“
Below deck is suffocating, smelling of sweaty, spermy, unwashed armpits, unwashed groins, moldy wood, bilge water, and the green smell of algae, all congealed in thick streams. I’ve learned to sleep by breathing out of my mouth. On deck, we escape the bed bugs biting away at our skin, clicking cockroaches hiding in the shadows, and the rats gnawing away at every cask. I look forward to the cold sea air.
”
”
Lily H. Tuzroyluke (Sivulliq: Ancestor)
“
We are only against people who are harmful. And we don’t hate them. There’s no need of hating them. We don’t hate bugs. We fight them. We don’t hate lice. We fight them. They’re harmful. They bite us... they infect us with disease. Mosquitoes: the same thing... You have to do something to make them go away, at least to get rid of them. It’s the same thing with races that do harm to ours. We defend ourselves, and that’s all... But in this Yuga, this Dark Age nearing its end, you get more and more power in the hands of those people. That’s natural. And there will be a racial struggle somewhere. I can see it coming. I can see it coming in the USA. I wouldn’t be at all astonished if one day, not tomorrow, perhaps not in fifty years, but perhaps later on, the USA had a National Socialist government, made of Americans, after a terrific fight with the other races... I think America will precede Europe in that way, not for any other reason but because in America the pressure of the dark races is much more powerful.
”
”
Savitri Devi (And Time Rolls On: The Savitri Devi Interviews)
“
But my favourite cautionary tale is of Australian junior doctor Barry Marshall and his pathologist colleague Robin Warren. In the early 1980s they disagreed with the general medical consensus that most stomach ulcers were caused by stress, bad diet, alcohol, smoking and genetic factors. Instead Marshall and Warren were convinced that a particular bacterium, Helicobacter pylori, was the cause. And if they were right, the solution to many patients’ ulcers could be a simple course of antibiotics, not the risky stomach surgery that was often on the cards. Barry must have picked the short straw, because instead of setting up a test on random members of the public – and having to convince those well-known fun-skewerers of human trials: ethics committees – he just went ahead and swallowed a bunch of the little bugs. Imagine the joy, as his hypothesis was proved right! Imagine the horror, as his stomach became infected, which led to gastritis, the first stage of the stomach ulcers! Imagine his poor wife and family, as the vomiting and halitosis became too much to bear! Dr Marshall lasted 14 days before taking antibiotics to kill the H. pylori, but it was another 20 years before he and Warren were awarded the 2005 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. So, hang on, is self-experimenting really that bad if it wins you a Nobel Prize? I guess you can only have a go and find out…but please don’t go as far as US army surgeon Jesse Lazear: in trying to prove that yellow fever was contagious, and that infected blood could be transferred via mosquito bites, he was bitten by one and died. The mosquito that caused his death might not even have been part of his experiment. It’s thought that it could just have been a local specimen. But one that enjoyed both biting humans and dramatic irony. Gastrointestinal elements
”
”
Helen Arney (The Element in the Room: Science-y Stuff Staring You in the Face)
“
The second legend is about paradise. “They pulled it off. They did it. On the servers of one of the big studios in California they used ready-made scans to set up a whole world on the other side of the Uncanny Valley. Or at least a house, a garden, and some bodies. They created a foolproof filter, so that finally you could connect to the net – mind-to-mech and even mind-to-mind – without any risk of malware unstitching your memory or infecting your consciousness. So they log in, and there, on the other side, they have soft, warm, moist bodies again, miraculously fleshy to the touch. They can touch, smell, and taste again.” Dagenskyoll speeds up, and the hulking robots bunched around him in a spellbound circle press even closer, leaning in, sticking out microphone tongues and scanner tendrils.
“They can drink and eat and drink.” He raises his glass of vodka and a long metallic grating sound rings out, krrrshaaahhrrr: the screeching interference of speakers and microphones, or maybe even the sighing of embarrassed machinery. “They drink, drink and sleep, even if they can’t dream, and they walk on the grass and bathe in the sunshine—”
Krrrshaaahhrrr!
“They have dogs, cats, birds, bugs. Mosquitoes bite them, dust and pollen get in their eyes, the sun blinds them, since the sun is always rising there, and they set up grills and burn their fingers—”
Krrrshaaahhrrr!
“—as they eat the steaming meat.”
Now this is too much, and the robots press up against Dagenskyoll, almost crushing him.
“Do you know the IP?”
“Only the bosses of the alliances know it. They’re the ones who meet there. To discuss strategies for the future, exchange information, and resolve disputes.”
A black medico mech roars from a distorted speaker straight into Dagenskyoll’s front display:
“BUT WHERE! WHERE IS IT?!
”
”
Jacek Dukaj (Starość aksolotla)
“
Here, Lena, tie this cotton kerchief 'round yo' mouth when we out walkin' in the woods...so yo' breath don't draw those 'squitas and bitin' flies.
”
”
Tina McElroy Ansa (The Hand I Fan With)
“
The seriousness and depth of your written or spoken words (Outside) is certainly no indication of the bug of Fun and Pleasure that bites you very often (Inside)
Random Thought - Fun
”
”
Rabjot Singh
“
The happiest place on earth was lucky the vamp wasn’t having much success. No one had died yet, no kid had gotten bit. Only a handful of adults had surfaced with nasty puncture wounds on their necks, which the resort doctors explained away as bug bites. It wasn’t an unlikely scenario. There were some weird-ass bugs in Florida.
”
”
Karen Greco (Steele City Blues (Hell's Belle #3))
“
The Bug of Personal Branding is ruthless, it bites with consideration of age, gender or location. It bites suddenly, it bites hard. The symptoms are anxiety, need for recognition, it causes temporary loss of economic common sense and may last from one month to a life time and there is only one known remedy – to give into it. If you ever get bitten – pack up and run – and don’t stop until you find a solution because experts say that if not cured in time, it can cause permanent frustration and a sense of loss.
”
”
Ankita Agrawal
“
The Abominable Unau, thirty feet tall it lurches toward you, sickle claws protruding from furry stumps, long front legs stretching like the arms of a witch reaching across a table to read a palm. Through veils of snow appears a nose with the contours and padding of a leather recliner, infringing on space that should have been reserved for its tiny eyes.
Allegedly erased from the ledger of life, presumed to have plunged into that mass grave awaiting us all, it stands triumphant, in absolute defiance of Time and Nature and all man’s theories and measurements, which measure nothing at all, not even man. The wind howls in disbelief at this zombie returned from the dead. It throws back its head and makes a deep gurgling noise that sends tremors across the ground.
In lieu of girding your loins, you wet them. It stoops until its nose is inches from your face. The breeze from its inhalation sucks your hair straight up. How do you appear to it, as the pinnacle of creation, the raison d’être of existence, the summon bonum of Being, a member of the almighty species who spread its fungal growth to the moon, erecting temples to vanity in the dark heavens? Does it know man hath dominion over it, or does it see a bug too big to eat in one bite?
”
”
Petronius Jablonski (Mount Silenus: A Vertical Odyssey of Extraordinary Peril)
“
A cloud of bugs settled around me. Swathes of mosquitoes landed on my arm, tickled my skin, and took off. Why didn’t they bite? Professional courtesy, I guess.
”
”
Mario Acevedo (The Undead Kama Sutra (Felix Gomez, #3))
“
I'll always be beautiful. Look at me. I have one hundred and sixty-two bug bites, and has it made me any less beautiful? I'm missing two fingers and I have scars all over, but does anyone care? No! It just makes me more interesting! I'll always be like this, stuck in this beautiful form, and you'll have to deal with it.
”
”
Kristin Cashore (Fire (Graceling Realm, #2))
“
WISH CHALK TASTED like white snaps when I bite white sticks or unhappy man clicks white sticks on black wall and makes white bugs and white chalk clicks like a white click bug in a click white bush. Honey is bitter to the wicked, acid sweet.
”
”
Paul Harding (This Other Eden)
“
The only good thing about spring was that we didn’t need as much wood to burn, and we could walk to the small mountains outside of town where we could fill our bellies with bugs and wild plants so that the hunger didn’t bite so sharply.
”
”
Yeonmi Park (In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom)
“
If I didn’t love him so much, I would have already told him—several times—that not every plant or rock or bug warranted a thorough inspection and ten questions. Is it poisonous? What are those spikes for? Will it bite me? Why does it look like a dick?
”
”
Lily Mayne (Wyn (Monstrous, #3.5))
“
I’m still cringing. Someone is already yelling at me, “Managers owning features?!?!” (And I agree.) You are still a manager, so make it a small feature, OK? You’ve still got a lot to do. If you can’t imagine owning a feature, my backup advice is to fix some bugs. You won’t get the joy of ownership, but you’ll gain an understanding of the construction of the product that you’ll never get walking the hallway.
”
”
Michael Lopp (Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager)
“
When we'd arrived in Céreste, our neighbor Arnaud said we should go to the Musée de Salagon, in Mane. In addition to its twelfth-century church and Gallo-Roman ruins, the museum has a wonderful medieval garden. The monks used these herbs to heal as well as to flavor. I've met many people in Provence who use herbal remedies, not because it's trendy, but because it's what their grandmothers taught them. My friend Lynne puts lavender oil on bug bites to reduce the swelling; I recently found Arnaud on his front steps tying small bundles of wild absinthe, which he burns to fumigate the house. Many of the pharmacies in France still sell licorice root for low blood pressure. We drink lemon verbena herbal tea for digestion.
I also like the more poetic symbolism of the herbs. I'm planting sage for wisdom, lavender for tenderness (and, according to French folklore, your forty-sixth wedding anniversary), rosemary for remembrance. Thyme is for courage, but there is also the Greek legend that when Paris kidnapped Helen of Troy, each tear that fell to the ground sprouted a tuft of thyme. All things being equal, I prefer courage to tears in my pot roast.
”
”
Elizabeth Bard (Picnic in Provence: A Memoir with Recipes)
“
Condoms and fandangle size:
penile sizes vary: Southeast Asian condoms, for example, may be rather small, while
African ones are large. The shape of penises is also very diverse, so not all condoms
fit all comers
”
”
Jane Wilson-Howarth (Staying Healthy When You Travel: Avoiding Bugs, Bites, Bellyaches, and More, New Edition (CompanionHouse Books) Doctor's Advice on Immunization, Precautions, What to Do When Illness Strikes, and More)
“
The robot thought. “I have wants and ambitions too, Sibling Dex. But if I fulfill none of them, that’s okay. I wouldn’t—” It nodded at Dex’s cuts and bruises, at the bug bites and dirty clothes. “I wouldn’t beat myself up over it.” Dex turned the mug over and over in their hands. “It doesn’t bother you?” Dex said. “The thought that your life might mean nothing in the end?” “That’s true for all life I’ve observed. Why would it bother me?” Mosscap’s eyes glowed brightly.
”
”
Becky Chambers (A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot, #1))
“
Suddenly he was right there, his mouth on mine, my arms around his neck. Then he stopped. He caught my arms and backed up, studying my face.
“Has anyone had access to your drinks recently?” he said. “Any strange allergic reactions? Bug bites?”
“Shut up."
He ducked out of the way as I took a mock swing at him. Then he realized we were closer to the edge of the cliff than he thought, veered fast, and stumbled, toppling into the brush.
“Sorry,” I said, hurrying over to him. “Are you--?”
As I bent, he tried to snag my leg and yank me down, but I danced back out of reach.
“Did you really think I’d fall for that?” I said.
“Hoping.”
I laughed. He got to his feet. I backed up and glanced over my shoulder.
“I’m warning you,” he said. “You don’t want to run.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m faster than you.”
“Think so?”
“Know so, and when I catch you--”
I took off. I ran across the open field atop the cliff, and quickly realized that was a mistake. He might not be faster than me, but he was fast enough that I could hear him right on my heels.
”
”
Kelley Armstrong (The Gathering (Darkness Rising, #1))
“
I didn’t deliberately check my speed, but when we neared the top, Rafe was still beside me. I slowed and he was right there, his face inches from mine. He grinned, that blazing grin now, hair plastered to his face, eyes glittering.
I leaned over and kissed him. He hesitated for about a nanosecond, like he really hadn’t expected that, and I laughed. Then he kissed me back, a light kiss, almost teasing, making me shiver.
“Probably not the safest place to make out,” I murmured, pulling back to glance at the ground, fifty feet below.
“I don’t care if you don’t,” he said.
We kissed until he tried to shift closer and nearly lost his foothold. I pulled away and scrambled up the last few feet. When he reached the top, I was standing there. He grinned and stepped toward me. I stepped back. His grin widened. I glanced over my shoulder. The cliff topped out on a hill, with forest stretching behind us, the mountains a distant backdrop.
“Uh-uh,” Rafe said. “If you run, I’ll chase. You know how much I like that part.”
“All the more reason to do it.”
His breath hitched and the look in his eyes made me want to run. I didn’t care how silly or childish it was, I wanted to run so badly I could imagine it, the smell of the forest, the wind rushing past, the pounding of his feet right behind me.
Suddenly he was right there, his mouth on mine, my arms around his neck. Then he stopped. He caught my arms and backed up, studying my face.
“Has anyone had access to your drinks recently?” he said. “Any strange allergic reactions? Bug bites?”
“Shut up.
”
”
Kelley Armstrong (The Gathering (Darkness Rising, #1))
“
Hot Sauce Shrine"
I used to be a high priestess of tail-feather feel-good
mumbo jumbo, naysayer extraordinaire
cobbling together some crazy quilt catechism
to cling to as I tangled in the world's thorns,
frantic, fearing the chill soon to come.
I haven't turned holy roller or handler of snakes,
but things changed slowly, or all at once.
Maybe it was when I drove through a dust devil
and inhaled its grit of cut grass and cigarette butts.
I've taken to praying since the whirlwind
shook me loose, or anyway I dip my head
at stoplights until I get distracted by scenery,
or birds, and the prayers come out confused.
I'm clueless—my angel of place smokes blunts
and speaks to me in bug bite braille. I know
to visit Saint Roch and turn his statue to the wall,
but I hunger for alone time on an island
with an organ that plays itself, or to whisper
all my secrets to the hot sauce shrine.
I read that the world is a dream of God,
and now I don't know what to do with my hands.
The world is God's dream and I am a sparrow
passing through song and the brass glow of fire,
or maybe that is wrong, and I'm trapped inside,
stunned against the glass or down the chimney,
terrified of kind hands that sweep me to the door.
When I wake I'm walking the moonlit labyrinth
with wet feet, and the birds are quiet because
I have terrified them with the thunder
of my stumbling. Oh God of everything that creeps,
I light a candle and ask my question:
Is it pilgrimage enough if I spend my life
remembering the few seconds I was a bird?
”
”
Alison Pelegrin (Waterlines: Poems)
“
believe, then, / in the mosquito: how it begins to take / your blood - heat and ghost and age and itch / as you press the net to your temples / and scratch in wild belief while / outside, leaves darken, insects / bite, and you smash a body / with the back / of your palm.
”
”
Carlina Duan (I Wore My Blackest Hair)
“
Suddenly he was right there, his mouth on mine, my arms around his neck. Then he stopped. He caught my arms and backed up, studying my face.
“Has anyone had access to your drinks recently?” he said. “Any strange allergic reactions? Bug bites?”
“Shut up.
”
”
Kelley Armstrong (The Gathering (Darkness Rising, #1))
“
Mattresses were held up with rope so they were off the floor and away from the bugs. When the mattresses would sag, they’d tighten the ropes, making the bed more comfortable. Hence the saying, sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite.
”
”
Lynda Mullaly Hunt (Fish In A Tree)
“
Anything eaten just before a bout of stomach bug may be hated for life.
”
”
Bee Wilson (First Bite: How We Learn to Eat)
“
ARTIFACT ACCIDENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ground Floor (Cauldron explosion, wand backfiring, broom crashes, etc.) CREATURE-INDUCED INJURIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . First Floor (Bites, stings, burns, embedded spines, etc.) MAGICAL BUGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Second Floor (Contagious maladies, e.g., dragon pox, vanishing sickness, scrofungulus) POTION AND PLANT POISONING . . . . . . . . . . . . Third Floor (Rashes, regurgitation, uncontrollable giggling, etc.) SPELL DAMAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fourth Floor (Unliftable jinxes, hexes, and incorrectly applied charms, etc.) VISITORS’ TEAROOM AND HOSPITAL SHOP . . . Fifth Floor
”
”
J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter, #5))