The Shell - PART 2

She tore the door open and looked around. Everything seemed to be alright. The shells were in their aquariums. But the strange sound was unpleasant. Where did it came from? Sandie remembered the big, stinking shell. The sight of it made her scream. It was covered by a red liquid which suddenly split up. Little green lumps slowly arose. It was five enormous worms with bodies resembling cactuses and bloodshot eyes.

Sandie flinched. The worms were getting out of the aquarium. They would attack her. Unless.... She grabbed a spade and waved with it. One of the worms immediately attacked her middle finger. Sandie had never felt such a pain. It cut through her entire body.

Ten minutes later, she woke up. In the beginning, she only heard drawn out screams and distant voices. She laid on the floor, surrounded by red pools of blood which smelled like the shell. Aunt Mandy and uncle Jeffrey bended over her. Jeffrey held a pistol.

"The worms are dead", Mandy said. "I'll take you to a hospital."

Only then, Sandie discovered that one of her fingers were gone.

"I'll stay here", Jeffrey muttered.

"Are you angry?" Sandie asked.

"No, of course not. Your cousins could have done the same thing. I'll set the shells on fire."

As Sandie looked out of the car window, she could see the nightmare be burnt out.

The End

The Shell - PART 1

Sandie didn't recognize the house. It had undergone a total restoration, but then her aunt and uncle had always wanted a basement. Its little windows attracted her attention.

"What's in there?"

"I'll show you", uncle Jeffrey calmly said.

She noticed that the cold increased at the very bottom of the basement. Jeffrey suddenly stopped in front of a big door and opened it. They entered a hall full of wooden benches. At a distance, Sandie caught a glimpse of some aquariums.

"What's in them?" she asked.

"Shells".

Sandie sighed.

"Perhaps not that interesting to you", Jeffrey admitted. "But it's my hobby. I've collected them ever since I was a kid."

Sandie glanced at the biggest aquarium. She saw a gigantic shell, almost wide open.

"Oh, that one is special", Jeffrey mumbled. "I don't know what to do with it. It smells terrible."

He walked away and didn't notice that Sandie was left behind. She opened the aquarium and observed the shell. A disgusting smell immediately met her. You'd think it was spew.

"I've got to help Eric with his homework", Jeffrey shouted. "I don't mind if you stay down here - as long as you keep an eye on the shells."

"No problem!"

She heard him shut the door and got an idea: she would open one of the bottles and pour out a little into the shell. Sandie seized the black bottle and got the cork out. The liquid was black as well. What if she'd pour out more of them? What would happen? She'd always liked experiments.

In a little while, ten bottles were empty and lined up in front of her. The shell was besmeared, the liquids ran into the hole. Sandie was worried about the bottles. She'd have to hide them, otherwise Jeffrey would discover her experiment. A safe-deposit box became the rescue. And she was lucky. It wasn't locked.

During the dinner, Sandie pretended to listen to aunt Mandy.

"Come on, tell us", she eagerly said. "What's down there? Jeffrey is so secretive."

"Shells", Sandie answered. "Nothing but shells."

"Really?" Aunt Mandy disappointedly said.

"Unfortunately", Jeffrey laughed. "No swimming-pool, no doll house, no statue. Just my shells...and their liquids. I don't want them to decay...."

A rapid thought dashed through Sandie's head. Something was wrong.

"I must go down again", she resolutely said.

"What?" Mandy exclaimed. "But my strawberry ice cream...."

"I'll eat it later."