"spending the next ten years in an army
prison," and then he laughed himself.
- - - - - - - -- - -
Nora had to admit, her comment didn't seem to jilt
him one bit. I guess I'm wrong about everything, she
thought.
Then
Annabelle
shrieked.
Every face jerked toward her. Annabelle shuddered,
tensed up, her fists at her bosom.
"What's wrong!" Loren exclaimed.
Annabelle pointed to Trent. "There's-there's-"
"What is that?" Loren said.
Trent snapped, "What the hell's wrong?"
"There's-there's-there's-" Annabelle stammered
some more-
'Something on your back," Nora said.
Trent's eyes bugged. "What? A fuckin' tarantula?
What?"
Nora saw it easily. Hmm, she wondered, but she
didn't want to take any chances. She grabbed one of
her scuba flippers, and-
Splap!
She smacked the flipper against Trent's back, but
Trent was already jumping up, tearing off the green fatigue shirt. "Jesus! Would somebody tell me what was
crawling on my-back?"-
"Not sure," Nora said, and took the shirt. She spread
it out on the tabletop.
"It was a spider!" Annabelle. "Maybe poisonous ..."
Trent looked outraged. "No way!"
"Loren, did that look arachnoidal to you?" Nora
asked.
Loren was checking Trent's back. "No. I didn't see any
appendages and the body definitely wasn't bisectional."
He slapped Trent on the shoulder. "And, Lieutenant, I'm
happy to say you don't have any bite marks."
"Jesus!"
It didn't look like a beetle, and it was too big to be a
tick," Loren added.
Nora was examining the shirt. "But it was definitely
motile."
Trent was clearly upset. "What's that mean? Speak
English!"
"It means it was moving," Nora defined. "And if it
didn't have ambulatory appendages, it must be monotaxic."
Trent appeared as though his entire world had become upheaved. Though not overweight, he was in
desperate need of some sun, black chest hair matting
on white skin. "What are you talking about!"
"Lieutenant, relax, you weren't bitten by anything,"
Nora reminded him while she and Loren pored over
the shirt. "Slugs, limpets, snails, and leeches move by
means of what's called a monotaxia 'foot'-"
"The slime pad," Loren simplified.
"-and that's probably what was propelling your little friend here."
"I'll bet it was a leech!" Annabelle continued to
overreact.
Trent looked on the verge of vomiting. "Shut up!"
"No, not a leech," Nora informed. "Leeches are just
another type of segmented worm-an annelid-and I
got a good enough look at this to see that it wasn't
segmented."
"And this thing's body wasn't ovated," Loren added.
"It was circinated."
Trent and Annabelle stood aside, mystified, as Nora
finally found the splatter on the shirt. "There, see?" she
said. "It's not insectoid, no exoskeleton."
"Well, I guess that means it wasn't a tick." Trent
seemed relieved. "I don't need any of that Rocky
Mountain oyster fever."
Nora shook her head, bemused.
"Maybe it was a pebble snail," Loren said. "That's
about the only monotaxic animal I can think of that has
a circular body."
This was definitely circular, Nora remembered. "It
almost looked nodulous or ovumular."
"Actually it did," Loren agreed, "but we both know
that's impossible."
Trent sneered. "I think it would be really nice if you
would drop the college professor talk, and-"
"Ovumular," Nora specified, "or like an ovum-an egg
cell. Some marine worms, for example, as well as many
marine creatures, have ova that move about by their own
means of locomotion once they leave the female's body.
These species are mostly parasites; therefore, once the
fertilized ovum has been dispersed, it seeks some other
form of animal life in which to nurture itself and grow.
And nodulous-like a node. Some of these motile ovum
are actually carried around in a self-contained node`
that protects it and helps it get to a host."
The prospect of "parasites" and "nodes" didn't overjoy Trent. "How do you know that thing wasn't one of
those?"
"Because they're microscopic,"
prison," and then he laughed himself.
- - - - - - - -- - -
Nora had to admit, her comment didn't seem to jilt
him one bit. I guess I'm wrong about everything, she
thought.
Then
Annabelle
shrieked.
Every face jerked toward her. Annabelle shuddered,
tensed up, her fists at her bosom.
"What's wrong!" Loren exclaimed.
Annabelle pointed to Trent. "There's-there's-"
"What is that?" Loren said.
Trent snapped, "What the hell's wrong?"
"There's-there's-there's-" Annabelle stammered
some more-
'Something on your back," Nora said.
Trent's eyes bugged. "What? A fuckin' tarantula?
What?"
Nora saw it easily. Hmm, she wondered, but she
didn't want to take any chances. She grabbed one of
her scuba flippers, and-
Splap!
She smacked the flipper against Trent's back, but
Trent was already jumping up, tearing off the green fatigue shirt. "Jesus! Would somebody tell me what was
crawling on my-back?"-
"Not sure," Nora said, and took the shirt. She spread
it out on the tabletop.
"It was a spider!" Annabelle. "Maybe poisonous ..."
Trent looked outraged. "No way!"
"Loren, did that look arachnoidal to you?" Nora
asked.
Loren was checking Trent's back. "No. I didn't see any
appendages and the body definitely wasn't bisectional."
He slapped Trent on the shoulder. "And, Lieutenant, I'm
happy to say you don't have any bite marks."
"Jesus!"
It didn't look like a beetle, and it was too big to be a
tick," Loren added.
Nora was examining the shirt. "But it was definitely
motile."
Trent was clearly upset. "What's that mean? Speak
English!"
"It means it was moving," Nora defined. "And if it
didn't have ambulatory appendages, it must be monotaxic."
Trent appeared as though his entire world had become upheaved. Though not overweight, he was in
desperate need of some sun, black chest hair matting
on white skin. "What are you talking about!"
"Lieutenant, relax, you weren't bitten by anything,"
Nora reminded him while she and Loren pored over
the shirt. "Slugs, limpets, snails, and leeches move by
means of what's called a monotaxia 'foot'-"
"The slime pad," Loren simplified.
"-and that's probably what was propelling your little friend here."
"I'll bet it was a leech!" Annabelle continued to
overreact.
Trent looked on the verge of vomiting. "Shut up!"
"No, not a leech," Nora informed. "Leeches are just
another type of segmented worm-an annelid-and I
got a good enough look at this to see that it wasn't
segmented."
"And this thing's body wasn't ovated," Loren added.
"It was circinated."
Trent and Annabelle stood aside, mystified, as Nora
finally found the splatter on the shirt. "There, see?" she
said. "It's not insectoid, no exoskeleton."
"Well, I guess that means it wasn't a tick." Trent
seemed relieved. "I don't need any of that Rocky
Mountain oyster fever."
Nora shook her head, bemused.
"Maybe it was a pebble snail," Loren said. "That's
about the only monotaxic animal I can think of that has
a circular body."
This was definitely circular, Nora remembered. "It
almost looked nodulous or ovumular."
"Actually it did," Loren agreed, "but we both know
that's impossible."
Trent sneered. "I think it would be really nice if you
would drop the college professor talk, and-"
"Ovumular," Nora specified, "or like an ovum-an egg
cell. Some marine worms, for example, as well as many
marine creatures, have ova that move about by their own
means of locomotion once they leave the female's body.
These species are mostly parasites; therefore, once the
fertilized ovum has been dispersed, it seeks some other
form of animal life in which to nurture itself and grow.
And nodulous-like a node. Some of these motile ovum
are actually carried around in a self-contained node`
that protects it and helps it get to a host."
The prospect of "parasites" and "nodes" didn't overjoy Trent. "How do you know that thing wasn't one of
those?"
"Because they're microscopic,"
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