The Sickness

Chapter One

It began with a shooting star.
The media had been going on about it for months.
The night it finally appeared in the sky was... it was memorable. Everyone across the world exited their homes and gathered at the designated viewing points, staring up at the glowing asteroid in awe.
Until it started getting closer and everyone realized that there was more than one. Then people started freaking out.
Each one crashed into a different part of the world - exactly on the viewing points. Fortunately, most people had managed to get out of the way before the thing hit the ground.
I remember the day clearly. It was just a couple weeks ago - I was gripping my mom's hand in fear, as the thing smashed into the ground. When the dust-cloud cleared, cries of disgust could be heard from the crowd - for as it turned out, the "asteroid" was not, in fact, a rock; instead it was an egg sac.
It had burst when it hit the ground. As spectators peered over the edge of the crater, the parasites took the opportunity to attack. Thousands of tiny beetles, each the size of a penny, swarmed out of the hole, so quickly that no one had time to move. They separated, each one going to one person. They left trails of thick black liquid as they crawled up the person's legs and burrowed into their arms.
Everyone was screaming, in pain and fear - and this screaming grew louder when people watched as the first ones began to get infected.
Their bodies froze, the only movements being small twitches. Blood dripped from their mouths and eyes. And lumps began popping up all over their skin. But suddenly, they were able to move again. Only... there was one thing: the thick black liquid was slowly oozing from their ears, eyes, and under their fingernails.
Of course, everyone lost it. They began running away, except the beetles were faster - quickly, they overtook them, climbing inside their bodies. I watched it happen to my own mother.
I stood there in horror as the liquid seeped from her body. She swiveled her head to look at me, and then she began to speak:
"Oh, baby..." she said, her voice thick and gurgly from the liquid trapped in her throat. I burst into tears and ran up to her.
Little did I know...
The sickness was contagious.
All I remember after that is a searing pain and, then... darkness.