I dropped the dumbbell, it thudted onto the basement floor carpet, just barely missing my big toe.

My heart launched into my throat, before a sigh of relief puffed from my mouth.

My toe throbbed in a phantom pain of what could have been.

I slowly turn my attention back to what had made me drop the weight in the first place.

I had been in the middle of a bicep curl when I saw a strange bump in my forearm.

This alone didn't bother me.

I absolutely planned to investigate it when I finished the set. I assumed one of my

arm veins was just oddly jutting out from the muscle pump. Then the lump had skittered

up my arm under the skin and I jolted so hard the free weight had fallen from my hand.

I stared at my arm, the tiny lump no bigger than a tiny pebble now sitting much closer to my wrist than before.

I was confused to say the least.

I became aware of the heavy base still pumping in my ears and yanked the buds out, eyes never leaving

the lump.

My mind cycled through explanations one by one trying to come up with an answer for what I'd just

seen.

Of course, the first thing it came to mind was ridiculous, a mental recap of the scene in the

mummy.

The guy had scarab beetles crawling under his skin, eating him alive.

Lovely image to start, but I quickly shoved that away in favour of something more reasonable.

The thing was tiny, not really oval or large enough to compare to a grain of rice, but large enough it stood out against the vein.

I didn't feel his presence in my arm, and it made me queasy just thinking about pressing down on it.

A strong sense told me not to.

...