Phantasmagoria: Adventures at the Town Dump

Every few years, the small Texas town was overrun by small creatures as spring became summer.

Every few years, the small Texas town was overrun by small creatures as spring became summer. In some years, it was locusts. Perhaps in another, it would be crickets. Benjamin well remembered walking downtown streets, shoes crunching the insect skeletons that covered the sidewalks two inches thick.

This year, it was rats.

They were everywhere. Every time you turned over a large rock or piece of lumber, there would be at least one that scurried away with amazing speed. Benjamin dreaded when they did, afraid they would climb a bare leg into his athletic shorts. He could blame Oliver for instilling that idea into his brain. Once you let that stuff inside, you could never flush it out. Still, they spent many of their hours during the aimless days of summer vacation, flipping rocks and boards, makeshift clubs held high, ready to smash their little heads in before they could climb a leg.

Their preferred battleground was the town dump.