Lord of the Sand
By Stephen Bacon, first published in The Eleventh Black Book of Horror
An ex-military engineer is enthused to receive an invitation to a reunion for Desert Storm operatives, only to realize he's stumbled into an elaborate revenge plot.
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Plot Summary
An engineer who once participated in the Desert Storm Operation is thrilled when he receives an invitation to a reunion. Upon arrival, he finds his old friend Beaky. Harassed and bullied by their sergeant, yet indomitably cheerful, Beaky possesses many of his old traits and talks at length with the engineer. However, the engineer notices Beaky, the organizer of the reunion, is the only one not drinking - and although Beaky claims he needs to drive home, he lives only minutes away. With the appearance of their old sergeant, Hoggard, the men grow tense, wondering if his bullying will resurface. However, Hoggard is kinder than before, especially to Beaky, who he speaks with at length. As the evening drags on and the men get drunker, Hoggard collapses. Beaky agrees to drive Hoggard home because he's sober. The engineer begins to feel something is deeply wrong, especially when he learns that Beaky practically begged his tormentor to attend. He gets a cab to Beaky's apartment and hurries in, looking for Hoggard. Beaky finds him instead and shows him his new pets - spiders he discovered during their Desert Storm Operation. These creatures possess an anesthetic in their bite, rendering their prey often unaware they are being eaten alive. They are known as Lords of the Sand. The engineer realizes Beaky's plan and, horrified, runs upstairs in search of Hoggard. He discovers the ex-sergeant lying on a bed, the bottom half of his face eaten off. Hoggard begins to make horrible noises, while downstairs, Beaky's unhinged laugh rings out.