by Alicia Hilton

Cilia – all the tiny hair-like projections that inhabit Terry’s lungs – have personalities and Helga and Henrietta are twins always vote pro-union Osvaldo the sergeant in arms has a temper Lee the shop steward is an egomaniac Osvaldo gives the sonofabitch whacks whenever Lee spouts nonsense their fracas makes Terry wheeze Penelope is the union organizer woos new recruits with sparkling verbiage that glistens like a beetle exoskeleton that’s what Betty says she’s quite a snitch and claims cilia worldwide are planning to strike until humans quit burning fossil fuels because Terry’s lungs are filling with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and fungi – and gasp – pathogens multiply.

Alicia Hilton is an author, editor, arbitrator, professor, and former FBI Special Agent. Her work has appeared in Akashic Books, Creepy Podcast, Dreams & Nightmares, Eastern Iowa Review, Litro, Modern Haiku, Mslexia, Neon, NonBinary Review, Not One of Us, Space and Time, Vastarien, World Haiku Review, Year’s Best Hardcore Horror (Volumes 4, 5 & 6), and elsewhere. https://aliciahilton.com