The Sow Bugs

Jillian stared curiously at the pile of dead sow bugs in the corner of the living room. The group of bugs seemed to all die within a small circle.
"I wonder how they are all ended up dead so close together and all in one area," she thought to herself. She shrugged it off and finished getting her glass of water from the kitchen before heading back to bed.
If only she had know the real reason for the untimely death of the innocent little creatures.........

The last light in the living room had just been extinguished and a hush fell over the now darkened room. All of the human inhabitants of the little house where snug in their beds. All seemed to be at peace in the house, or was it?

The darkness brought many creatures out of hiding. Spiders left their crevices in the walls and corners to hunt and spin webs. Bugs of many sizes and shapes scurried across the floor. Among these tiny creatures was a large gathering of sow bugs. The leader of the group was a large sow bug named Hawthorne. He was a stout little man with a large gray plated back and quick little legs. He kept careful watch over his charges and gave swift punishment to anyone who dared to wander away from the protection of the group. He believed in safety in numbers, and he took his job seriously.
Sow bugs like to travel and rarely stay in one place for long. They are very curious and can be found in the strangest places within a house. On this particular evening the group was scheduled to travel across the tiled floor through the kitchen and into the laundry room. Their was a large crack in the baseboard at the bottom of the wall in the back corner, and this was their destination.
However this journey was not without its dangers. In order to make across the living room floor and into the kitchen the group would have to pass by the corner where the Things lived. The Things were creatures to terrible to describe. No one had ever seen them and lived to tell about it. They lurked in the darkest corner of the room, just waiting for unsuspecting creatures to pass by.
Hawthorne knew passing by the dreaded corner of the Things would take careful maneuvering and quick thinking. He knew that the safety of the group and the success of the journey relied on passing this corner safely.
With a quick motion of his antennae he signaled the group to move forward. Hawthorne traveled in front and the rest of the group followed closely. The first part of the journey was uneventful, except for the occasional cricket passing by or ant searching for crumbs on the tiles.

When the group neared the darkest corner of the room, Hawthorne could sense a wave of fear pass over the group. Many members of the group had been against this journey, and Hawthorne had heard them discussing his leadership. But he would not allow the group to split. He was leader and he would take the group past the darkest corner.

Suddenly, just when the last of the sow bugs was passing by the corner and everyone was about to breath a sigh of relief, a shadow loomed in front of the group. It was enormous, climbing up the wall and spreading its dark claws out in every direction.
Unfortunately for sow bugs, their little body systems are delicate and any big scare is the end of them. Humans would call this condition a heart attack. At the sight of the shadow, every sow bug feared the worst and fell over dead. The little group lay in almost a complete little circle with their brave leader motionless in the center.