Demon Worm — Stephen Donald Huff

Isolated by rumors of adultery and murder, 'Cat Lady Cassie' has long lived alone amid Florida's sprawling Everglades. Although she is the reluctant caretaker of thirty-one felines, she loathes cats - especially the vermin-ridden feral strays that seek shelter around her island homestead.Like the climbing fern, hydrilla and nutria - and much like herself - the cats are an invasive species. They are all foreign intruders, lost yet thriving among formerly pristine swamplands.Lately, an eerie silence rules the hollows and basins that surround her porch. Even the largest alligators have gone missing. Clearly, a ravenous new invader has arrived to trouble paradise.