The buzzing of insects seemed to consume

The buzzing of insects seemed to consume all near-by sounds of the suburbs as the heat beat down on the black pavement, leaving the illusion of the rippling air in the distance.

I gripped my sword with a solid hand, and began to attack my ultimate threat. The surge of dragonflies would fall before my wrath. My cruelty knew no mercy.

Then in a surprise attack one landed on my nose. I began to sneeze, and drop my sword in such a way that it landed on my foot.

Unfortunately, the sword's tip hit my foot first.

"OW!" I yelled. My foot screamed in pain and I reflexively grabbed on to it.

After a moment of hopping around and yowling in agony, I looked down at the offending limb, surprised to find that all five toes were still firmly attached.

My toes were, however, rearranged, with my big toe in the middle, directly adjacent to my little toe. I was sick of being subjected to these crazy experiments, and decided to

make the most of my malformed hallux by flipping off the crazed Doctor with it and then kicking him stoutly in the coccyx, but my middle toe got caught in his

stethoscope and we crashed together in a tangle of toes and other parts. "Your hallux seems to be quite robust," the Doctor said, rubbing his rear. "But try not to walk on it when

you have to go somewhere. Just call a toe truck."