Devil Crawler

Cymothoa Diabolus, adult

> "*What is crawling on those people? Oh, my God, what is on those people?!?*"
> ― Faith Johnson reacting in horror to the parasites eating people in a hospital
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**Organism J12**, also known as the **Devil Crawler**, later known as **Cymothoa Diabolus** is one of two newly discovered species of isopod parasites. It was discovered by Atlas Biomedical somewhere in Asia and brought back to the United States of America, intending to be weaponized as bioweapons. Unfortunately, following an act of sabotage by a US special operations unit known as Tombstone, the Devil Crawlers escaped and began infesting the small town of Arcadia, Maine. They were successful in wiping out at least 50% of the town's inhabitants before the US government finally stepped in, dumping chlorine into the town in hopes of killing the parasites. However, unbeknownst to everyone else, the Devil Crawlers were able to survive this attempted purge and went on to infect major cities and, eventually, other countries, causing a global pandemic.

As of 2020, the Devil Crawler has been designated as an invasive species.

## Biology

### Life Cycle and appearance

Devil Crawlers have a rather interesting lifestyle. According to Atlas Biomedical research notes from the Atlas laboratory in Arcadia, Maine, they seem to undergo some kind of complex form of metamorphosis as part of their life cycle. The events of the 2019 Arcadia outbreak also revealed that they have scorpion-like tails that end in hooks that are used to anchor themselves to inside of a host's tongue prior to eating it.

### Behavior

> "*It's eating them from the inside.*"
> ― Dr. Eugene Smith to a CDC officer
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Devil Crawlers are social animals, constantly congregating in large swarms. A typical swarm can reach into the thousands or millions. They are also ruthlessly efficient pack hunters, similar to a pack of wolves or a shoal of piranhas. When they hunt other animals, one of their most notorious hunting methods is simply swarming the target and biting into it as the prey item attempts to escape, similar to piranhas. However, they've also been known to infiltrate the host's bodies and then eat their way out of the host. This causes extreme pain and will result in boil-like bite wounds emerging on the victims' skin. In some cases, they've been known to hijack the brains of some of their hosts, transforming them into mindless zombies. This was observed on July 4th, 2019 during a fishing trip; a whole colony of Devil Crawlers was able to infect and hijack the brain of a Bluefish and force it to jump onto a boat, where it promptly burst out of the fish's body and began attacking the passengers on it. Unlike Cymothoa Exigua, they do not replace the tongues of the host. Rather, they eat the tongue just as they do with the rest of the organism. The fact that the creatures are virtually undetectable while they eat their hosts alive inside make them particularly dangerous to human beings.

### Diet

> "*They became man-eaters overnight.*"
> ― Kyle Bates commenting on how quickly the parasites have developed a taste for human flesh
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Devil Crawlers have been discovered to be carnivorous animals. Their usual diet consists of fish and other marine animals. However, the events of the 2019 Arcadia Outbreak marked the first time they began preying on human beings. It also marked the first time they actively became man-eaters.

### Methods of reproduction

The Devil Crawlers are Oviparous animals, meaning they reproduce by laying eggs. Females can lay up to 9,000 eggs at a time, something no other animal can do.  Devil Crabs also have a rather morbid means of reproduction. Similar to many other species of parasites, the Devil Crawler may sometimes lay its eggs inside a dead organism, or a living one if it's accidentally swallowed. Once the larvae hatches, they will kill the host by eating it alive from within.

### Weaknesses

Despite their armored appearance, Devil Crawlers are actually quite vulnerable to high-caliber firearms and fire. They are also sensitive to light; a flash of light from flash grenades will instantly kill it unless it's already inside the host. They can also be surgically extracted from the victim, provided it hasn't already eaten a vital organ yet by that point. Interestingly, Devil Crawlers have also been known to have been killed by their own hosts; in one documented interview, a survivor of the 2019 parasite outbreak in Arcadia revealed that during the 4th of July Party, prior to being infected, she drank enough alcohol to poison the isopods that got inside her while swimming and killed them, revealing that the isopods' skin are vulnerable to alcohol.