He Collapsed from Poison, Drenched with Thousands of Maggots in the Showers
The cold, sterile light in the bathroom flickered, casting eerie shadows across the walls. The air was thick with the smell of dampness, the kind that clung to everything in a small, enclosed space. He could feel the sweat pooling at the back of his neck, a mixture of fear and poison making his skin clammy and cold. His vision blurred as he stumbled through the door, his breath shallow, heart pounding in his chest.
The poison was working quickly, and he could feel its grip tightening around his insides. His stomach churned, nausea rising like a tidal wave, and the world seemed to tilt. He tried to steady himself, but his legs were like rubber, and with a soft cry, he collapsed against the shower wall.
The tiles were ice-cold beneath his hands as he tried to pull himself up, but his body refused to cooperate. The room seemed to spin faster, and with each breath, the poison clawed deeper into his veins, ravaging him from the inside. His mind was clouded with dizziness, but there was one thing he couldn’t ignore—the strange sensation crawling over his skin.
It started as a faint tickle on his shoulder, barely noticeable, but within moments, it became a maddening feeling. He looked down, his vision hazy, and saw them—tiny, wriggling maggots. At first, he thought he was imagining things, the poison playing tricks on his mind, but as they started to crawl across his arms, he realized with horror that they were real.
More and more followed, a wave of wriggling, white bodies falling from the cracks in the tiles, from the dark corners of the ceiling, filling the shower with their grotesque presence. His heart raced, his breath coming in sharp, desperate gasps as the creatures began to cover him, swarming over his face, his arms, his chest.
He tried to scream, but the poison stole his voice, leaving him unable to make a sound. All he could do was feel. Feel the cold, slimy bodies wriggling under his skin, burrowing into his flesh, feeding on him in ways that twisted his mind with terror. They crawled into his ears, down his neck, and under his clothing, their movement like a thousand tiny, cold fingers. His body trembled, not just from the poison, but from the sensation of being overtaken by something far worse.
The room was silent except for the soft, squelching sound of the maggots, the sound of his own heartbeat thundering in his ears. He stumbled forward, his body betraying him, his legs too weak to hold him up any longer. As he fell to his knees, the maggots followed, crawling over every inch of him, faster now, as though they were drawn to the scent of his despair.
The pain was unbearable. It wasn’t the poison that hurt the most—it was the relentless swarm of maggots, the way they moved beneath his skin, causing his flesh to burn with a cold fire. The poison had stolen his strength, and now, these creatures were claiming him piece by piece. It was like being eaten alive, but in a way that made every inch of his skin feel violated, every fiber of his being exposed.
His hands, trembling, weakly tried to scrape the maggots away, but there were too many. They kept coming, falling from every crack in the walls, raining down on him in an endless cascade. He felt them slip into his mouth, into his nostrils, everywhere. It felt as though the very essence of him was being consumed, torn apart by the smallest, most insignificant creatures.
Through the haze of pain, he thought of his life, of the moments before this nightmare began. He remembered the last meal he had eaten, the drink that had tasted slightly off, the way his stomach had churned in protest. But he hadn’t known then, couldn’t have known that the drink had been laced with poison, a slow-acting toxin meant to weaken him, to make him vulnerable.
Now, here he was, on the cold, unforgiving shower floor, his body overtaken by poison and maggots, the final moments of his life slipping away like sand through his fingers. His thoughts were muddled, but the only thing he could focus on was the feeling of them, the maggots, crawling deeper, burrowing further.
His vision was fading, the world slipping into darkness as the poison took full control. His heart beat slower, weaker, each pulse echoing in his ears. He could feel his life draining out of him, just as the maggots continued to feast.
The last thing he felt before everything went black was the sensation of his body giving up, the maggots’ invasion becoming a dull, insistent pressure beneath his skin. And then, nothing.
Unveiled late last year, the Vito and eVito gain the brand’s MBUX infotainment system, and upgrade to a 10.25-inch touchscreen and 5.5-inch digital instrument display as standard in Europe.
In overseas markets, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and wireless charging are also available on higher grades, as well as the ‘Hey Mercedes’ intelligent voice command feature.
Unique to the electric eVito are some infotainment displays and settings, as well as navigation system which selects the fastest route with the fewest charging stops and shortest charging times – taking into account traffic, weather, route topography, driving range and power consumption.
The 2024 facelift precedes the introduction of replacements for the electric eVito and EQV due in 2026, on a dedicated electric-car architecture known as ‘Van.EA’.
With the facelift, Mercedes-Benz has also included a number of ‘digital extras’ for the Vito in Europe, such as ‘accident and breakdown management’, remote software updates, and vehicle diagnosis.
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Overseas, buyers can pair up their Vito or eVito with the Mercedes Me app, allowing them to lock and unlock the vehicle remotely, or turn on the heating or air-conditioning before getting in.
Other features include keyless start as standard in Europe, and an optional heated steering wheel, new centre console, and 360-degree camera.
On the outside, the design has had a refresh – led by a new grille (blocked off in the eVito) and front bumper with larger side air intakes, while new wheel and paint choices are on offer as well.
Standard safety features in Europe include attention assist, driving light assist (including rain sensor), cruise control, autonomous emergency braking with intersection assist, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keep assist, speed sign recognition and a rear-view camera.
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Also new is a power-operated tailgate feature on more expensive grades.
The Vito line-up retains panel van, crew van and Tourer body types, and continues to be powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine, nine-speed automatic transmission and either rear- or all-wheel drive in Europe.
Meanwhile, the eVito offers panel van and Tourer grades overseas, powered by a 60kWh or 90kWh battery paired with an 85kW electric motor. Driving range in the electric Vito is claimed to be between 319km and 381km, depending on the battery chosen.
Meanwhile, the Sprinter – which accounts for about 70 per cent of Mercedes-Benz Vans sales in Australia – has received a set of updates for 2024.
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The Sprinter gains an updated version of the MBUX infotainment system – as one of the first Mercedes-Benz vehicles to offer the original software – with faster computing power, better menu navigation, and a more intuitive Hey Mercedes voice assistant, according to the German car giant.
Its list of safety features includes lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, attention assist, speed sign recognition – including free map data updates for seven years – the Mercedes-Benz emergency call system, cruise control and a rear-view camera for the panel van and Tourer.
The Sprinter continues to use a 2.0-litre diesel engine producing between 84kW and 140kW, mated to either a six-speed manual or nine-speed automatic and with a choice of either rear- or all-wheel drive depending on the variant.
It is offered in panel van or cab chassis forms overseas.
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The electric eSprinter is claimed to adopt new underpinnings with rear-wheel drive for the first time – under a near-identical body to the previous model – with additional standard features.
