Z is for Zooid

We made it! Time to catch some Z's.

For this year's A-Z Challenge I have selected a word from the dictionary for each day and written a story around it with a 100 word limit. For extra interest I have chosen words that are unknown or unfamiliar to me. All definitions are from the Oxford Dictionary & Thesaurus 2007 Edition. Today's word is: Zooid.

Zooid: An individual member of a colony of invertebrate animals.

Zachariah watched helplessly as every day members of his colony were eaten. As sea worms, they spent their time bedded into the sand, their upper bodies swaying in the currents. But it made them prime targets.

One day, he felt different. Stronger. One of his best buddies, Hubert, was being viciously attacked by a crab. He swung around in a wide arc and clobbered the critter between the eyestalks. It actually had an impact, and the crab scuttled away, stunned.

“Wow!” said Hubert. “Thanks. How did you do that?”

Zachariah flexed his muscular body. “I think I grew a spine!”