Buzz - Chapter 4
She sat, frozen in place with her hand on the door handle, until Stanley began to worry. He nudged her arm with his nose, and she suddenly snapped into action. She leaned over and cranked the handle to close the window on the passenger side. Then, she turned to Stanley and said, “I don’t understand what’s happening. I’m scared.”
Stanley didn’t understand, either, but he wasn’t scared of the dragonflies. He was scared for her, and he didn’t know how to help. She was the only human he had ever known, so he had nothing to go on in terms of dealing with her recent odd behaviors. He did know one thing. It was close to dinnertime and they couldn’t stay here. His bowl was not here. His bowl was at home. They had to go home.
Stanley crawled onto her lap. From there, he was able to poke his nose at the keys dangling from the ignition.
“Oh, Stanley, you’re right. We need to leave.” She gave him a hug and moved him back to the passenger seat. Pumping the accelerator, she turned the key in the ignition.
The engine gave a cough and a grumble, then died.
“Damn! I’ve flooded it! Looks like we’re stuck here for a little while, Stan,” she said. She was trying to sound comforting, but it wasn’t working. Even with the windows closed, they could still hear the buzzing.
She tried to think about dragonflies. Her knowledge was slim to non-existent. The only things she could remember were that people liked them because they ate mosquitoes. She also knew that dragonflies were not capable of walking. Other than that, she was blank on dragonflies. She was pretty sure they weren’t known for creating formations that resembled angry eyes, and “her” dragonflies had most definitely done just that.
She could see part of the swarm if she leaned her head against the window. They had moved from their original spot and for one crazy second, she thought, “They’re blocking my exit!”
The buzzing was still intense, but there was something else, a palpable quality to the sound. There was a throbbing pattern to the buzzing. Intrigued, she rolled down the window a few inches in order to hear better. Yes, there was a pattern. It was three quick buzzes, three longer buzzes, then three quick buzzes.
Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzzzzzzzzz, buzzzzzzzzz, buzzzzzzzzz, buzz, buzz, buzz.
There was a familiarity to the throbbing noise, but she couldn’t quite place it.
Stanley whimpered. “Hush, Stanley, I need to pay attention to the dragonflies,” she said. He crept closer and she gave him a few pats on the head. Small comfort, but it was better than nothing.
The buzzing grew louder. It was almost as if the dragonflies were behaving the way some people do when they are not being understood. Rather than re-stating themselves, they just speak louder.
Her eyes widened. That couldn’t be it. Could it? Were the dragonflies sending out an S-O-S? Three short, three long, three short, pause, repeat. It had to be S-O-S! It could be nothing else!
“Stanley, maybe I’ve gone crazy, but I think the dragonflies are asking for help. I’m going out there. You stay here and be a good boy, okay?” Stanley did not think it was one bit “okay,” and he let her know this by burrowing into her lap. She was not leaving him behind; if anything happened, it would be every woman, or dog, for himself, and Stanley knew he had a better chance of surviving in the great outdoors than he did shut in the cab of a truck to starve to death. Stanley, like any good Chihuahua, tended to be a bit dramatic.
“Fine, it’s your decision. Come on then, but be careful.” She slowly opened the door and stepped out of the truck with Stanley in her arms. She placed him on the ground and he darted behind her.
The swarm slowly lifted from its place in front of the truck and moved up until it was at eye level.
“What do you want?” she whispered. The S-O-S pattern continued.
“What do you want?” her voice was firmer now. She didn’t think they would harm her.
The swarm moved to her left, heading to a nearby copse of trees. When she didn’t follow, it moved back and rippled, almost as if to motion her to come along. She took a tentative step and the swarm again moved toward the trees. Another step. The swarm moved again. It was obvious she needed to follow.
“What is it, Lassie? Is Timmy in the well?” She couldn’t help herself. This was crazy behavior, so why not act accordingly?
Stanley followed closely at her heels. Suddenly, he thrust his nose into the air. There it was again, that rotten smell he had noticed earlier. It wasn’t the dragonflies; whatever it was, he knew it wasn’t good. The closer they were to the trees, the stronger the smell. She had not noticed it yet, but her nose, like many of her senses, was not as powerful as Stanley’s. He always felt sorry for her; she missed so many delicious smells on their daily walks. He turned his nose back to the smell at hand. It was not the smell of anything he wanted to eat. That much he knew.
The swarm moved to a clump of brush right at the edge of the tree line. With one final resounding “BUZZ!” the swarm broke apart and the dragonflies were nowhere to be seen. She moved closer to the clump and then the smell hit her. Pulling the neck of her shirt up to cover her nose, she moved closer.
There was a shoe. In the shoe was a foot, attached to a leg. The leg disappeared into the bush. She had a strange feeling the rest of the body was there, too.
