Too Many Cooks

Buzz - Chapter 5

Previously

Having determined the smell wasn’t anything remotely resembling dinner, Stanley hung back. After a few more steps his roommate collapsed to her knees and let out a loud cry that scared him. His front paws danced beneath him back and forth in a quarter circle maneuver as he tried to figure out how to proceed. The other lady on the ground didn’t bother him. She looked like his roomie sleeping but she was in unfamiliar clothes. He looked at his crumpled friend and nuzzled her arm trying to get her attention. He was concerned. His intense black eyes tried to convey this but she just stared at the body and swayed ever so slightly with each heaving breath.

Clearly the body had to be addressed or they might not get home for dinner. Stanley dropped his butt onto the cool ground and looked around, trying to sniff his way to an answer. Going on instincts, since that was all dogs really had to work with, Stanley headed in the direction his nose took him. He no longer saw the figure on the ground, he just knew that he had found a spot where he needed to dig and set to his task with a vengeance. After several minutes, he detected a shift in the scents and stopped digging. Looking back he saw his roommate still kneeling on the ground. She sometimes got in this position next to her bed at night before they went to sleep but she wasn’t usually crying when she did that.

Trotting over to her he tugged at her sleeve. She needed to come see what he had accomplished. He had dug a really good hole. Good things were often found in holes although he had once gotten a serious whack on his nose when he dug a hole in the neighbor’s yard. For a long moment she didn’t move, but then her body gave a little and she looked at Stanley, glad to have a momentary distraction from the images in her mind. Those had been her shoes and she had fallen asleep in that very spot, years ago. She’d collapsed from the shock and exhaustion and perhaps a little too much wine with dinner.

Stanley ran back over to the hole and waited expectantly, his tale nearly wagging him off balance. “Come back here,” she said as she approached to scoop him up. “We need to go back to the truck now.” 

But he backed around to the other side of the hole, forcing her to come closer. That’s when she looked down and caught sight of two small objects made visible through Stanley’s efforts. She wanted to turn away but the realization hit her that if she did, the buzzing would find her again. Just as Stanley had scraped away layer after layer of dirt, it was time for her to peel through the onion layers of understanding. The S-O-S wasn’t a plea from the dragonflies that they needed help, it was their way of trying to help her.

As these thoughts flooded into her brain, she started pacing again. Oh no, Stanley thought, remembering his delicate little paws getting stepped on more than once during her recent pacing episodes at home. Stanley ran and hunkered down under the truck. He couldn’t understand what she was doing but he knew it didn’t involve his belly being filled. And she didn’t need him for whatever this was. He blinked his bulgy eyes and watched with his chin on the ground between his front paws.

Twice she stopped pacing to bend down and pick something up. Stanley started to rise. Those looked like sticks, but he suspected if it wasn’t time for dinner it might not be time for play either. He twitched his back end a little and then settled back down to his previous position, noting that the sun was coming down to eye level.

She walked back over to Stanley’s hole and sat down, putting the sticks beside her. Brushing gently at the ground, tears began pouring down her face again. Stanley suspected his water dish could have been filled with all the water his rommie had leaked today. Figuring his paws were safe with her sitting down, he padded over to her and nuzzled his way into the triangle recess of her crossed legs. From the recess in the ground he could see her pick up a shiny object. 

It was smaller than the dragonflies that she had been talking to earlier, the ones who had flown in a big food bowl formation, but it was the same shape. She didn’t talk to this one like she had the others but then this on was in her hand. His Chihuahua to English capabilities were limited, so the words didn’t help him understand. But, he could feel her emotions ride up and down like the bumpy ride they had taken in the truck. Right now she seemed sad so he just perched a proprietary paw on her knee and waited. She continued to rub her fingers over the shiny object, her tears washing away some of the dirt that clung to the intricate patterns on the tiny wings.

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, still clutching the metal object. “It was an accident.” Those words sounded familiar to Stanley. He’d heard something like that when he got stepped on. 

Then she brushed some more dirt away from the patch Stanley had started excavating and she removed a second object. This one was round and silverish and had little scratched marks on it. Stanley tilted his head slightly causing the similar disc attached to his collar to jingle slightly. He stretched his neck out to sniff at it but this time she nudged his head away. “That’s not yours, Stanley.” Her voice was muffled and he could hear her snuffling and swallowing hard, trying to force something down.

Silent minutes passed and she started to uncross her legs, forcing Stanley to move off of her legs entirely. He decided it was time to go and visit a nearby tree. While he was off doing his business, she untied and removed one of her shoelaces. She wrapped the string around the two sticks securing them in a cross pattern like the shiny object she wore around her neck. Then she put the small dragonfly back in the hole and started covering it up. 

“I didn’t know what I’d lost until I got home. I was so afraid someone would find out. They wouldn’t understand it was an accident. But I’ve taken really good care of Stanley. I know it doesn’t fix everything but …” and she trailed off into a sob again.

After she’d filled Stanley’s hole back in, she put the hand-crafted wooden cross on the top. Still clutching the other metal disc, she stretched out on the ground next to the impromptu cemetery. The sun was setting, casting long shadows as Stanley trotted back toward his roommate. Again he tilted has head and gave a little perplexed nudge of her foot. This wasn’t where they slept, but clearly she wasn’t ready to go home. Failing to see an other options, Stanley curled up at her feet. He would stand guard, his evening shadow giving him the external impression of a bigger protector.

It remained quiet and still for a long time but a sudden loud crunching sound perked up his ears. Dust blew up into his sensitive nose, causing him to give a little head-shaking sneeze. Stanley quickly sent out an alert with a quick series of yaps. His roommate sat up with a start and found herself blinking as she looked directly into the flashing blue and red lights.

Buzz - Chapter 4

Previously

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.

Buzz - chapter 3

Stanley waited for the familiar lurch of the truck moving but didn’t feel it. All he did feel was his roommate shaking, almost as fast as he was. He risked a tentative peek out the window and saw the park with its expanse of green grass, trees, all the rocks he’d marked as his own. What he didn’t see was an angry circle of dragonflies. He sniffed and smelled something sweet and salty. He followed his nose to his friend’s face and proceeded to lick the water leaking from her eyes.

She still clenched the shifter with one hand, ready to jam the gears in place and race away. With the other she cradled Stanley to her chest as he licked her face. Normally she’d make a show of warding him off. This time she didn’t. She sat frozen, the only movement her eyes darting left and right, scanning the horizon.

The buzzing was gone for now. The only sounds left were her pounding heart and the the old man rumble of the truck’s engine. She loosened her death grip on the shifter and concentrated on her breathing. Stanley finally got his fill of her sweat and tears so she let him go. He hopped to the passenger seat and put his little paws on the door and his head out the window.

“It’s a good thing those dragonflies disappeared, Stanley. I forgot your window was still open.”

Stanley sniffed at the air. If he’d been a classicist, he might have made a joke about Denmark because something sure was rotten in the park. He whimpered and took his paws off the window. He spun circles in his seat, the universal sign for, “let’s get out of here.”

She saw Stanley spinning in his seat. “We sure don’t want to drive all the way home if you need to use the bathroom, do we?” she said in response to the universal sign for, “I’ve got to pee.” She took a few deep breaths and patted Stanley on the head to calm herself more. Then she turned off the truck. It sputtered twice before dying and she thought it was about time for a tuneup. Stanley yipped excitedly as she turned to open her door.

The dragonflies were back.

Buzz - Chapter 2

Previously

Stanley was not known for his skills as an entomologist but even he realised that something was amiss. Groups of dragonflies weren’t that unusual for this time of year. What was unusual was the sheer number of them and the way they were forming a large, perfect circle. If he had been able to perform calculations Stanley would’ve described the circle as being twenty times as large as his food bowl.

She thought the dragonfly circle looked liked a large, unblinking, angry eye. Bending slowly to her knees, she scooped Stanley into her arms. As she moved she could’ve sworn the buzzing got louder and the “eye” looked even angrier. “I really shouldn’t anthropomorphise creatures,” she said to Stanley, her Chihuahua.

As she stood she glanced at her truck. She estimated that the dragonflies were about twice as far away from her vehicle as she and Stanley were. Her body was screaming at her to run but her mind seemed unable to process the instruction and she remained still for several minutes, as did the dragonflies.

As there was no sign of movement she took a tentative side-step towards the truck, all the while while keeping her gaze fixed on the dragonflies. The dragonflies stayed as they were. This gave her the courage to try a few more side-steps. The outer edge of the dragonfly “eye” remained the same. Inside the circle, however, she thought she detected movement. And had the buzzing become slightly louder?

She risked a few more steps, increasing her pace slightly. This time there was a definite stirring from the dragonflies. The way they moved restlessly within the circle seemed almost serpentine and the buzzing had a deeper, more menacing tone.

Stanley’s ears detected a higher-pitched note which reminded him of the noise the neighbourhood cats made at night when he was trying to sleep. It made him physically uncomfortable and he started quivering.

This jolted her into action and she began sprinting to her truck, holding Stanley over her shoulder with one hand and struggling to get her keys out with the other. She was no longer watching the dragonflies but Stanley had a clear view of them. The circle was increasing rapidly in size as the buzzing grew louder and louder. Stanley suddenly realised that this was because they were getting closer and buried his head into her chest to block the sight of them out.

She pushed herself beyond her limits and increased her speed, ignoring the pain in her side that the exertion was causing. Her whole body started to ache and each breath felt like sandpaper was sliding down her throat.

She managed to fumble her keys out of her pocket and press the fob, unlocking the truck. She had no idea how close the dragonflies were. With one final, agonising push she threw herself at the truck, flung open the door and stuck the key in the ignition, praying to every god she could think of that it would start first time.

The engine stuttered as she slammed the door shut, still holding the quivering Stanley tightly to her. She looked fearfully through the windows.

There was no sign of the dragonflies.

Buzz - Chapter 1

The buzzing was driving her crazy. It had been days now. Once again, she walked around her small bungalow looking for the source. She turned the fluorescent lights on and off again. She checked that the appliances were still unplugged. Flipped the TV and radio on and off, the lamps, unplugged the cell phone charger. The buzzing continued.

Stanley was concerned. He may be a Chihuahua, but he knew when his roommate was not acting normally. Sure, he got his food on time, and the water bowl was full. They still sat in the yard together in the morning and evening as always. But the pacing! She paced and paced and kept touching things over and over. Things that had always been there. Things that smelled dead, as they always had. Things that should be ignored.

He tried to pace with her but her stops, starts, and turns had become so unpredictable that she had stepped on him more than once. So Stanley sat on the arm of the couch from where he could see her most of the time. They still slept in bed together, but fitfully. If she didn’t get a grip soon, he was going to be sick with exhaustion again.

She decided they should go for a drive together. Maybe there would be no buzzing in the truck. Plus she owed Stanley some fun because lately she was so distracted she kept stepping on him. He wasn’t a youngster anymore, and if she kept this up she was afraid she might really hurt him, like break a bone or something. Poor little guy. She knew he kept his bulgy eyes on her. He always knew when something wasn’t right, even if he didn’t know what it was. He was, after all, just a dog.

The truck started right up on the first try. That was a bit of a surprise, because she couldn’t remember the last time they had driven somewhere. She needed groceries and to run errands like a normal person, but she just couldn’t concentrate because of the buzzing. Stanley jumped into her arms as soon as she asked, “Ride?” He was shaking and wriggling with excitement. This was a good decision.

As they drove along the river, she rolled down the windows and left the radio off. It was quiet. There was just the wind and Stanley’s panting, no buzzing. The truck could probably use a muffler check, but it was almost a relief to hear a rumble that made sense. It was the truck, she knew it was the truck, and she relaxed a bit. They stopped at the peninsula park and trotted across the grass to see if the water was high as it often was this time of year. Stanley peed on every rock they passed. They were both content for the moment.

The water was low, revealing the nasty mud bottom that smelled like old river algae. Stanley wanted to sniff it but it was gross and she was afraid he would fall in, so she picked him up. That was when the buzzing started again. Tears welled in her eyes and she turned to take Stanley back to the truck. Then she saw the dragonflies.