Stingers Part Five

Buzz

Where is that coming from?

Noah said while turning around in his computer chair. The dark room behind him was empty and with creak he turned himself back around facing his computer. His document wasn’t getting finished tonight so he thought he would close it and get up early the next day to complete it. He was tired, and his arms felt as if they were about to fall asleep.

That’s strange.

And he gave his arms a stretch which brought the blood back to them. With a click of the mouse he closed his paper and another click turned his computer off. His chewed pencil rolled a few inches over as his right arm knocked it.

Buzz

There it is again. Why am I hearing that?

He didn’t turn around fast when he heard this buzz. Sure it came from behind but like all the other times there wasn’t anything there. For the last hour he has heard that buzzing sound over and over again. Almost once every five minutes, and every time the noise always came from behind his head. Sometimes far away, other times close enough to make him think it was right next to his ear. The pulsating hornet wasn’t anywhere to be seen and there were no other hornets in the room with him. No other bugs at all that could be making this noise but it was there. This was pretty much the main reason why he couldn’t get his work done. With all of that buzzing it was nearly impossible. So he would sleep.

I don’t know where you are at Veiny, but I can hear you. I don’t see you anywhere but I can hear you. And I want you to know that I will find you. I will kill you.

He shook his head side to side. That hornet couldn’t hear his thoughts so all of this talking in his brain isn’t going to get him anywhere, but it somehow made him feel better.

“I need a drink,” he said. His hair a mess with that huge lump sticking up out of it. It had gotten bigger and so far Noah hasn’t noticed. As he stood out of the chair the lump wobbled back and forth under his upraised red hair. It moved like Jell-O would move if you were to give it a shake. He gave a yawn as he placed his hand over his mouth. By now his father had thrown away all of the leftover food but he really didn’t care. He wasn’t even hungry anymore and felt as if he could sleep for days. Over on the sink was a glass which sat there with a coffee stain inside of it. Unwashed it was, but filling it up with cool water from the tap he still drank it down in one long gulp.

My head hurts.

And it hurt a lot. The throbbing pain beat like a heart no matter how he maneuvered his head. It was a headache that felt worse than any other headache he had ever had. He held his eyes shut while blindly placing the cup down on the sink. He missed, and the glass fell to the floor shattering all over the place.

Great now I got to clean that up—

He heard another buzz coming from behind him. This buzz seemed loud and angry. He turned without a care expecting nothing to be there as before, but he was wrong. Right behind him floating in mid-air about five inches away was Veiny. The hornet had grown making it about the size of a small cat. It’s wings flutter air around which Noah can feel on his face. His red hair even blew around a small bit.

I knew you would show yourself.

There he goes again thinking the hornet could hear his thoughts. That’s impossible Noah, but then the insect nodded its head up and down. It understood, and it had heard Noah’s thoughts.

Noah stood there face to face with the largest hornet he has ever seen.

Buzz

Young Noah has an accident…

“No, mom I don’t want to go to the store with you. Can’t I just stay here and watch cartoons?” His mother shook her head side to side. She had never left Noah home alone and she wasn’t going to start now. There was no telling how much trouble a boy his age could get himself into if he was left alone. She envisions him standing on a chair trying to reach the cookie jar up atop the refrigerator. The see-through glass revealed the many lemon cookies contained within and Noah loved them. He would be reaching for the goodies when he slips on the edge of the chair placing his foot just a little too far over. With a scream he would land on a knife that he had somehow dropped on the floor earlier. That would be the end of her little boy, and that wasn’t sitting to well with her as she looked down at him standing before her. He only came up to her waist and he stood there with his hands on his hips. His lips scrunched as his eyebrows shot downward in an angry glare. He didn’t want to go to the store with her today, but he wasn’t going to stay home alone either.

“No, Noah you have to go with me and that’s final. I will not leave you home alone giving you the chance to stab yourself in the gut. So go and get ready.” She turned around looking through her purse that sits on the table. Noah’s eyes were wide as he thought about stabbing himself in the gut. Why in the world would he ever do that? He wasn’t going to ask his mother why she would say that so he decided to head into his room to get ready. Only he wasn’t getting ready to leave for the store. He was going to get ready to sneak out of the window that was next to his bed. His bike laid next to the apple tree that he would sometimes sit under while eating the fresh fruit.

“Okay mom I’ll go and get ready.” He said while walking around the corner out of the kitchen. She gave a smile and she looked down into her overstuffed purse.

“Don’t take too long dear we have a lot of places to go to. The store is only one of our stops.”

In his bedroom Noah looks around at all of his toys he has strewn about. The broken firetruck that he had left in the driveway only to be ran over by his dad’s car. A boxing glove with a hole in it that he hardly used and for good reason, he didn’t have a punching bag. On a stand next to his bed was a TV that was hooked into the cable. Posters line the wall of many different video games that he has played. He liked his room, but he wouldn’t be spending any time in here today. He had to get out of here before his mother came in to see what was taking him so long. He didn’t want to go to the store but if she came in she would make him go. The store was boring, but riding his bike all day was fun. It was sunny outside and mid-morning so there was a lot of day left. He wasn’t going to waste it all away at the grocery store pushing a buggy around while his mother tosses items inside. So now that he has this opportunity to escape he is going to take it. So he goes over beside his bed and reaches for the window that has been closed. He unlatches the lock and slides the window up with ease. The breeze from the outside enters through this window and smacks him in the face.

“Sorry ma but there will be no store for me today,” and he begins to slide out of the window with his left foot. On the stand next to his bed sat an unopened can of Pepsi. His eyes catch the sugary drink followed by his right hand grabbing it. Sure it was nice and warm but it was still better than having nothing. It would still taste good and he could sip on it while he rides around on his bike. What a great idea that is, and he smiles while holding the can in front of him.

“Noah what is taking you so long?” His mother was at his door but he was already outside steering his bike up the backyard heading toward the alleyway. Left hand on the handlebar and right hand holding up the can of Pepsi. He takes a sip, and it was as he thought, nice and warm but still good. He turns left heading up the narrow alleyway looking at all of the neighbor yards around him. A trailer on his left with a large wooden fence around it was his first sight. He never talked to these people so he really didn’t know who they were. He has seen them outside on occasions but never paid much attention to them.

Sip

He looks to his right and he sees the home of his best friend who was currently visiting his family members. He would be gone all day so Noah was pretty much on his own. The large yard had a small house and a small mesh fence enclosing it all in. Many, many days of his short life has been spent in that yard playing with his friend Bo.

Sip

On ahead was a large brown duplex home that had different families living in there over the years. He became friends with some of the kids but others he stayed away from. He can remember one kid who liked to put ants inside of his drinks to flavor them up. Add a little something extra to the mix, but he couldn’t remember that kids name, it has slipped his mind.

Sip

He turns right down a joining alleyway which was wider than the one he has just left. It was short and up at the end was a small bump that he just loved to leap over. So with another sip of his pop he kicked his bike into high gear heading toward the bump. Pulling back on his handlebar, only with his left hand, he does a small jump over the bump and lets out a “Yee-Haw.”

Sip

He turns right down this road which has a nice little hill at the end. He loves this hill because of how fast he can get his bike to go.

Sip

The cars parked on this road all had their windows down letting some of the hot summer air out. The sun was beating down hard as noon approached and a few people were having a cookout on his left. He waves at them as he travels past taking his left hand off of the handlebar only for a split second. His bike wobbles and he laughs while taking another sip of his pop. The cookout people wave back as a man in an apron flips a burger on the flame.

Sip

His bike begins to pick up speed as he begins his decent down the hill. The air rushes past his ears as his hair blows around.

“This sure beats going to the store,” he shouts at the top of his lungs. His bike tires spin faster and faster as he sees the bottom of the hill and the overgrown grass in the large yard beyond. There was another alleyway going from left to right and Noah would have to turn his bike hard right in order to avoid crashing into the yard. He enjoyed this as it gave him a thrill. Going faster and faster he maneuvers his bike over to the far left of the road readying himself for the hard turn.

“Yee-Haw!” He shouts at the top of his lungs.

Turning his bike to the right he lifts his pop can up again to take a sip. As he does this he sees a large hornet resting on the mouth of the can which appears to be taking a sip of its own. He cringes and lets out a scream. Tossing the pop can in the air he loses control of the bike as it reaches the bottom of the road. Slamming on his brakes it seemed as if everything was going to be okay. But then a car, which he didn’t see until the last minute, comes through the stop sign without stopping. Noah looks at the car with wide eyes as his bike flips into the air sending him forward. He lands in the grass of the overgrown yard with his bike nearly smacking him in the head. As he laid there his eyes squint from the sunlight entering them. He lifts his arm into the air trying to block it out but then sees his twisted middle finger. He didn’t cry, and it didn’t hurt, but it sure would later. The driver of the car gets out making his way over to the fallen Noah. He leans over picking the kid up off of the ground. Noah looks at this man to see that it was his dad. He gives him a smile, and looks over on the road where he sees his pop can laying. Next to the can was the hornet and it was sipping up some of the spilled pop.

“Noah what in the hell is the matter with you,” his dad said.

Back to the present…

In his kitchen Noah stands there face to face with Veiny. The cat-size hornet floats in front of him with that vein throbbing on its side. A strange glow now engulfs the hornet and it’s stinger slowly comes out.

“You can’t be real,” but it was real. With a loud buzz from Veiny the red bulge on Noah’s head begins to struggle. It flops all over the place letting out a buzz of its own. He holds the bump with his hand and begins to panic. Moving to the right in order to get around the hornet, Veiny moves with him. The insect blocks his way and Noah sees this. He moves over to the left, and once again is blocked by the angry hornet. Is this going to be Noah’s punishment for killing all of those hornets in the past? Is he about to feel all of the pain he has given to those bugs only ten-fold? The hornet thinks so, and it lets out another buzz.

“Relax,” he said to the hornet. Still holding the throbbing bump on his head he can feel the thing inside of it. It had legs and something sharp. Something that was pressing against his head skin in the most uncomfortable of ways. Noah goes to the left and the hornet follows. Another move to the right and the hornet follows. Only this time Noah ducks down underneath Veiny which the hornet doesn’t expect. He comes up on the other side as the hornet turns its body around. The stinger moves in for Noah’s flesh, but with a quick backhand the hornet goes flying across the room smacking into the wall.

“What are you?” Noah asks as he looks at Veiny. The hornet never went down to the floor. After the smack it stayed in the air shaking the blow away. It hadn’t fazed the insect much, and Noah knew he wasn’t going to be able suck that thing up with the vacuum. The black hose wasn’t wide enough.

“Buzz, buzz, buzzing, buzz, buzz.” The hornet said to Noah. It was talking to him but of course Noah couldn’t understand. He had an idea of what it meant though.

It was time to go to war.

“All right,” Noah said while bringing his hand away from his head bump. The thing inside bobbled around ready to explode out of there but Noah ignored it. “Okay asshole. If you want to do this… then you better be ready for a beat down.”

Noah raises his hands up in the air clenching them into fists. The cat-sized hornet floats away from the wall once again coming to a stop in front of Noah. It was time. After all of the hornets Noah has killed it has come down to this. Man vs hornet, Noah vs Veiny. This will be a war that only one of them will survive, and deep down Noah can feel it. This moment in his life will change him forever.

BUZZZZZ

The war has commenced