Stingers Part Three

“I wouldn’t want to get stung by one of those.” His mother had said when she saw little Noah playing in the yard with his red ball. The hornets were large but only a few of them were close enough to bother Noah. He stood there tossing his red ball up and down while thinking about his future. His future that his old man had wanted him to have. This was years ago when Noah was only a child. And why in the world would his mother not come out and protect the young Noah from these flying insects? She had to finish supper so maybe that was her excuse. A bad excuse it was but when Noah’s dad returned from work there was no way she could tell him that she hadn’t finished the meal. He would get angry and she didn’t like him when he was angry. Noah continued to toss his little red ball.

“Stupid bees,” he said to the intruding hornets. Back then he never knew the difference between bees and hornets always thinking of them as the same. He just knew that they stung and when they stung it hurt like hell. He hated the little insects even this early in his life. His little red ball traveled higher and higher into the air as he continued to toss it.

“Noah supper is nearly ready and your father will be home soon so I’ll need you to come in here and help set the table.” Oh great his father is nearly home. He cringed at the thought of hearing his old man cement the computer world into his brain again. He didn’t want to be a technician as he considered it a boring job, but how was he ever going to tell his dad that news?

“Noah get in here now and set this table.” He corked his head to the left looking into the kitchen through the old wooded screen door. His mother didn’t like it when he wasn’t listening to her so he decided it was time to go inside. He turned to walk toward the house when the little red ball came crashing down on his head. He gave a scream and a rub to his noggin with his right hand. It didn’t really hurt but the shock of the hit is what caused him to scream. His mother peaked out of the kitchen screen door with a wet towel in her hands. She saw that her son was rubbing his head.

“Noah what in God’s name are you doing out there? Do you want your father to come home before we are ready? If you don’t hurry it up and get in here I’m going to come out there and drag you in here by the ears.” That threat he took seriously. There had been one time before in his life that she had done that and it hurt. A little incident in a grocery store involving a bag of M&M’s that she wouldn’t buy for him resulted in him throwing the bag to the floor exploding the candy all over the place. His ears hurt for days afterwards as she pulled him from the store to the car waiting outside.

“I’m coming,” and he took off for the porch heading toward the kitchen. As he leapt on the cement porch he grasped the banister on the side which had a hornet hiding where he couldn’t see.

BUZZ! The hornet said as it stung little Noah right on the finger, the same finger that he would later mangle in an accident on his bike. That finger must have been cursed since the day he was born. Cursed to cause him pain all throughout his life.

“WAHHH!” Noah shouted at the top of his lungs. His mother came rushing outside to see what the problem was. He was jumping up and down while holding the wrist that was connected to the hand that got stung. Pain… oh so much pain…

That was many years ago and still to this day is one of the reasons why Noah cannot stand having hornets anywhere near him. Though could anybody really? Besides Noah’s friend Sanders that is.

The roar of the shop-vacuum fills Noah’s eardrums as he stares at the hornets. The large pulsating vein on the one hornet has expanded. Thud-thud, thud-thud, thud-thud, it seemed to be a heart beat. And it was hypnotic to Noah as he stood there eyeing it. For a second he thought the vein was going to pop and spill the hornet’s blood all over the place.

“Not in my house,” he said. The vacuum was ready to suck as he lunged forward. He missed the hornet he was aiming for which sent the long black vacuum hose into the wall. It slid taking Noah’s whole body with it down to the floor. Above him the hornet with the vein stops in mid-air. It rotates a few times before taking off in the other direction.

“He’s running,” Noah said. He pushed himself up off of the floor and grabbed the black vacuum hose that he had dropped. The hornet with the vein lands on a window sill near the far side of the room. Noah grins curling his upper lip high while making his way over to the insect. For a brief moment he had forgotten about the other hornet flying around. Maybe that’s because it was being quiet sitting over there on the wooden steps behind Noah. How did it get over there without him noticing it? Behind him comes the buzzing sound from the other hornet. It lifts off of the steps torpedoing it’s way directly at Noah. Noah spins as he sees the fearless brute.

“What the… are you trying to sneak up on me?” The hornet’s speed seemed to increase as it threw itself at Noah. At the last moment before impact the hornet missed as Noah dodged his attack crouching to the floor.

“Yeah you weren’t expecting that were you?” And neither was Noah. In reality that wasn’t a dodge at all. He had tripped over the vacuum hose sending himself to the floor. He nearly knocked his noggin against the wall but managed to avoid that. The hornet turned coming back toward Noah. Seeing this he jumped up off of the floor as quick as he could with vacuum hose in hand. The hornet came from the left and Noah tried swatting it with his hand, he missed. The hornet came from the right and Noah tried to deliver a head-butt, he missed. The hornet came dead on right toward Noah’s stomach landing right above his bellybutton.

“Whaaa!” He screamed as he tried sucking the hornet up with the vacuum hose. The end of the hose clamped onto Noah’s shirt sucking it into the void. He had a hard time removing it as he flung himself in circles round and round. The hornet flew upwards landing on the top of his head ready to sting. Over on the window sill the veiny hornet sat staring at the scuffle. Aside from it’s vein pulsating the two antennas on it’s head bobbled around in random directions. Noah pulled the vacuum hose free looking around for his enemy. He sees the veiny hornet over there mocking him; a little insect sitting on the window sill—

“It’s flipping me off!” Noah said. The veiny hornet was flipping him off from the window sill across the room. How can a hornet flip someone off? “Your not supposed to have fingers…” But this veiny hornet had five.

Up on Noah’s head the other hornet pressed its stinger down through Noah’s flesh. The pain was instant as his eyes sprung open wide along with his mouth. He screamed at the top of his lungs while smacking the hornet with his hand. This time he got it, full on palm crashing down on the insect, but it didn’t kill the thing.

“You son of a…” He caressed his head trying to dull the pain away but it wasn’t working. The pain was bad with a throbbing sensation that felt like the worst headache he had ever had. “If you poked my brain I’m going to kill you.” He looked down on the floor. The hornet was stunned from the blow it had received as it moved around on the floor slowly. Noah’s eyes widened with rage as he lifted his foot to crush the insect, but instead decided a much more suitable fate. He smiled.

“It’s time little fellow,” he said while looking at the vacuum hose in his hand. He leaned over making sure to savor this moment, and making sure that the veiny hornet over on the window sill saw every bit of it. Thoop said the vacuum hose as it sucked the hornet up.

“Your next,” Noah said while looking at the veiny hornet. At this moment the hornet lifted off of the window sill gunning for Noah. It’s stinger pointed outward aiming directly at Noah’s throat.

That vein… Noah thought. That vein is getting bigger.

Just before the hornet struck Noah in the neck a hand came up whiffing past the insect. This only stalled the bug as it continued forward. Its stinger seemed to perk out further and further but again at the last moment something had struck it from the side. It was the vacuum hose that Noah held in his hand which was still roaring with its sucking fury. The veiny hornet smacked off of the wall and fell to the floor hard. It was stunned just like the other but as Noah leaned in for the kill the pesky insect took flight high above his head. Noah looked up and saw that Veiny was running for the hole in the corner.

“Not so fast,” and Noah lunged forward only to once again trip over the long vacuum hose sending him to the floor. He made an “ugh” sound as he hit. Craning his neck upward he was able to see the veiny hornet disappearing into the corner hole. It was gone.

As Noah stood up he favored his head which hurt like hell from the hornet sting. He stared at the hole in the corner and knew, deep down somewhere inside he just knew that his war was far from over.