Gina Ranalli: Unearthed

She resisted the urge to wonder too much about what they really were, how they came to be or where they were coming from. There would be time for that later, when she was safe.

If you ever get safe .

Debating on her next course of action left her somewhat stymied. It was hard to move when you knew the ground might disappear from under your feet at any second.

Should they continue to travel through the woods or go back to the road? The road would be easier and faster but she was worried about the bee-like creatures. Out there they would be more vulnerable, though in reality, she doubted the forest was much safer, especially with those things making their way out of the newborn canyon.

Sighing, she decided on the road and started back that way, hoping the insects they’d seen had flown along on their merry way to…where?

They were going in the direction of town, same as her.

Rebecca groaned, but what choice did she have? She couldn’t go back to her house and she sure as hell couldn’t stay here. Town was the only place where she might find shelter and, maybe even better, answers.

After walking only a few dozen yards, Lou froze, lowered his head and growled. Rebecca stopped, following his gaze with her own.

Off to the right, maybe twenty feet away, one of the gigantic insects perched on the trunk of a tree about ten feet off the ground. From where she stood, Rebecca could see its antenna twitching and for a moment she feared her bladder would let loose.

Lou growled louder, then barked.

She bit back a scream and crouched beside the dog, grabbing his muzzle in both of her hands.

“Quiet,” she hissed.

The dog thrashed his head back and forth in an attempt to get loose, but Rebecca held tight and gave his head a firm shake. “ Quiet !”

After that, Lou stopped struggling but continued to growl deep in his throat.

When she was sure that he wouldn’t bark again, she released his muzzle and took hold of his collar instead, dragging him behind an ancient, moss-covered blue spruce. She stayed crouched low, peering around the tree trunk to get another glimpse at the creature, but by the time she looked, it was already gone.

The tapping/scratching sound of insect feet on the other side of the glass was nearly enough to make Joe shriek like a little girl.

Slowly, he backed up a few steps, nearly colliding with Stacy who had come forward, her nose wrinkled in disgust as she gaped at the monster bee.

“What the fuck is that?” she asked, grabbing Joe’s upper arm, a lit cigarette dangling from the corner of her mouth.

Joe shook his head, unable to speak.

The thing was crawling around out there, tap, tap, tapping against the window, exploring, so large it blocked the outside view of the world through that particular pane.

Occasionally, it fluttered its black wings without taking off, the way insects will sometimes do.

Stacy released Joe’s arm and moved even closer to the window, her face full of repulsion, but also a kind of childlike wonder.

“Don’t!” Joe clasped her shoulder, halting her progression to the window.

“ I need a cell phone !” John screamed from within the kitchen. “ Where is the fucking phone ?”

The man was clearly on the verge of panic, if not there already, and his voice was nearly as grating as the sound of the insect outside, but he reminded Joe of calling the sheriff, which now seemed more important than ever.

“You said your phone’s in your coat,” he said quietly to Stacy. “Go call the sheriff again, quick.”

Without looking at him, she asked, “What are you gonna do?”

“I’m getting the shotgun.”

They both sprang into action, hurrying away from the front of the diner.

For years, Joe had kept an ancient, double-barreled shotgun in the kitchen. He’d never had to use it before, but it had once belonged to his father, so he kept it clean and in good condition. It was mainly only around for show, though just the employees knew it was there.

The thought of pointing it at anything made his stomach churn, but he pulled it out from behind the dry-goods storage bins and began to rifle through the bins themselves in search of shells. Once located, he loaded up the shotgun, snapped it closed and turned to see John staring at him, wild-eyed.

“You’re gonna kill that thing?” the man asked, pointing towards the dining area. “You should go kill it before it gets inside.”

“It’s not gonna get inside, man.” Joe tried to sound calm, though he felt anything but. “This is just a precaution.”

At the far end of the kitchen, Stacy removed the phone from her ear and said, “It just keeps ringing. No one picks up.”

With his free hand, Joe rubbed the stubble on his cheek and upper lip, then paused, his hand still covering his mouth.

“What do we do now?” Stacy asked.

Before Joe could reply, John lunged at her, snatching the phone from her hand.

“Hey!” Joe protested, taking a step towards the man.

“Watch it!” Stacy snapped, swatting at John as he moved away, head bent as he dialed the phone. “You could ask, you know!”

John ignored them both, pressed send and ran a hand through his grimy hair as he listened to something on the other end of the phone. “Fuck!” he shouted after a moment. “Fucking voicemail!”

He tried dialing again, with the same result. “She should be home right now!” he yelled to no one in particular. “Where the fuck is she?”

Joe shoved his way past John to look out into the dining area again. Their visitor still remained on the window, though except for its antennas, it wasn’t moving.

Coming up beside him, Stacy repeated her question: “What are we gonna do, Joe?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I’m definitely not crazy about going outside right now. What if there are more of those things?”

“So…we just bide our time?”

He shrugged. “I guess so. Unless you have a better idea.”

Stacy’s eyes remained fixed on the giant insect, both hands rubbing her gently curving belly. Joe was pretty sure she wasn’t even aware she was doing it.

“ Motherfucker !” John shouted, throwing the cell phone as hard as he could against a wall. The device shattered and fell to the floor in several pieces.

“You son-of-a-bitch!” Joe nearly dropped the shotgun, but managed to place it on the counter before whirling and grabbing hold of the front of John’s shirt. “What the hell is wrong with you? That was our only phone!”

“ Where is my wife ?” John screamed into Joe’s face, as if he really expected Joe to know the answer.

“You’re paying for that,” Stacy said angrily as she tried to gather up the pieces of her phone. “You prick. There’s no way anyone will be able to fix this.”

Joe shoved John away and pointed a meaty finger in the other man’s face. “You need to calm yourself right now, asshole! I’ll toss you out of here in a second if you don’t chill the fuck out.”

“With that thing out there?” John cried, pointing towards the window. “You don’t even know what it is! It could kill me!”

“Yeah, it probably could,” Joe agreed. “All the more reason for you to cut the hysteria shit.”

Tossing the remnants of her broken phone aside, Stacy changed the subject. “Joe, whatever happened to that old transistor radio you used to have in here?”

Suddenly, Joe’s eyes lit up with hope, his altercation with John forgotten. He smiled and said, “I ought to kiss you.”

“You wish, old man.”

Together, they began rummaging around the kitchen, searching for the radio while John circled around to the other side of the counter and began pacing back and forth, sweat running down his temples as his hands gestured wildly, though his mutterings were inaudible.