Gina Ranalli - Unearthed

“Got it,” Stacy announced, pulling the radio out of a lower stainless steel cupboard. She scowled as she studied it. “Jesus, when did you buy this? 1966?”

“Funny,” Joe said, taking the radio from her and twisting the power knob. Immediately, static blared from the tinny speaker and Joe hurried to turn down the volume as Stacy clasped her hands over her ears.

He looked up, his smile ever broader. “Batteries still work.”

“That’s a minor miracle,” Stacy said, though she returned his smile.

Joe put the radio on the counter, stretched its antenna and began spinning the tuning dial in search of anything other than static. It took nearly a full minute of barely moving the knob, but finally the crackle of a distant voice could be heard.

“Right there!” Stacy said.

“I know!”

They both stared at the radio, straining to hear the male voice which sounded so far away it might have been coming from another planet.

“ …complete devastation…no estimations…deaths…”

John leaned over the counter. “Make it come in clearer!”

In unison, Joe and Stacy shushed him.

“…gone…”

“What’s gone?” John demanded.

Joe shot him a dirty look. “Shut the hell up.”

“… approximately 250 miles … growing …”

“250 miles?” John asked. “What the fuck are they talking about?”

Opening her mouth to yell at him, Stacy was interrupted as a deafening explosion rocked the building, shaking loose anything that wasn’t nailed down, including pans, cutlery, small appliances, condiments and half a dozen other things. All three of them instinctively ducked, covering their heads as the power went out and plunged them into dimness.

Plaster rained down on them from the ceiling and a wall clock crashed to the floor with the sound of breaking glass.

When he was certain it was safe, Joe dropped his arms and looked around, dazed.

“That was close by,” Stacy said, straightening up. “Probably a block away at most.”

“Yeah,” Joe agreed. “I’m gonna take a look out the back door.”

“ NO !” Stacy shouted, stepping in front of him. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“We have to know what happened. Someone could be hurt.”

“And that someone could be you if you go out there.”

“I’m just gonna have a peek. I promise.”

“But…that thing .”

“It’s gone,” John said, gaping towards the front of the diner.

Joe and Stacy both looked and saw that he was correct. The bee — or whatever it was — was no longer on the window.

“Huh,” Joe said. “The explosion must have scared it off.”

Stacy cocked her head, listening. “We should hear sirens pretty soon. The fire department is only a couple miles away.”

“I’m not waiting for the fire department,” Joe said, seizing his shotgun. When Stacy tried to block his way again, he said, “If I see anything that ain’t…right…I’ll blast it. Okay?”

“No,” she snapped. “It’s not okay. Something happens to you and I’m in here alone with…” She waved at John with disgust.

“Just a peek ,” he repeated firmly, pushing past her.

Throwing her hands into the air with exasperation, Stacy cursed and began searching the floor for her cigarettes. When she couldn’t find them, she quickly spun around and called after Joe. “Fuck it. I want a peek too.”

He knew better than to argue with her anymore. Instead, he said, “Just stay behind me.”

“Don’t you worry about that,” she said, one hand against her tummy. “Junior here is gonna be pressed right up against your ass.”

Joe was amazed at her ability to retain some of her humor in this fucked-up situation and he had to admire her for it. God knew he wasn’t in the mood for jokes. In fact, if he was being honest with himself, he knew he was damn close to pissing his pants.

They went through the doorway and into the storage room where the back door was located. Moving into deeper gloom, he wished he’d grabbed a flashlight from the kitchen, but knew as soon as they reached the door to the outside they’d have all the light they needed.

Luckily, they’d both spent enough time back here that they could have maneuvered blindfolded and neither of them bumped into anything.

Once they reached the door, Joe gripped the knob with his free hand and glanced over his shoulder at Stacy.

“Ready?”

Her shadow nodded, barely visible, and Joe blinked sweat out of his eyes. Fuck! Why was he so scared?

Taking a deep, steadying breath, he turned the knob and slowly opened the door a crack. Sunlight streamed into the room, temporarily blinding him.

Joe squinted, peeking through the opening. In the distance, the blue sky was smeared with black and the smoke cloud was rolling towards the Pinecone Cafe.

“See anything?” Stacy asked.

“The explosion wasn’t as close as we thought. Maybe half a mile. I’d say it might have been the 7-11 up the road. Close to it, anyway.” He paused, studying the smoke. “But judging the way that wind is blowing, that smoke is gonna be over us in about ten minutes.”

“What about the monster bug? Is that out there?”

Joe shook his head. “Not that I can see.” He opened the door farther and braved poking his head outside, looking around. To his left, the normally busy road was completely deserted. The right was somewhat obscured due to the Dumpster he kept back there, but from what he could see, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Behind the diner’s paved surface was just the lip of the forest and it was too dark to see anything of interest in there.

“Seems safe enough,” he said. “I want to see if I can get a better look.”

Ignoring Stacy’s protest, he swung the door wide and prepared to venture outside, shotgun at the ready.

“ Stop !” John shouted as he raced into the room, causing both Joe and Stacy to jump and whirl around.

John held the transistor radio in his hand. It only took Joe a moment to realize the man was crying.

“I heard them,” John wept. “They said Seattle is gone. Just…gone. It sunk. The whole fucking thing.”

Joe let the door fall closed, casting them into blackness.

“But…” Stacy began. “How is that possible?”

“That’s not all I heard either,” John sniffed. “Those…bees…or whatever the fuck they are. They’re attacking people. They’re fucking killing them!”

Neither Joe nor Stacy spoke, shocked into silence, but the radio crackled in the dark and the faraway voice told them that the end had come.

The Day house stood on a large piece of property but could still be easily seen from the road.

Rebecca was relieved to see it was still standing as she neared it. Along the way, she’d encountered several more sinkholes, though none nearly as large as the one which had taken out acres upon acres of forest. A few had been bigger than a typical swimming pool and twice as deep but as far as she could tell nothing had been emerging from them.

She had seen several more of the bee-like creatures while she traveled. Most of them had been in flight and each time Rebecca had hidden, dragging her dog with her.

With the exception of the huge insects and the trees, she had seen nothing alive and it was this fact, more than any other that had come before it, which gave her a foreboding sense of doom. The world had gone too quiet and the possibility that she and Lou were the only ones left alive tickled at her brain like the tiny, scuttling legs of a black spider.

Walking up the Days’ dirt driveway, she saw what looked at first like a bundle of laundry on the lawn near the front porch. Frowning, she turned her attention to the brown Land Rover in the drive, its driver’s side door standing open.