Brood X: A Firsthand Account of the Great Cicada Invasion

by Michael Phillip Cash

  “It’s about time,” Seth thought. On the bottom of the screen, a Red Alert scrolled constantly warning people to stay off the streets. It was against the law to be outside.

  Ted was interviewing “cicada expert” Dr. Benjamin Hawkner in a remote location. It was definitely not in the Northeast.

  “It will kill the first wave,” said the doctor.

  “What does the Center of Disease Control and Prevention report?” Ted probed.

  “The federal CDC reports that as of Tuesday there have been more than a thousand cases of cicadas attacking humans in the Northeast—New Jersey, 701 injuries, 22 deaths; Connecticut, 534 injuries, 12 deaths; New York, 336 injuries, 26 deaths, 9 on Long Island. Pennsylvania is the second most affected state. New York has been not affected too badly.”

  “Affected?” Seth said a little louder than he should. He didn’t want to wake the others, but he was completely flabbergasted that they weren’t saying how they were going to stop this.

  Ted was now interviewing Dr. William Colon. “Has this spray been used before?” he asked.

  “This has been used very, very carefully in many parts of the country,” said Dr. Colon.

  “William Colon chairs the Department of Preventative Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee,” reported Ted.

  “Is the spray safe?”

  “Yes, but we’re taking all precautions into account.”

  Ted was back in the newsroom. “Still, health officials are urging everyone to remain indoors over the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours until the spray has dried, especially pregnant women, elderly people, children, and pets. Furthermore, the Governor has declared a state of emergency.”

  “I cannot have any more deaths on my conscience because we did not take appropriate action,” an exhausted Governor Goodman spoke into the camera.

  He stood on a podium and addressed a forest of microphones. There was a burst of static, and the picture failed, but Seth could still hear his voice.

  “There is no need to panic. The CDC is doing everything in its power to prevent further incidents.”

  “Governor Goodman, Governor…” Seth could hear all the reporters calling out to be noticed.

  Seth turned off the TV. He didn’t want to hear it anymore.

  He moved to the kitchen and pulled open the shades. Cicadas were scattered all over the deck and backyard. They were more prominent now. They seemed to multiply overnight. Seth shook the screen and the cicadas dispersed. The backyard was a mess.

  The sudden drones of low-flying planes shook the foundation of the house. This scared the shit out of both Seth and the cicadas.

  Peeking up, Seth saw a plane fly slowly overhead. It looked so low Seth thought he could reach out and touch it.

  The buzz of more planes flying up above sounded again, coupled with a light dusting of grayish matter raining down.

  Some of the bugs started to move crazily in circles.

  “Government one, roach festival zero! Woo-hoo!”

  Lara emerged from the doorway of the kitchen, staring sleepily outside. “Seth! What was that loud noise?”

  She noticed the thousands of cicadas carpeting their backyard. Cupping her hands over her mouth, she stifled a scream.

  “Seth!” a terrified Lara said. “They’re everywhere! What are we going to do!?”

  “Gives new meaning to the term ‘snow day,’ doesn’t it?”

  “What? What is going on?”

  “They’re spraying Raid on these cock-a-roaches,” he calmly reassured her, as if it was his idea.

  “Stop teasing, Seth!”

  “They’ll all be dead soon.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Some idiot doctor on TV just said it,” he retorted. He looked toward the backyard as more planes dusted the property.

  “Close the screen!” said Lara. “I don’t want to breathe that.”

  “Wanna go swimming?” Seth said nonchalantly as he obliged his wife's orders.

  Marni entered the kitchen bleary-eyed.

  “Dominic isn’t well,” she said. She noticed the swarm in the backyard. “OH. MY. GOD!”

  Another plane flew overhead. Marni ducked. “That sounds low.”

  “Don’t worry, Marni. As tall as you are, it won’t be hitting your head.”

  “I think we made it out of this,” Lara said tearfully.

  “We need to do something about Dominic,” Marni stated. “He’s really pale.”

  “We can’t do anything now. Have to stay inside,” Seth responded.

  “Says who?”

  “Elvis. He spoke to me last night. Who do you think? The news reports just said it on TV.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really. You’re stuck with me another twenty-four to forty-eight hours.”

  The three of them moved to the living room. Dominic was lying, shivering, curled up in a blanket. Marni leaned in and touched his sweaty forehead.

  “He’s burning up.”

  “I’ll get a thermometer,” Lara said as she jumped to the next room.

  “You OK, baby?” Marni softly asked Dominic.

  “I’m, I’m so cold,” he said, shivering.

  “You have an infection,” said Marni.

  “Can’t go anywhere yet, buddy,” interjected Seth. “Tomorrow we’ll be able to take you to the doctor. They’re spraying junk outdoors.”

  “That noise?” said a confused Dominic. “It’s loud.”

  “It’s the cicadas outside,” Marni reassured him.

  “No, no. It’s loud. It’s humming.”

  “Those are the planes spraying insecticide,” Seth said.

  Marni gazed up at Seth. Lara returned with the thermometer. Marni stuck it in Dom’s mouth; it beeped three times.

  “104. 2,” Marni read.

  “How about a drink, Dom?” Seth asked.

  Dom shook his head an emphatic “no” and fell back asleep.

  “I can’t stay here,” said Lara. “What if he’s contagious? I shouldn’t be near him.”

  “Don’t worry. You both go upstairs. I’ll take care of him.” Marni never even looked up. “Do what you need to do today.”

  ***

  Seth and Lara peered through windows covered with insect parts. Dominic laid on the floor, his face as green as the area rug.

  “I’m cold here, Marni. Get me a blanket,” Dom muttered.

  Seth placed his arm protectively around Lara.

  “Look, it’s the garbage men. See, I told you nothing would stop them. Neither rain nor snow or...”

  “That’s letter carriers, stupid,” Marni said over her shoulder, lugging Lara’s new down comforter.

  “Whatever, it’s Oyster Bay’s finest.”

  “That’s the cops, Seth,” Marni croaked.

  “All right already. It doesn’t matter. They are here, and they’re gonna help us all out,” Seth told them, relief evident in his voice.

  “See,” he pointed to four burly sanitation workers wading through the piles of dead insects to the house across the street.

  “Tell them we need them more.” Lara tapped on the window, trying to get their attention. One of them waved to her.

  She smiled graciously back and motioned at the worker to come to them.

  The garbage man turned to say something to one of the others, who shrugged. One emphatically shook his head “no,” and it looked like a rather heated argument ensued.

  Finally, the one in command waved his arm in resignation, and the lone worker started to cross the street.

  Suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks and looked wildly around. The others rushed for the safety of Jeff’s house. They waved their arms and clearly were motioning the sole sanitation man to hurry. It seemed like the air went completely still, and Lara screamed as a wave of insects attacked their would-be savior. He writhed, falling into a heap of bugs, and they watched in horror as he seemed to disappear.

  Seth pulled Lara against him,
shielding her eyes while she sobbed. Marni stood next to them, frozen with horror.

  A fierce battle ensued outside between the crew of workers as one tried to break off from the group to save his fallen comrade. The others held him back, the boss finally clipping the coworker on his chin, knocking him out. They dragged him quickly into Jeff’s house.

  The mound that was a kindly garbage man slowly stopped moving, and it was still as a tomb outside.

  Seth whispered into Lara’s hair, “We are screwed.”

  ***

  Seth made his way to the garage and got into his car, turning on the car radio, but not the vehicle. He didn’t want to alarm Lara so he figured he would turn to his only credible source.

  “Let’s see what Bobby has to say about this,” as he scanned for the station.

  Bobby’s garbled voice filled the speakers, no longer jolly and nonchalant, he sounded nervous.

  “Last day for deliveries was yesterday,” Bobby reported angrily. “We are cut off from the rest of the country!”

  Michelle’s throaty voice replied, “I don’t understand why.”

  “The trucking companies are afraid to send their vehicles here and get trapped. All public transportation has been stopped. No airplanes, trains or ships. It’s crazy! Did you see those gas lines today?”

  “I had enough fuel to get here,” Michelle replied. “But I don’t have enough to go home. Looks like you’re stuck with me, listeners.”

  “Well I sure as hell am not deserting my fans. I don’t understand why we don’t have gas. The tankers are sitting in the harbor and our good-for-nothing governor won’t release the shipments to be delivered. No deliveries. No fuel. No one can leave. We are trapped Long Islanders.”

  Seth glanced at his gas tank and saw that he was a little less than half a tank. He knew he should have gassed up before all this happened, but it was too late now. He wasn’t leaving Lara alone. He felt that if he really had to get everyone out of the house, it should be enough.

  “Not to mention the grocery stores are not being restocked,” said Michelle. “What are people with children doing? What about the elderly? What about the handicapped? What about hospitals?”

  “Hold on Michelle!” Bobby stopped her. “This just in. This is it. We are now under Martial Law. The National Guard is in charge and everyone is ordered off the streets. I don’t believe this is happening here. This is a nightmare.”

  Seth punched the radio knob disgusted. He went back into the house.

  ***

  Later in the evening, Seth and Lara were in their bedroom. He had spent the better part of the last hour helping her getting all the bug parts off the carpet. Putting the vacuum cleaner in the corner of the room, he said, “That wasn’t a bad cleanup.”

  After washing up, Lara was trying to squeeze into a light summer dress she purchased when she found out she was pregnant. She was thinking about life after the Great Cicada Invasion.

  “We’ll recover really quickly, don’t cha think? America always bounces back.”

  Seth averted his eyes and never mentioned a word about what Bobby said on the radio. “Sure baby. This is a cakewalk.”

  She looked at herself in the mirror. Seth filmed her huge belly.

  “I’m really sad,” Lara said.

  Alarmed, Seth took in her large stomach and thought, “Wow, she really popped. Could be tomorrow, next day, day after that,” Seth wondered pensively. Trying to change the subject, “Enough about being sad. Let’s talk about something else. Where’s that book that Jimmy’s mom gave you?”

  Lara turned to him with an incredulous face. “You mean the childbirth book? What would you need that for?”

  “I don’t know, just wanted some reading material tonight.”

  “If they’re spraying outside, we’re gonna get out of this. You’re taking me to the hospital if we have to go. Right?”

  “Of course we’ll get to the hospital. I haven’t let you down yet,” Seth said reassuringly. “I just want to look at the book.”

  Satisfied with Seth’s response, Lara said nervously, “I’m scared about Dominic.”

  “He’ll be fine. He’s gotten bugs before.”

  “He looked ill. Stop teasing, Seth.”

  “The only thing you have to fear is…fear itself,” Seth said seriously.

  And with that, the power went out in the house.

  Chapter 8

  Isolation

  “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that the darkness can be felt.”

  - Exodus 10:21-23

  The roar of cicadas was the loudest it had ever been. For a minute, Lara thought the power would pop right back on. Her faced glowed in night vision. Seth turned on the camera flash. It lit up the room with a big bright circle. Outside of that circle was total darkness. He handed the camera to Lara who followed him to the bedroom drapes.

  Seth ripped open the shades to find the entire surface of the outside was a crawling mass of cicadas. Everything was covered. They couldn’t distinguish anything.

  A new plague had arrived, and Seth briefly wondered if they were going to survive this. The entire world would be talking about the great cicada emergence for centuries to come.

  “We have to keep documenting this for as long as the camera has juice.” He was glad he bought extra batteries just for the camcorder.

  “What are we going to do?” Lara said frantically.

  Seth grabbed the TV remote in the stupid hope that the TV would work. He slapped the remote a few times. He approached the TV and tried manually. Nothing.

  “This is horrible.” Lara gulped a huge sob.

  The world was upside down. Moments before they lost power they were talking about the birth of their baby. Now they were stuck. Seth had to come up with a plan. Surely Google would have some info with whatever battery life was left in his laptop.

  Seth slapped himself on his forehead and muttered, “What am I thinking? No power means no Wi-Fi.”

  He dashed out of the room and jetted downstairs.

  “Seth!” yelled Lara. “Seth! Where are you going?”

  Lara followed him. Marni exited her room groggy from the deep sleep.

  “What’s with the screaming?”

  “The cicadas,” said Lara. “They’ve covered everything. They’ve covered the entire house.”

  “No way. They sprayed them.”

  “Where’s Dominic?”

  “He fell asleep downstairs.”

  Lara pressed past Marni to find Seth downstairs. He was sitting in the den with his cell phone illuminating his face. His fingers glided over the face of the phone rapidly.

  “What’s happening?” Lara moaned.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Put on the TV,” urged Marni.

  “Can’t,” Seth snapped.

  “Why?”

  “Because the cicadas are covering everything, so get lost, Marni!”

  “Don’t get mad at me!” Marni turned her attention to Lara. “Call the police.”

  “Don’t call the police,” Seth interjected. “Call the power company.” He turned to his wife. “See how long until we get back up.”

  Seth went back upstairs, leaving the girls alone. Lara handed Marni the camera to shine light on the landline.

  “We should call the cops, Lara.”

  Lara sat looking at the phone like it was a ghost. She didn’t want to pick it up fearing what was on the other end.

  “Do it,” Marni insisted.

  Lara hesitantly and slowly picked up the receiver. It was the loudest sound of silence she had ever heard. She clicked the receiver a few times.

  She shook her head slowly at Marni. Landlines were becoming passé. Nobody even used them anymore. It was just a backup in case the cell phones were out.

  “Where’s your cell?” asked Lara.

  Lara was moving upstairs with Marni in tow. Seth was pacing back and forth in the hallway. Sweat was dripping from his hairline. It felt like a sauna in the house.<
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  “It has to be one hundred degrees in here. Did you get through?” asked Lara.

  Seth didn’t answer.

  “Did you get through?” Lara tried again.

  “Shut up for a minute!” Seth said abruptly.

  Marni felt more threatened than Lara. Civilization was breaking down. “Don’t talk to her like that!”

  Seth wound up his arm holding his cell phone like a pitcher and launched it against the wall. The cell shattered easily. Breathing heavy like a madman, he barged his way downstairs.

  “Where are you going?” Lara asked.

  Seth didn’t answer.

  “Forget him,” said Marni. “My cell is in the guest room.”

  Lara and Marni entered the guest bedroom. The covers were a mess. The room had the smell of decay. Lara wondered what her friends had been doing in there.

  Lara went around to the side table and started typing on Marni’s phone.

  “What?”

  Lara was sobbing and shaking. She held the phone up to the camera. “NO SIGNAL.”

  Marni was speechless.

  “What are we supposed to do?” Lara said with her teeth chattering. It was still brutally hot in the house, but that didn’t stop the chill going down her spine.

  Marni came up with the best excuse she could. “I…I have terrible service to begin with. That thing won’t make a call in the City. Where’s your cell phone?”

  Lara moved to the master bedroom. The flash on the camera lit up the whole room. Lara picked up her cell phone from the side table. She slowly sat on the bed looking at the monitor.

  “This is ridiculous.”

  “Do you have service?”

  “It isn’t even searching for a signal!”

  “Connect to Wi-Fi.”

  Lara tapped the flat screen. She briefly wished she had her BlackBerry. She hated touching a flat screen. You didn’t feel anything. With a BlackBerry, it felt like you were touching and getting results.

  Her shoulders slouched. The answer was clear. She held up her cell to Marni.

  “NO WI-FI AVAILABLE.”

  “No,” Lara started breaking down. “No! This is not happening.”

  “Where are your flashlights?”

  Lara opened the side table and rummaged through trinkets. Removing a flashlight, she remembered the last time she had turned it on—nearly half a decade ago when she moved into the house and power hadn’t been turned on yet. It was dull. She remembered that she should have changed the batteries. The light slowly faded out.