CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Bloodsucker's Sting
A Moment Later
Thursday ~ August 6, 2093 ~ 11:45 am
Snapper sucked a quick breath as three gigantic mosquitoes crawled from the tree's hollow and circled the remains of his victim. Sharp stingers plunged in and out of the narrowed end of their throbbing abdomens.
He stood frozen, no longer sure what they were. Shaking, he shut his eyes. Please don't let them see me.
Snapper gingerly peeked. The buggy eyes of each of the creepy insects turned his way.
Blasted! He whirled and sprinted. "Mom! Help!"
His mother's anxious voice split the air. "Where are you?"
The hum of the airborne attackers grew louder as they approached. Covering his head, Snapper raced as fast as he could. "Mom, over here!"
A flying monster buzzed his ear and he ducked. A moment later, something landed on his shoulder. He swatted at it but missed.
Its scratchy legs moved behind his neck and down his spine. Terrified, Snapper's heart pounded as he tried to scream, but nothing came out.
A searing pain shot through his lower back. Legs still pumping as swiftly as they could, he stumbled to the ground.
Crying, he crawled, but his legs felt like rubber and failed to respond. Uncontrollable trembles vibrated through his torso.
Trying to escape his angry pursuers, Snapper pulled himself ahead with his arms while his useless legs dragged behind. As he grew weary and the venom took hold, his body refused to retreat.
Is this it? Am I going to die?
Racing as she'd never done before, his mother closed fast. "Get away!"
Deeruk snatched a branch from the ground and swung it at the winged assailants.
Unable to move, Snapper watched his mom's valiant fight. His sister's cries in the distance seemed like a dream.
Tears rolled down his cheeks as he observed the horror unfold. He no longer felt pain, just fear for his dear mother as one of the creatures stung her neck.
Lord, please save us!
A Second Later
Shivers shot through Deeruk as a scorching pain spread across her upper back. Pointy claws pricked her skin as they slowly stepped across her shoulder and down her spine.
Stick in hand, she flailed at the dreadful bug but missed the mark. Her hands tingled and grew numb. Refusing to give up, she twisted her torso back and forth, but her arms swung lifelessly.
Deeruk clenched her jaw as the enormous insect marched lower. Like a glowing, hot iron, a blistering pain stabbed the bottom of her spine.
"Owww!" Arching and shaking for a moment, her body stilled and toppled to the ground.
Helpless and flat on her back, she watched as one of the massive mosquitoes circled above her, then landed on her face. The tenacious attacker spread her eyelids wide with its long legs. Straining, Deeruk tried to reach for it, but her hands paid no heed.
The fiendish monster aligned its needle-nose directly at the center of her eye. Terrified and disoriented, she struggled to move her head, but it would not respond.
The long, narrow spear slowly crept closer. Is this thing going to kill me? What's happening to my children?
Her pounding chest burned. My heart can't take this any longer!
Petrified, Deeruk watched as the sharp point penetrated her lens and an agonizing pain shot through her eyeball. She tried to scream, but no sound emerged.
Like a drum, the pulse of her jugular pounded against her neck as she fought to catch a breath.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as the stinger pushed deeper. Throbbing, the side of her face swelled. Surely, she was going to die, and there wasn't a thing she could do about it.
Yells from nearby villagers flooded the air. Barely visible through the blossoming stars clouding Deeruk's sight, neighbors swatted at the creatures as her vision faded to black.
Meanwhile
With her forefinger, Caru scanned the row of books on the shelf beside her brother. She looked at Teli. "Have you read all of these...?"
Loud pounding exploded from the door. "Queasy! Come quick!"
Startled, the scientist leaped to his feet and rushed out the cabin. "What's wrong?"
A young man Caru had only seen on occasion, rambled so fast she could barely understand. "Deeruk and her kids are being attacked! Follow me!"
As he jumped off the porch, Caru quickly trailed in the anxious villager's wake. Thoruk's voice rang out. "We're right behind you!"
Within seconds, Doc sprung from his cabin and joined the chase along the creek. "What's going on?"
While sprinting, the young man pointed to a group of people swatting at something in the air near a large tree. "Giant mosquitoes! They're killing Deeruk and Snapper."
Thoruk zoomed past Caru. Speeding faster, she tried to keep up.
When she arrived, one of the villagers swung a thick branch and squashed one of the flying creatures against a maple. Nearly impossible to recognize, the gooey splat on the bark consisted of a couple of mangled, translucent wings among a twisted mess of long legs.
Thoruk and Doc knelt beside the two motionless victims. Deeruk's left eye and that side of her head were swollen and red, while Snapper's face looked fine except for his tears.
Confusion filled the air as everybody under the sun offered jumbled versions of what they had witnessed. In a scratchy voice, a distressed, old lady shared her version of the terror. "The monster stuck Deeruk in the eye with its long nose!"
One man raised his voice. "They were swarmed by huge wasps!"
A teenage boy challenged his assertion. "Didn't you see the needle-noses? Those aren't wasps; they're mosquitoes — or maybe they're muclones!"
He peered at the doctor. "Is Snapper and his mom still alive?"
Pressing an ear to the boy's chest, the physician held the youngster's wrist. "He's breathing and has a pulse, but it's faint."
Thoruk looked up. "Same with Deeruk."
He glanced at those around him. "Hush up everybody and give us some room!"
Barely alive, the stricken mother's lips parted. Thoruk bent over to listen. "She says she can't move."
Doc motioned with his hand. "Come on! Help us get these two back to my cabin."
Three Days Later
Sunday ~ 9:35 am
Rummaging through a bedroom closet, Queasy grew frustrated. "Where is that blasted thing?"
The madder he got, the louder he talked to himself. "It's got to be here, somewhere!"
Unlike most Sundays, he was determined to sit through one of Senior Pastor's drawn out sermons that morning. Not for the old man's message, but for hope. Hope that he'd run into the young lady he discovered a couple of weeks ago when he and Teli were looking for parts.
He could kick himself for not considering church earlier. She'll think I didn't even notice.
Losing more patience with each passing minute, Queasy slid a handful of hanging clothes across the rack. "It's not here!"
He stomped down the hall outside his bedroom and opened a door. Maybe it's in this one? Trying to calm himself, he drew a long breath and released it slowly.
Who was that woman? She must have been in her early thirties. Her straight, black hair, cut in an even line just below her ears, and her dark complexion with plump, round cheeks stood apart from most women he'd seen.
She appeared so cheerful that day when he looked across the trading wagon. One innocent glimpse from her mysterious, deep brown eyes captured his soul. Her alluring gaze seeped into his dreams at least a dozen times since then — he was hers.
A smile cracked his face as he picked through the garments he kept for special occasions. "Blazes, I'm never going to find that coat!"
Is it even possible for her to like me: a scruffy, middle-aged man who's cooped up in this cabin most days?
His reasons for doubt continually fractured his confidence, but her enticing smile — he felt its warmth 20 feet away when he glanced back at her as he left the trading post. She must like me!
>
"Ah, there it is!" He lifted a tan, corduroy sport coat covered with dust.
He sighed. "Finally!"
After brushing off his favorite jacket, he wrapped a gold silk tie around his neck. During his best impression of tying a knot, Queasy recalled the satisfaction he felt while watching Teli scavenge through the wagons to find parts for the windmills.
The boy's smarter than I was when Intellulka did his best to teach me about science — such a fast learner!
The woman's welcoming smile returned to mingle with his thoughts. He grinned, then shook his head.
I'm lucky Teli didn't see her looking at me. He'd never give me a moment's...
A sharp knock startled him as an urgent voice bellowed from outside. "Queasy! Hurry! Deeruk's gone mad!"
Tossing his coat on a chair, he rushed out the door.
A handful of villagers, dressed in their Sunday best, stood watching the commotion.
Across the road, Deeruk picked up a rock and threw it through a neighbor's window. "Stay away from me!"
Running up the porch steps, she grabbed a broom and swung it erratically as if trying to swat something in the air. "Leave me alone!"
Stunned, Queasy raced as fast as he could. What's wrong with her?
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Absent Minded
Seconds Later
In Front of Queasy's Cabin
Keeping a watch on the distraught woman, Queasy ran across the gravel road. Deeruk jumped from the neighbor's porch and sprinted to the nearest tree. "Get out of my mind!"
Wrapping her hands around the trunk, she banged her head against the pine several times. When Queasy grabbed her shoulders, she spun around and slapped him. "Don't touch me!"
Doc and the young lady with the alluring gaze from the trading post ran up and restrained Deeruk. Both of the distressed woman's eyes were bloodshot, and one was swollen to the size of a chestnut.
Blood streamed down Deeruk's forehead as she struggled for a second, then slumped. Catching her, Queasy and Doc gently laid her on the ground.
The physician knelt down and grabbed her wrist. Biting his lips, he looked up at Queasy. "No pulse."
He turned to the short female beside him. "Help me give her CPR!"
Doc pumped Deeruk's chest with the heels of his palms. "Aluki! Pinch her nose and breathe in her mouth whenever I pause!"
As the woman blew air down Deeruk's throat, she jumped back. The swollen eyeball jiggled. Blood dripped from around its socket.
Queasy held the helper back. "Careful until I check it out."
He knelt next to Deeruk and touched the puffy area of her face as Doc tried to revive her. Suddenly, hordes of larvae crawled from around her enlarged eye. Like swarming maggots, more of the wormy creatures squeezed their way out from behind her other eye.
Queasy noticed Teli off to the side and pointed at him. "Run and get a petri dish! Hurry!" His pupil bolted through the growing crowd.
As Doc rose to his feet, Aluki tugged his arm. "Don't stop!" Tears streamed down her cheek.
He shook his head. "We can't help her now — she's gone. The larvae have eaten into her brain."
Lost in the commotion, Snapper and Chirp bawled as they looked at what remained of their mother.
"Oh, my God!" Mercy, who had just arrive, rushed to their side and escorted them away.
Lured by the peculiar phenomenon before him, Queasy snatched a pen from his shirt pocket. He bent over and examined the grotesque parasites.
"These must be from that giant mosquito that stuck her in the eye. We better check Snapper as soon as we're done here."
Doc picked up his medical bag. "I'll go look at him now. Aluki, come with me."
"I'm right behind you." While rising, she glanced at Queasy and he nodded. She turned and disappeared into the crowd of curious villagers.
As Queasy continued inspecting the ribbed, white intruders, a bystander yelled. "Watch it!" She pointed at Deeruk's ear.
Gasps filled the air as several more maggot-like killers wiggled in the thick, crimson plasma oozing from both of her ears.
Panting, Thoruk hurried to Queasy's side. "What can I do?"
He motioned with his arm. "Get these people away from here while I deal with these things."
The village leader waved his hands toward the church. "Come on everybody. Let Queasy have some space!"
One-by-one, the curious on-lookers slowly retreated across the street. Senior Pastor stood on the church steps, coaxing people into the doorway.
Teli returned and handed a petri dish and a pair of tweezers to Queasy. After plucking a handful of the plump, disgusting specimens and dropping them into the small glass receptacle, he looked at the remaining parasites. "We can't let any of these suckers get away."
The young aid peered at Queasy. "Are you sure we can't help her anymore?"
"Positive." Queasy pinched the swollen eyeball with the tweezers and turned it to the side.
"See here? Half the eyeball is missing. Look! The larvae have been feasting on her brain."
He removed the half-eaten orb. "See that large cavity behind the socket. That's where part of her frontal lobe used to be."
Queasy detected another straggler swimming in the gray, liquefied goo. He snatched the squirmy creature with the tweezers and squished it. "We need to kill every last one of these suckers."
Surveying the ground around the body, Teli stomped each one he found. After snuffing out every last creepy crawler he and his helper could find, Queasy turned toward his student. "Help me carry her to my cabin."
Stooping down and grabbing Deeruk's shoulders, Queasy drew a deep breath. Angrokt must be stopped!
Two Days Later ~ 12:30 pm
Queasy peered into his love's mesmerizing eyes on the shore of the Lake of Dreams. After hundreds of grueling hours of dissecting and investigating carcasses of numerous muclones, he succumbed to Teli's wise advice.
A picnic with Aluki on a gorgeous afternoon was Queasy's only order of business for the remainder of the day. With his stomach churning, he lifted the lid of a woven basket and pulled out a couple of sandwiches. His guest flashed a smile — the same enticing expression from their first encounter.
He placed two napkins on the blanket to mark each setting. "Lucky for us, it's a beautiful day."
Flooded with disparate thoughts about how he wished his plans would go, his mind swirled as beads of sweat formed across his forehead. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his brow.
Why am I so blasted nervous? Calm down before she notices.
Pretending to be cool and collected, he drew a long breath and looked at Aluki. "You know, it was a real blessing that Snapper didn't have any larvae like his mother. Fortunately, those mosquito-wasps must not have penetrated his eyes."
"Yes, very lucky. It would have been even worse if that little boy had died too. I still have visions of Deeruk's eyes — the way she looked that day."
Queasy nodded. "Me too, but let's change the subject to something more pleasant."
He beamed. "I'm glad Doc let you take off this afternoon."
She placed a knife and fork in front of Queasy. "I'm thrilled that you asked him. He said you needed a break, and he wasn't going to be the one to stand in your way."
The more she talked, the more comfortable he felt. Queasy grinned. "That was nice of ole Stethy."
"Stethy? I've never heard anyone call him that."
"We go back a long way. He knows me about as well as anybody, except maybe Teli. When we were younger, Doc always walked around with his stethoscope around his neck. I couldn't resist. He's been Stethy to me ever since. I try to remember to call him Doc when I'm around other people."
Queasy pulled a bottle of wine from the basket and extended it toward his lovely guest. "Would you like some Cabernet?"
She smiled. "Sure. I don't get much of a chance to have wine very often."
"Me either. I've been saving this bottle for a long time. I hope it's still g
ood."
He popped the cork and sniffed it. "Mmm, not bad."
After filling a goblet halfway, he swirled it and extended the offering toward her. "Here. I hope you like it."
She lifted it to her nose and smelled the fragrance. When Aluki took a sip, her eyes lit up. "Mmm, this is excellent!"
"Great!" Queasy sighed. That went well. Mercy was right. I'm glad I talked to her last night.
Growing in confidence, he unwrapped two hefty chicken sandwiches he had made earlier that morning. "I hope you like these. I added a tasty spread to the bread — my special recipe."
"I'm sure they're delicious. My mouth's watering just looking at them."
While Queasy enjoyed lunch alongside his beautiful date, Aluki shared how she met the doctor and started working for him. While she spoke English very well, her thick accent challenged Queasy's abilities to clearly understand every word she uttered.
But he didn't care. The fact that this attractive woman had any interest in talking with him at all thoroughly baffled him.
Suddenly, Mercy's voice startled him. "Hi, Queasy!"
Toting bows and quivers over their backs, Mercy and Caru walked up from behind.
Queasy's lower jaw dropped as he jumped to his feet. "Well, what brings you here?" He cocked his head and glared at Mercy.
"I've been teaching Caru how to use a bow the last couple of days. It was so nice outside when I woke up, I decided the lake would be the perfect place to take advantage of this great weather."
Appearing uncomfortable, Caru clutched her own wrist. "I'm having so much fun, but my arm is killing me."
Aluki stood up. "How come?"
"Mercy's got me shooting 250 reapers a day! By sunset, I'm worn out from stretching the bow and chasing down all those suckers."
Aluki wrinkled her brow. "What's a reaper?"
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Reapers
A Moment Later at the Lake of Dreams
Tuesday ~ August 11, 2093~ 1:15 pm
Puzzled, Queasy shrugged and glanced at Aluki. "I've never heard of a reaper either." He looked back at Caru.
The New World: Blue Moon Generatoin Page 14
