The Fairy Swarm

by Suzanne Selfors

  Pearl thought this was a great idea. While she knew the sasquatch was nice, a bear wouldn’t know that. But she also knew the sasquatch got distracted easily. Would it actually protect them? “What about Metalmouth? Couldn’t he come with us?”

  “Metalmouth is…” Again, Mr. Tabby looked away. What was he hiding? “He is engaged in an important activity at the moment.” The words important activity sent a new list of questions straight to Pearl’s tongue, but she knew Mr. Tabby wouldn’t provide any answers. And she didn’t want to further annoy him. His mustache was twitching something fierce already.

  “Can the sasquatch carry this thing?” Ben asked. “It’s pretty heavy.”

  “Under no circumstances are you to hand the trap to the sasquatch,” Mr. Tabby said. “It would eat all the jelly beans.”

  Pearl couldn’t help herself. One question popped out. “Hey, Mr. Tabby, is the sasquatch a boy or a girl? I mean, I can’t tell.” Pearl patted its arm. “No offense,” she told it. The sasquatch picked a piece of gold foil from its teeth and grunted.

  “The sasquatch does not have a gender.”

  “Really?” Pearl frowned. “Uh, what does that mean?”

  “It is neither a he nor a she. It is simply what it is.” He took a ring of keys from his pocket and locked the tiny fairy door with a tiny key. “After you catch the sugar fairies, release them inside the lounge. Then close the big door. They will not be able to escape.” He folded his arms behind his back and looked down at them. “Do you understand your instructions?” Pearl and Ben nodded. The sasquatch didn’t nod. It just scratched its bum.

  Pearl helped Ben carry the trap into the elevator and through the downstairs lobby. Mr. Tabby slid the five dead bolts and opened the front door.

  “Mr. Tabby?” This time, Ben was doing the asking. “Metalmouth said that you’d just returned from a quest. What kind of quest?”

  “That is none of your concern.” Mr. Tabby ushered Pearl and Ben outside.

  “If Dr. Woo’s still talking on the phone, then that’s a pretty long conversation,” Pearl pointed out, hoping Mr. Tabby might give them a clue as to what was going on. But he didn’t take the bait.

  “Make your way quickly,” he told them. “It would be regrettable if something were to happen to you.” Was that a look of concern in his yellow eyes? “Be careful.”

  “Careful is basically my middle name,” Ben said.

  The hospital door shut, leaving Pearl, Ben, and the sasquatch on the front steps. A lone howl rose in the distance. The sasquatch whimpered and stepped behind Pearl.

  And darkness closed in.

  11

  I can’t see more than three feet in front of me,” Pearl complained.

  “Maybe that’s a good thing,” Ben said as another howl filled the air. “Then we won’t be able to see the wolf when it eats us.”

  Pearl knew he was kidding, but with the sasquatch trying to hide behind her back, Ben had a good reason to be worried. It didn’t look as if the furry giant was going to offer much in the way of protection, unless the wolf got scared off by the sasquatch’s unique odor, which was a combination of wet dog and sweaty socks.

  “I know what to do.” Ben set down the trap, then rolled up his pajama sleeve and pressed a button on his fancy gold watch. “It has a flashlight function,” he explained as the watch lit up. He pointed it at the sasquatch’s face. “This works great.” The sasquatch growled. “Oops, sorry.” He aimed the beam lower.

  Because Ben was wearing their only source of light, Pearl offered to carry the trap so that Ben could lead the way around the hospital to Button Lake. But Pearl didn’t like walking in the middle. Ben’s pace was too slow, and the sasquatch kept stepping on her heels.

  “Hey, stop pushing,” Ben said. “I’m going as fast as I can. This would be so much easier if we had a full moon.”

  “If we had a full moon, that wolf might turn into a werewolf,” Pearl said.

  Ben snorted. “That’s ridiculous. Werewolves aren’t real.”

  “Uh, hello? We’re walking with a sasquatch, and you’re telling me werewolves aren’t real.”

  Ben stopped in his tracks. He whipped around. “You’re right. Werewolves could be real.” The watch light shone up his nostrils, casting dark, eerie circles beneath his eyes. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “What if we run into one?”

  “Dr. Woo would never send us into that kind of danger,” Pearl assured him.

  “Sure she would,” Ben said. “She had me feed a fish to that kid-eating kelpie, remember?”

  How could Pearl forget that moment? But even so, Ben always got a bit scared when they were about to do something new. The trap was slipping between her arms, so with a grunt, she heaved it higher. “Come on. Let’s keep walking.”

  A narrow trail hugged the edge of the lake, then turned toward the forest. Apparently the sasquatch wasn’t fond of the dark, because it held tight to the back of Pearl’s pajama top. Mrs. Petal would have given Pearl a reprimand for walking at night without a jacket, but thankfully, the night air wasn’t chilly. And her leprechaun shoes kept her feet snug and warm. “I’m still wondering what Dr. Woo meant when she said her time here might be nearing an end. Do you think she’s going to leave Buttonville? Why wouldn’t Mr. Tabby tell us what Metalmouth is doing? And who do you think Dr. Woo is talking to?”

  “I don’t know.” Ben stopped walking. They’d reached the wrought-iron fence that enclosed the old button factory property. A wide section was missing. Ben aimed his watch at the ground. “Tire tracks,” he said. “And they look fresh.” While Pearl peered over Ben’s shoulder, the sasquatch tried to snatch the fairy trap.

  “Oh no, you don’t. This is not for you,” she told it, feeling a bit like a mother scolding her child. The sasquatch grunted. Ben nearly jumped out of his shoes.

  “What was that?” he cried.

  “Just the sasquatch,” Pearl said calmly. “Keep going.”

  Ben took extra-slow steps as he led them into the forest. In a short time, they found themselves standing in a clearing, surrounded by towering pine trees. “Maybe this would be a good place to try the trap,” he said. Pearl was happy to set it down and give her aching arms a rest. But as she did, a bright light flicked on.

  Ben and Pearl gasped. The sasquatch ducked behind a tree.

  “Howdy, y’all!” a voice called from across the clearing. Violet, the switchboard operator, stood in the doorway of an RV, holding a lantern. “What are you little darlings doing out here in the middle of the niiiiight?” The sasquatch must have recognized her voice, because it stepped out from behind the tree and waved.

  “Dr. Woo sent us,” Pearl explained. “What are you doing here?”

  “This is where Vinny and I live,” she said with a sweep of her furry arm. Vinny was Violet’s brother. They were both satyrs, which meant that they were half human, half goat. “Come on over here so I can get a better look at y’aaaaall.”

  Pearl was happy to see a familiar face in the spooky forest. Violet set the lantern on a picnic table, which was covered in a pretty red-checkered cloth. A bag of oats sat on the table, along with a bag of barley and a bundle of ivy vines. “Would you like a snack?” Violet asked as she began to chew on a vine. She was dressed in a flannel nightgown and robe that had one of those fancy feathered collars. Her blond hair was wound up in curlers. “Looks like we’re having ourselves a little slumber partyyyyy.” Her tiny goat eyes sparkled in the lantern light. “Now, tell me, whatever is going on?”

  “I found a sugar fairy,” Pearl whispered, in case the little mischief-makers were hiding nearby. “She’s the queen.”

  “And she’s the missing apprentice, Twanabeth Twilight,” Ben added.

  “She flew into the woods with her swarm.” Pearl leaned close to Violet. “We’re supposed to catch them.”

  “I seeeee.” Violet had reached the end of the vine, so she grabbed another. And a handful of oats. She chewed quickly, as if she hadn’t eaten in days. Every
satyr Pearl and Ben had met thus far seemed to be constantly hungry.

  “Are you going on a trip?” Ben pointed to some suitcases that were stacked next to the table.

  Violet swallowed. “Dr. Woo said that we should…” She paused to brush stray oats from her little goat beard. “Well, I might be taking a trip, and I might not. I don’t rightly knooooow.”

  Pearl sensed that the full truth was not being revealed. “Dr. Woo said her time here might be nearing an end. Are you guys moving?” Desperation filled her voice. “Please don’t leave Buttonville. It won’t be the same without you!”

  “Now, now, little daaaaarling. Don’t go getting yourself all discombobulated about things you can’t control. Nobody is going anywhere tonight.” She pulled Pearl into a big motherly hug. The feathered collar tickled Pearl’s nose. “You stop your fretting.” She released Pearl, then grabbed another handful of oats. “I’m glad Dr. Woo sent you out here. Those nasty fairies swooped in and ate all my honey. Then they flew up into those treeeees.” She pointed above their heads. “They’re up there right now, snoring as loud as June bugs. Listen.” She cupped a hand around her pointed goat ear. Pearl and Ben tilted their heads. Sure enough, a faint buzzing sound drifted down from the branches.

  “We’d better shake the trap and release the kiwi scent,” Ben said.

  “Right.” Pearl went to grab it. “Oh no. Sasquatch!”

  The sasquatch was sitting on the forest floor, looking as guilty as a kid with a hand in a cookie jar—except in this case it was a creature with its hand in a fairy trap. And, unfortunately, the trap was empty. “We can’t take you anywhere,” Pearl said with a stomp of her foot.

  “Wait, it might still work,” Ben said, pointing to the sasquatch’s arm. Then its leg. Then its back. Dozens of green jelly beans were stuck all over its fur.

  “What did it do? Dump them over its head?” Pearl asked. One was even stuck to the sasquatch’s nose.

  Pearl and Ben tried to pick off the sticky candies, but they clung like glue. No matter how hard Pearl pulled, she couldn’t get them untangled. The sasquatch yelped as they yanked and tugged. Then, with a frustrated groan, it scrambled to its feet and started jumping around, trying to shake the jelly beans free. As the jumping continued, the lovely, fruity scent of kiwi filled the air.

  The sky suddenly lit up, as if the stars had woken and switched on their night-lights.

  But they weren’t stars. Pearl knew because they revved their little winged motors and flew straight at the sasquatch.

  “Fairies!” Ben yelled.

  The sasquatch whimpered and covered its face with its furry hands. Violet hid under the picnic table. Ben and Pearl covered their earlobes.

  “Here! They! Come!” Pearl hollered above the high-pitched squealing.

  The first batch of fairies dove straight at the jelly beans. But just like the candies, the fairies got tangled in the sasquatch’s thick fur. And the more they writhed, trying to get free, the more tangled they became.

  “Wow,” Ben said. “Sasquatch fur makes a pretty good fairy trap.”

  After the first wave of fairies got stuck, the rest of the fairies flew away, disappearing into the dark trees.

  “Drat!” Pearl exclaimed. “We didn’t catch them all.”

  “At least we caught some of them,” Ben said.

  The sasquatch stopped jumping and started swatting at the buzzing creatures. “No, don’t do that.” Pearl grabbed one of its hands. “We don’t want to hurt them.” The sasquatch furrowed its sloping brow and grunted unhappily. “Well, this isn’t our fault,” Pearl told it. “You’re the one who opened the trap.”

  “Better giddyup to the hospital,” Violet said as she climbed out from under the table. “Before those fairies escape agaaaaain.” She brushed pine needles off her robe, grabbed one of the suitcases and the lantern, and disappeared inside the RV.

  Once again, Ben guided the way. Pearl picked up the empty trap, then walked behind the sasquatch, ready to intervene if it started swatting again. As the tangled fairies continued to glow, Pearl stifled a giggle. “You kinda look like a Christmas tree,” she told the sasquatch.

  Once they reached the First Class Fairy Lounge, they began to pick the fairies out of the sasquatch’s fur. There was no creature calculator to help translate, but Pearl was pretty sure the fairies were saying all sorts of mean things because they were squealing and buzzing like crazy. It was slow going, and the sasquatch grew grumpier by the minute. To find all the fairies, Pearl persuaded the sasquatch to stretch into some of its favorite yoga poses. Downward-facing dog was especially helpful in reaching the fairies who were stuck to its rump. And warrior two helped locate the ones stuck in its armpit. Pearl and Ben kept a lookout for Twanabeth. “I don’t think we caught her,” Ben said.

  Neither Mr. Tabby nor Dr. Woo showed up to help. This worried Pearl.

  “Maybe that phone call turned out to be an emergency,” Ben suggested. “Maybe Dr. Woo had to go to the Imaginary World.”

  “Yeah, but where’s Mr. Tabby?” The assistant didn’t like going to the Imaginary World, because he turned into a cat the moment he stepped out of the Portal. But there was no one to answer their questions, so all they could do was keep on picking and plucking.

  Finally, as the first rays of dawn appeared, the sasquatch was fairy-free. And Pearl had five bites on her right hand and two on her left, while Ben had been bitten on each finger and on both earlobes. Thankfully, neither of them came down with itchy eyeballs. And the fairies had stopped biting. Having feasted on candy, the little winged creatures were settled on the tree branches, in the lounge chairs and sofas.

  “I think we’re done,” Ben said with a huge yawn.

  “Let’s go find Dr. Woo.” They led the sleepy sasquatch into the hall, closed the door, and bumped right into Mr. Tabby.

  “I shall escort the sasquatch back to its habitat,” Mr. Tabby informed them. “And you two should check in with your families.”

  “We didn’t catch all the fairies,” Pearl said. Her eyelids felt as heavy as wet towels. “And we didn’t find Twanabeth.”

  “But we got some,” Ben said, rubbing his eyes.

  “Dr. Woo and I will attempt to capture the rest of the swarm,” Mr. Tabby told them. “Go home and get some rest.”

  Pearl didn’t have the strength for questions. She was wondering about Dr. Woo, the emergency call, and how they’d catch the rest of the fairies. She wanted to know about the quest that Dr. Woo, Mr. Tabby, and Metalmouth had gone on, and why Violet was packing. But her thoughts felt very thick, and when she opened her mouth, the only thing that came out was a yawn.

  She and Ben didn’t speak on the walk home. They lumbered like sasquatches. Pearl barely remembered passing the park and duck pond, barely remembered grunting a “hi” to her parents as she headed for her bedroom.

  Then she landed face-first on her bed and began snoring like a June bug.

  12

  Pearl slept so deeply she barely moved.

  But she dreamed.

  Mostly of fairies—pretty little things that danced in the air and made music with their wings. They invited her to a tea party, where she sat on a gumdrop stool and ate sugar crystals from a tiny buttercup bowl. The fairies smiled sweetly at her. They offered her more sugar and put flowers in her hair. But then, just as Pearl was about to grow her own wings and start flying, the fairies began biting her all over! And they began to wail in a strange way. Wailing and biting, wailing and biting!

  Pearl bolted upright, waving her arms to ward off the attacking beasts. But as the fog of sleep faded, she realized it had only been a dream. She was safe in her room. No biting.

  But the wailing sound was coming from outside.

  Pearl scrambled out of bed and threw back the curtains. Sunlight nearly blinded her. It’s the middle of the day, she realized. As she opened her bedroom window, the wailing sound grew louder. She leaned out to get a better view. A police car drove down Main Street, its siren bl
aring, and stopped outside the Buttonville Cinema. Pearl’s aunt, Officer Milly, got out of the squad car and ran into the theater. Pearl glanced at her bedside clock. 4:10 PM. The special matinee of Invasion of the Killer Bees would be playing.

  “Pearl!” Ben stood on the sidewalk below.

  “What’s going on?” Pearl called down to him.

  “I don’t know,” he yelled. “I was sleeping, and the siren woke me up.”

  “I’ll be right down.”

  Ben had changed out of his pajamas, and even though Pearl didn’t want to miss a moment of excitement, she grabbed a pair of basketball shorts and a T-shirt from her dresser. Why was her aunt at the movie theater? And why had her parents let her sleep so long? She had work to do. She had fairies to catch!

  By the time she’d dressed and run downstairs, Mr. and Mrs. Petal were standing on the sidewalk next to Ben. They both wore their Dollar Store aprons.

  “Hello, sweetie,” Mrs. Petal said. “How was your nap?”

  “Fine.” Pearl looked down the street. Although the siren had stopped, the red light on the police car was still flashing. “What’s Aunt Milly doing?”

  “There’s been some sort of disturbance at the cinema,” Mr. Petal said. “We heard screaming.”

  “Maybe the movie is too scary,” Mrs. Petal suggested.

  The cinema’s front door flung open, and Mr. Bumfrickle hobbled out, moving as fast as his arthritic legs could carry him. “Killer bees!” he hollered, a wild look on his face.

  He was followed by Maybell, a frequent visitor at the senior center. As she bounded down the stairs, she spilled her jumbo-sized tub of popcorn. “Outta my way!”

  Mr. Dill and Mrs. Dill raced out the door, as did Mr. Filbert. “We’ve been stung!”

  And then came Ben’s grandfather. He raised his cane in the air and hollered, “Oy gevalt! We’re under attack!”

  “I think you’re right,” Mr. Petal told his wife. “That movie is definitely too scary.”