Slither - Edward Lee [21]
"Jesus," Trent said. "It looks like someone hocked a loogie on my shirt, that's what it looks like."
Then Loren brought a hand to his brow. "Oh, shit, I know what it is! It's a spumarius, Nora. Right after molting."
"A what?" Annabelle looked to him.
"An insect called a froghopper," Nora said. She was a little agitated with herself for not thinking of that first. "The larval form of something in the cicada order."
"They're the same size and the same color," Loren said.
Nora handed Trent back his soiled shirt. "Good job, Loren. The mystery is solved. An immature froghopper."
"Are they poisonous?" Trent asked warily.
"They're-absolutely harmless."
"Not if you're a shirt," Loren said of the mess.
"Christ, this shirt's blown," Trent said.
"I'm sure Uncle Sam will spring for a new one."
"Are you kidding? We have uniform rations in the army. Can you beat that for cheap?" And then Trent walked off, presumably for a clean shirt.
Nora rolled her eyes when she noticed Annabelle's hand on Loren's shoulder as she talked. "Wow, you really know your stuff, Loren. Of all the things it could've been, you identified it in a minute."
"Aw, it was nothing," he chuckled.
Make me puke, Nora thought. Look at her cozying up to him...
Eventually, Annabelle walked off again with her camera. "See you guys later, for dinner," she said.
Which I hope you choke on, Nora thought.
"Well, so much for the big excitement of the day," Loren said. "A friggin' froghopper. Shit, I almost wish it was something interesting, like a rhino beetle or a black widow."
But Nora had already turned toward the woods. "Do you ... smell that?"
"Smell what?"
"Something in the air ...
"You mean the pot that Trent just burned?"
"No, no." She felt sure. "The breeze is blowing south, and this is coming from the north." It seemed vague but very familiar. "I can swear I smell something cooking. Like hot dogs or hamburgers."
Loren sniffed the air, then shrugged. "Beats me. I don't smell anything."
Must be my imagination, Nora concluded.
CHAPTER Four
(I)
Leona flipped the burgers on the grill; at least, she guessed she was doing it right. She pulled another Zima from the cooler, then looked into the woods.
Where are those assholes?
The burgers sizzled, their aroma eddying into the trees. Leona wasn't much of a cook. How long per side? she wondered. This weekend party had sounded like a great idea ...
Damn them!
Leona did a good job hiding her insecurities, but the truth was she couldn't stand to be alone. At once she felt foolish, dressed only in flip-flops and her cutoffs. I'm cooking burgers topless and I'm by myself! What happened to the party? Her thoughts trailed back to Alan. Sure, he was cute, popular, and seemed very connected to her, but she'd always had the tiniest suspicion that his true interest was Carol.
My best friend, Leona reminded herself.
All was fair in love and war, she knew, but she also knew Carol, especially after a couple of drinks .. .
Alan's probably bofng her right now. Hell, Howie's probably in on it too. She's got them in a three-way, the ho! And here I am, cooking hamburgers in the woods with my tits out!
She shrieked as something scratched up her bare shoulder. She imagined the most disgusting bugs, but when she flung it off, she saw that it was only one of those little green lizards.
"Oops. Sorry," she said.
The lizard landed on one of the burgers. When it tried to run off the grill, it got about two inches before the heat claimed it.
Gross ... A few moments later, the smoking remains fell into the grill. She looked at the burger it had landed on, then decided, That's Alan's.
"Come and get it!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. Some birds cackled back at her, as if inconvenienced by her shout. "Where are you!"
Sexual excitement wasn't the only thing that hardened Leona's nipples. Anger did too, and said nipples stuck out firm as coat pegs when her gaze fumed back into the woods. They're out there laughing at me, the fuckers! And Carol, that sleaze! Some best friend. I know she's doing