Bees

The Propst Theater in Huntsville was alive with chatter as the audience took their seats. The brief intermission between speakers at this year’s science convention was just enough to awaken those who were bored by the previous presentations on agriculture and technology. “The Rocket City” has been home to pioneers in science for decades and has proudly celebrated the notoriety the Space Race had granted it back in the 1960’s. Dr. Esther Clark sat patiently, waiting for her turn to pass her own research on to the next generation in hopes that change would finally happen. 

The entomologist bounced her knee, the nervous energy building up inside of her, waiting to free itself. She pulled a tube of her preferred lip balm from her briefcase and applied a thick layer as the emcee for the afternoon began to list her accolades. The time has come. Rising from the folding chair she was supplied back stage, Dr. Clark smoothed her navy blue power suit and tucked a strand of curly brown hair behind her ear but it wasn’t enough to stop the nervous crackling of her pulse or the vibrations under her skin. Her lips felt so dry again, so she applied yet another layer of the luscious beeswax and raspberry balm. 

“And now, without further ado, Dr. Esther Clark.” A polite applause echoed through the convention hall as she strode out on stage, head held high and briefcase in hand. Her vision tunnelled as the anxiety set in even further but she soon found herself standing behind the oak and steel podium before a crowd of hundreds of other scientists who had suddenly silenced their applause. The room was so quiet except for a slight buzzing coming from somewhere in the room. Probably the lights, she thought as she picked up the remote that would allow her to flip through the slides she’d prepared for the presentation. 

“Bees,” she began. “For years, the agricultural and entomological societies around the world have urged politicians and Fortune 500 companies to work on finding a solution to the decline in the world’s bee population. In Huntsville alone we have seen a dramatic decrease in our fuzzy yellow friends with approximately 40% of them wiped out completely.” Dr. Clark continued her lecture, emphasizing the catastrophe most of the world wasn’t taking seriously enough when it started again. The buzzing was louder. Assuming it was her phone, she reached into her pocket and glanced down as discreetly as possible only to see the blank screen of a cellphone that had been turned off since she arrived that morning. Shaking her head, she continued. “We cannot continue as a population without bees. They have been our partners in everything from agriculture to pest control for millenia and in a matter of seconds on the world clock, we have nearly decimated their population through pollution and “pest control”. 

The buzzing started again. Louder and louder, coming from all corners of the room now. A trickle of sweat made its way down her back. She was nervous enough without the constant noise of cellphones, lights, whatever was causing the growing noise. Clark looked around but the lights were too bright, the sensation of looking in the sun keeping her from focusing on the next part of her speech. She looked down at the printed copy of her slideshow that the presenter had left for her on the podium. As she found where she had left off, she noticed a tiny yellow creature crawling its way onto the page. Delicate gossamer wings stretched and she huffed out a laugh. “A bee, everyone!” she announced, hoping to gain her footing in the presentation once again. There were a few laughs and just as she thought she was in the clear, the buzzing began again. This time, it was in her ear. She passed a hand by her head, hoping to shoo away the bee that just couldn’t seem to leave her alone, but it did nothing to calm the insect. Waving her hand again without success, she tried to ignore the bee, but it was to no avail. The buzzing increased, coming from multiple directions. She tried to sidestep, but the sound grew angrier and she could see the tiny creatures flying around her head. Her pulse pounded louder and louder but was soon drowned out with the buzzing. She could feel the tickle of tiny feet crawling up her back through the opening in her suit jacket. Quickly shedding the clothing, she reached for the mic to call for help but then saw the swarm climbing her arms, her legs. She felt them on her chest as she pulled off more clothing, still trying to keep calm. Small stings traced the path of each insect, small bodies falling to the ground without their stingers yet more and more climbed her body. She tried to calm herself but the venom was already seeping into every drop of blood in her body. Finally, as Esther Clark opened her mouth to let out the scream she fought for what felt like an eternity, a swarm spewed from her throat, led by an angry queen ready to take her world back from the intruders.