Subcutaneous Magazine Fall 2016 | Page 63

sneer .
Amy laughed and ran off , trying to give away the rest of the sweaters before he could put it back . He knew he ’ d be carrying it home out of politeness , and he sighed as he draped it over the back if the office ’ s chair to wait for that time to come .
Joe ’ s shift continued and ended without any real catastrophe or issue . He walked home in the dark , still picturing the electric company employee hunched over in agony as the swarm covered him . He carried the huge sweatshirt with him , not wanting to throw it away .
“ Hey ,” Mr . Perez said as Joe walked up me porch . He was sitting on a lounge chair , smoking a cigarette .
“ Hi ,” Joe said . He wondered why Mr . Perez was up so late , but he received his answer without being asked .
“ That boy from the power company died ,” Mr . Perez said . “ Just thought you ’ d want to know .”
Joe didn ’ t want to know , and he didn ’ t know why Mr . Perez felt compelled to share . He was hoping he ’ d pull though and heal from his many stings . He thought the guilt would return , and he was surprised to find that he no longer felt much of anything about it .
“ There wasn ’ t much you could ’ ve done ,” Mr . Perez said , mistaking what Joe ’ s silence meant . “ Some exterminators are coming tomorrow . Be careful until then .”
Joe remained silent and went inside to climb the staircase to the third floor . He sat at his kitchen table , staring at the wall . He wondered what it meant that his emotions had shut down about the man he sent the wasps to kill . He wished he was able to shut down his emotions about everything . He wished he could shut them down when it came to Hal . Hal . Joe stood up and walked to the window facing the tree where the swarm first came to him following the passing of The Cloud . He walked outside , hoping Mr . Perez had gone to sleep , having accomplished in giving his upstairs neighbor his morbid news . He went under the tree , spread his arms , and invited the swarm to join him . They answered , buzzing around him in a their small cyclone as they did the day before and landing on his clothes and body .
He couldn ’ t remember the last time he felt so at peace with the world . He let the wasps surround him for a little bit longer before releasing them again . He wasn ’ t afraid the exterminator was going to kill them . He knew they ’ d only come out if he called , and he only had one thing on his mind .
Joe called out of work the next day . He removed the ends of the sleeves of the huge sweatshirt , leaving two gaping holes . When he wore it , the sleeves ended just after his hands . There was enough room inside for three of him , but he meant it to house thousands . He pulled the hood over his head , obscuring his face as he left the backyard as night fell . When he was ready , he set off for downtown New Haven .
Hal wasn ’ t hard to find . He had his favorite spots along Crown Street , and he visited them often . Joe caught sight of him as he exited a bar . He was dressed in a button-down plaid shirt , snug against his muscular torso . His blonde hair was freshly cut and gelled upward in the front . He walked backward to laugh with the group of people who exited the club with him . Joe wondered how many he had slept with already . He knew Hal well enough to know that he wouldn ’ t have wasted much time with an empty bed .
After following Hal for an hour and a half , Joe finally watched him say goodnight to his friends and walk back toward his apartment , alone . Joe smiled . He was lucky to catch Hal on a night where he wasn ’ t dragging some horny , drunk twink back to the lush apartment they used to share . Joe knew which way Hal would walk , and he waited to make his appearance as he took a short cut through a parking lot . “ Hal !” Joe called , walking from the street . Hal turned , sweat on his face from the warm walk home . Joe was cool under the large hoodie ; those he had brought with him kept him quite comfortable in the heat , creating a breeze under his clothes with their tiny wings .
“ Joe ?!” Hal exclaimed . “ You look like a bum . What are you doing ?” “ I came to see you ,” Joe replied . “ It ’ s over , Joe ,” Hal said . “ You left me .” Joe laughed . “ I don ’ t want you back ,” he said . “ I came for retribution .” “ You ’ re the one who left me !” Hal exclaimed . The smile left Joe ’ s face . “ You hit me ,” he said . “ You berated me in public . You turned our friends against me . You didn ’ t even apologize when I was leaving !”
“ So do what you came here to do ,” Hal said , walking toward Joe . He had the look on his face that Joe knew all too well . It was the same look that preceded a slap or a punch . “ Unless you have a gun under that sweatshirt , you ’ re going to look like a pile of bloody meat when I ’ m done with you this time . Who the hell do you think you are , anyway ?”
“ I know who I am ,” Joe said , pushing the hood back . He saw the look on Hal ’ s face as the wasps that had been hiding under it came out in a thick cloud , and his smile widened . The wasps buzzed around his head . “ I am the swarm .”
Joe raised his arms , aiming his hands toward Hal , and he felt a breeze under the sweatshirt as the wasps came out , fueled by his will and want for revenge . He closed his eyes , watching tens of thousands of images of Hal backing away and screaming as the swarm covered every inch of his body , stinging him relentlessly . His screams cut into the night air as he fell back , lying under a moving blanket of red and black .
The wasps came off the body when their job was done , returning to their space under Joe ’ s large hoodie . He looked at the swarm ’ s handiwork . Hal was no longer Hal . He was a lump of swollen meat on the ground covered in holes from the wasps ’ stings .
Joe turned away from the scene and walked back home with a satisfied smile on his face . The wasps hummed contently on his skin , also satisfied with their work .