Martin's Swarm

"Where are they coming from?" she screamed. The window was black, covered with buzzing flies, blue and green bottle flies. They resembled crawling vomit. Dale reached for her and stroked her back trying to calm his young wife.
"Calm down Miranda, they're just flies!"

Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears, "Kill them, Dale! Make them leave, for God's sake!"

Masses of flies covered one window, a dark buzzing, moving curtain that shimmered eerily as bits of light filtered in while the flies moved in a queer unison.

Then the smell drifted into the kitchen; sickening sweet like only death can smell.

"You need to count them. All of them!!" Best to hide them behind the house."Miranda wailed.

"Have you seen how many there are, Miranda?" exclaimed Dale.

She pushed through the kitchen door seeking a room without flies, blackness and the smell. Miranda bent over and began wretching, holding her stomach, tears streaming freely down her cheeks. Dale ran for a trash can and she vomited in it, holding an arm up as though to ward off the demons outside the windows.

Dale took her hand when she was done, and led her toward the basement. "We need to get away from whatever these are."

Miranda stumbled down the dark basement steps. Dale trailed behind, flipping on a lone bulb, lighting the way. It was a long time since either of them ventured down stairs after Martin disappeared.

Dale looked around, holding Marinda with one hand behind him. Suddenly the air was cold, bitter cold. How could this be in the middle of summer?
Temperatures were soaring above one hundred degrees at 10:00 a.m. Miranda's teeth began to clack again and she moaned.

"Dale, what's happening to this place? I'm scared!"

Dale shushed her with a forefinger to his frigid lips. There were no flies down here. The basement door led to the back of the house. He knew Martin's car was still parked there. He grabbed a set of car keys from a peg hook and led his wife out the back door.

"Miranda, try to stay calm." He felt her hand shaking uncontrollably in his firm grasp. They sprinted from the basement to Martin's abandoned car. Will it even start? he thought.

Frost covered the windshield of the abandoned car. Dale glanced back towards their house. Flies were swarming, moving to the back of the house and a cloud silently rose beeligning toward the scent of the humans.

Dale fumbled with the lock and swore when it didn't unlock from the spreading frost layer the first time. A swarm of flies began drifting closer, darkening the once hot summer air. The car door gave way with a firm tug at last and Miranda's teeth, the only sound, were chattering uncontrollably in the bitter cold. Dale pushed her gently into the passenger side seat and ran to pull open the driver's side door. Once, twice and finally it gave under his grip with a loud creak on its hinges.

The flies came, descending on them bringing stench and noise....like a many layered corpse following in their wake.

Dale turned the key in the ignition and the car motor clicked. "Dale!!" Miranda shrieked. With several failed attempts, the car sputtered and came to life and headlights turned on, piercing the night and dancing hoard of pestilent flies.

Dale turned on the windshield wipers, scraping frost and a new, thick blanket of flies. Each pass of the blade separating to a path of sight only to return thicker than before. Stench filled the car's interior causing Miranda to cover her nose and mouth with her shirt, weeping quietly.

Half blinded, Dale drove toward the road. Bits of road showed for seconds at a time, them covered again with crawling flies.

As Dale hit paved road he punched the gas, moving faster than safe. They watched in fascinated horror as masses of colored flies fell off the car in slabs and chunks.

Dale turned on the heater in the old jalopy. Miranda visibly relaxed. Dale drove, eyes scanning as road and trees blurred by not knowing where to go.

Approaching a local restaurant he wanted to check on, he saw flies covering its neon sign and gunned the gas to pass before more flies got their scent.

Looking over at Miranda, he sighed in apology and drove on. A light in the car's dash panel came on indicating low gas and he pulled over on to the side of the dark road, slamming the steering wheel.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The sound came from the trunk of the jalopy. Dale looked back into the depths of cold darkness then into the doe eyes of his wife, Miranda.

What the hell is that?," Dale growled. Miranda's eyes widened and her lips, trembling, pleaded
"Don't, Dale!"

Dale, touched her cheek tenderly once, then opened the car door, cold air flooding in. Shutting the door behind him, he mouthed through the glass, "Lock it up!" and disappeared behind the car.

The trunk popped open. Miranda craned her neck to watch him moving within the safety of the car. She pushed the lock with a click, listening.

Minutes ticked by feeling like hours. In the night, Dale bellowed, "Martin, nooooooo!" and the silence that following deafened Miranda.

This is 10/27/2018 weekend freewrite. This took about an hour, including clean up, but they were all one freewrite!

Here is the link for today. 10/27/18 Weekend Freewrite

I hope you'll join in with a growing group of lively freewriters!

_{Click the graphic to join the fun}

And join us at the Isle of Write in the freewriter - retreat

art and flair courtesy of @PegasusPhysics

The Make a Minnow project is an initiative designed to reward those who are exceptional in the minnowsupport community, the prize is a 5k delegation for one month!

Earn free cryptocurrency through mannabase
join here and free Sweatcoin ... It pays for walking referrals earn free coin, too!