Swarm

Even the walls felt greasy, slick like a newborn with the afterbirth of sex and alcohol.

There was a buzz hovering over the dense crowd, pulsating with a crackling energy that was fed with every boom and thump from the overhead speakers. The floor seemed to shake as if hooked by the fingers of an oncoming earthquake and the smell of the swarm was as heady as the sweaty bugs that made it. A den of lesser beings that came to abandon what few thoughts they had for the night. To give into those primal urges.

All but a few came to spread their bodies like unraveling bolts of canvas, and of those few only one came with evil intentions. He stood, after taking several necessary trips around the club, at one end of the bar. He was as far from the door as he could be, the crowd throbbing between him and the exit. As he looked on completely unnoticed by everyone except for a sobbing woman a few seats down from him he pulled from a bag draped over his knee the small remote to the various bombs he'd placed on the support beams scattered around the building.

It would be beautiful, a series of bright lights dancing in tempo to the beat he'd decided on. It would be marvelous, crash crash boom boom and everything would come tumbling down. He would bring them to their climax in a way that would make it forever, no more temporary fixes for these lucky people.

Oh how wonderful it would be.
[]

God it was so fucking disgusting.

Having to listen to them going at it like they didn't know he could hear them, it didn't take a genius to know that the walls of their tiny house were practically paper-thin. And they thought he needed help. If that asshole hadn't taken his headphones from him he wouldn't have to listen to this shit. Looking up at the ceiling he tried his best to plug his ears as he waited and waited for them to be finished.

Aw fuck, the bed was hitting the wall. All that squeaking and bumping, he was surprised their neighbors hadn't phoned in a noise complaint. Old people, especially parents shouldn't be allowed to fuck when their kid is home. And his sperm donor got pissed when he snuck out, who would want to hear their own damn mother make those noises? And the grunting that ass-whipped monkey made-!

Screams coming from a few doors down, the look his old man gave him when he took the headphones away earlier; all of it made him sick to his stomach. He rolled over and pressed his face into his pillow, preparing himself for another long night without sleep.

[]

October 17, 1995

Edgar Vargas, M.D.

Work Report

The (name removed) case has been dropped, leaving only 15 other patients on my work load, most of those bi-monthly. I believe this leaves me open to take on a few of the new patients our section was assigned in the last couple of weeks. Angela Dunham, as reported and announced on October 4, is on maternity leave starting yesterday. Her duties will be covered by Justin Seam and the final type up of her reports, as written and represented by Seam, will be done by the secretaries as they are able.

{ . . . }

. . . two of the patients have refused treatment despite both being made outpatients. Case # 452637, Johnny "Nny" C. who transferred over from the General Memorial Hospital, has reportedly barricaded himself in his home. Taking into consideration that he was only recently crippled I've decided to take him as my patient as he didn't seem to react well to Seam being near his person. It would be a good idea to perhaps convince Mr. C to meet outside of his residence until I can establish at least some of his trust before we have to resort to institutionalization . . .

{ . . . }

. . . Case # 452644 has been transferred over from an independent, state funded psychiatrist by the name of Dr. Markowitz. Recently his patient Jimmy Reeds attacked his Father with a small wrench he had hidden in his pocket. No serious or permanent damage was done but his parents confided in his former doctor that they are considering a send-away school (military/disciplinary/boarding) on account of his recent behavior. As a favor to Dr. Markowitz our clinic will be taking on Mr. Reeds Pro Bono as his family does not have health care and no longer qualifies for state-funded treatment. Seam will designate the severity of this case through an evaluation of Jimmy Reeds in his home . . .