CHAPTER XIII: HOSTING A SHOW

Yawning, Rosie woke up. She had been very surprised at the events last night, about Dim joining the circus briefly and all. Although she would not, at least not yet, have said it to his face, Dim was very much like her very first husband, and the one she had been most reluctant to eat. This was true to such an extent that, if Dim had been her husband (and a black widow spider, of course) she would not have even considered eating him after mating, even though custom would have called for her to do so.

Stretching her two arms and her two back legs (having eight limbs in total), she stood up, wondering where the others were. Looking around, she saw that Dim was still fast asleep, not making a sound. Should she wake him up?

Na, she thought. He was probably still hornet-struck (he might have hornet-phobia; but, who could blame him?) after being attacked. He was still lucky to be alive. Still, at least he would be safe now.

She left him alone in the spacious backstage of the circus tent (which was just ground with a tent flap over their heads) and went outside. The sun was just appearing on the horizon, and she could see grass stalks stretching as far as the invertebratic eye could see. Francis, Slim, Heimlich and Manny were sitting on the ground nearby, talking. She quickly approached them.

'Morning Rosie,' said Manny in his posh accent. 'Dim's still asleep?'

Rosie nodded, and she sat down between Manny and Slim.

'Wat du u thenk happened to him?' asked Heimlich.

'Probably horror-struck from that hornet attack,' said Rosie.

'Who can blame him?' remarked Francis. 'I was attacked by a hornet once, remember?'

Slim nodded – he, Francis and Heimlich had known each other since they were all larvae.

'Ya!' commented Heimlich. 'Et was as though dey had en urge in deir blood tu kill coleopterans!'

'Yeah, they're like... they're like... a certain vertebratic race that started a world war...' wondered Slim.

'What vertebratic race?' said Rosie.

'I can't say it in a movie,' cursed Slim, 'but it's the one with accents like –' Slim jabbed two of his four index fingers at Heimlich, who seemed to take it in his stride. The others all nodded, understanding what Slim was visually communicating.

'Where's P.T.?' asked Rosie.

'Deciding what acts are on today,' added Francis. 'He's beginning to think our flower act is getting old.'

'About time,' smiled Slim. 'We've been telling him that for weeks. Any new acts yet?'

Francis shook his head. 'Listen, if that blood-sucking parasite was as smart as he says he is, we'd be sold out every night! As it stands, we're lucky to get any audience!'

'And we all signed contracts,' sighed Rosie, 'so we can only leave if he fires us.'

'Except Dim,' finished Manny. They all sighed, clearly slightly depressed over their minor situation.

They all just sat there, clearly not having a clue as to what to say next. They might have been sitting there for an hour, for all they knew. All they knew is that, suddenly, P.T. appeared on the scene.

'You guys! Show starts in a half-hour! Get ready now!' he huffed and puffed, looking very out-of-breath.

'Rosie,' breathed P.T. slowly, as the other circus bugs got up and walked back inside the tent, 'find that beetle. He could be our ticket for today's show!'

'How?' asked Rosie.

P.T. chuckled, clearly having a plan he hoped to use for the show that involved Dim. 'You'll see...'

Slightly curious at P.T., Rosie went back under the tent flap, to where Dim was still asleep. However, he was not sound asleep now – he was tossing and turning; clearly, whatever he was dreaming was intense. Rosie approached him and rubbed him gently on his shell, trying to wake him up without giving him a shock. However, he did not regain consciousness.

'Honey, you gotta wake up...' said Rosie softly. Dim did respond, but it sounded like it was to someone in his dream.

'No... No...' he moaned, turning over. 'I'm sorry, your majesty! I didn't mean to anger you hornets! Please...'

Rosie froze in horror, totally unsure what was happening in his dream. She rubbed him again.

'Dim, please!' yelled Rosie, desperate to get him out of his nightmare. As though her words were a trigger, Dim suddenly awoke, sweating and panting.

Rosie paused briefly, wondering what she should say. She noticed he was looking around with a surprised expression, as though, during the night, he had forgotten he was here, with Rosie and others, and not back where... wherever he had been before now. Should she tell him that she had witnessed him having a nightmare?

'Dim, P.T. needs to see you right away,' said Rosie finally.

For about four seconds, Dim just stared, mesmerized, at Rosie, as though he was seeing her for the first time. Then, he shook his head, seeming to fully take in who he could see and where he was.

He quickly moved off to P.T.'s office, Rosie following him. Watching him as they walked, Rosie noticed how white Dim looked, as though he had seen a ghost. What had he been dreaming about? In his sleep, he had mentioned hornets, but he had also mentioned "your majesty." Had his hornet problem been more than an attack from a drone? Had it been a quarrel between him and a royal hornet?

All too soon, they had reached P.T. in his office. He didn't notice them at first, as he was scan-reading his mail (written on leafs). They watched as he looked at his seven letters.

'From mother...' he muttered, putting down one of the leafs. Dim and Rosie watched him, aware that P.T. was unaware that they were watching him.

'Death threats...' he muttered angrily, tossing aside two of the leafs. They watched as he looked at his four last letters.

'Death threats from mother...' he spat, crushing the last four leafs into a ball, wrapping his cigarette end in it, and tossing it over his shoulder. He then looked up - and noticed that they had seen the scene. He quickly regained control of himself.

'Rosie,' said P.T. pointing towards the exit. Reluctantly, Rosie left. P.T. now beckoned Dim forwards.

It was almost show time. I felt really awkward. P.T. now wanted me to perform in the show, instead of distributing concessions. I didn't really mind, as long as I still got to leave as soon as the show was over. I just really needed to get matters back to the colony.

As though it was on a distant planet, I heard P.T. talking to Slim, Francis and Heimlich quite a distance away. He appeared to be telling them how to go about doing today's act.

'...Do the flower act, and then assist Manny with his magician performance,' P.T. was telling them. 'I'll tell you more afterwards.'

Looking as though they had heard him say that enough times to make the phrase cliched, they moved off.

Some time passed, in which I did nothing in particular. All I knew was that, soon enough, bugs had filed into the seats in the theater, as I could hear them.

The show was due to begin in a minute. Slim, Francis and Heimlich were already onstage, and Manny was busy rehearsing for his magician act. The fireflies and wolf tarantula were also at their respective positions. Rosie and I were the only ones still backstage, as P.T. was doing his starting speech.

Too anxious to wait, I poked my head around the flap to the main tent area. P.T. was giving his speech to the audience.

'...and there may very well be accidents in this performance...' P.T. was saying.

Not too keen to listen to his speech much, I instead glanced at the audience members. There were all kinds of invertebrates there! Flies made up the majority of the audience, but there were other bugs there too. I moved my eyes up and down the rows. There were roaches, mosquitoes, a hornet, two slugs, three snai –

I almost screamed out in panic. There was a hornet in the audience! Looking again, I realized it wasn't just any hornet. She was the same hornet from before – the one who had survived that chase against me and the one who had delivered that message!

Quick as a flash, I ducked behind the flap again, praying the Chief Hornet – for want of a better name – had not seen me. I was 100% certain she was here on orders of Queen Maula, and that she was after me.

'Rosie!' I hissed, catching her attention very quickly.

'Yeah?' asked Rosie, with her motherly tone that I grown to love over the past day – man, time sure does fly!

'Hornet,' I whispered, jerking my head towards the flap to the main tent area.

'In the audience?' breathed Rosie, as though she had to see it for herself.

I nodded in a very grave tone. Rosie looked around the tent flap, obviously to check the hornet from a distance. After two or so seconds, she came back.

'Was she the one that attacked you?' asked Rosie.

Again, I paused, wondering what I should say. I quickly decided on the truth – or part of the truth, anyway.

'One of them,' I said finally. Rosie looked just like I felt – scared beyond description.

'What do we do?' I pleaded to Rosie, scared out of my wits. 'If she sees me, she'll attack me!'

'Don't worry,' said Rosie calmly. 'P.T. won't force you to go out there with a hornet nearby – I hope.'

'Ah!' yelled Francis (wearing a flower hat), as Heimlich advanced on him, dressed up as a bumblebee with a fake yellow stinger on his rear abdomen.

'Surrender, walking flower!' exclaimed Heimlich. 'I enly wish tu enjoy ur fine nectur!'

Francis was back-stepping as far as he could, as Heimlich stepped closer. The audience was on the edge of their seats – including the Chief Hornet, who was watching Francis with a bloodthirsty look.

'Pollinate with him!' yelled a roach.

There were many murmurs and yells of assent from the audience. Heimlich further advanced on Francis.

Suddenly, before Heimlich could pretend to sip Francis' "nectar," Francis grabbed Slim out of nowhere, wielding him like a sword. Heimlich jumped backwards a pace or two.

'For I am not a flower!' yelled Francis at large to the audience. 'I am –' he whipped off his flower hat with his spare hand and replaced it with a leaf hat '– Robin Hood!

'And you,' he said to Heimlich, who was pretending to look scared, 'my bumblebee friend, are an agent of Prince John!'

Francis was stepping closer to Heimlich, still wielding Slim as a sword. The audience was still watching attentively – except the Chief Hornet, who looked like she was using every ounce of her energy to stop herself launching herself upon Francis and throttling him until he leaked blood.

P.T. quickly hopped backstage in his flea manner to fetch Manny. Manny had just gone onstage, and P.T. was about to return to the main area also, when Rosie took him aside.

'We've got a problem,' Rosie told him. 'That hornet's the same one who attacked Dim!'

'Doesn't matter,' said P.T., shaking his head. 'He's still going out there – you both are!'

'She'll attack him – I'm sure of it!' commanded Rosie. 'You can't send him out there!'

'She's a paying customer!' stated P.T., as though that ended the matter.

You think that'll stop her?' questioned Rosie, leering over P.T. in the same manner as yesterday, with Dim watching in the background. 'Only orders from a royal hornet will stop her! She'll do it – I'm warning you!'

'I don't care!' yelled P.T., going back onstage. 'You're BOTH on in one minute,' he finished as he went under the tent flap.

Rosie turned to Dim. His lip was trembling, and he looked as though he would cry if he went out there.

'Rosie...' mumbled Dim. Every word seemed to cost him a great ounce of energy. 'Please...'

'Just don't look at her,' said Rosie in her motherly tone, 'and look brave. For me?' she asked Dim.

Dim looked into her eyes again. Several seconds passed, when he showed no external sign of life. Finally...

Dim nodded. He turned and started to walk onstage, Rosie following him. Something about her had made him decide to face his greatest fear. But what?

I don't know what had made me do it. It might have been Rosie's resemblance to Cora. However, I think it was the fact – and I knew it – that I had to face my fear sooner or later. And this was a good opportunity – the hornet might not even recognize me. There was a chance everything could go as P.T. hoped it would – I hope he's right.

Rosie faced me in the belt-buckle enclosed area in the very center of the tent – she was holding a whip. P.T. spoke again to the audience. I did my best to keep my eyes of Rosie, to not look at the Chief Hornet and, most importantly, to not show signs of weakness. Somehow, I pulled it off.

'Our mistress of the high wire, Rosie, had met her match,' stated P.T., using the best verbal techniques to keep the audience. He was standing on top of a wastepaper basket propped up against a gong, and he was holding a bong with which to whack the gong.

'Her match,' continued P.T., 'is a monster – a freak – an outcast!'

This sentence almost caused me to burst into tears, not because of P.T.'s selfishness, but because what he had said was true. I felt like a monster and a freak – and I was definitely an outcast. With an almost impossible effort I kept my ground.

'Her match,' finished P.T., 'is Ferocious Beast, Dim!' P.T. whacked the gong with his bong, letting the sound vibrate around the tent.

I didn't need to look, and I didn't. I didn't need to listen, and I didn't. I didn't need to use any of my senses to tell that the Chief Hornet – upon hearing this, was more attentive, and would not now take her eyes off me. I was sure she would attack me now – but I wasn't going to show signs of weakness, for if I did, she was GUARANTEED to attack me.

As P.T. had told me to, I suddenly turned my manner much more violent. I simultaneously roared and reared on my hind legs while swinging my two other pairs of legs in a mad frenzy – I seemed more like a beast now than ever. I advanced on Rosie, who backed away, but continued swinging the makeshift whip at me.

'Back! Back you horrible beast!' she yelled, whipping the whip at me. I continued advancing, making sure to avoid it. I let out another roar as I approached.

'I have no fear –' said Rosie, and then she showed fear. I smirked, thinking I was winning this fake battle. But then –

I should have known. The scared reactions of the audience gave it away anyway. But I should have known regardless. I was a fool to think it wouldn't happen.

I was grabbed from behind, and I didn't need to look to know who by.

Approximate Chapter Running Time: 00:48-00:53