Carlos skidded to a halt behind a deep purple Scion that was parked along the street, his knees scraping against the gravel and concrete, tearing open his jeans. He heard several loud thunks, as wads – whether they were paper, or venom, or spit, he wasn't sure - collided with the side of the car, shaking it. He twisted around to try and see if he could make out his attacker through the glass of the car window.

"Carlos, hi!" said a breathless voice beside him.

"Cecil?" Carlos felt a wave of relief, and then a wave of horror at his relief. Well, nobody wanted to die alone, he figured. Cut yourself some slack.

Cecil gave a small wave, which was really unnecessary given their proximity. "This is a mess, isn't it? It's really going to put a damper on the junior high field day and endurance run. Although, I suppose it could be a motivator…." He pursed his lips as if considering it.

"Is it still there?" Carlos whispered, trying not to make any sudden movements.

"Oh the wasp?" Cecil said. As if they weren't crouching in a half deserted street while some hornet the size of a – well, the size of the Scion they were hiding behind – stalked the streets. Carlos couldn't hear its wing beats reverberating off the pavement anymore, but he had enough experience with regular sized wasps to know that didn't mean it wasn't hiding somewhere, waiting to strike. "No, it got distracted by something down the street when you ducked back here. They don't seem very bright."

Carlos rubbed at a stitch in his chest and sighed. Then a thought struck him. "They? It's not just the one?"

Cecil raised an eyebrow, and Carlos suddenly felt as if Cecil were explaining something very simple. "No its…you know wasps, there's usually a nest. We've seen several today. I should probably go check in with Simone about it, see if I can get a quote for the show later….

"Shouldn't we make sure there IS a show later?" Carlos asked, his voice sounding panicky in contrast to Cecil's. "Like, shouldn't we get out of here? Soon?"

"Oh, yeah – of course. My car is just a few over. I don't suppose…I mean…." Cecil looked embarrassed, and SHIT, where did he get off being bashful when they'd just been cornered behind a car by a wasp with a stinger the size of your forearm? "I don't suppose… you'd like a ride?"

Carlos gaped at him, incredulous. His first instinct was to shout, but he didn't want to attract the hornet's attention. A moment passed, and Cecil was starting to look a bit uncomfortable. This is Night Vale, he reminded himself. Carlos cleared his throat.

"Yes, thank you." He said calmly. "That would be great."
Cecil looked relieved. He pointed to an old turquoise Firebird 3 cars down. "That's me, it's unlocked, just…best stay low."

They crouched low to the pavement, Carlos's already bloody knees stinging in protest, but they made it to the car safely. The passenger side door swung open of its own accord, and Cecil climbed across the front bench seats into the driver's. Carlos clamored in after him and slammed the door shut.

The engine revved, and Carlos started – Cecil hadn't put a key in the ignition.

"Aww!" Cecil laughed, patting the dashboard "She likes you! Well, of course she does, she has good taste… Don't worry!" he said, catching Carlos's expression, "She's basically completely domesticated now. You said you were on your way back to the lab, right?"

The ride was short, and Carlos didn't catch half of what Cecil was chattering about, but he nodded a bit and made "hmm"ing noises as his eyes darted about the streets, half expecting to have a stinger crashing through the window at every turn. When they finally came to a stop outside the lab, Carlos felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for its (relative) safety. He reached in to his pocket to grab his keys and was halfway out the door when he remembered he really out to at least say thanks. He was just about to turn back when he felt a strong arm yank him back into the car, heard the screeching buzz of massive wings, and saw a bright blast of viscous green sludge fly past the spot he'd been standing in, scorching the pavement. So – it was venom after all, then.

Carlos felt the car spin and accelerate, throwing him forcibly into Cecil's side; he scrambled for purchase on the car's leather interior, and pulled his feet in time just in time for the door to snap shut.

"Sorry – so sorry! It looks like we need to circle the block, if you just want to get your seatbelt…I'm really sorry about that! Hang on for just a tick…"

Carlos righted himself, yanked the seatbelt across his chest, and checked the car's side mirror, where the giant hornet was gaining altitude and looked as if it were preparing to strike. Cecil's car was accelerating madly, and he turned abruptly to the left, down a side street. Carlos caught a glimpse of the junior high several blocks away, where several students in gym shorts and brightly colored t-shirts where leveling a barrage of bullets at one of the insects from their school-issue assault weapons.

"Carlos, if you wouldn't mind, would you do me a favor?" Cecil asked, his voice even and cool. The sound of it cut through Carlos's panic, and he felt his heart rate slow a fraction, against all reason. It was no wonder people turned to Cecil's show in times of fear – that voice was like a Valium. "Could you just reach into the glove compartment and grab that black canister with the blue lid? The BLUE one, not the red one."

"Got it."

"Thanks so much! Now, I'm just going to see if I can get these guys a few miles away, and then when I say, could you pull that little plastic tab and throw the whole canister out the window?"

"Sure," Carlos said. It wasn't a time for asking questions.

"Great!" Alright, almost there…can you see them? Are they still back there?"

"Yes," Carlos confirmed. "It looks like there are two now, about 70 feet above and 150 feet behind the car."

Cecil clucked his tongue. "We really need them a bit closer…hmmm. Okay, how about this - I'm going to slow down a bit to see if we can get them to make a dive for us. For this to work, I'll need to know exactly when they do, and then we'll need to drop the canister as soon as we're back up to speed. Does that seem like a plan?"

"Yes, got it," Carlos said. He'd rarely heard somebody simultaneously so polite and commanding. It somehow managed to instill a lot of confidence in a plan that, he thought later, REALLY shouldn't have seemed like a good idea.

But it worked. Cecil slowed the car nearly to a stop, the hornets rallied, slowed, and then dove in for the kill, and at Carlos's shout the car had leaped forward, accelerating wildly, and the canister Carlos threw out the window had exploded in a cloud of hazy, crackling blue smoke that smelled vaguely of baby powder.

Carlos hadn't actually seen the wasps drop, but when they returned to the lab, there was no more buzzing. Carlos hovered with his hand on the car door, anxiously looking in every possible direction before stepping out.

"All clear!" Cecil said cheerfully.

Carlos turned back to look at him, perched in the driver's seat, his hair dusty and blown backwards, his smile brilliant. Carlos opened his mouth, wanting desperately to say something meaningful. Nothing like this had ever happened to him before. Cecil had saved his life. Maybe he had saved Cecil's. For a weird, brilliant moment, they'd been a team. Maybe this was normal for Night Vale, but for Carlos, it seemed – beautiful. Intense. Strange.

Then the moment passed. Carlos looked at the man in the driver's seat, still smiling at him, but suddenly much more of a stranger, and less of a friend.

"Thanks," Carlos said simply, and he walked quickly back into the lab.