Queen Bee

"Just stay calm and relaxed. Remember, they won't hurt you if you control your fear."

Despite the warning, my heart started pounding faster in my chest. I could feel it beating like a drum, my pulse throbbing at my left wrist. I had long moved past regret in signing up for this experimental weight-loss procedure and was now working toward a full-blown panic. My eyes darted around the room, searching for an exit. There were three identical white doors next to a window where Doctor Thomas and his nurses pressed their faces, watching me, safe and sound.

"This will sting for just a moment," Doctor Thomas soothed.

My eyebrow flew up on its own accord. I tried not to draw attention to myself by moving my lips as I asked, "Was that a pun, doctor?"

"What?"

"Never mind," I shook my head, realizing my mistake too late as a the buzzing of several bees drew closer.

"Stay calm!" Doctor Thomas shouted.

Several glass beakers tipped over, rolled off the counter, and exploded into tiny shards as I threw myself to the lab's shiny floor. A bee whizzed past my head. I tucked my chin to my chest and tried to roll into a ball as another black and yellow missile flew by.

"Relax!" the doctor yelled.

Fight or flight had kicked in. My adrenaline had me shaking as I crawled across the floor. I didn't care which door I went through, I was getting out. The pinching stab on the back of my neck pushed me off my knees and to my feet. One long shriek escaped from my mouth. The door in the middle threw me back when I misjudged the distance and ran into it, knocking me to my rear.

"Don't . . . be . . . afraid!"

The doctor's voice sounded like it was coming from a long tunnel. It echoed and bounced around the room. In what felt like slow motion, I lifted my hand to the back of my neck and pulled out a stinger. Another bee swooped down and landed on my flabby upper arm.

"I ch-changed my m-mind!" I stuttered, "I'll j-just diet and e-eat r-right! I d-don't need ac-acupuncture treatments!"

The bee seemed to listen to my plea before shaking its body and plunging its stinger into my flesh. Several more bees joined the first, until my body was crawling with the insects. I closed my eyes, finally relaxing as the bee's poison flooded through my body. The thrum of my heart seemed to slow. I imagined I was standing on the beach, the ocean rolling in and out over my bare feet.

"Miss Jones, can you hear me?"

I glanced over my shoulder, expecting to see someone standing behind me, and frowned. I was alone, the sun warming my back as the cool ocean licked my toes. I dug my heels into the sand and grinned at the salty waves.

"Miss Jones! Miss Jones!"

I folded my arms across my chest. There was that annoying voice again. I scanned the beach but besides a few seagulls, I was alone.

"It's time to come back, Miss Jones!"

A blast of electricity ripped through my chest. I gasped and the ocean was replaced with a sterile white room and the ugliest woman I'd ever seen hovering inches above my face.

"Am I in Hell?" my throat felt raw. The woman blinked behind her thick, black glasses. Her warty nose wrinkled and her mouth twisted into what I assumed was supposed to be a smile, but looked more like a sneer.

"No, dear, you're in the land of the living."

"Why'd you bring me back?" I whispered, ignoring the ache in my throat, "There was an ocean and gulls and the sun was so warm. . ."

"Take a sip, dear," the nurse urged, pressing a straw against my dry lips. The water dribbling into my mouth tasted flat. I turned my face away and raised a weak hand to keep her from forcing the issue. My eyes caught on my hand. My flesh was red and swollen to twice its usual size.

"What happened?" I mumbled.

Nurse Homely tucked a blanket around my legs and grimaced. "You were stung by bees, dear. Don't you remember?"

I closed my eyes, willing myself to remember. All that came to me was the mighty ocean and the blissful feeling of my feet digging into the sand.

"No, I don't. I don't remember anything but an ocean. . . Did I get stung at the beach?"

The nurse pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Her triple chins wobbled as she shook her head.

"No, dear. You weren't at the beach. You were at a lab," she bit her lip, drawing lipstick onto her crooked teeth, "I probably shouldn't say anything but Doctor Brant has a horrible bedside manner. You'll never get a straight word from him. Dear, the live bee acupuncture treatment you went through went horribly wrong." She patted my swollen hand and I flinched.

"Whoopsie, sorry dear."

"How — "

"Any other person would have died. You had quite a high level of venom in your system." She moved to my head to fluff my pillow.

"So I'm going to be okay?"

When she didn't answer, I felt a prick of panic touch my heart.

"Something's wrong, isn't it?" I pulled away from my pillows. The nurse placed a gentle hand on my shoulder and tried to push me back. My lips curled back until I was snarling.

"Take your hands off of me and find me a mirror!" My throat screamed at the abuse I inflicted by yelling. I expected the nurse to frown. I imagined she would shake her head and call for an orderly to sedate me. That's what happened in all the movies I watched. Instead, her eyes seemed to glaze and she nodded her head.

"Right away, dear."

I fell back against my pillows, exhausted, as the nurse scurried away to do my bidding. I must have dozed off because when I opened my eyes again the nurse was standing at my side fidgeting, a hand-sized mirror in her hand. I stuck out my arm and she placed the mirror in my palm. The handle was warm and slightly sticky. I held my breath, willed myself to be brave, and lifted the mirror.

My face was red and bloated and my eyes were mere slits. I was surprised that I could see, I was so puffy. Two black wires protruding from my head had me squinting in disbelief. I reached up a hand and tentatively poked at one.

"What did they do to my head?" I gulped back my fear and turned an angry glare on the nurse. "What are these wires for?"

"Nothing, dear!" her lips twitched and she stepped back a pace as if she were afraid. "You...you came in like that!"

I couldn't keep the nervous laugh down. "They look just like antennas, don't they?" I pinched one with a puffy thumb and index finger, gave a little yank, and winced.

"Perhaps they'll go away with the swelling, dear," the nurse's smile looked forced. I laid the mirror on my lap, tired of looking at my bloated face. I cleared my tender throat.

"You know, I could use a snack and some sleep."

"Would you like me to get you something from the cafeteria, dear? Applesauce and tea, maybe?"

I gagged at the thought. "No," I licked my lips, "I'm craving. . . jelly."

The nurse blinked and flicked her glasses up her nose, the gesture grating on my nerves.

"Jelly?"

"Did I stutter?" I snapped, "I want some jelly and I want some now."

"Strawberry or blackberry?" the nurse gasped.

"Neither," I grumped.

"But — "

"I need royal jelly."

The nurse's eyes widened and her pupils dilated. Her liver spotted hand fluttered to her chest as her eyes flickered to the antennas sprouting from my head.

"Like. . . for bees?" she asked.

A weary smile stretched across my swollen face. "Exactly!"

"Yes, dear."

I spent the next two weeks in the hospital with Nurse Homely acting as my servant. The redness and swelling in my face slowly disappeared but the antennas stayed. I got to where I didn't mind them being there. In fact, as I brushed and styled my long hair around the two appendages, I realized they looked rather elegant.

I found my sense of smell heightened and when I managed to stand on wobbly legs to take my first shower in days, I discovered a set of nearly translucent wings had grown on my back. As the days passed, I started feeling antsy. I wanted to get out and travel and . . . I flushed as the urge to conquer and control my own kingdom took over my every thought.

"Nurse," I jumped out of the hospital bed, my bare feet thumping against the cold floor. "I'm ready to leave now."

"The doctor needs to release you, dear,"

I narrowed my eyes and concentrated, a new power rising up inside me. "No, he doesn't." I contradicted. Her eyes glazed and I lifted my chin in triumph. As I suspected, I was able to control the nurse with my newly acquired pheromones.

"No, he doesn't," the nurse agreed.

"Now, gather up all the ladies and follow me."

I grinned as my new minion marched off to gather every female nurse and doctor in the hospital. They followed as one large group, out of the building and into the street. I fluttered my wings and launched myself off the ground, hovering ahead of my new hive, ready to take over the world.

Buzzzy Notes ▼

Written for: 12 Stories in 12 Months