Bug Fables: Return of the Giants

Chapter 9

Gerald McNairn walked towards the 2012 Nissan Murano that was parked in his driveway. The car belonged to him, of course. Sitting in the car was his wife, Elizabeth, and his seven-year-old daughter, Sally.

He opened the Murano's driver seat door and peered his head in.

"Bad news—"

"Gerald, pick your next words very, very carefully," Elizabeth said, interrupting him.

"I know, I know," said Gerald. "We've been marching up and down the isles of Lowe's all day. You guys have made it clear that you're not the biggest fans of the hardware store."

"I'm so hungry," complained Sally from the back seat. "I don't wanna go back to Lowe's!"

"Ah!" said Gerald, snapping his fingers. "That's the thing! We can pick up food on the way home."

"Really!?" asked Sally excitedly. "From where!?"

"We can decide that when we get out of Lowe's."

"Why don't you just go?" asked Elizabeth. "Me and Sally can just stay home. I'll make her lunch while you're going out to get...whatever it is."

"Raid. It's funny that out of all the bug stuff I bought, I forgot the simplest one," said Gerald. "And there's no way I'm leaving you two in the house alone. It's a bug's paradise around there."

"We'll be fine," said Elizabeth.

"As long as there's still bees, wasps, ants, and termites around, you guys are sticking with me."

"Alright," said Elizabeth. "Gosh, what were we thinking when we bought this house?"

"It could be worse," Gerald responded. "The house itself has very few problems. It's just the bugs."

"Why are there so many bugs, anyway?" asked Elizabeth. "Did we ever get an answer to that?"

"No clue," Gerald put the key in the ignition and turned it, starting the car. He pulled out of the driveway and started down the road. "I think the house has just been for sale for too long. No one has bought the house for years, which means there was no one to maintain the yard."

"It's a fine house," Elizabeth said. "I wonder why no one bought it before us."

"They were probably wussies. They didn't wanna deal with all the bugs," chuckled Gerald. "Luckily, your big, strong husband is here to save the day!

"Yeah, but I meant, like, before all the bugs."

"Hrmm," Gerald thought for a moment. "Well, you know about the plane accident."

Elizabeth turned in her seat and looked at Gerald in shock. "Uhh, no! You never mentioned a plane crash!"

"Relax," Gerald said, "it was decades ago."

"What happened?" asked Elizabeth. "A whole plane crashed?"

"No, no. It was a...private jet or something. It came out of the air and wiped out four houses."

"Holy cow," Elizabeth remarked. "That's tragic. Do we know anything else about it?"

"Nope. It's horrible, isn't it?" Gerald said. "All those innocent people. It's a shame."

"Man, I can see now why people wouldn't want to live in this neighborhood."

"It was a freak accident. It wont happen again," Gerald said. "The odds are ridiculously low."

"Dad," Sally piped in from the back. "I don't wanna get hit by a plane."

"You aren't going to get hit by a plane, dear." Gerald reassured his daughter as he pulled into the parking lot of Lowe's.