The Bottom Feeders and Other Stories Read Online Free PDF Page B

Lumpy,
Randy’s old, nappy hound, sat panting near the cab. There was
something else, too—shiny and black like a dress shoe. Little legs
like bits of broken black bamboo jutted out at odd angles. At the
front was a smallish head with a set of nasty pincer jaws—not huge
like a Hercules Beetle, but wicked enough. Its body was about the
size of a large rat.
    “ This some kind of gag?” I
asked.
    “ Like hell. We found a few
of them out at the cutting site. All dead like this one.” Randy
leaned in and I could smell a hint of whiskey just under the coffee
stench. “A couple of them looked like they were stuck in the
mud—like they were climbin’ out.”
    “ What do you suppose it
is?” Manny asked, a hint of fear floating just under his words. His
usual ruddy face looked whitewashed and pale.
    I bent over the tailgate, a little shocked
by the possibility. “A beetle, I guess.”
    “ Damn big beetle.” Randy
stroked his beard.
    “ You should really show
this to Lane, you know Nancy Albricht’s kid. He’s back for the
summer, and he’s studying entomology at Oregon State.” I looked at
Randy. “This would be like winning the lotto for him.”
    “ Anto-mol-ogy,” Randy spoke
slowly. “What’s that, beetle breeding?”
    “ Entomology. The study of
insects. Bugs. Let’s give him a call.”

    “ It kind of looks like a
common black beetle—family Carabidae . They’re an
import from Europe. Not native to the Pacific Northwest, that is.”
Lane Albricht, blonde and broad, stood in the center of the small
group of men gathered around his father’s workbench, poking and
prodding the specimen Randy brought from the forest. “Damn it’s
big. Where’d you find this?”
    “ There were a
few out near our site. Maybe a half dozen. A couple of them looked
like they were crawling up out of the ground.” Randy made a face
and pantomimed a large beetle exiting a pile of mud. I figured the
beetle in the woods didn’t have a beard.
    Lane tilted his
head and studied Randy’s acting. “Interesting. Most Carabidae species usually live under old trees, bark, or stones
near water. Were the others the same size?”
    “ Yep, close
anyway.” Randy ceased his beetle impression. “Look, these things
are a little spooky, and we haven’t even seen a live
one.”
    “ Yeah man. I
don’t wanna be out there with these things crawling all over me.”
Manny shivered, jiggling his protruding belly. Pete
nodded.
    Lane carefully
looked at each man in turn, “Large insects aren’t unheard of. They
found this other beetle, Titanus
giganteus , in
Brazil that was about seventeen centimeters long . This guy is easily bigger. I’d like to know if
you find anything else. Especially a live one.”
    “ Whatever kid.
If we do, it sure as hell won’t be alive for long.” Randy thumped
Manny and Pete in turn. “I guess we better get to work fellas.
We’re wasting daylight.”
    Peter and Manny
exchanged a look. “Look, Randy, I can’t speak for Manny, but I’m
not really sure I want to go back out today,” Pete said, glancing
back at the black critter on the bench.
    “ Yeah Randy,
maybe we should…” Manny began.
    “ You’re both a
couple of pansies. Ain’t nothing out there I can’t squash with my
boot.” He started across the street toward his truck and climbed
into the cab. “You sissies can walk home. And kid, you can keep
that one. Call it a souvenir.” With a slight chuckle, Randy started
the truck and rolled down the street.
    The four of us
stood in silence for a moment.
    I turned to
Lane, glancing first at the black specimen on the table. “Are these
things going to be a problem?”
    “ Naw. Probably just some freaks, aberrations. I
mean Carabidae is a carnivorous species,
but…”
    “ Carnivorous
beetles?” Pete’s taffy face stretched with surprise.
    “ Sure—they eat
other insects and can run really fast to catch their prey. But they
wouldn’t harm animals.” Lane ran his hand through his wavy