maringouin
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Pete’s boots squelched through the mud. He would have been glad that it was not deep enough to get in, but he was occupied by other annoyances. Namely, the constant, high pitched whining that filled the air.
“Damn these bugs!” He roared, swinging his arms wildly to drive off the countless mosquitoes.
“Oh stop complaining.” Dr. Bennett said. She looked completely unphased by the swarm. “You agreed to come here, even after I told you where we would be going. I told you there would be mosquitoes. I warned you about all of this.”
“Doesn’t mean I have to like it, doc.”
One of the offending insects landed on his hand, and was immediately met with the palm of his other hand. Dr. Bennett looked over at his sharply. She moved towards him as quickly as the mud allowed.
“What did you just do?”
“I’m not going to be stand being a meal for these things.” Pete said. She looked at the back of his hand, and the remained of the insect on it.
“You’re lucky this wasn’t what I’m looking for.” She said coldly. “Don’t swat anymore.”
“Oh, come on! They’ll eat me alive.”
“That’s what bug spray is for, Peter.”
The large man shouldered his gun, passing it over his shoulder to get at the supply pack. In it was a can of high-quality bug spray. He loathed that it was not the type that killed the damn things, merely drove them off for a little while. He still applied a good amount to every bit of exposed skin he had. His employer, meanwhile, simply went back to examining the mosquitoes.
“Why do you even need a bodyguard anyway? We haven’t seen anything bigger than a muskrat.”
“Just a precaution.” She said dismissively. “Now be quiet and let me work.”
He huffed and went back to waving off the blood suckers. She went back to looking for something. All he had been told was that they were looking for a new species of insect. He had not needed any further details, since the money had been decent. Not his highest paying job by any means, but certainly one of his easiest. Now he was regretting it. Especially since it seemed like all she was doing was looking at bugs in a swamp.
“Don’t move.” She said suddenly.
Pete remained as still as he could. His bodyguard instincts kicked in and he prepared his weapon. He looked around for any possible danger, but found none. Dr. Bennet slowly reached into her backpack and took out a small glass vial and a matching lid. She held them out and crept forward before extending the vial. She held it there for a moment, then snapped it shut. Her face lit up and she leet out a cheer.
“Got it!” She shouted happily. “I finally got it! I knew I would find one eventually.”
“What is it?” Pete asked.
She proudly held up the vial, which now contained a mosquito. As far as he could tell, the only difference between that one and those trying to eat him was that it was a little bigger.
“A brand-new species of mosquito. Newly discovered, and now confirmed.” She looked like she had just walked on the moon. “
“That’s it? We came all this way for that? We had to trek through miles of mud and bugs for a new, slightly different bug?”
“Discovering and cataloguing new species is important work, Peter. Now, take a close look at it and help me find a few more. One is not a sufficient sample, and we’ll need at least one male as well. Oh, I can’t wait to get this back to the lab and start studying them.”
The entomologist immediately went back to looking at mosquitoes. Pete groaned and bemoaned the lack of dry ground to sit on. This was shaping up to be the worst job he had ever taken.
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You know what one of the best parts about fall and winter are? No mosquitoes. Those little guys suck. (eh, eh, get it? Mosquitoes? Suck? Hahaha, funny joke.)
