The Dog Days of Summer

“There is love in me the likes of which you\'ve never seen. There is rage in me the likes of which should never escape. If I am not satisfied in the one, I will indulge the other.”

― Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

1

Katie and Jason rolled their bikes through the thick forest. Their shoes crunched over the fallen pine needles, and the sweltering August heat slipped through the tree branches like boiling water. Cicadas sang their dying songs in the fading daylight. “I don’t think I can handle this for much longer,” Jason gasped. His T-shirt clung to his skinny torso. “It’s too hot in here.”

“Just a few more minutes–” Katie said. But the words faded when she spotted the treasure on the nearby tree trunk. “There it is. The last one,” she said breathlessly.

“Thank God,” Jason said.

They dropped their bikes near the tree and marveled at the tiny object on its branch. The cicada skeleton was a masterpiece–more beautiful than Katie could have imagined. She lifted it gingerly from the bark and held it up like a piece of amber. Long rays of afternoon sunlight filtered through the cicada’s opaque skin.

Jason watched over her shoulder with wide eyes. “It’s beautiful,” he whispered.

The exoskeleton’s skin was a translucent brown–the same muddy color as Katie’s hair and eyes. Its milky eyes bugged from the small head. The legs curled up on themselves like a child snuggling into its mother’s arms. Katie smiled and turned the skeleton to look at it head-on. The massive eyes stare at he, seeming to accuse her, as though she were somehow responsible for its untimely molting.

Jason shifted impatiently on the uneven forest floor.

“Do you think it will work now?”

Excitement fluttered in Katie’s chest. “I sure hope so.”

The trees whispered around them as a merciful breeze moved through their branches. Buttery slices of sunlight melted between the trees and spread across their bare arms. The woods brimmed with life and light. Katie was hopeful for the first time in a year.

“Beautiful thing,” she whispered. “You’ll look perfect with the rest of them.”

She opened the purple fanny pack around her waist and pulled out a small box. Flipping the lid with her thumb, she carefully placed the exoskeleton inside. She and Jason looked at it, hoping to see what they had seen so far with the others. But the exoskeleton was motionless on the red felt. Katie watched it so intensely that her head began to throb. After several minutes, her stomach grumbled. She frowned and looked at her watch—7:30 p.m.

“This one might be a dud.”

Then, as she started to close the lid, she saw the legs twitch.

“Did you see that?” she asked, her wide brown eyes locking on Jason’s blue ones. His mouth fell open, the faint evidence of a permanent retainer twinkling behind his bottom teeth.

“Holy shit.”

She closed the lid and pressed the box against her chest. “Thank you,” she whispered.

She put the box in her fanny pack, and they mounted their bikes and headed home.

“Why do you like collecting those disgusting things?”

Katie frowned at her tomato soup. Alice rolled her green eyes at her little sister from across the table. “Where do you keep them, by the way? You must have, what, a million by now?” Katie looked up in time to see Alice shudder. Alice’s blond hair caught the dining room light and shimmered like bright, irritating sunlight. “And that Jason kid freaks me out,” she continued, her pink-tipped fingers wrapped around her sweating glass of lemonade. Katie fought to reach across the table and slap the glass out of her grip.

Golden-haired Alice. The perfect girl with the perfect life.

Katie hated her sister. But it hadn’t always been like this.

When Katie was a newborn, Alice would stay up hours past bedtime, waiting for her crepuscular baby sister to wail. At the first cry, she’d bound out of bed before their mother and rush into her sister’s room to comfort her. Over time, the girls became inseparable. Katie, until a few years ago, worshipped Alice.

But high school had changed Alice from a devoted playmate to an intolerant snob. Alice was now the most popular girl in her sophomore class. Not only was Alice popular, but she also had a boyfriend. This fact makes Katie flare with jealousy. Katie had a boyfriend once. He was the only person she’d ever let close to her–the only person who ever understood her.

Tears sting her eyes.

“Those bugs even smell weird,” Alice continued. She tucked a thick strand of hair behind her ear. Her silver starfish earring caught the overhead light and reflected a rude visage in Katie’s face.

“And they feel—”

Katie cut her off. “Why do you care?” she demanded, dropping her spoon loudly into her soup bowl. Their mother sucked in a breath across the table. “Girls, please,” she said in a tired voice. She rubbed her temples in slow circles. “I can’t handle your bickering tonight.”

Alice stared daggers at Katie. “Sorry, Mom,” she said, her voice dripping with insincerity. “I just wanted to learn more about Katie’s hobby. That’s all.”

Katie saw red. Instead of screaming, she grinned at her sister.

“I hope you die,” Katie said through bared teeth. “I hope you get buried underground and never see the sun again.” Shock hit Alice like a slap in the face.

Their mother slammed her hand down on the table. The salt and pepper shakers quaked.

“ENOUGH,” her mother roared. Alice jumped in her chair. Her green eyes were two wet emeralds on her face. Katie’s hate intensified, but she didn’t break her gaze.

And she didn’t stop grinning.

Alice cornered Katie in the hallway after dinner.

“What is going on with you?” Alice demanded. Katie’s horrible words rang in her head. They had fought plenty of times before. But Katie hadn’t ever said something as sick as that.

Katie stared straight ahead. Alice sighed. “I’m serious. What is happening with you? You haven’t been the same since—”

“I’m fine,” Katie snapped. “You don’t have to worry about me because I’ve finally figured it out.” She shoved Alice aside and headed to her room. “What does that mean?” Alice called. Katie stopped and turned with that leering smile on her face. All the hairs on Alice’s arms stood straight up.

“They are going to show me how to do it,” she said. “They live for seventeen years underground and emerge stronger than ever. They can bring themselves back. I’m going to have them help me do the same.”

Before Alice could speak, Katie darted into her room and slammed the door behind her.

Alice tossed and turned in bed for hours. Finally, she shoved aside the covers and grabbed her phone from the nightstand. It was only 3:05 a.m. Groaning, she dropped the phone and pressed both hands against her face. She knew the last year had been hell on her sister. But, she had no idea the extent of the damage. Alice was sure it had something to do with those gross exoskeletons.

She took a deep breath and settled back into her pillow. She would follow her sister into the woods tomorrow to find out what she was doing. But fear gnawed at her ribs. Katie had become a different person. Did she even want to know what Katie was up to?

Whimpering, she pulled the covers over her head.

2

The morning was bright and cloudless–a perfect day for hiking. Katie watched from her window as her mother left for work in her Honda CRV. When the driveway was empty, Katie let the curtain fall back across the pane.

Her phone vibrated from the bedside table. Her eyes flicked down to the teal tabletop.

Jason. Today?

Adrenaline surged through her as she typed. Today.

She listened for footsteps in the hallway. Alice hadn’t yet emerged from her room, but Katie didn’t have much time to slip out unnoticed. She threw her clothes on and grabbed the book bag she’d packed the night before. Holding her breath, she stepped down the hardwood stairs, being sure to not make any noise. As Katie snuck toward the back door, Alice followed closely behind—with a single question burning in her mind. What are you hiding, Katie?

She followed her sister out the back door and into the woods.

After a twenty-minute walk, Katie stopped near two thick doors on the forest floor. She lifted one door with a grunt. The leaves fell down the ancient surface like golden spiders. Grimacing, she lifted the other and let it hit the dirt with an unceremonious thud. A rotting smell rushed past her like a screaming escapee. Katie wrinkled her nose and unzipped her book bag, producing nose plugs and a small flashlight. After securing the plug on her nose, she turned on the flashlight. Light poured into the cavernous, abandoned basement.

Her heart thudded. Although she had been down these eldritch steps many times before, the journey never failed to excite her. Would it be different this time around?

On the tips of her toes, she stepped into the basement’s mouth and disappeared down the steps.

Alice watched her sister from behind a wide oak tree. Her mouth fell open as her sister disappeared into the familiar basement. They’d found the abandoned cellar together years ago. But after one look into its oleaginous, eerie guts, Alice vowed never to return. And here Katie was, going down by herself.

“What the fuck,” she whispered as she tapped the box cutter in her pocket. Sweat popped on her forehead and dampened her shirt. Now or never.

She peeled away from the wide oak and walked to the open doors.

The smell wafting from the basement was overpowering. Alice pressed a hand against her mouth and gagged. Breathing out her mouth, she stepped down the dusty concrete steps. An odd, low buzzing sound vibrated through the darkness. When her feet hit the landing, a cobweb wrapped itself around her face in a soft embrace. She stifled a scream and tore it from her damp face. Once her breathing was under control, she reached into the book bag’s side pocket and pulled out a red flashlight. Light filled the narrow hallway, and the buzzing sound intensified.

“Katie?”

She walked deeper into the basement, wishing she’d also brought nose plugs. The smell grew worse with every step. To her immediate right was a cavernous room. Dusty wooden shelves, heavy with forgotten cans, lined the back wall. Piles of broken glass littered the concrete floor like snow. She swept the light from one end to the other. Something at the back of the buzzing room grabbed her attention–a tiny ball of light.

Holding her breath, she slipped the box cutter from her pocket. Her fingers tapped over the safety latch and released the blade. It sliced through the dank air like a tiny machete. She exhaled, her breath a galloping, feral beast. Her hands tremored so that she almost dropped the flashlight and the box cutter.

“Katie, is that you?” she called, waving the box cutter in the darkness. “Stop fucking around and answer me. I’m worried about you. I came here to take you home.” She heard a thump. The pinprick of light dropped to the ground and rotated, throwing slices of light across the dusty walls. Alice let out a husky, panicked gasp.

The object landed at the tips of her shoes. Woozy with fear, she pointed her flashlight at it and recognized the stickers on the handle. It was Katie’s flashlight.

Panicked, she ran toward the buzzing sound. Her flashlight threw light beams across the ceiling, floor, and walls. As she got closer, she saw Katie standing motionless near the back wall. Something large and dark was on the ground in front of her. Alice stopped and let the box cutter slip from her hand. “Katie, what are you—” Her words died as she stared at the thing on the floor.

3

Thousands of cicada exoskeletons writhed over a shapeless mass. They sang and twitched in sync, their legs working on the lump like sewing needles. Alice’s flashlight penetrated their milky shells. A few paused and turned their bulbous eyes to her. Alice knew it was impossible–cicada exoskeletons can’t be alive. But there was no denying their movements and droning songs. Katie still hadn’t moved. A pair of green nose plugs lay on the concrete beside her. Alice was too scared to do anything but back away. As Alice moved, she stumbled over something.

It was a Converse high-top with black fabric and white rubber insoles. The material was dirty and faded, and an inscription was along the sole.

“It is the east/And Katie is the sun.”

“I thought they could help him,” Katie said.

Alice shrieked and turned the flashlight back on her pale sister’s face. “I thought they would bring him back to me,” Katie murmured. “But I was wrong. I was wrong the whole time.”

Alice’s flashlight quivered into a soft strobe. She tore her eyes away from Katie and turned the light to the buzzing lump. A blue-gray nose poked through the mass of exoskeletons.

Alice’s mouth was so dry she could hardly swallow. “Oh, Katie,” she whispered, swinging the light back to her sister. “What did you do?” Katie’s head dropped to her chin, her dark ponytail sliding across her shoulder. “I just wanted to bring him back,” she said. “I thought they could help.” Her voice broke like glass on the concrete floor.

“They talked to me. They showed me.”

The stink pushed itself between them like an impatient child. Alice’s stomach lurched. She turned and vomited, splattering both of their shoes in the process. “Katie,” she hiccuped, wiping her mouth on her shirt sleeve. “You went and dug Derek up, didn’t you?”

Katie’s head cocked like a spaniel’s.

“Yes, I dug him up,” she said. “I took some shovels, a wheelbarrow, rope, and I dug him the fuck up.” Alice stared at Derek’s newly exposed nose. Poor Derek–Katie’s only boyfriend– died before his eighteenth birthday. Katie had missed him so much that she dug him back up, only to bury him again under a swarm of exoskeletons.

“You couldn’t have done that by yourself.” Katie shook her head.

“No,” she said, the word came out slow and meticulous. “Jason helped me.” Of course, Alice thought.

“And the funeral home helped, too,” Kate continued. “The coffin only had a couple of gaskets. It saved us a lot of time.” Alice’s body was numb. All her blood had frozen into slushy rivers in her veins, and her limbs were concrete pillars. “Katie, I need you to come with me. We have to get help.” Her shoes scraped against the rough concrete as she stepped toward her sister.

“I tried all sorts of things,” Katie continued. “Prayers. Spells. Tinctures and sacrifices and bloodletting. But nothing worked. I couldn’t bring him back, and I’ll be alone forever.”

Still numb with shock, Alice wrapped her arms around her trembling sister.

Katie pulled away and pounded her fists against Alice’s chest. “WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU?” she screamed. Despair clawed out of her body like bag worms crawling out of evergreen cocoons. Alice didn\'t try to stop her sister’s flying fists. Instead, she hugged Katie against her.

“Katie, it wasn’t your fault,” Alice whispered. “You can’t torture yourself like this. He had cancer. Nothing could have saved him.” Katie’s body relaxed into Alice’s arms. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there. But I am now. I’ll never leave you, I promise.” She rocked her sister gently while the darkness slipped around them like water.

A few seconds later, Katie raised her head and frowned.

“What happened to the cicadas?”

The buzzing had stopped. Both sisters looked over at the body. The exoskeletons were motionless. “They aren’t moving,” Katie said. “Why aren’t they moving?”

Katie dropped to her knees and leaned over the dark mass. “Derek,” she said, the sound, stern.

“Derek, can you hear me?”

Alice kept her flashlight trained on her sister. She wanted her sister to have this one miracle, so despite her fear and disgust, she hoped Derek would respond.

But he was silent under his cicada shroud.

With an anguished grunt, Katie dropped her knees and ripped through the exoskeletons on his body, tossing them away in giant handfuls. Alice watched with stunned horror. There must be thousands of them. Derek’s exuviae-covered chest and shoulders emerged.

Katie brushed away the fragments and pressed her hands against his face.

“Derek?” she asked softly. She slapped both hands against his sunken cheeks.

No response.

Alice held her breath. Her flashlight shook a violent dance in her hand, the light jetting around them like they were in the world’s worst club. Katie lowered her hands and cried softly into Derek’s chest. Suddenly, the hair on Alice’s neck stood straight up. Something was watching them. She turned the flashlight to the steps, and the light shook madly on the dusty walls. “Do you hear that?” she whispered.

Katie stopped crying and lay still on top of Derek’s body. The remaining exoskeletons crunched under her weight. The sisters held their breaths. Long, dragging footsteps were coming steadfast closer to the room. Alice swallowed, the sound audible.

“Hello?”

The footsteps paused, and a low buzzing sound filtered into the room from the hallway. Suddenly, Alice was terrified. Turning off the flashlight, Alice knelt on top of Katie, her voice caught in her throat. She didn’t even mind Derek’s smell or the skeletons crunching beneath her bare arms. All she wanted was for that thing in the hallway to go away.

“Who is it?” Katie whispered.

The footsteps resumed–slower this time. The thing dragged its feet across the concrete at a slow, disciplined pace. The buzzing sound intensified.

Alice pressed her mouth against her sister’s ear. “What did you bring back, Katie?”

The thing stopped just outside the room. Katie’s mouth hung open in the darkness. She stared unblinking at her sister. “I didn’t mean to,” she whispered. “I didn’t know.”

The thing stepped inside the room and exhaled. A cold, rotting breeze snaked across the girls, blowing the rest of the cicadas away from Derek’s body. Alice squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn’t see what waited for them in the doorway. But Katie had to see it.

She turned toward the door, the single beam of light from the open doors allowing her a glimpse of her seance gone wrong.

The thing was so tall that it had to crouch beneath the ceiling. It bent like an oak in a windstorm; its leering face turned to the girls. Its eyes were two huge, milky bowls above a massive beak. It stood on two long legs, with two lobster-like claws protruding from its arms. Two more arms cradled its mesothorax. Among a forest of trachea, a pair of silky wings glittered from its back in the sunlight. It clicked at Katie as it shifted on its thin hind legs. Its beak worked like a pair of scissors.

Numb with fear, Katie turned to her sister, who still gripped Derek’s shirt with her eyes screwed shut. “Alice,” Katie croaked. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry about everything.” Alice opened her eyes and raised her head from Derek’s body. Katie tried to hold her gaze. “No, no,” she whispered. “Don’t look at it. Look at me. Look at me, Alice!”

Alice looked past her and at the thing in the doorway. Her expression instantly changed.

“What is that?!” she screamed. She looked back at her sister, the whites of her eyes as bright as headlights in the darkness. “What have you done?!”

A deafening buzzing sound poured through the room and snuffed Alice’s screams. The thing buzzed and cackled, reveling in the horror before it. Its claws snapped, and it stepped forward, its milky eyes trained on the girls. As it approached, something splintered in Katie’s head. She howled and laughed and screamed, lost in the clutches of insanity. Alice’s eyes rolled back in her head, and her head thumped bonelessly on top of Derek. The thing kept coming; its death song was louder with each dragging step. Katie smelled its decaying sweetness as the thing opened its beak above her.

Above ground, the basement doors levitated, stopped midair, and slammed shut.

When the impact faded away, the cicadas began singing once again.

About the Author

Jessica Clem is a writer based in Minneapolis, MN. Her work has appeared in digital and print publications, including Ms. Magazine, Literally Stories, Creation Magazine, and the horror anthologies Down with the Fallen from Franklin/Kerr Press, D is for Demons from Red Cape Publishing, and After Dark from Rowan Prose Publishing.