To Skip, it felt like he and Whisper were the only two people left in Hrrm's Hive...

     and still the bees buzzed all around them.

     What few bodies remained in the lobby besides theirs were both covered with bees and very dead.

​     "I should be scared, but I'm not," Skip said. "I feel like I'm having a normal...and yet...Jeez!"

​     Whisper smiled.

     That sirubus before? At the time, Skip thought she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen...right up until the moment she tried to devour him.

​     That was because, until he looked into Whisper's wide, blue eyes, he didn't know what true beauty was. 

     He did now, though, because he was looking right at it.

     "Are you a whore?" Whisper asked him.

​     "A whore? No! I..."

     "Because I just met a whore, and he wasn't very nice. What are you like, Skip? Tell me who you are."

     "I...I...uh..."

     "Why can't you get words to come out of your mouth right now?"

     "I...I...All those bees. Those people, they're...I can't think!"

     "Okay." Whisper took a moment to ponder that. Then, 

     "Can you tell me just one thing, then?"

     "One..."

     "Yes!" Whisper jumped up and down, that notion got her so excited. "Tell me one thing. What are you thinking about right now, right this moment?"

​     Skip had no intention of telling this beautiful, innocent, nude woman what, at the moment, was foremost on his mind. 

     Instead, he went with the next thing.

     "I'm thinking about my mom," he said. "I just saw her this morning, and I love her so much more than anybody. Kids talk about how their parents don't understand them, don't 'get them' or whatever, but that was never true with my mom and me. For me, it's like she's the only person who knows who I really am, and I don't think I'm ever going to see her again...and that makes me want to cry, right here in front of you. I'll miss my sisters too, but..."

     "Yes!" Whisper exclaimed. "Cry!"

     "You saying that just killed the urge."

     "Why?"

     "I...I don't know. Shit, Whisper. I've only been here a few hours, so to.."

​     "Me too!" Whisper chirped.

     "I just feel like...if I start talking...I...I won't be able to..."

     "Do it!" Whisper's eyes glowed at the prospect.

     "You wouldn't mind?"

​     "Of course not! Start talking! I love you, Skip!"

CONTINUE