Beetles

'Wut in tarnation.' The Sheriff stands by the side of the road looking at the mutilated ground. Something awful heavy has gorged out this miniature canyon two cars wide and one car deep. It comes from the mountains, crosses over the road, squashing the tarmac, and continuing on into the shrubland. 'Looks like some big old boulder rolled through,' says the Deputy, adjusting his shades. 'Yeah but like it was pressed down, you know? Like, uh. Like a pizza cutter or something.' An old pickup happens along, stopping before the split in the road. An old feller sticks his head out the window, takes one look at the giant groove in the earth and says 'Beetles.' 'Beetles?' say the Sheriff and the Deputy together. The ground rumbles. The lawmen look at each other. In the distance, a plume of dust breaks up the horizon, trailing something moving through the shrubland. Something that's headed towards them. 'Beetles,' says the old feller, reaching into the back of his truck for his shotgun. Paddy Dobson 4th July 2021