After finishing with the pest control measures at the entrance to the house, the pest-control employee pushed the doorbell with a finger. Jeff heard the melodic chimes and felt a bit chagrined that with one push of his finger, the giant man had been able to do something that Jeff, with his feeble butterfly form, hadn't come close to being able to do.
That's when Jeff shifted his thinking. Instead of relying on his own devices, perhaps he should take advantage of the brute strength of the giant guy. He flapped his colorful wings and propelled himself toward the man's shoulders. He came in for a landing, his six tiny legs finding it easy to grasp the fibers on the man's gray shirt. Perched on the guy's right shoulder, Jeff solved his dilemma by simply hitching a ride into the home after Katie opened the door.
Jeff heard the man explain he was there to give the house its monthly pest preventative service. Katie stood aside and let him enter.
"You won't even know I'm here," the man told Katie.
She shrugged and walked off. Jeff's eighteen-year-old sister had better things to do than follow around the bug guy as he did his job.
Jeff thought about flying after her, pleading for help. Lacking a voice, however, he didn't see any way to do that. He stuck to his plan of getting to his room and regaining access to the Chronivac.
He was starting to feel hungry and weak again. Those sugar highs from flower nectar quickly evaporated when he exerted himself. What would he do if he needed another quick sugar fix? He noticed a sheen of sweat on the tanned skin between the giant man's collar and the edge of his short-cropped hair. Something motivated Jeff to move closer to the stretch of bare skin. Suddenly, his long tongue unreeled. He could never quite get used to the way that worked. To Jeff's own amazement, he took a few tentative sips from a bead of sweat. It tasted almost as good as flower nectar! He had to have more.
Unfortunately, the attention to the giant man's bare skin caused an itch. If there was anything he was trained to recognize, it was the feel of an insect crawling on him. Without even looking for confirmation, the giant man twisted, lifted a hand and slapped at the offending insect.