The Spiky Escape

Kent, together with the class crowded themselves in the dark part of the cell, making themselves unseen and unheard by the vicious winged predators, guarding them to death. Thanks to the hive’s enormous area, cells that they have been staying have areas that can be a blind spot to the creatures. Standing at the front of the class, the mayor decided to start. “Questions of how we got here are not to be mentioned, for we got here without any clues but the poisoning inside our own classroom. Focusing on the escape, that’s what we should do.” Kent continued to lay out the plan one by one. The discussion went well with the class’ knowledge about the bees and how much they have observed as they’ve been here for quite a time.

“Sleep. That’s what we should first consider.” Jessie pointed. “The bees sleep 5-8 hours a day and, with more rest at night since darkness prevents their excursions for pollen and nectar. Jessie added. “However—” Cindy stood up. “With these creatures’ acquisition of human traits thus possessing some of the human intelligence, they carried out a plan of having a shifting of schedule and guards our cells 24/7.” She explained. “That’s what we have thought.” said Gloyd. “During our observation, we have noticed that they have a 10-minute delay during the shifting. That’s the time that we need if we have to go out from this cell. A well-executed plan should be the key for this escape, since we are going against time.” Gloyd added, his face shows all signs of courage. “But how do we fight against them?” Alex asked. “We don’t, with so much of them we would become a sweetening agent.” Kent answered sarcastically. “How?” Alex asked again, confused but confident with his classmates’ plan. “We become food.” Kent said confidently.

Becoming food? Alex thought to himself. What does Kent mean? Suddenly, Alex got it. With the hive’s maze-like interior, they won’t stand a chance running around the hive with no path in mind that is the right one to take. But with the help of the bees, that problem would be solved. “I think you just got it. “Kent said, looking at Alex with a smirk. “Alex smiled. “How?” Alex asked. Bees don’t eat humans, even with these creatures’ size, they still don’t think humans deserve to be eaten to the likes of them. They think of human as a foul creature, unnerving to eat. “We need to be sweet, sweet enough to be considered delicious to the bees.” Kent answered. “So, making ourselves sweet means covering ourselves with juicy nectar? But we don’t have it here, those juicy nectars are on the walls of the tunnels.” Alex clarified. “That’s why getting into the tunnel ways within ten minutes is the best course of action we should do.” Kent replied. “But, with our number, it’ll be difficult for us to move with that kind of haste that you want us to do.” Alex said. “That’s why, we choose people to escape first, considering that we aren’t all agile enough to run and sneak ourselves in the hive. Choosing people with the best attributes increases our chances of getting out. And, I have a plan in mind that will make us all get out of this safely without any problems. We just have to escape this cell first.” Kent replied, making sure that their laid-out plan was the best of all. Hesitantly, Alex decided to agree, the plan may seem dangerous, but he can never deny that this plan will increase their survival rate. He doesn’t want to die in this sweet place. He has to get out and find answers to his questions.

The class agreed to the plan and immediately took preparations. The class decided to choose the people who will be the first ones to go out. Alex, Jay, Matt, Jessie, Kent and Christian were chosen among the class, these people were chosen based on their abilities that will be helpful in the escape. The others will wait in the cell and make the guards not notice the others’ disappearance. Hours have passed until the 10-minute delay of guards’ shifts. “There they go.” Matt whispered, getting ready to burst open unto the cell’s entrance, while crouching with his other teammates from side. And as expected, the guards decided to move out from the dungeon’s entrance where they couldn’t be seen anymore. One by one, the creatures moved out flying their way, out from the dungeon. “Now!” said Kent. The cell’s hardened nectar from the side of the cell burst open, thanks to the preparation that they have made before the escape, the hardened nectars were soft enough to break, letting the team escape without any problems. The first one, Matt, followed by the other, ran immediately. Their agile bodies were capable of doing so since the team are the most athletic in the class. They continued to run until they reached the dungeon’s entrance. There, they saw the golden lights, lighting the dark passage. “When we pass here, there will be a wall that contains juicy nectars, let’s go.” Said Matt. Together, they continued running. Ten minutes is not a long time, they have to be on that particular wall to proceed to the next part of the plan. Golden lights became straight lights as they move swiftly into the hive. However, the tunnel seemed long than it was before, minutes have passed and they still don’t know where this tunnel ends and make use of the juicy nectars on the other side. “It’s almost time, we’re running out of it. The tunnels are longer than we have expected. The bees make it so short with their ability to fly with so much speed, but it’s a different matter to us, running.” Jessie said, running out of breath. “We’ll get there.” Then suddenly, a familiar buzzing sound, echoed around the tunnels’ closed interiors, making them look at each other. One heart’s pounding, the team immediately know that the vicious creatures are on their way, back to the dungeon. Little by little, the sound of the bees swarming is getting louder, but it’s too late to go back now. The plan failed! And a few moments after this, they’ll become accessories to the hive. They tried to look for a spot to hide, but the tunnels don’t have it. No hidden aisles that they could use because of its straight path with no intersections from any of the sides.

As if hope flew from their faces, they know the plan failed and they will soon die. They kneeled down and realized how stupid they were of not considering how fast the bees were. “So good to see you again, guys.” For the last time, Christian said with a hopeless smirk. They looked at him and waited for the creatures to shoot them with their arrows. Alex looked at his classmates, and they were losing hope. Think!

Think! Alex thought to himself. I took up biology as my first degree which was unfinished, and we talked about bees’ unique traits and importance to the environment. Even with the human traits, unlike the queen, the bees still don’t have so much of our intelligence, they still have what ordinary bees have and do. No matter how hard Alex tried to think, the loud flying sound of the bees coming at them are getting nearer, making him feel anxious, restraining his abilities to think about getting out of the situation. Hopeless, he dropped his knees onto the ground, getting weaker as he heard the sound not far from their current position. He heard Jay sighed and looked at him “I guess, I have to use it now. I’m planning not to show it to all to you since I’m afraid you’ll kick me out of the class. I’ll explain everything later.” Jay slowly stood up, his body suddenly changed, dark-colored spikes grew out from the back of his head to the back of his body. His face didn’t change but his feet and hands grew out claws. Big enough to easily kill a target by stabbing. Wide mouths opened as they see their classmate turned into a spiky monster. “Stay at my back.” Jay commanded. Still processing the scene, they have just witnessed, they immediately listened to what Jay have commanded.

Vicious yellow-colored beasts are now visible to them, with their wings agile enough to exterminate their prey from a distance. The bees had known that there are preys waiting for them, with their keen eyes capable of taking a prey from a from afar, they immediately launched arrows responsible for making their preys paralyzed. Jay expected it, having caught before. But puny little arrows are no match for his long piercing spikes coming from his body. As a human porcupine, he’s responsible for piercing preys too by launching an attack while turning its back - A porcupine’s defensive position to potential predators. But to Jay, these are no potential predators but a bunch of inferior creatures to his massive spikes, capable of impaling a number that would come straight at him.

A series of whooshing sounds accelerated into the air, the puny poisonous arrows were turned harmless to Jay’s massive spikes blocking the whole and pieced its way towards the flying creatures. The bees shrieked as the spikes went through their bodies. Blood splattered around the hive’s interior, and the swarming bees, although considered as a vicious predator in the vast marshland are now lying to its own habitat’s grounds.