The Eartheaters

Walking along the darkened path of the marshland, eight brave souls decided to put their lives in danger. Surviving in these lands means they ought to battle with creatures they haven't seen and known before. But its absolute power can help them thrive in these lands.

Gazing at the sky above, his eyes are glowing with adoration. Celestial objects shone enough light for them to see in the dark. "Three moons…" Alex muttered. Blinking exhibits his disbelief. He sighed… they really are in a new world, he thought. Silent splashing sounds continued to resound as they stomped on the marshland's humid environment. Life is abundant. Glowing insects were emitting their own light, turning their night into their own day. The sweet breeze kissed their skin as they continued to walk slowly and vigilantly towards the enemy's territory. Their hands are holding spikes, thanking their classmate Jay, who became a porcupine man not too long ago.

Kent flew in front of them, looking at Noel's marks for them to follow, "I can see the mark here. Let's go." As one who has acquired extraordinary power, it is natural to be on the frontline. Her new eyes give her an excellent vision that allows her to see clearly in the dark. With these, they won't be anxious about sudden attacks.

"Kent has gotten used to her powers, right?" Maeje said to her friend Darline, who's just beside her, walking.

"Yeah, it's kinda cool, too. You know, flying around." Darline replied.

Darline smiled to her friend, "I hope we could defeat a bird monster and let myself take the injection. I can imagine myself flying with my wings made of real feathers and stuff."

"That would be awesome but dangerous. What if you won't know how to fly?" Maeje was confused.

"Not really, she can't fly when she still did not get the queen bee's power, but when she got it, she said that she just knew how to use it well and adapted to her transformation very well. However, she can't summon hundreds of guard bees like the past queen bee did." Darline argued.

Maeje nodded, agreeing with her friend, "Yeah, I heard that."

Walking along the way, the group shared their own possible stories in this world but stopped when they heard Kent's order to stop.

"Why?" Alex asked Kent, who was flying in front of them, looking at her front. Kent's new eyes can help them see in the dark. Unlike them, they will have difficulty looking under these giant trees where the moonlight couldn't enter. "Water, there's water," Kent replied.

Christian was confused, "What's with the water? Can't we just pass through it?"

Kent tried to look thoroughly, "It's water, but it doesn't feel like one. My instincts say that we shouldn't go there."

"Is it deep?" Alex asked.

Kent disagreed, "I think not. I can still see grasses sprout from those."

"Can you still see Noel's mark on these trees?" Alex asked.

"It ended there." Kent pointed their back where they had just passed. "We should go back." She added.

"Can't we take a turn? Take a new path where that water can't reach?" Gloyd suggested.

Kent considered Gloyd's idea, "Stay here. I'll check the place."

Kent flew, checking both sides, and immediately returned. Her eyes were bulging like she had just encountered a terrifying ghost.

"We need to get out," Kent shouted. "The water, it's encircling us, keeping us trapped inside.

"How? We just passed through it; how can it get behind us?" Ivan asked.

"What can it do? It's just water." Christian argued.

"I don't know, but we don't have time to argue. Let's just get out of here first." Kent said. Kent is the queen bee, having her wings. Can get out of this situation very quickly. However, her classmates are in the worst position. If that water was harmful, they couldn't save themselves, and she couldn't carry more than three people at once. The water is moving toward them fast, trapping them at the center, and it does not have enough time for her to carry all of them consecutively back to the land.

Thinking of a possible way to get out of this situation, Alex thought of climbing the trees. "Let's climb, Kent. You help those who cannot. Can you carry the others safely on top of the tree?"

Kent immediately agreed and carried Maeje first, followed by Darline. Her new hands and strength are enough to have weights that she couldn't carry when she was still a human. It amazes her, but it's not the time to be amazed, for they still don't know what that strange water could do to them.

But Christian thought their minds were bombarded with such threats that they considered this thing a dangerous one. So, to prove to his classmates that it was safe, he ran towards the strange water. He can still hear his friends calling his name, asking him to stop, for it may be dangerous, but he's made up his mind and even jumped into it like he was a child playing in a muddy puddle.

Christian smiled, looking back at his friends who were running towards him, stopping where the water had not still reached. Their faces were full of disbelief and worry.

Christian tried to utter words, "See, told you it was s---." He couldn't finish, for he just fell to the wet grounds of the strange liquid, paralyzed. Christian felt numb, he was asking his body to move, but his brain could not command his body to do so. It seems like he's conscious but asleep. His left cheek with his left eye was covered with the strange water, allowing only his right eye to see.

"No!" Alex shouted. Alex looked at Kent, who was now flying towards Christian, getting him out of the water.

"Stay back! Climb to the tree now." Kent ordered his classmates. "I'll save him."

Alex and his friends immediately ran backward towards a tree where they could stay. Giving the tree too much weight will give its dangers in falling down. So, they decided to choose which tree to climb based on its capacity. Making themselves stay on top of a tree, individually, for safety.

Kent flew hurriedly to seek aid to her helpless classmate, who was lying numbly on the watery ground when she noticed spiky creatures swimming toward Christian. There are so many, Kent thought. Even with the dark night, her eyes could see these alien creatures swimming slowly towards his helpless classmate.

Kent summoned her weapons; Kent knew that she needed to fight. Covering herself in full gold-plated armor, she changed like what the queen bee did before. A long lance in one hand and a crossbow in the other. She charged immediately at the creatures who were now approaching nearly Christian.

Screeching sounds resounded in the marshland as Kent fired her poison arrows at the creatures, but it was not enough. She moved towards them, flying above the watery ground piercing the creatures as she pointed her long, sharp lance towards them. The creatures let out a painful screech dying by the queen bee's lance and arrows. One by one, the creatures continue to die.

However, to these creatures, the number isn't a problem. More spiky tips sprouted in the water like small sharks moving towards their prey.

Kent began to worry. The creatures were now jumping toward her; evading is possible. But it gives her a little time to protect his paralyzed classmate. She thought summoning a guard would be helpful. But she made three of her guards guard the hive to help Jay for safety purposes. Can she cancel summoning and teleport her guards back to where she is now?

Evading, thinking, protecting, attacking. Things are beginning to overwhelm Kent's thoughts and actions. She tried to summon a guard, but she couldn't. But canceling her summons was too much of a risk. There were still students in the hive, which was big enough to attract invaders. She's not the past queen who can summon a hundred guards, making the hive become an impenetrable fortress in both defenses and offenses. I have to protect Christian, and I also have to protect the hive. Should I choose who to save? Can one life become a sacrifice for the benefit of many? She thought.

Kent sighed, "No! I wouldn't let a single person die!"

Kent summoned a guard, three of them. Yellow liquid materialized in the air like was a giant ball of light. Guard bees immediately manifested in their sights. Kent immediately ordered them to kill the creatures, and they were successful. The class mayor could soon accomplish a situation getting out of dread when the trees in the watery ground begin to sink.

"Help!" shouted Kent's friends who were on top of a tree - a now sinking tree.

"The water is sucking the trees in!" shouted Alex.

Kent ordered her guards to carry her classmates on the tree back to safety. The guard bees immediately flew off while firing arrows as they passed the watery ground. There is no dry land now. The strange water has now completed its full watery circle, trapping them inside.

Kent continued to fight the creatures. The creatures did not just come from the side of his classmate, Christian, but from every side. She looked at the back, and she saw her classmates being carried by the guard bees. Keeping the distance between the creatures and her is not easy. If the water is the reason why Christian fell after seconds of stepping on it, then it should be giving paralysis to those who touched it. Kent thought, and she knew she should never touch it. She looked at Christian; more than half of his body was now soaked in the water. But she still can't go near.

Kent's eyes are now brimming with despair. She could not lose, not even one life. But she's helpless. Even with the presence of the guard bees, the numbers are too overwhelming for the four of them.

Kent stopped suddenly, froze in the middle of the air. Her hands dropped both of her weapons. Even without the strange water's presence, she turned numb and witnessed Christian's helpless body sucked fleetingly into the water. The creatures began to swim fast toward Christian, jumping in the body.

Kent froze there. Helpless. She knew she wasn't enough. She was weak. Even with the queen bee's power, she was still powerless. Is this world to blame? Were the creatures just too overwhelming? Or was she just too weak?

She thought she was doing good. Was she, acquiring the power, the best choice? Did she deserve it? Would Alex perform better if he was the one who received it? Could he summon a hundred guard bees like the past queen bee?

The screeching sound soon faded into the creaking of the insects. Making the night peaceful again. As the waters began to subside, the ground brimming with life earlier was barren of it. No trees, grass but dry, deserted land. It's too magical to think that the trees were sucked without leaving a hole after it, but would she still think of something logical? Even the dead creatures were sucked off.

Kent slowly flew towards the dry land, and her body couldn't move that it had just dropped off without her control. Her strength, like her classmate, was sucked off too.

Stomping instead of splashing changed the sound of footsteps. Kent, who was now lying on the dry ground, was removed from the desire to live.

"Kent, where's Christian?" asked Alex.

Alex noticed that Kent was looking lifeless. Can't even utter a single word. The guard bees immediately flew to their queen. Their faces couldn't express sadness, but everyone knew they were.

"Is he gone?" Ivan muttered.

Dead silence, what was left to hear was the chirping insects that were considered the night's melody but were now an unnerving noise to their grieving hearts.