Splitting Up

Everette stared at Patrick, comforting Alice. Her face was calm. It didn't seem like killing the infected affected her much, but in reality, she would need to rest a bit to get over it.

He then turned towards Ada, who was conversing with Jack and Amelia. They made several pointing gestures in different directions while giving brief glances between him and Patrick.

He approached them. They noticed his movement towards them and made some room for him to enter the huddle.

"Have we decided on who will go with who yet?"

Ada nodded before alternately pointing at him and her, "You and I will be together, obviously." She then pointed towards Jack and Amelia, "The lovebirds will be one as well."

She motioned her hand towards Patrick and Alice, "And the potential couple will as well."

Everette gave a brief nod before asking which direction everyone would be taking. Ada pointed down the road before speaking, "We will continue going down this road while the others spread out."

"We'll meet back here on the 6th day."

"And when are we leaving?"

"We can leave any time today. Earlier, the better, though."

"I see... Alright, let me go convey to the two behind us." He gestured back with his thumb towards Patrick and Alice. She nodded before turning back to the lovebirds to continue their earlier conversation.

Everette made his way over to the two, "How are you holding up, Alice?" He came over with a wave. He focused on Alice's facial movements.

"I-I'm alright. Just a bit of rest will do to clear my head."

He nodded before turning to Patrick and telling him what Ada said. He scratched the back of his head before giving a nervous glance towards Alice.

Everette noticed his current mood and sighed. "Ada is right, Patrick. She can't avoid fighting or killing in our current world." His face contorted to a grim one before breathing out a deep sigh.

The muscles in his face relaxed, and the wrinkles on his face appeared slightly more apparent than usual. "I guess you're right. When are we leaving?"

"She said we can leave any time."

Patrick nodded before turning towards Alice, "You don't mind if we leave now? You have a lot of catching up to do, and I believe it's better if we get a head start."

"Sure... I don't mind."

***

After the two of them left, it was Jack and Amelia's turn to bid them goodbye. Their figure grew ever so distant. Everette sighed before feeling a hand grasp his shoulder.

"Come on, babe! Let's go." Ada teased Everette, which earned her a tired stare from him.

He sighed before smiling, "Alright." He walked up to her and ruffled her head before continuing down the road. He left Ada with a reddened and incredulous look on her face.

She placed her hand on the spot he patted before smiling like a lunatic. "Hehehehe...." She wrapped her arms around her body and trembled with an aroused look on her face.

'Good work other me!' She shakily thought in ecstasy

"Are you coming or what?" She broke out of her stupor by Everette's distant yell. "C-Coming!"

***

SCREECH!

Everette's spear flew into the air before embedding itself into an overgrown bee. It fell out of the sky and wriggled its body around before succumbing to its wound.

Everette walked over nonchalantly and plucked his spear out of the bee, dematerialising it. He twisted his neck and looked towards Ada's fight.

She was surrounded by piles of belonging to what seemed to be deformed carcasses of bees. Ada held a wriggling bee by its head at the centre of such piles before chucking it up.

The bee flailed about in the air to stabilise its body before plummeting down and being met with a strong right hook into its body.

BAM!

Its body folded in on itself before being launched back into a random pile of its own kind. The impact caused the mountain to tilt slightly before tumbling over.

Ada held up her fist before sticking out her tongue in disgust. Her entire hand was covered in its greenish-black blood. She then turned towards Everette with a mischievous smirk on her face.

He noticed this before shaking his head scoldingly, "Don't you dare..." He warned her. She pouted before shrugging and looking to the side. She feigned an innocent look.

"I don't know what you mean, Everette. I was just looking to see if you have anything I can wipe my hands with."

"I don't, but I'm sure we can find some at a random home or shop."

He then went around and inspected the corpses. He pinched the legs of one of them before raising it in the air. His eyes scrutinised its figure before chucking them with the rest.

"Is it me, or is there strangely a lot of bees around here?"

She tilted her head before looking around like Everette did. Since their walk down the road, they have encountered hordes upon hordes of them. Luckily, though, they were pretty low-level and still around the first stage.

"Hmmm... You're right. Perhaps there's a hive somewhere."

Everette crossed his arms and nodded with a thoughtful look, "It seems so... Let's try and avoid it."

"What... Why...?"

"Because I don't want to deal with it right now, and I certainly don't want to waste the only full recovery I have that I could use in the team battle."

Ada groaned before reluctantly agreeing to his terms, "Fine... Anything for you~..." She gave Everette a playful wink that earned her a flustered look from him.

"S-Stop being so weird!"

He turned to the side before continuing down the road, "Let's just... Keep moving!"

She sighed before following him, "Soo... Can I have another pat for doing a great job?"

"Great job at what!? You just killed some bees!"

***

Buzz Buzz

Flocks of fuzzy insects roamed and flew around the inside of a dimly lit, humongous dome. Their appearance bears resemblance to those of bees. Hollow hexagonal walls decorated the entirety of the dome's walls. The ground seemed to be covered by a thin waxy membrane.

The ceiling of said dome had a large exit hole for the insects to scatter and scavenge to bring back food to their nest.

'The queens hungry.' Several telepathic messages were sent and passed around. The words sent didn't carry a sense of fear or worry but instead excitement.

On the ground at the very centre was a yellowish gelatinous cocoon. It was the same colour and viscosity as that of honey. A blurry figure rested inside it in a fetal position. Despite its incomplete state, it radiated a powerful aura.

It seemed despite not having been born yet, it had already reached the second stage.

The cocoon would glow a dark shade of amber. Like a heart, it would thump periodically. The solid waxy membrane surrounding it would crack and web out.

A childish yet commanding voice seems to resound in their mind.

'Hungry...'

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

The buzzing of the swarm began to intensify and grow louder. Several worker bees flew down and immediately began to repair the broken flooring.

'We must prepare food!'

'We must be prepared for his arrival!'

They all poetically spoke in sync.

Messages similar to those were passed around before falling silent. Near the wall of the dome was an elevated platform off the ground. Resting on it was an organism similar to theirs but of a much larger mass - it was the queen.

The fuzz on its body was more prominent and shone a metallic light. Its limbs were covered in a sort of chitinous armour. Its feet were replaced by humanoid hands that looked more like claws.

Its rear was plumper and rounder to accommodate the sizes of eggs she had been birthing. Its stinger was that of a darker shade of black compared to her children, and the subtle barbs on a regular bee were more prominent. From her abdomen was a long, narrow tube that fed into the semi-transparent cocoon.

It would occasionally fold and lay flat on the stinger before being retracted in and out. A retractable stinger. Its wingspan shadowed its entire body. Its frame seems to be armoured with the same material on its limbs.

Its head and antennae showed no other deviation from its original appearance. It steadily raised one of its arms towards the swarm. A powerful feminine voice erupted in their minds.

'Go!'

A slither of its energy leaked from its body and affected its surroundings. The walls shook, and the honey stored inside the hexagonal holes began to leak and slowly ooze down the wall. She is almost at the third stage.

The swarm flapped its wings at a higher intensity and scurried towards the exit. Their fuzzy bodies began to clump up together as they tried to fit through the hole.

Like a broken dam, the buzzing swarm flooded and breached the sky and spread out in a uniform manner.

'Must go fetch food for the queen as soon as possible!'

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'For the prince's coming is near!'