Chapter 17

Wasp

Even with the light guiding her way down an endless path, Luna felt less secure than ever before. Her feet wobbled with every step, hearing the sounds above and below, some against the walls like some sort of sick joke. Shadows played games with her mind, games she wished were more effective. It painted pictures of ghouls haunting her every step, like the ones Lucy would summon from her bizarre rituals.

But she knew they weren't there. Only the sound of millions of bugs, all watching her carefully, gave her company deep within the dungeon. She could hardly make out their appearance, but the sounds of sloppy movement made her wince as her boots couldn't determine whether or not to crush anything in her path.

On her wrist, she kept hearing her family struggling. Every so often she lifted her hand, making sure none of those creeps were having their way with them. Luckily, it was always the same: all trying to loosen the ropes that secured them tight to those chairs. It hurt seeing them like that, but in the end, Luna had to argue with herself: they were far safer like that, weren't they?

"You guys good?" She spoke, hoping hearing their voices would calm her down.

It was Lisa who heard her first. Unlike the others, who continued their vain attempts to escape, she seemed like she was trying to hide something, though what it was the rocker was lost on. "Sibling, you may want to keep a closer eye on the flammable object you possess in your hands. That flame... it's not strong enough with that wind."

Strong enough? Luna quickly looked back at her torch. Lisa was right; not only was the flame already fading away, but a sudden draft filled the tunnel. She thought oxygen was a necessary component in keeping flames fresh. Guess too much of a good thing, she supposed.

"Crap. Well, at least there's a bunch. Holy... there's so many of them."

Lana bit at a piece of rope, but to no avail. "Man, why not send me down there? I'm an expert with those little guys!"

A giant moth rested on the ceiling above Luna, gazing at her with multiple eyes filled with scorn. The wings nearly began flapping, but never lifted off. She liked them more when they could only reach the palm of her hand in size. "Lans, don't even think about that."

Leni refused to be quiet. "But Luna, why are you down there? You should be up here with us!"

"Uh, what Leni means is, you shouldn't literally be about to, y'know, be bug food!" chimed in Lori for the save.

Luna brought her torch to an exposed flame, managing to transfer some extra light just in case. The moth slowly followed her every move. "Thanks Lori, but... what can I say? Guess I'm used to this."

Everyone seemed downtrodden on the other end. "Luna... do you ever, you know, want to tell us what happened six months ago?" Questioned her beloved mother. Everyone seemed intrigued, even Lily. In the distance, she saw Lisa shake her head nervously.

They knew she suffered, they knew about Abraham, and they knew at least something about a mountain. Otherwise, left in the dark, just as Doug and all his guys intended. No sense to drag the innocent family into this dark world of despair. Then again, here they all were, strung up like pigs to the slaughter. Luna shook her head.

"It's... not worth speaking about."

The smile on Luan's face was already weakened from all this, but hearing that deflated her more. "Lunes... oh man...," not even a pun. That was robbed from her too. The damn mountain; no matter how long it's been, it'll never leave, will it?

Another shake. "Listen, just hang tight. All that means is, well, I got experience with this stuff." She swore she heard a bug began to pant. "I hope. Jeez, at least Linc hasn't been found..."

The light began to shine against something bright coming up. Looking closely against the shades, Luna experienced the sight of a heavy door looming closer and closer. Another way through? She honestly had no goal, to be honest. She just hoped this was the right way back to the surface, or at least a chance for her to find a key of some sorts. Anything to reunite and save her family, and hell, maybe the whole of Loch Loud while she was at it.

"Just gotta hope this ain't a maze..."

But as soon as her hand reached for the knob, she noticed it was already beginning to shake violently. Luna lept back, readying her weapon as she tried to balance the flame against her grip. "Oh crap... come on, then. It's... it's just a bug..."

She prayed for that to be true, but the way it spun the knob around told her to hope it was human. The metallic slab of a door swung open violently, revealing a man on the other side, one that had clearly seen better days. Much like the mysterious people she encountered over at the crash site, he wore the white fatigues, though every-so-often that was broken up by the site of purple pulsating molds against his flesh.

To say she gagged would be an understatement.

The man coughed out blood, before readying his eyes upon the rocker. The flame's light showed just how far-gone he was: eyes hollow, skin clammy and pale, and all around him, bites were easy to distinguish. The hell happened to him? Should she even question? Well, better than staying silent, when an ally possibly came before her. "Woah... who are you? A-Are you okay?"

The man wheezed, but as he finished checking out her face, he suddenly came to a realization. The pain he must've felt subsided, allowing his full rage to come forth. "You're the sample!" He spoke as if he was dehydrated. The disgusting words he shared forced Luna to move back.

"W-What? Sir, you need some help, fast!"

"I can't believe it... you are alive!" He shouted, before struggling to bring his hand down to his belt. Procuring what looked like a taser, he aimed it right at Luna's neck. "We need you alive, kid. No more escaping!"

Was he... was he serious? So these people were after her? Why? She kept her rifle aimed hi, staring in disgust at him. "Dude, you're dying, and you're... wait, what do you want from me? The heck you mean by sample?"

"Shut it! You parasite! We need you alive, and I sure as hell ain't failing bringing you back in!"

"Back in for what? Don't tell me you're with the Savino's!"

He wheezed again. "Who? Ah, screw it, I may be dying, but I'm taking... oh shit!"

His aim grew wobbly as he happened to look towards the ceiling. The giant moth rested above him, and with what seemed like a sickening grin, it began pouring some strange liquid against him. Sadly, with his head looking high, it didn't last long against the burning material. He gurgled as it ripped his flesh apart, blowing out smoke against him. One hand tried reaching for what seemed like a vial of white liquid, but he lost all strength long before he could pull it out.

As he collapsed violently towards the ground, all Luna could do was hold her mouth open. "Holy crap..."

The moth appeared satisfied, and found itself crawling above Luna. She prepared for the worst, but it seemed like it was done, journeying back towards where her nightmares began. Tiny little maggots found themselves journeying through the fallen man's flesh, already engulfing what remained of his wasted life.

She looked down in disgust, but had no choice. She saw the ammo he carried, as well as the liquid that could heal her. Very carefully, she picked it all up, wiping away the little creatures who suddenly became interested in her. "I don't know what you guys want, but jeez... you didn't deserve that."

And he really didn't, for as soon as she looked to the door, the man began to convulse. She assumed, in a sick sort of way, that his insides were just being consumed. Hated to believe it, but it was the better option compared to what was really happening.

The body turned and twisted, before every pour sunk into the body, producing a tiny little bug that stretched itself over his flesh. Soon, he was completely consumed in hundreds upon hundreds of terrible little critters, all aiding in helping him stand. Ticks, spiders, ants, mosquitos, beetles, bees... every single one kept him standing tall, and glaring at Luna.

She watched in horror as it made its way towards her. The sickening opening that masquaraded as a mouth inched its way towards the flame, and with a sudden thrust of wind, blew it out.

Even if it was a second, and even with the nearby flames at least granting some sort of illumination, Luna never felt worse fear in her life. She screamed as she felt something beginning to crawl over her arms, and she ran to another torch. "She turned back, rifle aimed, and began firing inscriminately towards that thing. She heard so much splattering, but the hobbled steps it made could still be distinguished.

She reached for the fire, but as her fingers gripped the wood, she found herself tripping hard against the ground. Her face scrapped rock as the fire rested calmly in her grip, though that was no aid once she felt herself getting dragged. Eyes wide, she brought the flame high...

The man was no more, replaced now by a giant blob composed of the hand that carried her, and a giant mouth filled with bug-created teeth. She screamed, and got her rifle out.

"Crap, crap, crap!"

Her family screamed in terror as they witnessed the mouth inching closer and closer to the poor rocker. No matter how many bullets she fired, the being didn't flinch, accepting the lost bugs without so much as an inkling of guilt.

As her boot touched a tooth, Luna realized she had one choice to survive. She looked at the torch she found, and with a lunge, she tossed it into the monster's mouth. The bugs inside let out a high-pitched squeal, before every part of it began to be consumed by flame. The grip faltered, and she was able to escape its grasp, crawling away as the whole hall became an oven.

Soon, the corpses of hundreds of bugs rested before her, forcing the young lady to hold back vomiting. A grizzly sight indeed. With a sigh, she wiped off some sweat, standing tall once more as the door the man opened looked far more comforting than before. She found another torch, making sure to keep this one safe. Looking down at her wrist, she saw her family still holding their eyes closed, with Lana being the only one to look. "Hey, sis? A-Are you okay?"

How was she supposed to answer. "Heh, uh... never better."

Only one room, and already she nearly died. Tonight will be one she'll never forget, she could already tell.

FROM: The personal memoirs of Lady Savino, page 36 as it's often claimed

"They're sick, and I can't do a thing to save them! They can't handle a few things, and unfortunately those are the very things we need to live. For Mattia, he can't handle fire. For Lorenzo, not a drop of water can touch his flesh. I do not understand. Is their hair causing irregularities with their senses? Perhaps. Blasted timing; we must venture to the land of the Louds to secure our family, but I must tend to my newfound twins! I must!"