CHAPTER IV: SWAMP CHASE
I was flying away from the hornet's nest as fast as I could. We rhino beetles were, of course, faster fliers then walkers, yet it would still take me a while to get back to the colony. And still, flying for more than a few minutes wasn't recommended – there was every chance that something could happen that would kill us. Of course, in any insect colony no particular individual (except for the queen/king) really mattered – survival of the colony was what was truly important.
I was approaching the swamp near the colony. I was almost there! A few more minutes and I would be back at the colony, and we could prepare for the hornet's inevitable attack.
Suddenly, out of the blue, I heard buzzing behind me. I glanced back. Oh no! There were a dozen or so hornets flying after me, and they were closing in. Hymenopterans were slightly faster fliers then coleopterans, as they had much lighter bodies. They would catch up with me in about 20 or so seconds, and then what would I do?
I glanced down, and I noticed the swamp. That was it! Big bodies of water were death for any insect, but a swamp was particularly lethal – one touch, and you were history.
Without considering my actions, I quickly flew down. As I had hoped, the hornets followed me down too. We were flying mere centimeters over the bubbling swamp. However, I couldn't think of any way to trick the hornets into flying into the swamp.
The three hornets in front were almost at me. Five more seconds and they would be able to hit me with their stingers. Then, I noticed it. Ahead, a particularly big swamp bubble was swelling, about to burst.
I flew directly over the swelling bubble. Two seconds later, it burst, catching off guard the three hornets behind me. They tumbled over in the air and came in contact with the swamp. A second later, they were pulled under.
I now had a big lead over the other hornets. However, the nine remaining would stay high flying after that, so as to not get caught in another bubble.
Ahead was a tree submerged in the swamp, its roots snaking in and out of the swamp like tar. I quickly put on a burst of speed, closing in on the tree roots, the hornets right behind me.
I was now flying right between the roots. Ahead was a particularly big root, barley a centimeter above the swamp. There was another way!
Quick as a flash, I flew down between two roots and hid under the bigger of the two. I waited...
Three of the hornets came straight down, clearly expecting to see me. When they didn't they panicked looking around. One of them saw me and pointed, but too late –
They crashed right into the swamp's surface, creating a series of ripples that vanished soon afterwards. I quickly flew out, hoping that the other hornets would not find me.
I could see the other side of the swamp. Just past that was the colony. I was almost there!
Then, I heard the buzzing again. Glancing back, I saw the other six hornets, hot on my abdomen.
I put on another quick burst of speed, hoping to lose these guys by sheer speed, but it was fruitless. I was really starting to tire, and they were catching up on me.
Looking ahead, I saw another big root. There were several rocks on top of the root, and they looked very liable to fall down at the slightest touch.
I flew directly under the root and then I flew upwards, smacking right into the root. As I had hoped, the rocks vibrated, and then fell off, catching another three hornets off guard. They were dragged down to the swamp, where they also crashed along with the rocks. The ripples vanished pretty quickly.
There were only three hornets left now, and they were a good distance behind. One more minute and I would be at the colony.
Then, without any warning, without any warning at all, as I was focused on flying as fast as I could – a gigantic alligator suddenly rose out of the swamp. Panicking, I dodged its HUGE teeth (it was about 100 times bigger than me) and I swerved around it.
I had now flown high enough to avoid the alligator, but what about the hornets?
My question was immediately answered. The last three hornets appeared out of nowhere. Before I could loop around them, two of the hornets, as a pair, stabbed two holes right through my pair of wings.
Without my flying power, I immediately fell down. The hornets flew right after me – clearly, Queen Maula wanted me back alive. The two of them grabbed a leg each. They then turned around and started to fly back towards the hornet's nest.
Then, again out of the blue – the alligator snapped it teeth. It secured its jaws around the two hornets holding me, who lost their grip on my legs. The alligator swallowed them whole and then made for the last hornet. She screamed and flew high, out of sight, back towards the hornet's nest.
I bounced off the alligator's back and I was falling down towards the swamp. This was it. Goodbye, cruel world!
Suddenly, the alligator's tail swiped at me (hopefully by accident). It knocked me high in the air.
As hard as I could, I flapped my broken wings, trying to make my way to dry land. I was falling really fast, but the edge of the swamp was barley a few feet away.
Somehow, against all the odds, I JUST about landed on the very edge of the swamp. The landing greatly bruised me. Looking back, I saw the alligator sinking back down into the swamp for a rest.
I just about managed to balance myself on my six legs. I slowly walked forwards – the colony was just around those grass stalks. Looking back, I saw that my rear abdomen was bleeding hard.
By the time I made my way around the grass stalks, my head was really dizzy. I could see many beetles making their way in and out of the tunnel entrance. I was just about within visible sight, when my legs lost the will to move. I collapsed.
Several beetles had heard the noise. The all came closer, looking curiously at me.
'It's Dim!' said someone in the crowd. 'The hornets didn't kill him!'
'Y – ye – yes...' I uttered.
'What happened?' said a fellow female worker.
'Hornets...' I muttered. 'Queen... trick... swamp... alligator...'
'Your wing's broken!' said a male Earth Moulder. 'How did that happen?'
'Hornet's sting...' I said weakly.
'Someone get the queen and king! His situation is critical!' said the same female worker. Several of the beetles rushed off.
I struggled to say more, but my voice seemed to have left me. Everything went black, and I passed out.
King Palpatine was pacing around the dining room in the hornet's nest, waiting for Queen Maula to come back in.
Queen Mauls came back in. She showed obvious signs of having spent ages washing her head and crown to get rid of Dim's pee.
'Boy,' snarled Maula, 'I'm going to get that pathetic coleopteran if it's that last thing I do...'
'Uh, Maula,' said Palpatine slowly, 'shouldn't we focus on enslaving that beetle colony before you get your revenge on that beetle?'
'Shut your trap!' yelled Maula. 'I'd rather get just that one beetle then the whole colony.'
Suddenly, a hornet guard entered the room. She was the only hornet that had survived the swamp chase.
'Well?' snapped Maula. 'Where's the rest of your squadron?'
'Dead,' said the hornet. She looked exhausted. 'Nine of them drowned in the swamp and the other two were eaten by an American alligator.'
'And the coleopteran?' said Maula.
'It just about made its way back to that beetle colony,' panted the female hornet. 'It was a lot tougher then it looked.'
'Leave us,' said Maula. The female hornet swiftly walked out of the room.
'So what do we do now?' said Palpatine slowly.
Maula didn't answer immediately. She appeared to be thinking hard.
'Uh, Maula,' said Palpatine, waving a claw in front of her face 'are you there?'
Suddenly, Maula snapped her four claws.
'I've got an idea!' she grinned. 'Here's what we're going to do...'
Approximate Chapter Running Time: 00:10-00:13