The Caterpillarian

Chapter 11

Caterpillarian,

Catterpillarian.

We darted up the garden path, our trainers scraping against the pavement. I threw open my front door and it crashed against the wall, something that would've gotten me in trouble with my parents if they were in. Alison shone the light of the beehive inside the house. Every bulging, creepy-looking eye in the house landed on me. My kitchen was filled with flies and catfish but there was no sign of anything new.

With zero hesitation, I ran forward, striking my sword at an adjacent catfish. It flew to the right, sliding across the kitchen table before flopping out of sight.

Before I could take out another—or even a fly—a catfish leapt onto my back. Its sharp claws dug into my shoulders, and its slimy face rubbed against my cheek. But it was soon wrapped in sticky web. I shrugged it off, plunged my sword through it and thanked Jasper, who continued firing more volleys.

The beam of light shone from left to right, up and down, as I struggled to see everything. One moment, a fly was zooming at me through the darkness, the next, a catfish had just met its maker, its whole frame bathed in light. I understood how difficult it must have been for Alison to keep up with everything so I didn't criticize.

Puss and sweat painted the floor, walls, cabinets, and basically everything in the kitchen. Bits of cat and fish and fly were also sprinkled about the disgusting collage. It probably looked like a scene in a horror movie I wasn't old enough to watch.

Despite all the work we were doing, more and more flies and catfish were pouring in from the living room. This was pointless.

"We've got to get upstairs!" I shouted to my friends, slicing another fly. "Just take out the ones in your way and leave the rest!" I dashed towards the living room, swinging my sword at anything that blocked my path. I noticed the door to the stairs was open and creatures were spilling threw it like marbles.

"Whoa!"

My eyes turned back to the kitchen. Alison was launching through the air and so was the beehive. Had she slipped on the pus? More than likely. And it was too late to catch her. Jasper attempted to grasp her arm but he just missed. She landed on her back with a splash and a thud, as did the beehive. Before I could run over to help her up, I was blinded by a burst of light.

"What the flip?" I heard Jasper yell.

"Is the power back on?" I asked, my eyes stinging. With some effort, I managed to blink my eyes open. It had been so long since the lights had been on, there was no wonder I was struggling to keep my eyes open. It was like when you opened the curtains in the morning after hours of sleep.

I eventually managed to pry them open but I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Some kind of bee creature the size of a toddler was hovering in the air. His eyes were black and bulging, his body was covered in yellow and black fur, and two wings fluttered on his back. He was human in shape but everything else was bee-like. The yellow fur was glowing, which explained the blinding light; though my eyes were adjusting.

I held my sword at the ready, but then my eyes caught sight of the beehive—it had split in two like a coconut. Putting two and two together, I realised that the bee creature had been set free from the beehive. Was this Beehave's true form?

"Alright, you," Jasper said, the spider mask held to his face, his fingers outstretched towards Beehave. It was no surprise Jasper hadn't figured it out. He could be quite dense at times.

"Hang on!" I shouted, catching his attention. "That's Beehave!"

"Eh?"

"Look!" I pointed to the broken beehive.