The Spider and the Butterfly

Chapter Two

The wasps flew back to their home: an old oak tree that had survived for generations. They didn't have a queen: they had a general, and he wasn't a wasp. He was a mantis. General Mist didn't look very pleased when he saw his troops return empty-handed.

"Where is she?" he demanded.

One of the wasps stepped up. "She disappeared into the long grass. We've been looking for her all day. None of our aerial troops found her. We believe she was injured when she fell."

Mist grabbed the wasp by the throat with one of his big claws. "SHE FELL?!" he shrieked. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE FELL?! I NEED THAT BUTTERFLY BACK ALIVE!"

The wasp wheezed, "Sir, I...I'll get her back, I promise!"

The mantis kept the wasp in a headlock for a few more seconds before letting go. "Useless, all of you..." he snarled. "Why do I have to do everything myself?!"

A katydid crawled up nervously. "General, sir?"

"WHAT?!"

The insect froze under Mist's glare. Then he meekly answered, "The machine's almost ready. It should be done by tomorrow morning..."

Mist slowly smiled. "Perfect," he said. "I want to have a look at it when it is, Willow. Is that clear?"

Willow nodded. "Sir yes sir!" he replied.

The mantis waved away the katydid as he turned back to his troops. "Pay attention, you mites. Find the butterfly by tomorrow morning, and we will have the humans fleeing in all directions before us. Fail me, and you will find that I'm not always a merciful leader. I could always replace the lot of you if I so chose. Perhaps those lousy yellow jacket neighbors of yours can get the job done?"

"Sir no sir!" the wasps chorused.

"I thought not," Mist chuckled.

**********

After struggling to climb the incline for over an hour, poor Daisy had worn herself out. The spider hadn't made any appearances since his retreat into his den, but his eyes shone from within the darkness, boring into her with a steely gaze.

Even though Daisy hadn't had any run-ins with spiders in the past, she had a fairly good idea on what they did for a living. And it was far from pretty. It was downright horrifying. After he was finished sucking the guts out of the scorpion, he was gonna come for her. She couldn't wait around for that to happen.

But with a broken wing and a near vertical hill to climb, Daisy was running out of options and time. She was able to somewhat sustain herself from the water droplets sprinkled throughout the spider's web. And if by some miracle she survived the night and made it out of the burrow, she would have to go try to climb some flower stalks to reach the much needed nectar inside. While looking out for those wasps at the same time.