The Wasp Chronicles #1: Into the Hornet's Nest

What's That Noise?

            Louis: Somehow, I managed to be washed ashore on this bizarre island, but I did manage to find Clément, Amy, Lea, Sapphirine, Jacques, and Sophie on the same shore as me.  “Hey, are you guys alright?” I asked them.  “We just got shipwrecked and washed up on shore and you decide to ask us if we are alright?!” Lea argued.  “Okay look. I just wanted to know if you guys were al—”  “Save it. We’re alive and well on this beach and we need to find food, shelter, water, supplies for survival, and we also need to build a boat to get off this island!” Lea commanded. “Look, I’m pretty sure that we won’t be on this strange island forever, so we should try to signal for help and try to find any natives that can help us!” I ordered.  From that point, we started arguing about who’s right and who’s wrong, but Jacques and Sophie broke up the argument. “Guys, guys,” Sophie pleaded, “both of your ideas are great and we should also find any of the others if they survived.”  “But didn’t some of the passengers, including that annoying freshman, Zark, drown when the ship was capsized by that behemoth?” Clément asked.  “Okay, so we may have lost a couple of people (Zark, thank goodness, being one of them), but that does not mean that there aren’t any survivors!” Jacques explained trying to cheer us up.  “Wait, where’s Sapphirine and Amy?” I questioned.  “They were here a minute ago.”  “Well, where are they now?”  “Well wherever they are, they couldn’t have gone too far.” Jacques finished.  “Then let’s go find them while there’s still daylight.” I proclaimed.  “Don’t worry guys, I’ll stay here and watch the place in case they return” Clément volunteered. “Okay!”

While Clément was watching the shore, Jacques, Sophie, Lea, and I searched for Amy and Sapphirine, but got lost in the thick jungle.  “Stupid mosquitoes!” I complained.  At that very moment, we heard deafening cries up ahead, so we decided to investigate where they were coming from.  We saw Amy and Sapphirine trying to help Stella, Helen, and Joel who were sinking in mucky quicksand.  As we were assisting them, Zeke came out of some leafy bushes and snatched Sophie.  After we got them out, we search for her in the forest.  Fortunately, we found her, but Zeke was still holding onto her.  “Let her go Zeke!” shouted Clément.  “Why should I?”  “Well, why not?”  “Why not?”  “Yeah, why not?” While Clément was asking Zeke confusing and rhetorical questions, Sophie managed to escape his clutches and, all of a sudden, we heard strange noises.  Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a teenage girl, whom I have never seen before, holding a vibrant, rose-red ruby that is so irresistible anybody would kill for it if they got their way.

***

“Mr. C, do you know if the kids are alright?” Asked Mr. G.  “Honestly, I don’t know where they are, but I hope that the search and rescue teams find them safe and sound like they found us.”  Mr. C stated.  “I hope they find them soon so I can help our percussionists prepare for their concert in the Bahamas.” Announced Mr. R. “Well, whatever happens just happens!” Mr. G declared.

***

            As I said, I saw this teenage girl with a shiny ruby.  I later learned that her name was K.J. Parsley.  She explained to us that she was on a cruise with her fellow band members when, out of the blue, they were marooned by pirates that called themselves sea scavengers.  She continued saying that those dirty pirates attacked everybody and ransacked the ship.  She told us that she tried to fight them off, but one snuck up behind her and knocked her out with the bunt of a gun. Then, she woke up in some mysterious room, but couldn’t see anything but pitch black darkness, so she assumed she was probably blindfolded.  She tried moving her frail arms, but they didn’t budge.  So, she finally decided to scream and as she was about to scream, a giant, icy-cold hand landed over her mouth.  Following that, she heard the crisp, ripping sound of cloth and felt the frozen palm of her captor come off  her mouth and she decided to insult them.  “Shut up!” He told her as he punched her in the mouth with the ripped cloth wrapped around his fist.  The pirate started chatting with the other sea scavengers.  One of the pirates took her blindfold off, and she could see that she was in the ship’s engine room.  But, before she could get a better view of her surroundings, her main captor knocked her out.

When she came to, she realized she was about to go overboard as she felt herself being dragged away from the room. She later felt a sharp object poking her in the back. “Walk the plank me dear.” She heard one of her captors say. When K.J. took her last step, she plummeted in the cold water. She tried to swim, but she then remembered she was tightly bounded with rope and couldn’t cry for help while she was submerging in the tropical water. So all she could do was hope for someone to save her.

At last, just as she was giving up, someone pulled her out of the frigid water onto a small, wooden boat and untied her.  The stranger told her his name was Vance Darkwile, and asked her questions.  After she answered all of his questions, Vance Darkwile knocked her out, tied her up with duct tape, and advanced the boat to a bizarre island.  She soon perceived the creep, whom she thought was a Good Samaritan but had turned out to be a corsair and dishonest creep, had only saved her for a scientific experiment and she realized that she was vulnerable.  But, while he was forcing her into the thick underbrush of the jungle, she stumbled upon a glowing gemstone.  When her deceiving abductor picked up the ruby and examined it, a behemoth-like creature that looked almost like a honeybee, but, was a lot longer, flew out of nowhere, and pursued Vance Darkwile.  After using the trees to break free of the duct tape Vance bound her up with, she picked up the attractive jewel.  And, once she picked it up, it mysteriously sparkled and as it sparkled, the giant beast returned and chased her in the vicious jungle.  And that’s how she ran into us. “Interesting” I said, “very interesting.”  “Guys, I’m serious” She pleaded. “Of course you are,” I sarcastically spoke. “But, where is this enormous monster you were talking about?” Clément asked. “Right behind you!” She screamed in a frightened tone.  We turned around and saw the massive nightmare that she described.  Now, my worst nightmare has come to life… a vicious hornet the size of a limousine.  Now it has come to my attention that our lives were in extreme jeopardy…