Chapter 3
We slowly exited the jet, walking down the path it had made as it landed. Alex had strapped on his single glove which he had named the “Igniter”. He called it this because of the cloth it was made from, and it’s ability to help him control his pyrokinesis. Edward had simply grabbed one of his many bo staves which he kept in the armory portion of the BH-1.
“Stay on your toes, people. The feel of darkness that lingers around here is rather strong.” I commanded as I slowly waved my hand, creating a nearly invisible barrier around us. It was a weak one, but it was enough for the moment.
“Hopefully we can just get this over with and check on my brother when we make our return.” Edward calmly replied as he removed his headphones from his ears and placed them in his pocket. He then spun his staff around, obviously trying to create a stronger electromagnetic current so that he could see farther out.
We then stopped as we reached where the beach ended and the jungle began. It was strange looking out into the distance as I magnified my visor’s vision. It was as if the area was completely normal, but I could still feel the presence of multiple shades.
Slowly we began our trek through the trees and foliage, and kept on the lookout for anything strange or out of place. Soon we had reached a cleared out area close to the center of the island. It was as if the trees had been ripped apart by something, but this was more orderly. It was like they were trying to clear this space to create a nest of some sort.
“This must be the place…” Alex quietly stated as he broke away from my barrier.
“Alex, no!” I shouted, but it was too late. As if on instinct, several shades had swarmed around the young man. They looked like giant insects, closely resembling wasps of some sort, except for the fact that they were rather large with strange markings covering their entire exoskeleton.
Quickly they made their first move, flying in to try and go directly for the kill, but Alex was faster. As he snapped, small eruptions of flame broke through the air, charring the first shades they met. The boy then rolled back into my barrier, barely escaping a second attack.
“This is why we stay close…” I whispered as the creatures began to fly around my barrier, surrounding us. Several of them attempted to sting through the field, but they were too weak. They were simply forced back by their own blows.
Slowly we progressed, making sure to keep within my defenses. Soon we had come upon the amazing nest they had built. The wasps had used the bark from the trees and some form of adhesive to build the hive. Further inspection proved that several ‘builders’ were taking the bark, placing it upon the structure, and using their own saliva to hold the thing together.
“This is so gross!” Alex exclaimed as we made our way inside. A purple slime was oozing from the walls within, and what appeared to be eggs were nestled within globs of it. The eggs were rather large, about the size of a person’s ribcage, and looked as if they could begin hatching.
“Just continue to stay close. There could be a…”
I had started, but then Edward interrupted with, “Queen. Straight ahead of us.”
The beast within was barely visible and seemed to be sleeping. It looked almost exactly like the wasps from outside, except for a few differences.
Firstly, the thing was about the size of a small home, and had several spikes running along it’s back. The thorax of the creature was rather bulbous, and lacked a stinger; in which what appeared to be a orifice was located. Lastly, the queen had no eyes, meaning that it used it’s antennae to sense it’s surroundings.
“Keep your guard up, comrades. As stated earlier, we will have to expect whatever will come our way.” I then headed toward the Shade’s thorax to get a better look. As my visor scanned it, I noticed that it was almost translucent aside from the black, tribal-like markings upon it. Eggs were clearly visible within.
Quickly I placed my hand upon the slimy exoskeleton, and the queen awoke with an ear busting screech as I sent a wave throughout it’s body. The thorax then busted and the goliath took flight. Soon it had grotesquely regenerated it’s lost part and grown a new stinger in it’s place.
“What did you do?!” Edward screamed as he began to back away.
“The next batch of eggs is now taken care of. Now all we have to worry about is the queen and what’s left of her drones.” I replied as I lowered the field around us. “Now, take formation!”
At amazing precision, the two brought themselves to either sides of me, taking their battle stances. Drones flooded the entire inhabitance as they detected our presence once more, and the queen let out another squeal.
“Hate to burst your bubble, Gauntlet…” Alex then proceeded to set several of the drones aflame, snap after snap. “…but this isn’t one of your best ideas!”
“Would you rather have it lay more of these creatures?” I calmly asked as I aimed my left arm at the queen. The Shade was quick, but not quick enough. I sent blast after blast at its wings, bringing it to the ground. It was now writhing in pain.
Soon the drone and worker wasps had seemingly forgotten about us and flew to the assistance of their leader. This is when we took our chance at exiting the hive. Soon we had made it back outside, and Alex snapped repeatedly, trying to catch their nest on fire.
We then found ourselves watching the catastrophe which had ensued. As the beasts burned, we could hear their screams, and the screams of what sounded like babies. Obviously the cries of the newly hatched young.
“Can we go now?” Edward asked impatiently. As I nodded, he made leave, going back the way we had come. Alex then looked at me with a sigh as he took leave as well.
I just stood there though, looking on at the burning mass of bark and wasp saliva. For some reason I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. It reminded me of something, some memory of my youth. A moment in time when I was oblivious to the dangers of these creatures.
These events had reminded me of when I had first met the man known as Everith Hart. All those years ago when Shades had attacked the village that I lived in. I was but a teenager when this had happened, but I had fought back.
He had helped me back then; helped me to destroy the shadowy beings that had destroyed my hometown. Afterwards, it was another 19 years before I saw him again, this time with a son. We had founded G.E.A.R. on that exact day of meeting, and we had made vows to keep the people out of danger to the best of our ability.
Now though, it was as if I couldn’t believe anything anymore. Had his words meant nothing? Had Jonathon and I been the only ones that had meant what we stated on that day? Why had this man betrayed us, and what were his goals now?
