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It’s hot. It’s so, so hot. Disgustingly dry gusts of wind mixed with sand dance just above the ground. There’s that bee in front of me— That bee. That pest . His pinch front style hat has gold adornments and piercings, each of them representing each wasp population he murdered. He wears the same familiar ruby necktie, though a bit worn. His style with the jacket and embellished boots is all too familiar for me. I see the slim revolver in his holster.
“Here I am now, Krest of Trekks. ” Ray’s voice cut clear through the wind. He always did have that effect.
“Keep my town’s name out of your mouth.” I can’t let fear shake me up. It’s clear he noticed.
“Tch. You’ve always been an incompetent wasp.” He mocks me. Mocks my species. I need to sober up — It’s high noon. We talked about this yesterday. To the average insect, killing is frowned upon. No matter what. I remember when I used to think that way.
However, I believe there is an exception for bugs like Ray . Murdering a murderer, fighting fire with fire… My actions will never measure up to his sins, and I think I’m doing the world a favor when I kill him.
But if that’s so… Why do I feel so bad just thinking about it?
~⤻ π ⤺~
…A time far too long ago in the world of Echor, insects and bugs ruled the planet. Lucky insects had kingdoms. Species who often have kingdoms are hive making insects who typically don’t have a preference for their environment — Such as the royal bees and the ruthless wasps. Usually bees would live in forests, like the kingdom of Wyndette — a smaller but still honorable kingdom.
West of the continents, in a ruthless desert, lay a dusty small town called Trekks. Trekks always had a wasp population, and hardly anybody entered or left. The reason why towns in the desert survive are due to the plants surrounding it, and this was no different for Trekks. The townsfolk in Trekks also included me. I used to be a little shorter than the average wasp at that age, and I was picked on for it sometimes as well, among other things. Even so, I never looked too hard into people’s intentions, or considered why things were the way they were. That was the mindset I had when a bee, Ray, walked into town.
When the townsfolk saw Ray, they shunned him and stayed away from him. Often they’d talk badly about him when he wasn’t around. I saw Ray sitting alone on a bench each evening, and despite all the bad rumours about bees and Ray himself, I felt bad for him. Or was it pity? I approached him with some nectar from the nearby cacti and I sized him up. Ray had the bee-typical short height, slightly larger eyes, smaller antennae & mandibles, and slight fuzz on him. He was wearing a jacket and long boots with his plain pinch front style hat. He also sized me up before he coughed and snapped me back to the moment.
“Oh– uh, hello.. You want some nectar?” I spoke with as much confidence as I could, holding it out for him.
“..Um.. Yeah, sure..” He muttered as he took my hand and accepted it.
We both awkwardly introduced ourselves, and from then on we were friends. You could’ve considered us best friends. Every evening I’d visit Ray and talk to him for a while with some nectar. I remember sometimes my mother would look at me with worry, and each conversation would go something like..
“..Krest.. Ray, that bee friend? Are you sure you should be talking to him?” She’d say to me, of which I groaned.
“I know him, mother. He’s my best friend. I’m sure not all bees are as bad as you say they are.”
“..Yes, but, honey, what if he is? I mean.. You have plenty of other friends to talk to and spend your time with. Why him?” My mother was always such a worrier.
“..I don’t know, why not? Everyone needs friends, right?” I didn’t know why I was friends with him, either. I knew that he was… different, though. He was different from how I expected a bee would act, and he was generally pleasant to be around. I couldn’t pinpoint just one thing.
~⤻ π ⤺~
A few seasons passed. I glanced at Ray for what felt like the five hundredth time that day. The ruby necktie I gave him suits him well. Picking up nectar from the cacti became an afterthought that blurred into the background whenever I looked at him. Embarrassingly, he’d often catch me in the act and I jerk back into motion. Sometimes I feel like he knows and doesn’t bring attention to it.
Before I knew it, my mother called me over for dinner and we decided to part ways for the night.
~⤻ π ⤺~
The next day, I couldn’t find Ray anywhere. I was starting to get worried and asked around, but it doesn’t seem that the other townsfolk have seemed to notice. Their opinion of Ray hasn’t changed since the beginning, anyway. Fears creeped into my mind. What if Ray left me? He wouldn’t leave without telling me, would he? Did the other wasps kidnap him? Are they hurting him and are just not telling me? Where is Ray? Frantically I searched. Out of desperation, I decided to run a little farther out of town to look for Ray. Perhaps he was hiding somewhere in the bushes and cacti, I thought. There was nowhere else I could have looked.
I sank to the ground after finding not a single soul. Everything was blurry. I walked back towards the town sluggishly.
Lights. Burning. Something was burning. Suddenly, everything cleared in a snap. A sharp scream cut through my mind as I looked up at my town. It was in flames. I ran towards it, but I wasn’t sure what I was trying to do. Try to find someone to save? I scanned the town for anyone I recognized. Ray, my mother, anybody. The scent of burning flesh and blood filled the air, and the smoke was not helping. I did see a silhouette of a person walking away along with a roly poly pillsteed. I recognized him to be Ray, and I rushed towards him.
I crashed into him, landing in his arms before steadying the both of us. I was hysterical. Words were pouring out my mouth, distress. Barely intelligible. He seemed… awfully calm, though. After a few moments of horror, Ray pushed me away to look at me.
“Krest… What’s wrong?” He calmly said. I stared at him, too many thoughts going through my head to even process anything.
“What- What do you mean what’s wrong ?! My town- My town’s in flames!”
“I did you a favor, Krest. Those other wasps… They didn’t understand you. They excluded you after being with me more often. Remember, they kept talking badly about us and picked on us? Don’t tell me you miss them already. Come on, let’s go.”
I froze. He started to walk to the saddled roly poly, but I froze. Everything was at a standstill.
“... What ?” Was all I could mutter up. He caused this? Ray, my closest friend.
“Hm? I thought you’d be on board. I was going to introduce you to my family.”
I stare at him, bewildered, angry, sad, grieving. “ You burn down my town, and you want to introduce me to your family? ”
“Oh… I thought maybe you’d want to meet the Wyndettes, no?” Wyndette.. Where did I hear that name before? One of the smaller bee kingdoms, wasn’t it? Oh. I should’ve known. Ray of Wyndette. He’s a prince, isn’t he?
“I should have known you weren’t interested… I thought you were more open minded, Krest.. You didn’t think I actually cared for your little town, did you?” He spoke again, after noticing I haven’t spoken. With each word, Ray dug his grave deeper. I stayed silent.
He continued, “not interested in royalty, Krest?” I can’t think of a single thing to say as he walks to the side with his pillsteed, the only thing in my view being the burning remains of my town.
“Come on. Do you wanna stay with me, or do you want to burn with your town?” This.. was cruel. My town was in shambles, screams died out way earlier and the foundation of each building started to collapse and fall apart. I didn’t know what to think. Was my mother right? Was the town right all along? Were bees really this terrible? Ray is all I have now, though. My closest partner for seasons. Would he treat me better once I follow him? What in the world do I do now?
A selfish part of me told me to go with Ray, but I was still in shock of what happened to my town. Everything I’ve ever known was in flames. I fell to my knees, sobbing.
“I should’ve known. Ha.” Ray scoffed before hopping on his roly poly and left me on the ground. I turned around and saw the ruby necktie still around him, flowing slightly in the wind.
1…
What just happened?
2…
This can’t be happening.
3…
What did I do to him?
4…
I can’t believe I trusted him—
5…
I can’t believe I placed my trust on a bee…
6…
This..
7…
This is all his fault.
8…
You made me this way.
9…
This is all your fault.
10…
THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT.
~⤻ π ⤺~
A thunderous crack rings through the air, followed by smoke. I don’t know who’s gun it is, mine or his. The dust settles and I blink my eyes open.
I see Ray hunching over. I shot him. Arm on his side, heavily breathing. I stare at him. Please, don’t look at me like that. The ruby necktie suits him well. I walk towards him and his eyes follow me.
“...Gonna deal the finishing blow?” He weakly says, falling to a knee. I feel bad for him. Or is it pity? The whirling sounds of wind echo in my head.
“..Insects like you don’t get to die quickly. Suffer as you made my town suffer those many seasons ago.” I know that’s not the only reason why I kept him alive. I savor my last moments with him as he slowly keels over. I walk to my pillsteed and take one glance at his weakness before I ride off.