It was too hot to fly. Ever since they crossed over the zone, the sun beat down on Erlea in constant waves of heat and pressure. Every step and flap of her wings sapped at her strength, sucking away her meager Endurance until she only had a sliver of energy left.
The heat made it impossible to even hold Miere's hand. The temperature from her lover's body overheated her despite the swirl of breeze that came from their combined fluttering. Instead, Miere trudged a few feet to Erlea's right with a glassy look in her eyes.
Tira suffered like the bees. The fluffy hair that contributed to her large breasts and wide hips drooped in the heat and moisture. It made her look almost frail but her body still had curves compared to the Honningbies' narrow waists and perky tits.
Her wing tips scraped along the ground. She had made multiple attempts to hold up her wings, but the heat meant that it wasn't long before they were scraping along the ground again. Motes of dust and pollen marked a trail behind her but none of them had the energy to obscure the signs of their passing.
Billie, on the other hand, seemed to be completely unaffected by the heat. Her dark carapace shone in the light as she strode ahead. Her head moved back and forth as she scanned their surroundings for the next attack. She had not said a word since their discussion at the border. The beetle girl didn't even look back except to catch herself from walking too far head.
Gral also appeared to be unaffected by the heat, but he remained just behind the two struggling Honningbies. The comforting thud of his heavy footsteps gave Erlea something to focus on as she struggled.
Erlea let out a long breath and watched the heat shimmer ahead of her. She shielded her eyes and looked around for some shelter but there were only rocks between them and the furthest edge of the zone where she saw a light green of what hopefully was a more hospital area.
“How long?” Miere gasped as she put one step ahead of the other. Her four wings were slack against her back.
“A couple hours at least,” Gral said.
“How long until night?” There was a pitiful whine in the weak bee's voice.
A grunt. “Maybe a few hours?”
Billie spoke up from ahead of them. “I don't think we want to be here at night.”
“Why?” asked Erlea.
“This zone is built on higher points than the last one. If we aren't seeing the encounters now, that means they are mostly at night. Do you want to be fighting in the dark?”
Miere's wings flutter. “No.”
“We just need to power through, then we'll be fine.” She turned. “Can you handle it, Miere?”
“Y-Yes.”
Erlea was surprised at the question, but there was something guilty in Billie's eyes when the beetle girl glanced at her.
Then Billie tensed and turned away to walk faster toward the transition.
Erlea groaned at the effort but kept up. She could almost imagine her Endurance down into the single digits, barely enough for a single blast outside of her basic attack. She wiped the seat from her forehead before addressing the moth. “Tira? How are you doing?”
Tira gave her a tired smile. “While I can handle the daylight, I would prefer to be awake at night.” She held up a finger. “But, the Orc knows this area better and I agree. There is always a balance and if we aren't encountering anything now, it means that night is going to be dangerous for all of us.”
Erlea smiled and gestured ahead. “At least we have Billie—”
She couldn't see Billie.
“—to… where is she?”
They froze in mid-step, staring ahead. The familiar presence of the Kever was gone without even a whisper of noise or a hint of struggle. One moment, the black shell stood out in the sun and now there was nothing but grids and squares as far as they could see.
Miere let out a whimper. “What just happened?”
Gral came up even with Erlea. He had an ax out, the heavy weapon reflecting light. “She was just there,” he said in a low growl. “Just seconds ago.”
Erlea's heart beat faster. She started to summon her Barrier but there wasn't enough energy. It sputtered and cracked. Her wings fluttered with her thoughts as she considered re-configuring her attacks, but she couldn't afford the energy cost.
A brief breeze washed over her. It wasn't enough to bring any comfort, but it tickled her honey blonde hair and teased her skin before it faded.
Her wings snapped up. “Danger.”
In the corner of her eye, she saw Tira concentrate and then step back, her body disappearing from sight as she summoned an illusion of some sort.
Erlea turned to Miere. “Love, get into the air—”
Miere was gone.
“Miere!?” her voice came out shrilly. She took a step and looked around, trying to see where her lover had disappeared to.
Gral snarled and crossed Erlea to the other side. His heavy footsteps shook the ground as he swept around. “Where is she?”
Erlea took a deep breath and took off, flying straight up. She made it only a few feet before her Endurance ran out but she couldn't afford to land again. With a scream, she pushed her power and felt the burning agony of her body fueling her power as she lifted higher into the air.
Gral circled around, brandishing his weapon. “See her?”
Erlea didn't know if he was worried about the other Honningbie or his own life, but in that moment it didn't matter. She spun around, matching his movements, as she looked for any sign of the two missing breeders.
Then, she caught a whisper of Tira's illusion. The invisibility wasn't perfect, at least where her slack wings crushed grasses behind her. Erlea gave a grim smile as she watched Tira racing forward.
Then the ground shifted. It was only a split second, not even a blink. One moment there was an empty hole appearing in the grass, then something burst out to wrap around Tira's invisible body, and then it was gone without even a hint that something had happened.
Erlea gasped and then looked straight down. “The ground! She's underground!”
Gral spun around.
Erlea flew down. “Something just grabbed Tira. It was in a hole.”
The Orc Chief lifted one leg and then brought his foot down hard on the soil, slamming into it with incredible force.
One of the openings of the hole shifted slightly, the briefest flash of something pulling apart before it snapped back into place and disappeared.
“There!” she screamed as she dove down into it. Hitting the ground with her knees, she jabbed at where she saw the opening. The ground was hard but there was a smell of fear and honey in the air. Whimpering, she dug all around her as she tried to find it.
Gral's ax punched into the soil near her hand. The attack was precise but only levered up a hunk of dirt. Then he attacked again, systematically leaving cross-hatches that punched deep.
Then one blow slammed into something sturdy.
Blood splattered Erlea's face as the top peeled apart.
Heedless of the Orc's ax, she flung herself to it and jammed her hand into the opening before it closed.
It snapped shut just like a breeder's cunt. The pressure and pain was intense, but she managed to keep it open enough to hear gurgling screams underneath.
Gral's ax punched the opening again, hacking out a two-foot wide hole filled with grass- and dirt-covered limbs of some sort. They looked like segmented tentacles with bristled hairs along the surface.
Erlea blasted the side with an RKA, blowing a massive hole out of the side.
Miere screamed shrilly but the sound was unfocused with the sound of a breeder's lust being activated. Erlea saw that whatever had grabbed her had pinned her wings tight against the bee's body, setting off the wave of helplessness that the claustrophobic tunnel would have no doubt magnified.
Erlea blasted another part of the cap and the limbs holding it tight grew slack. With fear fueling her actions, she jammed her hands and pried it off.
Gral joined in and then yanked top away from the narrow opening. He stood up enough to throw it aside, yanking four long tentacles out of the ground in a shower of slime and blood. With a grunt, he threw it away.
Only Miere's head and shoulders were visible in a pool of muddy slime. Her body thrashed as she looked up with blank eyes.
“Fuck!” Gral said.
“What is this!?” screamed Erlea as she angled an RKA away from her lovers body and blew a side into the pit. The dirt poured into it, dusting over the slime as it sloshed into the sudden space.
“Do that again!” ordered Gral. “Blast down and give me room.”
Erlea didn't question him. She angled her RKA and fired it off again and again. In the back of her mind, she knew that Tira and Billie were in the same predicament, but they had to save Miere first.
In less than a turn, she had widened the hole significantly. The slime level dropped down sharply, revealing dozens of tentacle thrashing and boiling just under the surface. They were assaulting Miere's body, sliding along her breasts and sides. Two of the ends were attached to her nipples, clamping down as the entire length of the tentacles undulated.
Gral slammed the ax into the ground as he dropped to the earth. With a grunt, he punched his massive fist into the mud and reached down. His shoulder almost obscured Miere.
“What are you doing?”
He didn't say anything as he reached further down until his face was almost even with the slime.
Before she could register it, tentacles burst up to grab at his next and shoulders. The pale, segments tentacles tightened and tensed.
His other hand gripped the side of the tunnel but he didn't pull himself up.
Miere managed to lifted her head. “Erlea! Help—!”
One of the worm-like tentacles burst up and then plunged into her open mouth, silencing her in a second as it smeared mud across her lips.
Miere's eyes widened in shock and fear.
Gral grunted. His entire body was tight with whatever he was doing to her.
Erlea's turn finally came. She reconfigured her attacks into small, precise blasts. They wouldn't use any energy but there was no range either. Gasping, she grabbed the tentacle raping her lover's throat and blasted through it. With her other hand, she gripped the slimy length and pulled with all her might.
A remarkably long hunk slipped out of Miere's throat. It had gotten three feet down in the seconds it took for Erlea to respond.
Gral grunted. “S-Sorry about this,” he said in a strained voice.
“Sorry about…?”
His entire buried arm jerked violently.
Miere's body surged up and her eyes bugged out. A scream followed immediately, a high-pitched out of utter terror and agony.
“Gral!”
“Better me than these things!” he said with a bellow. He was sweating as he started to pull up. Every cord of muscles in his body stood out with his effort.
Tentacles boiled out of the opening to grab onto Miere's shoulders, wrapping around them and pulling down. More reached up for him to lasso his neck, arms and elbows. They pulled down and he slipped face-first into the slime.
Erlea's heart almost stopped.
Then she focused on her rage. She attacked the tentacles, sliding through as quickly as she could. Her zero-range RKA easily cut through the segments as if they were nothing more than paper. Blood sprayed everywhere but their grip on her lover and friend quickly grew slack.
Gral slapped the ground and then levered himself up. As soon as his face broke the surface again, she expected to hear a gasp but he had a tentacle impaling his mouth and he was choking.
Erlea sliced through it but she couldn't pull it out.
He gestured with his chin to the tentacles pulling them in.
She blasted through them, focusing on anything that writhed as she cut her two companions out. Every time she cut through one, two more burst out to grab at her and the others.
Then the phases were over and she could reconfigure her attack. Risking her drained Endurance, she switched her attacks into a piercing attack with as little Endurance as she could afford.
Jamming her hand into the area she had widened, she prayed that Miere was still pinned and began to fire. The wet, muted thumps shook the ground as she blasted again and again. Every attack sucked at her energy and darkened her vision, but she couldn't relent. She sobbed as she fired blindly at whatever was attacking them.
The tentacles writhed more violently.
Gral levered himself further out, pulling Miere as he did. Her slime-covered body lifted out of the severed tentacles with glistening mud covering every surface of her skin.
As he did, Miere's screams grew more shrill. She was in agony as she thrashed weakly.
Then, he finally pulled her free and Erlea saw what he had done. Between her lover's legs, Gral had jammed two thick fingers into Miere's sex and his thumb into her asshole. Both openings had torn from his girth and blood streamed down her legs.
With a snarl, he yanked both of them free and fell back. His free arm cradled Miere as she landed awkwardly on his chest, with her two holes plugged by his digits and her hair smacking against his face.
Erlea rushed over. She tugged at his fingers, trying to free her but the digits refused to move from the tightly strained openings.
Miere sobbed as she curled up, pawing helplessly at the fingers plugging her.
Gral pushed himself up into a sitting position.
“Why did you do that to her?” snapped Erlea.
“She can't get bred on my fingers.” He groaned. Then he brought his hand and together they pulled his digits out of Miere's cunt and asshole.
Both openings gaped obscenely, revealing pink skin, slimy mud, but nothing that resembled cum or eggs.
Then, with a tender gesture, he cupped Miere's sex and held them firm against your body. “There you go, little bee. Just take a deep breath, it will be okay.”
Miere sobbed again, her entire body shaking. She reached out for Erlea as she clutched to Gral's chest with her other hand.
Erlea pulled away and stood up. “The others.”
With a grunt, Gral picked up Miere and pulled her tight to his body. “Come on, we may be too late.”
“We can save them before they give birth.”
He grunted. “Do you remember where?”
“Tira, yet, but not Billie.”
“Start with the moth.” He lifted his leg and stomped the ground.
No openings gaped and they took another step. He stomped again and again.
When they saw another trap door, it wasn't in the right place for Tira but Erlea didn't know where Billie was caught. “Here?”
“Mark it and come back, save the one we know first. Then we'll start hunting.” His voice was strained.
Erlea gave him a worried look.
“She may want to bite my head off, but I'm not leaving until I know she's safe. I made a promise and she is part of it.”
Reluctantly, Erlea used her RKA to burn a circle around the trap to mark it and they worked their way to where Tira had disappeared. The dust trail and the Honningbie's memories quickly found the opening.
This time, they knew what to do. Erlea reconfigured her RKA to be lance the ground. Steeling herself against the pain, she blasted a circle about a foot wider than the opening in hopes of killing the tentacle beast. There were too many unknowns, but she was sure eight feet of RKA cutting into the base would be enough.
The trap shuddered with every explosion as she systematically worked her way around.
Her ears were ringing from the effort from pushing her Endurance. She could feel it tearing into her, from the taste of blood in the back of her throat and the way red seeped around the edges of her vision. She didn't tell Gral because he would stop her and she couldn't afford to abandon her friends.
“It's working, the opening is growing weaker,” Gral grunted.
Erlea swayed as she looked over to confirm. The trap was no longer perfectly camouflaged. Instead it had broken apart and she could see the tentacles holding the grass and dirt were slack. Encouraged, she resumed her blasting.
Still holding Miere, Gral cut the trap door out and tossed it aside. In the pit of slime and mud, Tira's head lolled to the side. She had a thick tentacle straining her lips as her body twitched weakly. More tentacles were wrapped around her shoulders and wings.
He dropped to his knees and reached down.
There was no resistance from the creature as he pulled the Falene from the hole. At least, there was nothing until he managed to lever her hips out and reveal her swollen belly. The only movement came from inside the moth girl's womb where the newly impregnated tentacles were already swirling and writhing inside her.
Four tentacles, two in each hole, tethered Tira to the dead creature below. They strained her openings, pulling the skin tight in a ring around the twitching intruders.
Erlea blasted them free and Gral pulled the impregnated breeder completely free of the hole.
Panting, they looked at each other.
Erlea's vision was blurred from her effort. “B-Billie.”
She staggered back to the first hole they passed. She started to push herself but a wave of agony crossed her body.
“Problems?” Gral said in a strained voice. He was carrying both breeders on his shoulders. His chest was covered in blood, slime, and mud.
Erlea couldn't stop. She shook her head and steeled herself. “No, no problem. I can do this.”
“Don't push yourself.”
Too late, but she wouldn't let him down. Focusing on the opening, she began to lance the ground with brutal thrusts that would kill the beast that attacked and raped her friends.
But, when the opening was finally torn open, there was nothing but floating tentacles.
“Shit!” she screamed. She looked around. Frustrated, she tried to stomp the ground but she didn't have the weight or power.
Gral pointed to the side. “That way. I saw two more while you were burning the ground. I threw something over there. We'll keep digging until we find her. I promise—”
She was already moving before he finished speaking. Every step was agony but her desperation kept her moving.
Billie was in the last one.
As soon as Erlea saw the armored hand sticking out of the ground, she rushed over and began blasting wildly. Each one hurt her more, draining her completely. Blood dripped from her ears and nose as she fired into the ground around her friend.
“Erlea!” bellowed someone. Gral, she thought. It could have been Miere or Tira, it didn't matter.
She couldn't see, not with the red haze covering her vision.
Unwilling to stop, she continued her way around, cutting a hole to save her.
She had to keep going.
She couldn't stop.
She couldn't abandon her friend.
Then… it didn't hurt more.
Nothing hurt as she fell into the darkness of oblivion.