Sultan finally allowed himself a moment to settle down. His stiff body relaxing, deflecting as all tension and stress loosened their grip on him.
Wright after, fatigue and feebleness flooded in, highlighting his worn out state.
As Sultan reached out to examine the viscous liquid he was half-submerged in, the unresponsiveness' in his left shoulder reminded him of the stinger still partially embedded in his flesh.
Turning his attention to the injured area, The wound terrified him.
Gripping the tiny protruding spike between two fingers, Sultan achingly extracted it from his body.
The thing looked scary. a wicked, pointed nail that stretched as long as his Wrist, if not more. It seemed to have split from the main body of the dead insect after he stabbed it, needing only that final push to fully separate, likely because the creature's resistance had already detached it halfway.
Soon, Sultan cast the nail like thing aside, not heating it more attention. He currently has a very serious and potentially fatal problem.
Sultan had no supplies to bandage the wound or treat it
And it wasn't dormant anymore. With a burning pain, a gosh of blood burst out.
'Could this bleeding help release some of the poison from my bloodstream?' he thought foolishly.
Knowing it didn't work that way, Sultan used his other hand to apply pressure to the wound, hoping to stop the bleeding.
Greding his teeth from the pain, Sultan was emersed in his self-torcher when he heard it.
Again, the cursed sound of his nightmares, the unmistakable buzzing of wings.
Panic gripped him as the sound grew louder. A group of them, maybe two or three dozens, was heading down the passage and into the chamber where he hid.
The first thing came to Sultan's mind was to escape, but With his injured shoulder and weakened state, that was impossible.
Improvising in the spot, Sultan decided to submerge himself in the viscous liquid, hoping they wouldn't notice him. Taking a deep breath, and pinching his noes between two fingers, Sultan sank into the thick honey-like substance.
The density of the liquid muffled the sounds around him, and Sultan braced himself, expecting any moment to feel a stinger in his head.
For what felt like an eternity, he held his breath, waiting for the insects to leave.
But the burning in his lungs grew by the moment, and the desire for inhaling that sweet oxygen was unbearably sharpening in his chest.
After a few agonizing minutes, Sultan reached his limits and had no choice but to surface for air.
As soon as his head emerged, he heard the frantic buzzing of the insects above. They were still here, too many of them.
a whirlwind of movement circling around Sultan's head, The chamber buzzed incessantly as the gigantic insects swirled around, doing God knows what.
He couldn't see them at all, but he could hear them moving through the place and darting around..
. Sultan knew he was done for.
He doubted he could convince the maddening insects he belonged here.
Hence, He braced himself, expecting their stingers to puncture his body at any moment. He tensed, waited... and waited some more. But nothing happened.
Sultan waited…
and waited some more.
Something was wrong.
The creatures were still moving, their buzzing a constant hum, but they didn't seem to notice him.
No, it wasn't just that. they couldn't perceive him at all. It was baffling.
These were the same creatures that had attacked him relentlessly, seemingly able to track him with unnerving precision. Yet now, trapped in their grasp , they ignored him entirely.
Sultan couldn't believe it.
He submerged himself deeper into the thick liquid , letting it cover him up to his chin, and waited silently, observing the insects as they continued their work, oblivious to his presence.
Minutes turned into what felt like hours, and finally, they finished whatever task they had and left the chamber, one by one. Sultan remained motionless, half-expecting one or two to return and finish him off. Perhaps they thought he couldn't escape and decided to prioritize their work before dealing with him.
But no. Nothing came for him. Soon, the eerie quietness returned, and Sultan was alone once more in the dark, lightless chamber.
"Skin me alive... What just happened?" Sultan exclaimed, licking his lips nervously.
"What's that?" He licked his lips again,
sticking out his tongue farther this time, reaching his cheeks.
'"hum, why does my face taste sweet?'
And then, A grin split across his face as the realization dawned on him. He was an idiot. He should have figured this out much sooner.
A web of orderly organized cells, check.
A swarm of buzzing stinging insects, check.
'Though the size still a big question.'
And finally, a dense, sticky substance, big happy check.
Sultan is currently trapped in a bee hive.
Not a normal one, mind you.
this was the domain of the giant, stabbing insects that had been hunting him. But still, bees were bees, and bees made honey. This honey, however, didn't seem like it had been made from flower nectar. Something about it felt... unnatural.
However, Sultan didn't care. He was starving. He'd been running and hiding for hours, having entered this nightmare right as he was preparing dinner after a long day of work. Scooping handful after handful, he ate his fill of the strange honey, its sweetness rejuvenating his weary body.
Once his hunger was sated, Sultan scooped some of the honey and smeared a generous amount into the burning puncture in his shoulder.
He wasn't sure if it is any good but at least it would stop the bleeding.
Closing his eyes, Sultan lit out a contented sigh, feeling warmth returning to his bones.
another berk of the honey manifesting as it enveloped him like an old familiar blanket.
Soon, sleep crept over him. He couldn't resist anymore. His stomach full, his body warm, and no longer hounded by the giant bees, the call of sleep became impossible to deny.
"We need to talk." The message arrived just as Sultan teetered on the edge of losing consciousness.
"Can I rest first? Please," he responded as he shut his eyes, not waiting for a reply.