HoneyBee

Chapter 2: Blood on the grass

Kchzzzzack!

Charlie recoiled as a surge of electricity shot through her. Lines of white light cocooned her arms as she screamed, stumbling backwards. The light swirled around her body, enveloping her in its vice-like grip. White hot pain was all Charlie could feel as she felt her vision fade, the life being crushed out of her. The last thing she saw was something small and blue slowly rise into the air.

'Charlie, you are in danger. Get up!'

Life returned to Charlie's body quickly, feeling like a breath of air to deprived lungs. She jerked, curling in on herself. Her head was swimming, and a feeling of nausea was rapidly building in the pit of her stomach. As slowly as possible, she forced her eyelids to open, allowing her to see. It was night now, and she was surrounded by fireflies. With much effort, she willed herself to sit up. The world blurred for a moment, before settling down. Her stomach flipped, and something began forcing its way up Charlie's throat. She shook violently as she coughed and vomited, large lumps splattered down onto the grass as her stomach acid burned her insides. Just as she thought that it was over, she felt something shift inside her gut, like a long, warm snake. She coughed again, and it fell out, coiling at her feet.

Charlie stumbled forward, landing in the warm mess in front of her. She sobbed, tears running down the length of her nose-

She froze. With the pain and sickness gone, her mind finally realised that something was horribly wrong. Slowly, she raised a hand to her face. A soft blue light illuminated black claws coated in a red liquid and what could only be a human intestine draped over them. She screamed and back peddled away, trying to run away from what was once her hand. A new weight on her back unbalanced her and she fell backwards, tumbling down a steep hill. Trees and roots hit and scratched her as she fell. She landed in a cold river, the water rushing over her as she lay there.

In the crisp moonlight, she could see her reflection clearly. She gleamed like polished metal, the silver light making her glow a soft yellow. Bright, blue eyes that held a honeycomb within them were surrounded by black metal scales that formed into a blunt snout, two blue nostrils glowing softly near its end. Blood dripped from her mouth, and bits of dark red and purple organs were caught on her teeth. Half gasping, half crying, Charlie plunged her head into the rushing water, desperately trying to wash away the gore that clung to her features. Once she was sure no red was left, she raised her head again, looking around the forest. Now that her eyes were free of tears, she could see her surroundings clearly, almost as if she had the world's best pair of night vision goggles on, and with this ability, she could see that she was no longer alone.

Her rapid breaths hitched when she saw a group of people slowly advancing towards her. She could see large guns in their hands, and higher up, on a ridge, she spotted an armored truck. Fear seized her, and she scrambled to her feet. As she gripped the slick river stones, she realised that she had webbed paws. An idea struck her, and she made a mad dash for the middle of the river, where the water would be at its deepest point. She heard shouting and gunfire as she surged forward, making her way towards the deep water. Bullets hit her, but she didn't feel them. All she could feel was a strong sense of fear and determination. Finally, her feet no longer touched the bottom, and Charlie disappeared under the water.

Jack Burns had seen a lot of things in his life. This was one of the sadder and more alarming.

When the tracking devices had started working again, his squad was tasked with finding Charlie Watson once again. He had planned on making a distraction so the girl could escape, but his plans had been thrown out the window when he saw what had become of the girl.

He hadn't believed it at first, but the tracking devices kept saying that the creature in front of him was indeed Charlie. Once he had gotten the chance to look at where it had been, he started to believe it. Charlie's clothes were torn apart, laying buried beneath a puddle of her own blood and organs. One of his squad mates had thrown up at the sight of it. He didn't blame them.

Then, when she realised what had become of her, she had made a strange, screechy, sobbing noise. It sounded entirely alien, and entirely depressing. Somehow, she saw them in the darkness, and his team had fired, making tiny holes in her metal armor. He could see luminesce pink liquid drip out of bullet holes as she disappeared beneath the water, the cool liquid destroying the tracking device.

Jack stared at where she had disappeared, contemplating his options. He could do nothing, and let Charlie be captured...

Or he could try and find Bumblebee.