Srini was at the fourth floor, peeking inside the only house there with a window. When he heard a sound above, he looked up—what he saw was completely unexpected.
A two-foot-long insect, looking like a monstrous wasp, was building its nest. The nest looked like a honeycomb, but instead of wax, it was using the red-and-black foul-smelling substance he had noticed earlier. The strange thing was, the freshly built structure gleamed like raw flesh, and bones were embedded within it.
Seeing this, Srini froze in terror. His body refused to move. Suddenly, a round white object dropped from the nest and hit the floor. Srini forced himself to look. It was a human skull.
"AAAAAAAAA…!" Srini screamed.
The sound caught the wasp's attention. It stopped building and flew toward the window.
Srini's heart pounded when he saw it up close. The insect hovered in front of him, staring with its blood-red eyes. In those eyes, Srini could see his own reflection trembling.
The wasp lunged, striking with its stinger. Srini dropped to the floor in panic. Luckily, the window rods blocked the stinger, stopping it just short of skewering him.
"What have I done? I should have listened to Manu. He told me again and again something was wrong. But no… I didn't listen. Now because of me, he's in danger," Srini thought, guilt flooding his mind.
The wasp struck the window again, sparks flying off its armored scales as its stinger clashed with the rods. The metal began to bend.
"I need to warn Manu! I need to escape this building! We have to run!" Srini thought desperately.
He tried to stand, but his legs shook so badly he couldn't. Crawling like an animal, using both his hands and legs, he dragged himself toward the rope he had used earlier to climb up.
Grabbing it, he began to descend as fast as he could. But just as he got halfway down, he heard a loud crash above. Something heavy had fallen.
"No… no… I think that creature broke the window rods. I need to hurry!" Srini thought, panic rising.
But before he could reach the ground, the hook holding the rope loosened and snapped free.
Srini plummeted through the air, hitting hard before he could even brace himself. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself up and ran.
He saw broken doors and gaping holes along the hallway.
"Oh no… I made a mistake. I should have listened to Manu. Now he's in danger…" Srini thought.
"No! Don't think like that. Manu will be alright. I didn't hear him scream… maybe he escaped," he muttered to himself, trying to stay calm.
He rushed toward the stairs leading to the second floor. On the way, his eyes caught the boxes stacked with loot.
He quickly grabbed his bag.
"I need to take something," Srini muttered. But before he could decide, he spotted the wasp descending onto the third floor.
Without wasting a second, he grabbed bottles of alcohol with both hands and bolted toward the stairs.
The insect charged after him.
"You monster! Don't follow me!" Srini shouted, hurling a bottle at it.
The wasp slowed for a moment, dodging the bottle mid-air, then fixed its blood-red eyes back on Srini and rushed after him with even greater speed.