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Prompt: 024. wasps

1. There were wasps attacking the beehives. Decapitated heads and shredded wings were scattered everywhere.

A. There were wasps attacking the beehives. Decapitated heads and shredded wings were scattered everywhere. It was a disaster.

He picked through the wreckage, killing any wasps he found, but it was no good. The queen was dead, as were most of her workers, and the hope he’d put into having honey and beeswax for the future.

2. There was a wasp nest on the side of the house, hidden under the eaves. They could see them crawling in and out; flying around their nest as they enlarged it.

A. There was a wasp nest on the side of the house, hidden under the eaves. They could see them crawling in and out; flying around their nest as they enlarged it.

The wasps had had time to build their nest as it was out of the way. It probably would have continued to be overlooked if one of the wasps hadn’t stung two-year-old Charlotte on the cheek. Her howls of pain and fear as her face swelled up to twice its normal size wasn’t something any of them were going to forget any time soon.

It was a heck of a way to discover that she was allergic wasp venom.

3. The soldiers looked like wasps in human form–strict, stern, and highly aggressive. They wore their uniforms like the power and the threat they were.

A. The soldiers looked like wasps in human form–strict, stern, and highly aggressive. They wore their uniforms like the power and the threat they were.

People on the street stood aside when the soldiers passed through and were careful not meet their eyes. It was safer to seem unchallenging, especially as the soldiers’ were armed and looking for a fight.

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Prompt: 023. bees

1. It was a spur of the moment decision to take up beekeeping as a hobby.

A. It was a spur of the moment decision to take up beekeeping as a hobby, but one that ultimately brought the kind of personal fulfillment she’d only dreamed of as a child. It felt as though she’d finally found something she was good at.

2. There had to be a million bees inside the rotten tree trunk. The sound of buzzing was growing louder and louder as they noticed the interloper.

A. There had to be a million bees inside the rotten tree trunk. The sound of buzzing was growing louder and louder as they noticed the interloper.

“Buster, get over here!” Brian called, trying to keep the panic out of his voice.

The white German shepherd glanced at him, then took a single step forward and stuck his muzzle into a hole in the tree. There was curiosity in every line of the young dog’s body–curiosity that quickly turned into yelping pain as he rolled on the ground and rubbed at his face.

3. The honey bees reacted to the smoker by becoming lethargic. There was no reaction as the beekeeper began gathering the full honeycombs into a large square bucket.

A. The honey bees reacted to the smoker by becoming lethargic. There was no reaction as the beekeeper began gathering the full honeycombs into a large square bucket. The small child watching him stayed close to his side and even dared to poke a finger into the honey for a quick taste.

4. As the bees died, the crops began to wither and people starved. It seemed like it was going to be the end of the world.

A. As the bees died, the crops began to wither and people starved. It seemed like it was going to be the end of the world.

Farmers hired men and women to manually pollinate their crops with small paintbrushes, which worked on the small scale, but did nothing for the other plants and trees that ceased to produce. The clovers, the dandelions, the carnations, and the roses; all were gone.

It was a whole new world: one without bees, wasps, hornets, or ants.

5. They were hiking one of the easier trails when Ginger put her foot through the beehive hidden in the underbrush.

A. They were hiking one of the easier trails when Ginger put her foot through the beehive hidden in the underbrush. The first warning was the sound of angry buzzing. Then Ginger was screaming as the stinging began.

“They’re in her pants!”

The nearest teacher quickly grabbed her up, ignoring the stings against his arms and neck, and got her away from the nest. Then he pulled her pants down her thin legs and threw them as far away as he could, the trail of bees following after it.

Ginger’s terrified screams turned to pained whimpers as she was doused in water and wrapped in a blanket.

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Prompt: 022. pirates

1. Their yacht was overtaken by pirates in international waters and they quickly found themselves captured. Fearful for their lives, the prisoners did whatever they had to do to survive the ordeal.

A. Their yacht was overtaken by pirates in international waters and they quickly found themselves captured. Fearful for their lives, the prisoners did whatever they had to do to survive the ordeal.

Some of them didn’t make it. Friends they had known for years, tortured and killed before their eyes. The rest were ransomed back to their families for a ridiculous amount of money. Nobody was left unscathed.

Haunted by nightmares and tired of feeling hopeless and afraid, a group of the survivors worked with their government to form an anti-pirate task force. Led by Admiral Nigel T. Guster, they were tasked with eradicating the pirate threat. There was to be no mercy and no leniency for anyone involved with piracy.

2. Escaping the bower to enjoy life as the first female pirates was the adventure of a lifetime.

A. Escaping the bower to enjoy life as the first female pirates was the adventure of a lifetime, though it wasn’t the adventure they’d planned on.

They were supposed to make it to the Island of Navarre where their love for each other wasn’t considered an abomination, but shipwreck and misfortune forced them to stop at Port Marchison in hopes of booking passage on another ship. Instead they were press-ganged aboard a naval ship, where hiding their femininity became paramount. Surrounded by both superstitious sailors and borderline sex offenders, they pretended to be orphaned brothers and kept close to each other.

3. The pirates hit the colony world in the early morning hours. Their attack shuttles landed and prisoners were rounded up while the spaceships continued the orbital bombardment that destroyed their infrastructure.

A. The pirates hit the colony world in the early morning hours. Their attack shuttles landed and prisoners were rounded up while the spaceships continued the orbital bombardment that destroyed their infrastructure.

After the pirates left, it was a struggle for the colonists to pick up the pieces. Their emergency beacon had been destroyed in the raid. They couldn’t call for help. They would have to survive with what they had for three months until the first trade ships of the season began arriving.

B. The pirates hit the colony world in the early morning hours. Their attack shuttles landed and prisoners were rounded up while the spaceships continued the orbital bombardment that destroyed their infrastructure.

Pulled out of bed by her panicked mother, she hadn’t even realized what was happening before her mother was dead and she was being force-marched aboard a shuttle. From there, she was drugged and stacked in the hold with the other new slaves.

She was sold for the first time with a group of other girls and boys she knew. Then they were separated and sold again, each to a different owner on a different world. She would never see any of them again, though she would wonder sometimes whether they were still alive.

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