I found the delegation on the tenth floor, splurging on meat, wine, and sugar to their heart's content. They were getting ready for a long journey. Star was among the rush somewhere; along with a few known scents. I recognized one as the soldier from the entrance to the forty-first floor, and another from the military encampment of the thirty-fifth floor —she had shown me mandibles in warning outside the royal chambers, so of course, I remembered her— was wolfing down the meat of a brown dotted caterpillar.

I wondered what it was with the guards not liking their positions. Any ex-harvester or gatherer would have given a leg or more to get their jobs. Those that had seen the outside were content to say inside, even mining, while those that had never had an adventure in the outside world were ready to join a foreign delegation to fulfill their dreams. It was a surprising realization. I was once one of them; maybe still was.

There you are. Star, the burly delegation leader, noticed me. I almost thought you weren’t coming. Then he noticed that Princess was not with me. She isn’t coming, is she? He asked.

Right, but I’m coming along.

Well, eat up then. We have a long way to go and too little to take. I followed his antennae and found the treasury disturbingly empty. Bah, we’ll hunt on the way.

He left me to myself and went away to have a conversation with his adviser.

I went forward to dig my jaws into a berry when I felt a familiar scent rising toward me. My senses tingled as I was caught and lifted in the air. I have finally caught you! The scent wrapped around my antennae. I remembered! It was the soldier that had chased me outside the pit, whom I had caused to frenzy! My hair stood straight at the silent implication of her words. I got ready to act but found myself being politely lowered back to the ground. She did it slowly as if afraid to break me by releasing too abruptly.

I turned. She wasn’t alone. Soldiers from the advanced sentries stood behind her. Most of them dropped an antenna to the ground in a polite apology, instead of actually apologizing. I — wasn’t expecting it. There was an awkward pause, causing, actually forcing me to initiate the conversation.

I have my passport now.

I know, just give me a second to organize my thoughts.

Just don’t panic this time. I don’t want to be chased again. She was taken back at first, then one of her companions let out amusement and we all joined him.

***

At first, I was like, no way it’s him. Then she said no I remember it exactly, this sharp scent that he has. Then I was like, but why would he be joining the delegation. Then she panicked, but it turns out she was right all along. How crazy is that?

Right, I said, putting my attention back on the rest of them. Maybe I shouldn’t have agreed to hear her story. It was oddly mind-numbing. That talkative one was called 344 after his birth number 176344, making him the youngest among the group.

So you want me to join your group? I asked the 5555th soldier. She was also of the fifth generation, from the current crop. No wonder she froze during the chase. There were five of them who had decided to join the delegation. Their leader was another giant of the fourth generation numbered 2568. They called him 2K. There was one who didn’t like me. She didn’t introduce herself, but the others introduced her as the marksmen who had hit me in the pit; and she was angry that I hadn’t died. The number of those interested in me suddenly saw exponential growth. It was a different kind of craziness.

I had fired with the intention of killing you. She interrupted our conversation. That was a 100% poison bullet. Why aren’t you Dead? She blasted in our midst.

I hurriedly looked around to see if anyone else had heard her, but found that our surroundings were equally rowdy and the bit of her commotion was not enough to gather attention. That was a close call.

I ignored her question like she ignored my introduction; both of which left the others irritated. The last one was a scout and she was only tagging along.

Yes. We feel bad about what you had to go through. One said, and another continued. Don’t worry. We’ll take good care of you.

Is it alright? I asked the one who wasn’t so happy with my presence.

She waved her antenna at my face. Don’t ask me to save you on the way.

That won’t happen. I stubbornly told her.

Are you sure? My inner voice questioned. I wasn’t. Though was there another option? It didn’t have a suggestion for me.

Soon we were out of the colony and surprisingly, the harvesters I had seen leaving were waiting for us outside. Their royal captain whom I had asked to take me to the 47th city was surprised to see me but didn’t react otherwise. He got busy explaining something to Star and we were moving soon enough.

Of course, they were also going. The Queen had demanded frog bodies in return for our help. Someone had to bring them back; and who else would be better than them? Their whole job was based around carting food back to the city. I just wasn’t expecting to see them. It hadn’t been long since they had left. Just how were they back so soon?

We left in a hurry, at a running pace. The delegation ran at the front, leading, with the harvester’s right behind them. Volunteers like our group of soldiers and workers followed the tail. It was a progression numbering three hundred lives, including the twenty original members of the delegation.

Is this your first time going to a foreign city? The 5555th soldier asked. The returning delegation followed harvester rules. That meant pairing up and she chose me out of everyone else. Maybe it was her way of apologizing. I didn’t ask or fret about it.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

I nodded. Mine too. She replied and continued. I heard the princess took you under her wing, making you her guard?

Everyone knew that.

She spent a few minutes hesitating, trying to figure out how to broach the subject, before giving up. I was starting to learn that thinking might not be her strong suit.

You know there are rumors about her. She started.

What kind of rumors. I asked in part interest and equal part fear.

The kind that says she’s helping the injured soldiers to build a force; that she wants to overthrow the old queen.

What nonsense! I released. She doesn’t actually want to be a queen of the city!

Oh, then what does she want to be?

I knew the answer. Princess Tinbuji’s ideas might be farfetched, but we both wanted the same thing in the end.

She wants to be Normal.

***

I didn’t fall prey to the ant lions charm this time around. But a few of the soldiers, including my partner, did. They were helped out. I caught 5555th before she could rush off into the funnel. I held her by the rear leg when she persisted and slapped her bottom with my antennae. I didn’t whip her; there was no need. The snap baffled many, but it stunned her for a second. Quickly, I dabbed water on her head, bringing light back to her eyes.

She thanked me and pulled her antennae to the ground to not stray from the trail. However, it also caused her to stop talking. I had reacted in much a similar way during my first time out. And it was only thanks to my partner of that time, that I had managed to make it across without a mental scar or trauma.

To tell the truth, I missed her. She had helped me unconditionally, going as far as to pester me to get help. She had offered me water every time I fell into thoughts, initiated the conversation, and always kept me on track. The truth that she was no longer with the harvesters only reminded me more of her.

Would you like some water? I asked the 555th soldiers, my partner, causing her to slip out of her thoughts. She said no. It felt terrible to be rejected, but I kept my spirit up. That nameless worker had persevered through my rejections until I accepted. I decided to persevere through, too —if not for me or my partner, then in memory of that worker, to show her that she had helped me.

I didn’t see any hoppers around this time. The reason could be the boiling scent of our army that still lingered, or they were simply afraid of our numbers and were in hiding. Even the slightest shift from normal would have screamed ambush out in the open land, but there in our own territory, it only meant respect.

The land, however, had a bone to pick with us. The rain had turned a large part around the mound into a non-traversable marsh. We had to go around it, wasting time and energy. There was also higher activity of fliers in the air, pulling my partner's attention out of her thoughts.

So they are everywhere. She scented out loud. I always believed they only lived around our city, to feed on the corpses and garbage we throw out.

What? Do these things also live around our city? But I had never seen them —how was that possible?

Of course, she exclaimed. That one with a funky odd smell to it —she was talking about a smaller than average flier with flat wings and a tubular nose— they are always around garbage and rotting corpses. You’ll do well by staying away from them. They carry parasites and infections of the like you have never seen before. And those other ones that smell of grass and dirt —there was one sitting atop of a grass blade. It had long spiky rear legs, grey chitin armor around its body with black lines, and two large antennae dancing in front of its eyes— we call it a cleaner around the city. You will find them moving around the pit at night, creating a loud clicking buzz and letting you know of its arrival. They don’t eat meat but clean anything organic, even something old and stale.

Look there! She suddenly insisted and I saw my first earthworm. It was a beast of a creature, lazily squirming in the mud. It raised its head upon sensing our progression and quickly hid under the muddy water upon acknowledging us. No one was going to hunt it in there. That was a death sentence in waiting.

The flyers also kept their distance.

East of the mound a family of beetles rolled balls of dung toward us. They also changed direction upon sensing us.

It was a sweltering day, but the ground under the shade of grass rarely ever felt direct sunlight. The result of which was our sticky-wet path. Usually, the trail would have faded under the elements, but it was still strong and stable. The members of the delegation were seeing to that.

The food in our bellies held for a few hours before it became apparent that we would need to hunt soon. The harvesters sent scouts ahead to find us tidbits to gorge upon and reduced our pace to preserve energy. By noon we were barely walking and I was starting to feel hungry again. That’s when the harvesters took led from the delegation commander and steered our progression west of our destination, toward a large brown mountain.

It was an oddity in the middle of a green wonder. It was such an unusual sight I didn’t notice a pit and almost fell into it. My partner saved me this time around. Keep track. She said, amused. I noticed her playing with her antennae; she was trying to repay me for the slap on her bottom. My amusement embarrassed her. Everyone would be swinging their antennae left and right if it was such an easy thing to do.

There were many such pits, all too similar and equidistance to be natural. But none had a predator waiting inside or a charming sent to it.

There were whispers among the soldiers of giants, but there are always whispers. You just have to learn to ignore them. There is no point in controlling them. Also, complete silence is eerie.

Some even climbed down one and came out the other side to join the delegation again. I also took the 5555th soldier down one. She was afraid at first, but excitement won her over. The pit was peculiarly deep and smooth, not natural at all. There was vegetation at the bottom, crushed and flattened. At first, it seemed like a sign, but we reached the bottom of the mountain without anything unusual happening.

The shadow that stretched from it darkened the shade. There finally the harvesters gave the anxious and hungry soldiers an explanation they deserved.

We’ll hunt here. The royal captain started. We’ll have to be quick. This place is called a moving mountain. It moves. If you stay on it for long you might never return.

It was an unexpected development.