Where do you think they’ll send us this time? Black asked, waving an antenna at a soldier who was trying to get his attention. Incidents like this happened regularly.
A week had passed since their struggle with the nefarious eight-legged goliath. Their immunity period had ended. Their popularity, however, was yet to show a decline.
Some soldiers gave them wide berths to pass, and others expressed their joy by touching them. They had officially become the most popular group in the whole army; and it was a cause of concern.
I only know one thing. Green said shying away from the crowd forming around them. I don’t want to be sent off to catch birds, again. Last time we went they almost took me in the air. It’s only luck that I survived.
You know a drop can’t kill you right? Black refused a worker that had come to offer him water. Being from the army his popularity had soared overnight and climbed a new peak.
You don’t know where you’ll fall! Getting lost would have been the end of me. Green retaliated.
Black released amusement. How will the army fare in the forest if even the scouts start losing their way?
The command center became visible at a distance. Even from far, it looked menacing, a giant back ball that pulsed with life ever so slightly.
It was a bivouac, a living breathing structure made up of workers linking their bodies together. There were only two other structures of its kind. The one called the mother node was where the Queen resided. It was almost as large as a medium-sized beehive and had a complex system of chambers where food and eggs were stored.
The army rested while the queen laid eggs —which was usually a two week period— and searched for a new home afterward, during which the eggs were nurtured into nymphs. It was about time for the army to start searching again.
I told you it would work. Green said.
You claimed no such thing. Red jumped at her. If anything, you almost had us attacked. How could you forget to inform the scouts of our plan when L-Leader had specifically told you what to do?
Not you too Red! I thought we were on good terms!
Oh, yes, we were.
There was another one of those bivouacs close to the command center. It had been recently raised as a temporary residence for the merchants. The merchants, everyone knew who they were. They were the bloodsuckers of the ant society. They didn’t hunt and lived in a symbiotic relationship with others.
The ones residing in the bivouac were famous for espionage. It was only thanks to their Intel that the army’s success rate at capturing cities had soared over the past few months.
Green shook her head to straighten the antennae that had arched from disgust. I don’t know how they live inside these gross things. She said out loud, addressing no one in particular. I get a headache from simply being around one.
Do you hear me complaining? Black told her directly. I don’t say anything about your kinds hiding under the ground! So you don’t get to say anything about how the army lives, either. I might be an outcast, but I still have my pride.
But look at them! Green urged, antennae blatantly pointing.
You know very well I can’t see anything. Black retorted.
I mean it stinks. Just being near one causes sensory overload. It is no wonder everyone stays away from one.
She was right. The bivouacs were like a living breathing being. If one looked closely they could even see the individual ants moving slightly to shift the weight around. Silver noticed a few such movements, antennae dancing, and legs fluttering as he walked past the door guards. They had their antennae raised in an army salute.
The inside of the complex skittered into motion with their entrance. It was a surreal experience for sure; but what was the point of having so many eyes to spy on you? It never failed to amaze him. Things were done differently in his home city, more traditionally.
He couldn’t see anything outside, but the scents were easily bypassing the thick living walls of the bivouac. He agreed with Green regarding the creepiness of it, but even he admitted to the soundness of the structure and the sheer functionality of it.
Inside, the commanders waited for him. Silver concerned them enough to warrant the presence of a group of guards for protection. They stood between him and the commanders, passive-aggressively telling him to stay put. Only he concerned the commanders; the others didn’t matter to them.
They had gone to great lengths to get rid of him. They even offered him freedom at one point; but how could he accept? Accepting meant throwing his soldiers into slavery. It was not a cost he wanted to pay.
However, today the commanders weren’t alone. The merchants were also with them. They stood at the side, observing.
What are they doing here? Black made a scented whisper from behind.
Silver had taught them how to control their scents, but they weren’t any good, yet. They needed practise to learn the exact concentrations of chemicals to release, and the control to make it happen. If done right the chemicals would break down right after emission and get absorbed by the dirt, instead of bouncing off and spreading.
I don’t like this. Red scented. You all know the rumors. If they are true then we might have a bigger problem on our hands than being disbanded. No matter what, don’t agree to their terms.
I know. Silver whispered. The chemicals disintegrated only a second later without spreading. It was a feat demanding praise, but it no longer surprised the others. They had already praised him enough to last a few lifetimes.
The merchants wanted us. That is why they stayed a week this time. Yellow scented. He didn’t like speaking but cut directly to the heart of the matter when he did. He was called the finest marksman because of his ability to see through his target, not just find him.
The merchants had visited the day they had hunted the goliath. They were about to find out if he was right or wrong.
Carnage, the commander of the sixth division, or long bottom as he was better known in the army, tried to say something but the chief in command, a goliath of an ant himself, interrupted him.
You are here. Let’s start.
Here we go. Green scented. She was free-spirited and didn’t believe in control; also the reason why she was hit on the head and forced to shut up. This time she deflated under Blacks fiery gaze.
You should know the difficulties we have been facing to gather food. The chief waited for a response and started when he got none. He wasn’t expecting one anyway. He simply liked to do things thoroughly. The resting period is coming to an end, for better or for worse. We need a new place to anchor, one as far away from here as possible. Do I need to tell you why?
Silver made no response.
You! Long bottom started and was cut off again.
Suit yourself. The chief said. I’ll be frank. We have our difference, Silver. And you know they can’t be helped. But the army has its tradition and rules and they call for fairness. Don’t worry; your task is not to find us a new place. The first battalion is already at it.
Instead, we want you to go to the other side of the river, and rob a farm. Should be simple enough, right?
***
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A family of snails lazed under a rotting log lying some distance from the riverside.
Silver’s slaved had finally found them. As for what it had to do with getting to the other side of the river? Silver had asked the same question to the merchants and they had given him a simple statement in response: everything.
If they had done it to get a rise out of him he would have understood. The army wanted to disband his unit, the slaved he had saved, mocked as slaved in the army.
He knew the merchants had told him the truth, just not in the clearest of ways. Well, they lauded themselves for profiting from the information. And it as exactly the kind of answer he expected from them.
It wasn’t easy to find the snails in the hot environment. Morning and evening, that’s when they are usually seen, and ignored; because no one in their right mind eats their slimy chewy bodies. They are too slippery to catch; their sliminess being too much trouble for too little a reward. Sure there are those that specifically hunt them, but they are usually left alone.
And as silver had known and could see, the things usually said about them were all true. A quarter of unit was already writhing on the ground, covered from head to toe in the slimy glue. Immobility was simply one of the effects of the slime; it also interfered with their antennae, blocked pores, made it difficult to breathe, and attracted dirt that hardened around the body.
Another cause of humiliation was that their poison didn’t work on the snails and mandibles simply slip off. Snails produce copious amounts of slime that protect them by creating a barrier between their body and the environment.
It was almost a spectacle to watch his soldiers getting harassed by the target and failing miserably at their task.
Silver wasn’t watching the spectacle alone. The merchants stood by his side and were also pretty amused. Aren’t you going to help them? They asked him.
No. he said, plainly. They watched him for signs of stress or humiliation; there were none. He looked like a proud father waiting for his children to solve the problem.
You, don’t seem to like us. Their spokesperson continued.
There is someone who likes you? Silver taunted.
They seemed to appreciate his sarcasm, even encouraged him to speak more. Silver ignored them, but it only made them happier and incessant. They had a charm to them that made it difficult to ignore them for long, but Silver was doing it and they wanted to know-how, his secret.
Well, of course, everyone likes us, unless they don’t think they need us. Do you not need us?
What do you think?
We think you need us more than you think you do. We can help you and you know it. Not with this task of yours, but on a personal level. We won’t harry you if you don’t want to talk right now. We know you will come around. Everyone always does. Still, are you sure you are not going to help them? They are taking too long. The merchant pointed an antenna at the group struggling to get a snail down from the plant.
It had climbed atop the leaves after being pestered by them. They had tried to stop the snail, but it had slipped away. It looked relaxed sitting at the leaf, filling its stomach. Even its knobular eyes had stood swelling. Perhaps, it considered itself out of danger?
The rest of the snails had been encircled and were being milked for their slime. That’s right. For some reason the merchants wanted them to collect the slime before their journey to the other side of the river. Silver had no idea what it was for. Red had been thinking since he had heard of the thing, and still hadn’t come up with anything. The rest were useless in the thinking department and were therefore of no help. Though Green did have an idea, it was too crazy to invest any kind of resource into. She believed one could walk on water when covered in the slime. Of course, even she didn’t dare test the theory. Still, Black was told to keep an eye on her. You just never know with her —when something might popup to get her attention, making her go whoosh to the river and plop into her death.
How much more do we need? Silver asked the merchant. Talking to them had an odd feeling. Never the same one or more than one participated in the conversation, but they always had a consistently uniform scent. It was like they had dived into an internal connection and forgotten to come out of it.
Are you finally coming around?
I can turn back if you want.
And how will that profit you? All I see is a loss for you and this squad you have assembled out of slaves. Although the merchants were outspoken, he was slowly coming to find that they were at times also sensitive to others' temperaments. Like right then they dropped the topic and answered straightforwardly for the very first time since Silver had met them.
There are over a hundred of you, the reason we told you to shed some weight. Of course, they had to say it. But they also shared the information without holding back.
It’s a long hard trek. You want as much of the slime as you can. A little extra won’t hurt, but the opposite may cause deaths. You don’t want these slaves, I mean your soldiers to needlessly die; do you? However, you should make them hurry. We have to get there before sundown. If we miss this window there won’t be another chance for at last a couple of days. And you don’t have those days.
Silver cursed the merchants and ran to help his troops collect the slime. By high noon they had gone through ten snails, collected twenty vats full of the slimy concoction, and filled their abdomens with the snail’s chewy and tasteless meat.
There was no point in letting the snails go once they ran out of the slime to protect them. They would have fallen prey to some other predator, if not them. It was all the same. Yeah, they usually would have preferred catching something else, but the time constraints made them jump the leaf and eat what they had.
The merchants advised those already covered in the slime to only clean their limbs so that they don’t hamper their movement. The others were told to apply a coat of it on their body, except the limbs and the antennae. It obviously depressed the slaved, but they saw no other choice. Black forced the ones hesitating to cover their bodies; while Green took it upon herself to get the job done, and she enjoyed every last second of their misery.
So what now? Silver asked the merchants who had stood up.
Now we take you to the other side of the world.
They took lead. Silver watched for lies but found one.
He nodded to Red who got the soldiers organized, and Black took position beside them. The older ones already knew the dill, but the newer feed was still to get accustomed to the strict regime. With the preparations ready they marched. The merchants acted fearlessly, the slaved before them were tense. None believed the river to have an end. It was a large body of water, vast and impossible to traverse. The fact was doubtless.
Many queens had spent many lives trying to get to the other side. None had succeeded. And now after so long someone was claiming to have found a way? There were bound to be suspicions.
The soldiers were tired, but that didn’t stop them from taking in hushed scent whispers. Most cursed and others enjoyed the calm.
There were a few antennae turning Silver’s way, looking for him to give an order but there was no such motion from him.
Finally, they exited the forest cover and were at the riverside. Grass sparsely populated this stretch of land. The dirt was wet near the water and the air cold; even though the sun was up.
Now, the merchants stopped on a dry patch that was protected from the river by a set of large rocks and started rubbing the slime on their bodies. That settled it. They wouldn’t have done it if they didn’t believe they could take them to the other side. The slaved grew nervous. Even Silver found his heart thrumming a most peculiar beat.
They had really found a way where everyone else had failed! No one believed. Antennae stood up straight as the merchants fished preparing and started instructing.
There were a few things that you all need to keep in mind. Firstly, keep your body always covered in the slime. It will keep protect you against the cold. Whatever happens, you don’t stop following the trail. The path is straight but the cold will mess with your heads and make you delusional. You will reapply the slime every three hundred steps. The most important thing —the merchants finished applying the slime on their body— no matter what happens, Don’t Fall Asleep. The slime insulates against the cold but also masks your scents. If you fall asleep the others won’t know and you will fall into a forever long hibernation.
They cut a hole in the fungus that covered the bottom of the rock. Unbelievably, the fungus fell to their mandible and uncovered a deep dark hole that smelled stale. They went inside to check for something, and then returned with antennae open in a welcoming gesture. Welcome, one proclaimed. To the highway to the other side.