《Isoptera》Chapter 3: Desperation

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I remember fluttering into and out of consciousness vaguely due to the never-ending hunger. That same hunger brought me back into consciousness, but this time as I opened my mouth to inhale the nutrient-filled liquid that I was submerged in, my mouth found no reward for its effort. It was only now that I realized the liquid that surrounded me was now only reaching up to the lower half of my legs.

Starting to panic slightly, I simulated how much more times the liquid could provide me supplication. Only once more, I concluded as I started lapping up the rest of it. I guess it was time to break out of this enclosure before I starved to death. Finishing up the remainder of the liquid, I stretched my limbs allowing the energy from my latest meal, and probably last- No, I scolded myself mentally. I was going to escape this "egg" if it was the last thing I'd do.

As I lay prone I observed the shell and determined it to be as thick as my middle portion, which according to my calculations was about as thick as 3 inches, my body being about four times that. The feeling of awe at my size escaped me, if only I knew what an "inch" was. Shaking my head to rid my mind of the useless thought, I realized the egg was about two and half times as wide as my body and was about as tall as one of me. Taking in the magnitude of the surroundings, I approached the shell and decided to put my quite frankly menacing but useful-looking mandibles to work.

The first chomp didn't find any purchase on the structure of the shell, it did however leave a white mark as the only proof of my effort. Not one to be discouraged easily, I went to work again tirelessly chomping away. Chomp after chomp after chomp, I felt myself grow tired, and yet for all, there was only an inch deep and 4-inch wide gash as evidence of my toil. Once again, that instinct, which I refer to as the Primal mind, started working and analyzing the chances of my survival.

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To my, well our dismay, I wouldn't be able to make it out of the egg at this rate. I only had about a little more than half left in the tank. The very possible reality of my death settled in my mind and the desperation followed soon after. I resumed my chomping with new vigor, the cold grasp of death firmly around my mind.

I felt the last vestiges of my energy leaving me. There was only half an inch between me and death, and death was getting closer faster than I was able to chomp. My whole mind, body, and soul screamed at me to continue, every part of my being wanted to live.

I felt my mind slipping away, my grasp on reality weakening, my body desiring to fall into an oh-so-pleasant torpor. It was so comfortable to be able to rest, so nice a break seemed, so beautiful- "NO!", my primal mind screamed at me, You must live it seemed to say... WE must live. Using that renewed clasp on reality, I reached down into the depths of my energy stores, and by sheer force of willpower alone, I forced out the strongest possible and maybe final CHOMP.

Cool air rushed into the space, a declaration that death would not take me, at least not today. The part of the shell where I made that huge chomp gave way completely and my legs moved on their own as I swiftly trudged out of it.

I heard a resounding DING as my head forced its way out and I'm sure I saw something pop up in the corner of my vision. I disregarded these abnormalities however as I took in my surroundings. It was then I noticed a head twice the size of my own with even larger mandibles than I thought should be possible, affixed to its face.

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Its antenna moved rapidly and an emotion oddly was transmitted to me, one of exhilaration and pride, I could feel; but these things might as well be invisible to me, as the only thing I could think about was that I did it, I made it out. With that thought, however, the darkness pulled at me again, and with it came an unwilling unconsciousness once more.

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