Happens, first, the quakes, and then destruction follows. Collapsing tunnels crushes, and breathe you can’t. And when everything calms and you believe to have survived, it comes—The disaster.

—Raja, one of the thirteen nest guards.

Glow quaintly looked at me and started his game.

“What is your name?”

“Jack,”

“Give us your full name Jack. You are an adult. And adults are supposed to have titles.” Is what he said.

Yeah, let’s hear what this world thinks of you. Is what he thought in his mind?

“Jack ‘Greedy’ Light.”

Not envious, or prideful, but Greedy, huh. Well, that’s a shame.

“So Jack-jack,” he said, bribing out some laughter. “Why don’t you tell us about the incident in your words?”

And reveal inconsistencies to the scout’s details, which there definitely will be.

“Sure,” I said, turning serious. This ant meant business. It was only thanks to mind reading revealing his inner thoughts that I had some sort of inkling to his plan. He wanted to prove me a liar for a start. I didn’t know where he would go from there, but he had nothing good in store for me. So, I created my simulation to counter his plan.

I gave a detailed recount of how and what had happened, and they all listened very carefully. I didn’t forget to read Glow’s mind to know what he was preparing and found out his first angle.

“Stop,” Glow said, flashing one of his bulbous antennas for effect. I followed his request. “Did anyone hear what he just said? He said, ‘I defeated a corpse piler using a single attack’. Tell me… Who among all of you believes such a menacing creature can be killed with one attack? Raise your antennas and show us your faces.”

No one did, other than Pyro and David; and even they looked apprehensively at me, not sure whether I was telling the truth or not.

“I see.” Glow said. “We do have some fools among us. We all knew that, of course.” Glow chided, and everyone indulged him with more laughter. I signaled to my companions to have faith and they visibly relaxed, though mentally, I heard their concerns loud and clear.

“I can prove it,” I said, bringing silence to the chamber again.

“You can prove what?”

“That I killed the corpse piler with a single attack.” I retorted back.

Glow snorted, an unnerving sound, then said, “And you want us to catch one for you to show us such a feat?” making the crowd speechless.

I shook my head. “No, that won’t be needed.” And saying so, conjured a projection of the incident in front of everyone using my photogenic memory as the source. My companions had seen the projection in the past and looked at the moving pictures in awe, while the rest backed away as if the shade had expanded beyond its boundary and taken over their sanctity.

Befuddled, one of the commanders who hadn’t agreed to our appeal, screamed out, “What is this?” his shocked scream moving everyone to the edge, but none tried to run away, rather got ready in case I had brought the fight to them. In a way, their actions showed of their decisiveness and intuition, but also spoke of their shrewd nature, as they didn’t run even in front of an unknown and dangerous variable. Some might call them brave, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that life and death are in the individual's hands. It’s better to live a long life than to unnecessary force the hand of fate and die early.

“It is my skill. Don’t worry. These are projections, not reality. With this,” I said pointing my antennas at the screen. “I will show you all how the incident was dealt with.”

The crowd watched the whole projection in awe. They screamed when the corpse piler broke out from under the pile of dead aphids, as if it has come to demand their lives, and gasped when the whirling bullet of air fired by me tore a hole through its body. Nobody moved even after I had stopped projecting. In the end, two things happened. Firstly, Projection climbed up two levels and so did photogenic memory; and secondly, none from the committee peeped a word against us.

Glow didn’t glow anymore, and the rest of the committee members looked ready to give in to our demands, but one of the elders sitting to Glow’s side rubbed his back and spoke to him, returning light to his antennas bulbous ends. The tide was with us. We could have easily won the appeal, had the vote been taken, but one sentence from the shrewd bloodsucker Glow changed everything.

“Alright, we have listened to every involved party, and it’s time to make a decision. However, due to everyone being not sound of mind and tired, the meeting is adjourned until tomorrow evening. The decision about David’s colony will be postponed until then.” Glow said and the elders to his side stood up. They all eyed me, as if daring me to resist their decision, then walked away after meeting no resistance from our side.

Commander Yuvi rubbed my head and left with Joanna. “Don’t forget about our meeting, dear.” Joanna didn’t forget to comment before following his senior, swinging his behind in a grossly feminine way. Pyro lamented and David, he bowed.

“Our colony thanks you for your effort,” he said, and we both stared into each other’s eyes with confidence. We had done it. We had saved our colony. He knew it. I could see it in his eyes. They held no confusion or dread of the past, only happiness. Utter and pure happiness, his eyes displayed. Lifted was the weight which had his back curved and head dropped. Gone was the lifeless aura clinging to his body, making him broody and congested. He was free. We were Free!

We were the last ones to leave through the tunnel, but the first and the happiest ones to drink honeydew in the compound on the ground floor.

“I wonder what would have happened had the scout not made such a dramatic entry. What happened next?”

“Too true brother, too true. Yeah, his entrance was a sight to see. Who knew Glow would almost inflame the poor scout for showing up looking as if he had seen the disaster bringer itself. You should have seen his face. Sir, sir… something happened.” Pyro acted out.

“Moreover, for all the trouble he took to bring the new, he was attacked. Though the way he squirmed after marginally dodging . . . I almost squirted. It was funny to watch.”

“It was very mature of you. Thanks for keeping your things to yourself.” Dark appeared out of a shadow to sarcastically comment and then disappeared once again. I was only beginning to understand his nature. To my understanding Dark wasn’t antisocial; he just likes the shadows a bit too much. And he could curse. Oh boy, I have heard him call other by bizarre names and things that interestingly and most accurately described their natures. An enigma he was; he and Joanna both were.

It was Pyro, divulging the happenings of the meeting to Genma and Mink who had stayed behind. Genma looked happy, but I know he was brooding for missing out on the fun. As for Mink, well, he seriously listened, as if Pyro was telling the tale of some legend long lost.

Leaving their rowdy lot behind, I went outside our designated chamber to get some fresh air, and to talk with Tiny.

“Don’t stay out the whole night,” David said from the side as I was leaving. He was humming. It was a good sign. I found a flat secluded branch under the moonlight and sat on it wondering how surprised Tiny would be after hearing my voice. I hadn’t tried the skill before, so I kind of also had the jitters. Basking in the moonlight calmed my emotions, and I made the connection. It was still early in the night, so I was sure I wouldn’t be disturbing his — her sleep. I’ll never understand how evolution changed Tiny’s gender. That will be another enigma for my tiny collection.

Bonding is the name of the skill which allows me to create a bond with others. It isn’t a very helpful skill individually but becomes versatile when used in combination with other skills of its sort. When used with tracking and map, I can see the position of those bonded with me on the map. And when used with whispers special ability, Call, it allows me to remotely talk with my bonds. But, unfortunately, due to no urgent need, I hadn’t felt the need to call anyone. Until now, that is. The system detailed it as a special ability which allows its user to create a remote connection with the bonded and mentally speak with them. I had no idea what to expect, but I went for it anyways. I was drunk on happiness and feeling confident.

I activated the skill and it showed me a list of all those bonded with me.

- Queen Fortune, Barry ‘The Horney’ hornet, Genma, Princess ‘Tiny’, Bill, and David.

It was only when I studied the list that I came to know, the larvae I had saved in the beehive had become a queen. It was nice to know, but not so nice was remembering the horny hornet. The thing about him is, I didn’t know a lot about his kind during our first meeting. His flaunting nature, loudmouth, and confidence, all had stirred a repulsion inside me, which when I thought about that night seemed very stupid and unfounded. He scared me.

He was big and bold unlike me, who had been on his first mission outside the colony, was being pressured by my mother to give up freedom, and was pretty much on the verge of being abandoned. That is why I hadn’t liked him at our first meeting. I am sure of it. Not to say, he was strong. He had pushed through a hive full of bee soldiers without batting an eye. The bees which had kidnapped me in a snap held nothing against him. It was a very scary thought.

I tried to simulate myself in his position, trying to escape from a hive full of bees, and couldn’t see myself getting out alive, no matter what I did, without killing them. Barry was a special being whom I had met out of luck and befriended. And from what I remembered, he had talked about being caught by bees as something that he did in his free time, for fun. You don’t meet such characters every day with the strength to back their words. I wondered whether he was still as strong or had grown even stronger, and where I would stand agent him in a match of raw strength.

Done reminiscing, I finally called Tiny. For a moment nothing happened, then suddenly, my perception lapsed, and then I was hearing voices in my head.

—How did our predecessor's gatherers food with such erratic monsters out in the open?

—Is that so? Then what changed?

—That sounds like such a lie. I mean have you seen those things? Tell, me how could an ant kill something like that? That’s as improbable as it is impossible.

It sounded like Tiny but the words were spoken in a higher tone, making them slightly squeaky. He was in a conversation with someone. I didn’t want to interrupt him — her, I am still confused as to how evolution could mix someone’s gender. I still wonder how that change had come to be. It was either a luck-based thing, or he was a girl from the start, and I just hadn’t figured it out. I mean, I can’t be that dense. The thing is, Tiny’s gender change hadn’t surprised him, though he sure as heck was confused about evolving into a princess. He wasn’t expecting that.

Anyways, her conversation interested me, so, I, kind of, eavesdropped on her. Nothing on the level of stalking — who am I kidding? But who knew this skill could have such a use. It could works excellently to spy on possible enemies. I took note of its surprising use and called out to her. I just couldn’t bear it any longer. I wanted to surprise her and surprised she got indeed.

“Hello?” I spoke in my mind and she screamed, loudly, very loudly. That would possibly have put them in trouble had they been hiding from something.

—Hello? Wha-what is happening? Who, who is it?

“Tiny, it’s me, Jack,” I replied, but I only received silence in answer. I waited for a few seconds for her to go bat shit crazy again, I was hoping she hadn’t forgotten her brother already, but her response was a bit underwhelming.

—Wh-Who?

Tiny said. It was unnerving. Her confusion dampened my mood.

—I don’t know, there is a voice in my head. And its talking to me . . . You think that’s crazy, well, so do I brother, so do I. Wait a minute . . . BROTHER JACK, IS IT YOU?!

“Finally,” I said relaxing my taut antennas. My tiny brother —well, she was my tiny sister, now— hadn’t forgotten me. “I thought you didn’t care about me for a second there.”

—You know that is not true. But where are you? I can hear you, but I can’t see you, no one can.

“I’m using the same skill I had used to help you grow.”

—That weird butt skill of yours?

“It’s called Bonding, silly girl. Though I’m surprised to hear you still remember.”

—Brother, what are you talking about? You only left a few days ago. It hasn’t even been that long.

“Right, right, that’s right. I keep forgetting that for some reason.” It’s just that too many things had happened on the way to the farm, and I was starting to feel like I had been away from the colony for far too long. We had somehow pushed through the ant lion pits, then survived a hail of giant rocks, seen a magnificent creature, fought the hoppers, met the commander and a part of his army, and traveled for a whole day. We had only just found rest. So yes, I had some problem keeping time.

—Are you all alright? You sound tired. Are you in danger?

“Now, now, don’t be concerned. Let your big brother deal with the things on my end. It was a difficult job, but I think our work here is done. We might be coming back pretty soon. Now, we also have this skill. So we can talk whenever we want.”

—You make it sound like you don’t want to see us. . . . I’m talking with big brother. He’s in my head . . . no, Bill, I’m not going crazy, he used that butt skill of his. . . . How dare you say that about him? Have you already forgotten all that he did for you, for us? You would be dead or stuck back in the colony if it wasn’t for him and you make fun of him. . . . I don’t care whether you were joking or not. You’ll apologize to him or we are done.

Something happened. From her words, it sounded like Bill had made fun of me and Tiny had gotten angry. I was surprised to hear her raised voice because the Tiny I remembered had never spoken out loud like that; At least not in front of me. Who knew a little bit of freedom would awake her inner hopper. Though she sounded angry, I knew it was just surface heat, not a cloud on her mind. Well, at least that was the Tiny I knew. But knowing Billy was in the same team with her relaxed me slightly. I knew Bill would take care of Tiny. Though, even I couldn’t have imagined that the closeness between them was deeper than I believed it to be. Having been away from them for so long, I hadn’t seen their relation taking wings, so I couldn’t have known about it without being told.

“So where are you know?”

—We, we are on the far side of the colonial land, on a mission.

Well, that was surprising. “What are you all doing out so late? Don’t tell me your captain is one of those punks who thinks nothing of the shade?!”

—It’s nothing like that. It’s just that the hoppers are getting rowdy these days. Captain chose the perfect route, away from their activity, but they have been blindingly roaming out of their area for some days now. So we had to slow down a little and hide when a few of them passed too closely from us to be comfortable.

“They didn’t harm anyone, did they?”

“No, no, we are perfectly fine. They didn’t find us. The captain is very good at scouting. I think you know him. He’s from your previous team. Anyways, the hoppers have been getting crazier and crazier these days. Yesterday, three teams were all killed outside the colony. It is rumored that they are trying to find the ant that killed their chief’s only son. But you know that is impossible.

“Well, who knows, right?” I dodged the question. Even though it wasn’t my intention, by defending myself I had ended up creating a problem for everyone else. It was as frustrating as it was unbelievable. They won’t hold the grudge for long, will they? I wondered.

“Alright, big brother, captain thinks it’s the right time to leave.

“Okay then. Take care.”

—We can keep talking, you know. You don’t have to go away.

“No, Tiny, It is the kind of thinking that has gotten many ants killed,” I said sternly. “The shade is not a place where you can be distracted. And I can call you anytime I want. So there is no hurry. Get home safe. Bye.”

—I wish we could do this every day.

“Then I’ll call you again tomorrow.”

—Hurray!

That night I slept peacefully. Talking with Tiny relaxed me and sleep came easily to me. I decided to get rid of some more corpse pilers and caterpillars tomorrow and clear the farm real good. But the shade had a different plan for us. The next morning I woke up with a start to my senses blazing. There were a hundred scents in the air, all pointing to different directions, all calling for help. There was fear in the air and bodies on the floor. The farm was being raided.