I believe 29 would have told us his secret, had the captain not interrupted.

The long-legged one clicked in annoyance but didn’t disobey her captain. They, I was learning, was a tightly knit bunch than even the harvesters whom I had the opportunity to accompany on a mission. I had been excited at that time. That had been an opportunity. That had been marvelous until we met the termites and the day turned to hell. But this — I was not in favor of this. I had my reasons. There was something that had happened to make me hesitate. I had gotten another one of those colorful graphical notifications while talking to them. And it had been an ominous one.

Don’t let your suspicions ruin your life. The fun of living lies in the unknown. What good is a life where you know the future?

You have acquired a new skill: Premonition.

[Premonition][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Passive]

[Future is a flowing river and its flow an unknown force. So heed the warning with a grain of salt. Don’t break ties without confirmation, because you may end up inviting trouble instead of evading it.]

[Effect: Makes you sensitive toward the others and helps you sense their intentions, whether good or bad, without any difference.]

[Reward: Your intelligence increases by .1 points every skill level.]

I had always understood what these skills meant without really understanding their nature or origin. It was these skills that had bestowed me the gift of sight and the ability to hurt others with charge, had protected me from the termite’s acid, and now given me premonition, an extra sense.

They were changing me every day, enhancing me, and change is suspicious. However, I also couldn’t say that they hadn’t helped me, either. So, between the alien skills that for better or worse were a part of me and the explorers —whom I didn’t know— I had decided to stick with my suspicion and keep searching their faults until I was confident that they truly meant Princess no harm, and were allies to keep.

We left the empty chamber and went back to the city. The once narrow and full tunnels were suddenly broad and empty. We barely met a handful of soldiers patrolling the tunnels since most were stationed outside to lookout. A preemptive platoon had already been sent to the distance western outposts. There hadn’t been any news yet, but everything would be clear by morning.

The residents we met gave way where the explorers passed. I wasn’t the only one who had paid them attention at the tower. Everyone had seen them fight, seen them mutilate the termites, and ignore the inured. They had shown their strength and shown their cruelty. They had their priorities, and now we all knew them.

The long-legged soldier was nimble and could perform acrobatics impossible for the regular folks. She could jump a large distance and even flip over her back.

The giant, who was also a bit crazy, was a beast that had thrown termites off the tower! He was the one who had held back one of the five giant termites, that his mates had then killed.

I hadn’t seen the nurse fighting, but that was obvious. She was a nurse.

The captain and his left man were a team that worked. They weren’t nimble as the long-legged one or strong as the giant but knew each other well enough and it showed when they fought. Together they were a storm that had shredded the termites apart one by one.

They barged into the sparsely occupied military camp and weren’t stopped or questioned. The soldiers stopped Princess and me, however, and only let us go after checking our identity. The number of soldiers present would have barely filled a platoon. The soldiers some stared, some followed the explorers, but they were quick on their feet and passed by. We had to run behind them.

Don’t we need the commander’s permission? I asked from behind.

Youse will never get it. The long-legged one scented. And we don’t need it. Answered the lankly soldier.

Princess, The captain called from inside the downward slope leading to the thirty-seventh floor and she took the lead. She took us toward the southern wall on the thirty-seventh floor where the soldiers had dug in burrows. All were empty except one that had been barred by a door guard from the outside, the coin head facing inward.

That’s the one. Princess scented and sped up, antennae buzzing in expectation. But the burrow was guarded and we were right in the middle of the soldier’s camp. Even fewer soldiers occupied this place, but a few had followed us from the preceding floor and they doubled the pressure. Needless to say, the soldiers had been specifically ordered to stop anyone seeking the guest.

The soldier's order and the explorer’s aggression led to a confrontation. The giant stepped in to protect his team —or should I say, to protect the soldiers from them— and the long-legged one skillfully evaded the soldier's aggressive grabs by rolling, jumping and slapping them, and reached the door guard. They both performed their duty with such finesse, their actions almost seemed practiced. Maybe they were?

There was no stopping the explorers once the long-legged one reached the door guard, especially the giant. Soldiers clung to his limbs and he dragged them around like a bee carting pollen. In the end, their captain pulled the door guard back and entered the burrow.

A sergeant stopped the brawl soon after before anyone could get hurt. Thankfully, the soldiers had been sensible enough to not through poison around like stomped dirt.

It was an amazing spectacle, to say the least. I considered them crazy, but they were absolutely mad! Princess liked them. I shared her feelings, but reminded myself of the premonition and extinguished the spark before it could feed my doubt. They had no hesitation. Where did they gain the confidence to go against all the soldiers? Whatever the case, Princess was right in asking for their help; they had the ability to handle the journey to the far-city. It’s just that I wasn’t so sure about the chances of us two making there with them.

The soldiers had caught us the moment they retaliated. We were let go, but the humiliation felt worse than having my skeleton sheared off.

Don’t just stand there. Princess said as the rest of the explorers crowded the burrow. Come on; we need to see this through.

We followed right behind them, but the truth was shocking. The burrow was empty, the ant missing.

What is this? Where’s the ant, the one form the 47th city? Princess bellowed out the scent.

The soldier didn’t say, but their sergeant knew something. We don’t know. He scented.

What happened? The captain asked. He kept his emotions in check, unlike Princess Tinbuji who had turned ghastly still.

He has been missing since the assault. The sergeant replied. We answered the call for help during the assault; he was gone when we came back.

Now can we finally have some rest? The long-legged one scented. She had been grumbling since we had met, and was on the verge of falling asleep right there.

The lanky explorer clicked his mandibles. We should meet the commander. He said and was turned down before he could give a reason.

You won’t find him? The solder said. He’s in a meeting with the committee. They are deciding you know what. He doesn’t have time for a missing ant right now.

You should go back. Captain told the sergeant. His order was followed and the sergeant went back to his soldiers. It’s up to us now. Finding what’s lost is the perfect job for us. The captain said, making princess fidget in nervous hesitation.

Did she want to participate? I believed she did, but I hoped she wouldn’t. I needed rest like the rest of the workers and soldiers that had been working without a pause to get the city back in order.

I hadn’t lazed while the rest worked. I had kept my promise to myself and helped the workers scrub the scents off our territory. I helped the wounded and dragged them to where the nurses had set up their work station. All of that had taken a lot of time and energy. The workers gave me a rough time, but since I had decided to help that’s what I had focused upon without worrying about their nitpicking. For a time I had felt like a regular worker on the clock, running against time; until the work was done and I had no one to share my tiredness or thoughts with.

Thanks for believing me. Princess said.

Of course, it’s our job as explores to explore all options and find the truth. The captain said. I couldn’t even find any fault in him. He had taken it upon himself to find our messing suspect — or was he a clue? Whatever the case, he had just denied Princess Tinbuji's help, and even told her to get rest. She hesitatingly agreed.

We walked together up till the thirtieth floor where we separated. The explorers went up and we went down to the thirty-first floor, to the royal chambers.

Although it was midnight, the city was wide awake. Why would it not be? There was no knowing when the termites might attack again.

There were fewer workers around, and even fewer soldiers. Everyone was busy. Even the thirtieth-floor military encampment was only half full. The security was made so strict that the same soldier, who had once let Princess Tinbuji in without checking, checked both her identity and passport pheromone before stepping aside and letting her in.

I left her there and went to sleep in an empty place nearby, but couldn’t. I was restless. The whole city was filled with this restless energy that seemed ready to burst. It was the anticipation of the residents, the zeal for revenge. The soldiers were nervous and the workers were even more. There was no rush of bodies in the tunnels. Everyone was waiting for the sun to rise and the committee to pass their decision. Tomorrow would decide the fate of the city and its residents.

We would know about the situation on the western front in the morning, but then we were already at war with the termites according to the princess, and they had the upper hand.

I got up and started walking. I let my feet take me, no destination in mind. The day played in my head like a broken record. Some of it made me bashful and other parts scared me to death. One such moment was her reason behind suspecting the ant from the 47th city. She found it suspicious because it had survived when it shouldn’t have.

A thought emerged in my mind: What if she’s only given me the job because she finds me suspicious, too, for not staying dead as I should have? The possibility gave me the jitters.

I promised myself to get to the bottom of the suspicious notifications as soon as possible. The question was coming soon. I made it a priority to find an answer before it was asked.