Our destination, the 43rd city, was alive with frog calls.

They were loud, announcing, and nonchalant. Most of the ants couldn’t hear them, but I was different. Their croaks were mostly curses and funny pokes at each other, but there were also some mating calls. There were even a few warning cracks --‘grittits’ of anger-- when one frog tried to barge into another’s territory. However, barely once did they talk about the Kandaeians, the residents of the land; and when they did talk about them it was to appreciate their taste, rather than to worry about their presence. Some complained that the ants had an uncommon sweetness to them, and others marveled at the stinging pop they felt in the stomach.

It was a horrifying ordeal. Thankfully, none could quite hear them, and those that could hear couldn’t understand them. Otherwise, more than a few hot-headed soldiers of the 43rd would have launched themselves into certain death.

My bafflement was short-lived, however. Our behavior toward our prey wasn’t any different from the frogs. We had simply come to a full cycle around; the predator was now the frog's prey.

Whatever the case, the frogs needed to be taught a lesson. Their presence spelled disaster for the city.

I looked at the wide fat tower of the 43rd city, Nadaei-kandae-ji. It was a monstrous construction. Along with its ring of advanced posts, the city looked like a crown lost and forgotten, now covered in dirt and crem. The feeling it gave under the setting sun was lonely and sad. That made sense, for it, was once the epicenter of the termite movement, their mother city. Then they were chased out and Nadaei, the current queen took perch.

However, the rain had played a gruesome hand. The vegetation around was crushed underneath layers of silt, clay, and dirt. It even smelled different there. Worse were the signs of digging on the belly of the tower —tunnels and chambers ripped open to the display of the elements. The members of the delegation explained the moment as pure terror.

It was a frog’s doing.

They said the tower rumbled when the frogs clawed at its rain-soaked exterior and cried out in pain, sending the residents out to defend its body. And they hurled poison at the gigantic, slippery being, but to no avail. The frogs hide was tough, eyes resistant, and tongue a weapon of mass destruction. It swooped tens of soldiers with a single swish of its long gelatinous tongue, crushed them inside its throat before they could sting or bite, and swallowed them whole.

We weren’t even a match, announced a member of the delegation. The only thing in our favor was its inability to move when attacking and feeding. We timed our attacks while it ate our friends. The soldiers dug their mandibles into the beast's skin and took hold, believing they could win. Yes, it had killed many, but their death would not have been in vain if we had killed it, but the beast simply leaped away. It carried all those soldiers and dove into one of the larger puddles that formed after the rain. None survived.

That also gave us a chance, however. Star added upon sensing the falling morale. Their death wasn’t in vain, soldier. They scared the beast into hiding, opening the path that it had been holding. They also showed us that the frogs aren’t invincible. Something invulnerable wouldn’t have run away. If it can be hurt, it can be hunted, too. We just need to be patient. Our chance will come.

His words gave us the strength to see it through.

I couldn’t see the goliaths but I knew they were out there, hiding in wait for a small group to venture out of the city. It was no wonder the city was starving and had to spread its arms for help.

Star rounded us inside an advanced post, the one not far from the center. It was barely occupied by thirty sentries, all gloomy and tired. That changed when they saw us, first in dread and then in joy.

I greedily took in the pride and marvel the sentries released. It was energetic and full of positivity. I liked it.

The sentries welcomed us with old dried meat. I guess there was not enough fresh enough food to go around if even the advanced sentries didn’t have any. I was also offered the meat, but I rejected it. I had a fill of normal water, however. Not honeydew; I was not in the mood of having my mind refreshed —an effect of the sugary syrup. I wanted to be away from the bustles, for the time being, to not be an active part of it.

Where are you going? 5555th found me stalking away from the group and into the wide paths leading deeper into the post tower.

Nowhere. I told her, but she decided to follow me anyways. Whether she did it out of curiosity or need, I simply let her be.

There were more soldiers inside: Mostly injured and resting. They waved as we passed, some in glee and others in dread. There was light at the end of the tunnel. I wondered if we were reaching the other side of the tower, but that was not so. We exited into a huge dome-shaped chamber that was lit by a beam of light coming from an opening in the ceiling. Actually, there was no ceiling. The tower was hollow from the inside and I could see the sky from the bottom, though it was colorless to my eyes.

I was admiring the engineering marvel when 5555th approached me. She was terrifyingly excited, a state I hadn’t seen anyone in.

Come quickly! She pulled me along to the side of the chambers, toward the walls. Either all females didn’t care about others opinion or I had really terrific luck. But what she had to show actually deserved haste.

The walls of the chamber were a creation of skeletons that shone under the radiance of the light beam. Hundreds of thousands of skulls stacked one over another, mandibles reaching out in wait and eyes glowing with light; it was a terrifying sight to behold.

We were talking amongst ourselves when a soldier of the 43rd city —she was also staring at the wall— interjected into our conversation.

It is a monument of our victory over the termites. She explained in a feverish rush of pheromones. 5555th pulled back when she saw her face. Her eye sockets were two hollows and face free of mandibles. Her Head was a canvas painted with scars, and there were three legs missing under a thorax horrifyingly shriveled. But the old and marred soldier continued unabated, showing no effect to our behavior. These termites fell in the one war of our dominance. We killed so many their bodies filled the pits, creating huge heaps of hollow skeletons and rotting bodies.

That’s why the pits are called trash heaps these days and not the pit. 5555th told me with a touch of her antennae, while our guide continued. She was still stunned but also growing interested in the story.

It was a sight equally terrifying and awe-inspiring. The strange soldier scented, releasing a cocktail of emotions and pheromones, painting a picture full of hate and dread for a second. However, the termites proved to be a problem even after death. The scent of death was so strong it invited some special kind of predators from places far and wide —monsters of the night, terrors of the day— then started our second war.

5555th looked concerned. What are you saying? There was no second war. We won against the termites and that was it!

The old soldier continued without a pause. There were suggestions to bury the bodies, but digging takes time, which we had very little; that’s when someone suggested using the carcasses as building materials, which led to the creation of the legacy towers around the city. It also stopped the mutants.

I felt 5555th shudder at the cold revelation. I was in the same situation.

It was all news to me, but I found it a great tale to tell Princess after getting back. She would be surprised for sure. Though she might also want to visit these skull towers and hold it against me for coming alone. But she wasn’t petty enough to hate me for it.

Just how many were killed in the war!

The old soldier finally took note of us. Millions, She answered.

It was no wonder the termites wanted revenge. But I was more interested in the present, particularly the giant monument of skulls.

The old resident soldier guided us toward a part of the wall where a map of the territory had been created by leaving gaps in the skull placements. An unusually large skull with bulging cheeks and a thick set of mandibles denoted the main spire. It wasn’t the skull of a termite. Six similarly obtuse skulls surrounded the larger one, denoting the wells that kept floodwater from reaching the city. Everything was connected by twisting lines of smaller skulls and long passes: the drainage lanes and flow breakers carved in the area around the city.

Our guide told us the history of the city, the struggle that happened inside the long pass. The termites trapped our army at the well and bombarded them with stones. Many died there, but the angry troops made a relentless push through the snake trenches, killing thousands of termites on the way and raided the city. It took us three days to get through, but the result was worth it. The city fell the very day we raided.

You were there, weren’t you? I asked her.

Yes.

Do you think the termites are capable of opening the front in two directions?

She shook her head in pure disgust. They can do anything. There was a time when they even played the victim of their own cruelty. She said, but also read me like a gust of wind careering through her branches and leaves. Why do you ask?

5555th placed an antenna on my abdomen, asking me to think before acting. I thought and found nothing wrong with sharing the information. I was in the middle of telling her the story when she interrupted me.

Lies! She scented a powerful blast of pheromones. I swayed. 5555th held me form the abdomen and pulled back, getting some distance between us.

They aren’t back. They can’t be back! We killed them. We did. She fidgeted nervously, antennae swaying. You are lying. She released and rushed toward us. Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned the story. 5555th agreed with a tap my back.

A few soldiers hurried into the chamber following the commotion and subdued her. They apologized for her actions and snaked her away into the shadowy circuits, vanishing behind the support pillars without explaining the cause of her distress or giving us a reason.

5555th asked to leave and befuddled as I was, I couldn’t stay there any longer.