Chapter 998: The Enemy Within

Chapter 998: The Enemy Within

Tungstant brushed her antennae through her elbow joints, using the fine hairs there to cleanse and refresh her sensitive feelers. After a stressful day on the job, nothing relaxed like a good clean. She revelled in the sensation that spotless antennae gave, that flawless connection with her sense of smell, but only for a moment.

She didn’t want to be accused of slacking….

Although, she did need to rest sometime soon.

“How long since my last torpor?” she wondered.

Work in the fourth stratum had been going at a furious pace, preparing the fortress for the Eldest’s evolution, then for the upcoming wave. The list of jobs that needed doing was never-ending. With all of the new building techniques that were being implemented in this project, there had been several large-scale components that had needed to be torn down and done again. The end result had been a thorax-breaking schedule that had pushed every ant to the limits of their endurance.

“I think I rested yesterday?”

She wasn’t sure, which wasn’t a good sign. Her thinking was getting a touch sluggish also, another indicator that she lacked rest.

Wait. Were the shadows getting darker?

“Yes! I definitely rested for eight hours yesterday!” she declared boldly, with entirely false confidence. “Ah… I feel so refreshed. I can’t wait for my next torpor!”

The darkness began to recede, much to her relief. Then…

“Don’t lie,” came a whisper of scent, directly above her head.

“I’ll go rest! I’m going now!” she cried and collapsed on the ground, clasping her forelegs together in a pleading gesture.

She couldn’t afford to be taken now. There was still so much to finish before the fortress would be ready. With a wave bubbling away in the depths, there was limited time! Surely, they understood that and would grant her a little leeway….

They were not known for granting leeway.

When Tungstant looked up, carefully examining the ceiling above her, there was nothing there. The inky blot that had hung, unnoticed, a moment ago, had vanished. They actually were going to cut her some slack?!

This was unheard of.

Unwilling to let this chance slip, Tungstant determined to sleep immediately. She could get four or five hours in, then be back to work straight after. If they took her away, she’d be gone for at least eight, and that was time she couldn’t afford. They may have let her go for now, but if she didn’t get at least some sleep, they’d grab her for sure.

When did they even get here? she wondered.

Crews had been vanishing on the job for days now, in unprecedented numbers. They returned, of course, looking carefully groomed, well rested, and somewhat traumatised by the experience. Members of the Colony had long learned that such things should not be mentioned.

Eyes unseeing. Antennae unsmelling.

The inside of the fortress proper had begun to take shape around the hardened inner core that had housed the Eldest. Wide, clear tunnels with distinct and well-marked lanes swept in graceful loops around the centre, allowing easy access to the districts, each housing grand, interconnected chambers dedicated to every pursuit the Colony engaged in. Which was many.

Exiting the side passage she had been working in, Tungstant made her way onto the main thoroughfare and found a place on it.

“Keep working hard!”

“Don’t let up now!”

“Eight hours. Never forget.”

“Digging and building, that’s the carver way!”

She greeted her castemates, giving them the ‘antennae slapping greeting’ as the Eldest called it as she passed by. Words of encouragement and endurance were exchanged as they each went on their way.

Many were missing, though. More and more had succumbed lately, vanished into the darkness. It was disrupting work crews and hindering progress. Working tired did produce more flaws, so she understood it was a trade off, but she still felt frustrated.

Then a thought struck her.

Hundreds, if not thousands of workers had been taken in the past day. She knew the routine and had experienced it herself several times. A comfortable resting place, carapace wax and shine, careful grooming and a tea service were normal parts of their routine.

To do all that, to house thousands of ants at once, would take a tremendous amount of space…. Think of the storage needed just for the tea and biscuits. All of the beds… the individual chambers….

It had to be close also. Vanished ants returned close to eight hours later. That meant very little time was used to transport them to and from the resting chambers. Which meant….

They were inside the fortress.

Immediately, a dangerous flare of anger sparked inside the little carver’s carapace. Meddling with her design?! Adding walls and chambers where none should exist?! This threatened to jeopardise the integrity of the entire project!

Who knew what nooks and crannies they had added to the original design without properly understanding it? How dare they?

Her legs halted as the horrific implications rattled around in her mind. She caused a brief delay in the flow of traffic, but the ants behind soon began to climb over her and continue on their way as she fumed.

This could not stand!

She turned, shifted to a different track on the ring, and began to rush to the build headquarters. The place was bustling as usual, covered in workers going crazy, the air thick with the pheromones of a hundred different conversations taking place. In the centre of it all, Cobalt was directing traffic, taking in what she needed to and dispensing instructions decisively.

It was always a comfort to know that her sibling and fellow Council member was every bit as capable as she was. So long as one of them was at the helm, the project would be delivered according to their exacting standards.

Cobalt looked surprised when Tungstant rushed into the room and approached her.

“Tungstant? You’re finished in the lower tunnels already? I thought you’d be going for a nap right about now.”

“I was going to, but then I realised something that we have to talk about right now.”

The other carver waggled her antennae vaguely in confusion.

“Okay… what is it?”

“Not here,” Tungstant hissed, “we don’t know who might be listening.”

“Okaay.”

Glancing around, Tungstant pulled her sibling from the centre of the chamber, shooing away those who went to follow them. Eventually, she managed to squeeze the two of them into a side chamber where they could have some privacy. The room hadn’t been finished yet, even the lighting hadn’t been installed, shrouding the space in shadow, but it was private.

“We have a serious problem,” Tungstant began.

“You look frazzled. When was the last time you rested?” Cobalt asked with concern.

“That’s exactly the issue! Them.”

Cobalt grew still.

“What about… them?” she asked quietly.

“Why did I never realise this before?” Tungstant said as she began to skitter back and forth. “So many ants, vanishing and then reappearing so quickly. It wouldn’t be possible without a level of magic that the Colony doesn’t possess, or a network of passages and chambers within the structure itself. They’re here, now, meddling with our design, interfering with the integrity of the fortress! Who knows what they’ve done, what flaws they’ve introduced!”

“Whoa there. You need to slow down a little.”

“I can’t! Why aren’t you more upset about this?! You know just as well as I do how much damage they could cause if they interfere with the construction! If they tunnel through the wrong wall, or thin out the material too much… this entire fortress could collapse around us! We can’t allow this to continue. They have to be stopped!”

Cobalt tried to soothe her sister.

“Surely they thought about those things. Our designs and instructions aren’t exactly secret, any of the carvers out there could be working on their behalf. Everything we don’t want touched, they would know. The models, the diagrams, the design papers, it’s all there to be seen.”

“It’s not enough,” Tungstant mumbled. “Just because they can see the design doesn’t mean they understand it. The two of us have the highest level Design, Architecture and Construction Skills in the entire Colony. The only way they could ensure they weren’t breaking our plans would be if one of us checked it for them.”

A horrible realisation bubbled up in Tungstant’s mind.

She turned around to find Cobalt staring at her, silent and unmoving.

“But… it’s not possible, right? Neither of us… have seen their modifications. Right? Cobalt?”

Her scent carried a hint of fear at the end, just enough to make her sibling flinch back and avert her gaze.

“You really should have gone to sleep,” Cobalt said softly.

“Wha – ” Tungstant began to say.

Then the black took her.