Mother is in a grumpy mood. She must be stressed, what with all of this invasion stuff going on. For now, it’s best to avoid giving her opportunities to punish me too extensively.
At the east gate…
“How much longer do you anticipate the eldest will need before they move into the city itself?” Sloan asked.
“Give them at least another five minutes. I know we estimated ten minutes of ‘eldest delay,’ but I think we can afford a bit more buffer time, considering the gate abandonment has gone according to plan,” Victor suggested.
“Agreed.”
“Do you think the Queen will be alright?”
“Don’t start this again, Victor. We’ve done all that we can on that front…”
“I’m just worried!”
“We’re all worried!”
The two generals cleaned their antennae vigorously to calm themselves before deflating. It was true, they’d done all they could to ensure their mother would be safe. The extra measures put in place to protect the eldest were, so far, working well, though Advant was adamant they suspected something.
“At least everything is going to plan so far…” Victor said.
“The next part was always going to be the major challenge,” Sloan agreed. “Overcoming stone and dirt isn’t a challenge. Getting what we need from this city without having to destroy the inhabitants and throw our siblings’ lives away was the challenging part. That’s the sort of thing we rely on the eldest for.”
“Would you two stuffy generals get to doing something useful? I swear, the laziest caste of the lot. All you do is stand around, provide auras, and think a lot.”
Burke, like most scouts, never hesitated to needle the generals. In truth, though they were the most physically fragile of all the soldier caste evolutions, the generals still put themselves on the front line and fought. Rather than armchair planners, the generals were more like hardened squad leaders in the forces of the colony.
“We decided to wait an extra five minutes,” Sloan informed her sister.
“Ah, eldest allowance?”
“Indeed.”
In the distance, the ants could feel a powerful vibration shake the air as it rattled against the fine hairs of their antennae. If they had to hazard a guess, they’d say that a large building or wall had collapsed, possibly as a monster of considerable size had smashed into it. In that moment, they each considered whether the Queen or the eldest were responsible for this destruction.
36. Attack on Rylleh, Part 4
Yasmine had seen the captain focused on his work. During the more intense moments of the last wave, he’d been relentless in his energy and application, but this time something was different. Gone was the calm, determined figure she was accustomed to, replaced by a beast with so much nervous energy he almost vibrated in place. He roared and shouted through the communication arrays and at anyone who happened to cross his path. He bullied and intimidated everyone who so much as queried a word that came out of his mouth.
She could have accepted that, perhaps, considering the situation they were in, especially knowing what he’d told her, but the wild look in his eye coupled with the rictus grin plastered on his face unnerved her to no end. Wanting to escape, she’d offered to act as a liaison and assist the citizens falling back to the square.
There was panic in the streets by the time she arrived, the news of the gates being abandoned had spread like wildfire, causing an uproar that threatened to turn an orderly retreat into a riot. Yasmine was forced to intervene multiple times in her first few minutes outside to prevent altercations between city folks and the guards trying to protect them.
“Get to the square! Take nothing with you but what you can carry! Move with all haste! Volunteers to the armoury!”
The crush in the streets was unbearable, only her superior physical stats due to her Class allowed her to press through the crowds. On every corner, a guardsmen or volunteer hollered out orders at the top of their lungs while teams went door to door. There wasn’t enough time to ensure everyone obeyed the command, anyone who chose to stay in their homes would be abandoned. Left to fend for themselves against the ravenous ants.
She shivered as she considered the fate that awaited those who didn’t listen. A fate she couldn’t even warn them about. It was only a matter of time before the true nature of this invasion was revealed, but every second between now and then allowed them to save precious lives. Yasmine had no doubt that the instant the citizens realised they were being invaded by ants, a mad panic would descend.
As she neared the market on Dionys Street, she found the guard out in force, funnelling people toward the square and the inner wall to be found there. She rushed forward, flashing the insignia on her uniform the moment she arrived.
“Lieutenant Yasmine,” Sargent Lyssa saluted hurriedly. “Are there new orders?”
“At the moment, we continue to get as many people into the square as we can,” Yas said.
Lyssa nodded grimly before she turned back to the hundreds of terrified people rushing past.
“Does the captain really think all of these people are going to fit? The town hall doesn’t have enough room for this, surely? Are they planning to activate the gates?”
“I don’t know,” Yasmine said softly. “We don’t control the gates, the council does. It’s possible they’re reaching out for aid, or for somewhere to receive us, but we haven’t heard from them.”
“Useless bastards,” the sergeant spat. “If their ancestors could see what their blood has come to.”
Yasmine swallowed her agreement. There was little point ragging on their rulers now.
“I’ll head upstairs.” She indicated Merry’s Fine Potions and Wares, an alchemist shop with an upstairs residence. “See if I can get a better view.”
“Right you are, Lieutenant.”
Inside the market was mayhem as the merchants tried to load their wares into carts to bring with them or were zealously defending their cash boxes. Yasmine had no time for any of them, ignoring their indignant screams as she rushed into Merry’s and kicked down the door blocking the stairs.
Good thing the fussy old man wasn’t home, otherwise he’d have pitched a fit. She leapt up four stairs at a time and burst onto the westward facing balcony just in time to see something she would never forget.
From the west gate entrance crept an enormous ant, taller than a person and long. Its mandibles were barbed and cruel, but its carapace glittered with the most beautiful light. An earthy red colour with a rear segment of pure black, the creature poised at the gateway and gazed down on the city from above like a pitiless conqueror. It remained eerily still and made not a sound for a handful of breaths as Yasmine felt a scream constrict her throat.
What was this creature? Tier four, five! An ant? There were thousands more of them out there. If there were more like this one, what sort of chance did they have?
CLACK!
Even from hundreds of metres away, she clearly heard the sound. The great monster had opened those horrific jaws wide and slammed them shut with unspeakable force. The piercing sound tore through the din of the city with ease. From where she stood, Yasmine could see the people in the streets turn and look, start pointing as they discovered where the noise was coming from.
A terrified hush descended on Rylleh as that monster gazed down on them, not an ounce of mercy reflected in its frame. When it finally moved, it was slow, one leg at a time, stalking down the ramp that led to the city itself. From the tunnel behind it emerged an enormous, dark ape that crackled with electricity, another smaller shape on its back. As the creature began to move amongst the buildings, another ant emerged from the tunnel, even larger than the first. This one didn’t hesitate, moving forward immediately, clearing the way for what came next.