Journey

JOURNEY.

Myrmica ran to the top of the rocky outcrop in near panic. She had
smelt the chemical attack and wanted to see where it had landed. Clouds
of white dust hung over the northern colony. She was visibly shaken.
Not her colony this time, but a close call. Myrmica turned her back on
the carnage and began the tortuous journey to her own colony in the
south. She had to raise the alarm.
The plain in front of her was covered in long, tall grass, difficult to
navigate through when the sun was down, as it would be soon. She could
not wait till morning as the next attack might be her home colony. The
wind had been blowing steadily from the west for the last two days; she
could use that as a guide as long as the weather did not change.
Myrmica put down the things she had gathered on this trip, she would
need all her strength to get home quickly. She took a long drink from a
dew pool at the edge of the grass lands, there were no more till
home.
She forged on through the tall grass, its solid stems whipping her as
she tried to make haste. It was by no means certain that anyone else
had seen the attack. She could be the only chance that her colony had
in defending itself. The thought made her slow a little. She would be
no use if she hurt herself by plunging through the dense grass.
By chance, Myrmica found herself moving parallel to a rough path.
There were many such on the plains, some useful, some not. She had to
take a chance on this one. At least there was a little space between
the woody grass stems giving some respite from the battering. She made
good progress until the sun went down. The plains were plunged into a
moonless darkness.
Making sure that the wind was on her right, she kept to the path till
it veered off to some other destination. Myrmica now had to go slowly,
she could see only a few paces ahead. There was always a little light
reflecting from the sky, but not enough for her to keep up a good pace.
Again and again, an unseen frond of grass would slice across her face
making her stagger with pain. The giant grass leaves had very sharp
edges and could easily cut an unwary traveller.
Myrmica wiped her face and felt the stickiness of blood oozing from a
grass slash. There was nothing she could do about it now, it would have
to wait till she got to the colony where it could be treated. She kept
her head down to prevent a second slash, she was lucky that the first
had not caught an eye.
Her legs began to weaken, but her survival imperative forced her on.
Hour after hour passed in torment as her whole body protested at the
abuse. Her own comfort did not matter compared with the danger that
faced her colony. The colony was her family. It came first and
foremost, self always second.
Slowly the dawn broke. Myrmica checked the position of the rising sun.
She was still on course. Soon members of her colony would be coming out
to begin the day's business and she would surely meet them when she got
closer. The heat of the sun spurred her on. Its warmth suffused her
tired limbs and its light penetrated the pools of darkness at the base
of the grassy forest.
She wiped more blood from her face. It looked bad. It was not the
proper colour, perhaps the wound was infected. She had seen it happen
before and knew the consequences. Undaunted, she rushed on. Time was
running out. The daylight could bring an attack on her colony and her
wound might prevent her from getting home.
Myrmica stumbled and fell, rolling in the dust of a clearing made in
the grass-land. She tried to get up, but her exhausted legs would not
carry her weight. A rustling in the shadows made her look up in hope.
Yes! Three of her colony rushed out of the tall grass. They had
obviously heard her crashing headlong through the undergrowth to the
clearing. Her family were here!
She gave up her message of impending doom. Two of her family rushed
off, raising the alarm. Myrmica could perceive the alarm spread towards
the colony. She had got home in time to avert a major
catastrophe.
She rolled onto her back, in submission. The third member of her
family touched feelers with her in selfless understanding and bit off
Myrmica's poisoned head. No infection was allowed into the colony, the
Queen and young Myrmica Rubra could die as a result. The third member
dragged the lifeless parts of the dead ant to the waste pit and threw
herself in after her dead comrade.

END