The colony was in danger. The Silo’s, the living historians of the colony had memories spanning generations. They knew of the Good Times, when we found that entire four leg and had it to ourselves, to the Lean Times when the Foragers had to push further and further from the colony to secure Nutrition.

Then there was the Dark Times, when the Fire Colony attacked and managed to strike deep into the heart of the Colony. When the Queen herself was forced into battle. The tales the Silo’s tell of the Dark Times were to ensure we are ever vigilant against threat.

I could tell from the smell that our Forager Trains had never ventured this far even during the Lean Times. I pushed on feeling the weight of the Train, of the thundering, uncountable legs following my scent marks as I strove deeper and deeper into the unknown looking for Nutrition. We could not return empty on this run. We could not face the Silo’s if we returned again empty mouthed. We could not watch them again regurgitating what meagre stores they had left in their bodies to keep the little ones growing.

The Colony needed us, the Queen needed us to return with bellies and mouths fit to burst. We had too. The Silo’s did not speak of the troubles we were in however just looking at what their usual plump forms had become? Almost as thin as the Workers who protected them? The Queen herself was refusing sustenance, emitting the scent of being well fed. We knew this was a lie.

I pushed on, navigating the strands of green that were fighting for their own life as they were growing in the uniform valleys on this hard surface. I tried to not shudder as the scent given off by these withered green stalks was embedded in the Colonies memory. A forager party had returned many light cycles ago, proud of their triumph. They had found green stalks like these before, we have eaten them before when times were Lean. They were given to some of the Silo’s for poison testing, more as habit than worry.

We lost many Silo’s that day. These stalks were different. Something had been applied to them, something that had stunted their growth and slowly killed them. Like it had killed us. For what purpose we could only guess.

I led the Train onward through the uniform valleys in this hard land, my antennae twitching as I strained to pickup the scent of untouched Nutrition.

There was a horrific sound, an unnatural grinding. A massive booming filled the air. As if sound was being used to communicate. A mighty gust of wind. It brought with it a myriad of smells. Nutrition! I knew that leading the Train towards whatever monster was the cause of this was suicide. But so was returning empty mouthed.

I picked up the pace forcing the Train onward. Towards that nightmarish sound. I almost ran into the cliff, it smelt of nothing. It was made of the same material as the surface we had been crossing. It should be easy enough to scale and the smells….those smells! It would be worth it.

The whole Train flinched as one when that unnatural grinding sound rang out again. As it faded away I realised with horror, the smells were disappearing! Whatever that sound had heralded might now be out of our grasp.

I rushed up the cliff, then another, then another, then.

*bonk*

I stopped. The Train stopped. What was this? It was hard, impenetrable and yet I could perceive right through it. It smelt of nothing, tasted of nothing and yet it had stopped me in my tracks. If I strained my antennae I could just catch the occasion whiff of endless Nutrition behind this barrier. What was this torment? This nightmare? What could I do?

I had to report this to the Queen and hope that the Silo’s had some knowledge to save us. I emitted the command to turn around and return to the Colony and tried to ignore the feeling of failure crushing my empty body.

===============

I emitted what we had encountered and tried to not emit how nervous I was. The Queen, the Silo’s, they were milling around and smelling my report. None of the other Trains had returned with Nutrition again.

There was some fighting going on between the Silo’s, I was trying to follow the scents however they were too fast, too smart. I could only understand a few. The gust we found did exist in the Colonies memory but it seemed that the Trains that had investigated the gusts were all slaughtered. Not by other ants or monsters.

By God.

They were arguing if it was worth the risk of angering the God to try for the forbidden Nutrition that the gust promised. I watched the Silo’s and could see the depleted supplies we had. I was but a Forager but I knew that we had little choice.

‘KUUUUU’

Everything stopped. No one should use sound in the presence of the Queen.

One of the oldest Silo’s managed his way forward, unsteady on his remaining legs. He had been allowed to live even with the loss of limbs as he was the smartest of all the Silo’s. Also the most insane. In the past, during the Good times he had his own Forager’s. Not for Nutrition. For something called Wisdom.

‘My Queen’ He emitted. ‘We all know how dire the Colony is. How we have survived so many light cycles with the Trains returning empty mouthed. Myself am almost completely used up for the Colony. We need that Nutrition.’

The scents started up immediately. Some decrying his use of Sound, others saying he was just restating facts. A smaller group were demanding that he should already give up his life for the Colony.

He continued unhindered, his scent drowning out the others. ‘We have lost every Train we have ever sent to the gusts. This we know. We also know that is was because of the God. That is why my Queen, I ask for two Trains to be removed from Foraging and given over to me.’

There was a brief pause before absolute bedlam. Everyone was pumping out scents at whatever volume they could muster. A few of the Warrior’s briefly checked in to ensure that the Queen was untouched. She sat there pulsing in thought. I thought that the Silo’s would tire themselves out but the tension of the Colony was at breaking point. I watched the Queen. She needed to do something before the Silo’s tore each other apart.

The Queens scent rolled over everyone as a comforting wave. Sound stopped, movement stopped as everyone was cocooned in the blissful memory of being selected by the Queen. Her scent filled the entire cavern, there was nothing but the Queen.

As it slowly dissipated she motioned to the crazy Silo. ‘What will you achieve if I grant you the two Trains you request?’

I could feel the gratitude start to pour out of him. ‘I will teach them this.” He drew two of his legs back and painfully rubbed them on his body producing a sound ‘kuuuu’, he then rubbed his front legs across each other which sounded higher pitched ‘riiiiii’. After that he scrubbed his feet together.

‘suuusuuusuuu’

The sound slowly died away. He was insane. He had to be.

The Queen slowly unfolded herself, the anger simmering off her body mostly masking the confusion she was also emitting. ‘And? What good will that do?’

‘With this?’ The old Silo was almost dancing in place on his remaining legs “We will communicate with God!’

================

I loved Saturday’s. After a hard week it was the day I kicked back and allowed myself to completely relax. It was helped by my now tradition of rolling out of bed and smashing a cone. The weed set the mood for the day. I might get some gaming done, maybe watch something. It didn’t matter, everything was good with the world now. Plating up my breakfast burrito I figured I could go and watch something while I enjoyed this. I probably should have made it before I got stoned cause it was a massive thing with meat and cheese leaking everywhere.

Opening up the sliding glass door near the kitchen to let some air in I paused to look out at the day. It was going to be a great one, not a cloud in the sky. Maybe I could roll a joint and go for a walk down by the river?

Then I heard it. It sounded like a tracheotomy patient who still smokes a pack a day through the hole trying to talk.

‘KUU RIIII SUUUU’

‘KUU RIIII SUUUU’

It’s my backyard, there was no one there. I looked down. There. A massive circle of ants. The sound was coming from them. My brain took a moment to catch up. I knew ants could work together but could they make sounds? What the fuck was going on?

‘KUU RIIII SUUUU’

Also, why did it sound like they were chanting Chris? That’s my name. Was this a prank? Had someone spiked my weed with… I couldn’t think of anything that would make me hallucinate a circle of ants trying to chant my name. I was just beginning to convince myself that this was a dream and that I would wake up for a proper Saturday morning in a moment when the sound stopped. It changed.

It was no longer that trachy patient sound. It was as if hundreds of ants were exhaling and then stomping their feet as one.

Over and Over.

‘FUUUU *DO*’

‘FUUUU *DO*’

Wait, where they…. No way. They kept going. My brain was a mess, this was insane. Was there seriously a bunch of ants down there trying to say ‘Food’?

I looked at my burrito and then back at the ants. I mean, they were ants? God knows I had killed many in my time. They got everywhere. Where they actually chanting at me? This couldn’t be happening.

‘FUUUU *DO*’

‘FUUUU *DO*’

Feeling like I was going crazy I stepped forwards, the chanting stopped. I slowly lowered the plate with my burrito on it to the centre of the circle. I straightened up feeling like a lunatic, I slowly stepped back. There was one final:

‘KUU RIIII SUUUU’

and then hundreds of ants swarmed my burrito.

I needed to go lie down.