Ari stared at his mandibles, the cool metal catching the faint light. He still couldn't quite believe what had happened. "I beat them," he said quietly, more to himself than anyone else. "I really beat them. My first real fight, and I actually handled myself well. I was calm. Their attacks… they were so slow, like I could see them before they even happened. That acid, even up close, never touched me. And these mandibles Anastasia gave me… they saved us. I—I saved us."
His voice trembled slightly, the weight of his own words sinking in.
Rory placed a hand on Isla's shoulder. "Are you okay?"
Isla nodded, though her eyes lingered on Ari, a mix of awe and uncertainty in her gaze. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Rory followed her gaze. "He's even stronger than I thought," he mused silently. "And if he's this strong now, he might really be the one who can free us from that monster, this winter."
Snapping out of his thoughts, Rory crouched near a pale blue flower nestled among the grass. "Found it. This is the one we need to move on to the next step." He rooted it out of the ground.
"Let's head back quickly," said Rory, his voice steady now. "We can't risk running into more termites."
"Yeah, you're right. Let's go."
But Isla hesitated. "What about the others who ran? We should try to find them." Her voice wavered, guilt creeping in.
Rory grimaced. "For all we know, they're either dead or hopelessly lost. If we search aimlessly, we might all end up dead. Worse, we could stumble right into their colony. Their acid… it's not something we can gamble against."
Isla lowered her head, her fists clenched. "I know… but it still feels wrong."
Ari's voice softened. " I know this may feel wrong but right now, we need to get back. We have to warn the commander."
They moved quickly, the silence between them heavy, broken only by their rapid footsteps.
Back at the colony, Anastasia stood near the entrance, her arms crossed as she watched returning squads trickle in. "Beatrice, any updates? Have any groups cleared the task?"
Beatrice, still scanning the horizon, replied, "No, Commander. But if they stayed on their assigned routes, some should be arriving soon."
Anastasia nodded. "Good. The sooner, the better. We won't be living in peace much longer."
One by one, the squads returned, each carrying their assigned plants, grim but alive. Beatrice's face gradually relaxed until she noticed a missing formation. "Commander, that seems to be everyone except…" Her eyes widened as she spotted Rory, Isla, and Ari approaching alone. "That's… that's all that's left of their troop."
"Where's the rest?" Beatrice asked, stepping forward, dread creeping into her voice. "Did you run ahead?"
Rory shook his head, his tone flat, eyes heavy. "Over half were killed. The rest scattered in panic. We're all that's left."
Beatrice's throat tightened. "I… I'm sorry. I can't imagine what you three went through."
"Don't apologize," Anastasia cut in, her voice firm but not unkind. "This is the reality outside our colony walls. Death follows us. Sometimes it claims us. If you aren't ready to face that, you don't belong in the military." She paused, then gestured to Ari, Rory, and Isla. "The three of you, come with me. Beatrice, keep the other recruits occupied."
Inside the command post, Anastasia folded her arms. "Tell me exactly what happened out there."
Rory recounted the attack, his voice low but steady. "They fired some kind of toxic substance from their hands. It melted our comrades to the bone in seconds. Based on what I saw, they were termites. We managed to kill two, but one escaped."
Anastasia frowned deeply. "Termites… we scouted those paths carefully. Termites don't wander far from their colonies."
Ari nodded. "Their colony has to be nearby. A few days away at most."
Anastasia tapped her chin. "I've dealt with termites before. They're easy to kill, but their acid is death itself. And if one escaped, our colony could be in danger."
Her gaze hardened. "I'll send four hundred ants to wipe them out. I'll discuss it with Queen Celeste and the elders."
"Wait," Ari said, stepping forward, surprising even himself with the urgency in his voice. "That's reckless. We don't know their exact location nor numbers. Charging in blindly will get hundreds killed."
Anastasia raised an eyebrow. "Do you have a better idea?"
"Yeah, I think it's the most effective way to get rid of them. Listen." Ari paced as he spoke, his thoughts moving fast. "Termites build in wooden terrain. A direct assault is suicide. We need to surround the colony first. Three hundred ants to form a perimeter, a hundred to flush them out."
Isla blinked. "Flush them out? How?"
Ari smirked faintly. "That part? I'll explain on the way. Trust me."
Anastasia studied him, her silence stretching long enough that Rory shifted uncomfortably. Finally, she spoke. "You've got guts. And your plan makes sense."
"I'll put my trust in you on this one. Don't let me down—fill me in on the details later," Anastasia said, turning briskly as she walked away.
"Are you going to fight the termites too, Ari?" Isla asked, her voice trembling with curiosity.
"Yeah, I need to be there. I'm the one who came up with the plan," Ari replied confidently.
"In that case, I'm coming too. Can't let you hog all the glory as the only recruit who gets recognized," Rory said with a smirk.
"I'm coming as well," Isla added, nervous but determined. "I'm scared... but I won't be left behind."
"I wonder how all of this will play out… hopefully my plan actually works," Ari muttered with a sigh, his eyes fixed on the path ahead. Doubt flickered in his chest, but he pushed it down. There wasn't room for hesitation now.
The next morning, just as the first light broke over the colony, Commander Anastasia stood tall before her gathered soldiers. Her sharp gaze swept across the lines of determined faces, each one ready to march into battle. The air was thick with anticipation, a quiet tension humming beneath the steady shuffle of feet. Ari, Rory, and Isla stood near the front, their hearts pounding for different reasons—strategy and fear. Anastasia's voice cut through the silence, steady and firm.
"Listen well! Today, our mission is to crush the termite colony. This operation will be led by Ari."
She let the silence settle, watching the flickers of surprise and doubt among the ranks.
"You will follow his orders as if they were mine. Anyone who questions that, will answer to me."
Beatrice's eyes flickered with doubt. " But Commander, he's just a trainee."
"He survived what most of his platoon didn't," Anastasia said without hesitation. "And he's the only one thinking three steps ahead, I mean that's the reason Queen Celeste made him apart of our colony ."
Beatrice glanced at Ari, skepticism lingering in her gaze. " Anastasia has so much faith in him despite him being a recruit, I've never seen her put so much trust in anyone. Who is this ant? What is he really capable of?"
Rory watched Ari walk toward the troops offering insights on the formation and strategy. "He really is something else. It's not just the way he strategized so effortlessly, there's just something about this ant that even the commander feels too, I mean she puts her trust in him and he's just a recruit.
Isla trailed slightly behind, her heart pounding. "He's going to lead us into battle. I hope he knows what he's doing… but part of me believes he does."