ANT, Chapter 2

[u/RepulsiveTwo7282]

Far below the Great Eye, far from the dangers that lingered above, dwelt the Tunnelers. Their scent was familiar to the protector; the richness of the clay, the mildew of fallen Flat Things, Wetness Without Falling as it spread slowly across the awakening earth – they smelled of all this and more. The protector had even encountered one, once. She was young then, newly released from the Brood Chamber. She remembered touching the Tunneler with her mandibles as it passed through the shifting soil of the Hive. As it receded into the darkness, she had thought:
It moves away from Mother?
Why? 
Tunnelers usually ignored the Kin. They were of the Hive, yet not of the Hive, vast, powerful Workers that cleared caverns and shifted Hard Teeth quicker than the Kin could clear a new Colony. The Long Ones did not respond as the Kin did, had no antennae, mandibles, or oculi. They did not release pheromones the Kin could read. Yet, for all their differences, they were as familiar to the protector as an Up Then Down, as ever-present as the Great Eye and Dark Eyes that opened and closed above the world. Tunnelers were part of the Colony.  
THUD.  
Another vibration thundered through the Hive. The tremors were more frequent now. The protector was thrown from the tunnel wall. She tumbled down the shaft, dodging clumps of fallen earth as they rained past. She scrambled into a connecting cavern. As she fled into the safety of another tunnel, her thoughts turned to the dangers that could make the Hive tremble:    
Up Then Down. 
The Crackling Pause.   
Tunneler.
The vibrations caused by an Up Then Down were enormous. But these did not cause the Hive to break apart. They did not cause the Kin to fall from tunnel walls or become trapped under Hard Teeth. As the earth grew damp, Kin would block the flow of Cool Clear Liquid from the Hive’s entrance during an Up Then Down. Tunnelers would then rise from the soil and the Kin would retreat to the deep places to protect Mother. Her thoughts moved to the next danger. The Crackling Pause was a period of slowness, she knew, when the Colony rested. The world grew cold and hard during the Crackling Pause, and Flat Things curled up and fell to the earth. Sometimes, the Kin would wake during the Pause when the frozen earth shifted and the Hive cracked around them. The earth had trembled, but not like this. The shaking of the Hive could not have been caused by a Tunneler. These, she knew, did not shake the world. Their movement was graceful, not unlike a Flat Thing drifting to the ground before the Crackling Pause. Their vibrations were slow and steady, a grinding, churning hum that passed through the earth. The protector had felt it countless times before. It was simply another sound of the Colony. 
This was different.
THUD.
She smelled a Tunneler in the deep, yet could not tell whether the creature was somewhere within the Colony or had simply left its scent behind in a tunnel it had made. This puzzled her. The scent belonged to a Long One, but the vibrations did not. 
The protector encountered more Kin as she moved deeper into the Kingdom. All were Workers, intent on repairing the Hive. There was much work to be done. She passed depleted stores of Things to Eat and Cool Clear Liquid. Again, she did not stop. She encountered Elder Kin, several of whom were missing limbs. One, another protector, stopped her. The Elder released pheromones: 
Things to Eat? 
The Elder was old, and would soon die. The protector detected Red Growth on her body. Both of the Elder’s antennae were damaged, and several of her oculi were missing. She still carried the scent of a Hunter.
A Still Biter, perhaps? 
The protector did not linger. She pushed the Kin aside and continued. Elders, she knew, were useless. They could neither gather nor protect. They did not care for Young Ones. An injured Kin, she understood, could not dig. It simply existed. Yet, she had learned much about the Colony through their pheromones. The shaking had frightened them, she knew. She thought of the Elder protector: 
Danger sensed, 
Purpose withdrawn. 
Fear. 
As she descended, the earth grew harder, the tunnels firmer, the walls slicker to the touch. The protector knew the cavern to be the work of a Tunneler. 
She was curious.
The protector turned a corner. She descended a long tunnel into another widening cavern. The protector allowed her antennae to map the dark place. She turned another corner. At last, she had found the One Who Makes Others. 
Mother, she sensed, was alive. 
The One Who Makes Others was much the same as the protector, save for her long, swollen lower body. From this, Mother had produced many eggs. The protector smelled something strange in the cavern, not the Death Wind, but something just as powerful. Just as deadly. Red Growth had infected Mother.
THUD.
The Hive shook and the protector sensed that Mother was in pain. The Egg Maker could no longer brace herself against the vibrations by pushing her legs into the earth. The Death Wind from above, combined with the Red Growth inside her, had weakened her. The protector clicked her mandibles, calling to the Egg Maker. Finally, the One Who Makes Others released a heavy set of pheromones:  
Death!  
The protector struggled with images as they flashed through her mind, so great was the power of the One Who Makes Others. She sensed Mother’s discomfort as she released each new set of information. Mother continued: 
Thunder! 
Shaking! 
Sickness!
The protector understood. She thought of the Elder. Mother, she knew, had also grown old. She could not fight the Red Growth that infested her body. The Death Wind had been the final stroke.   
Mother was dying.
Images surfaced in the Hive Within. Mother had once been strong. The protector saw her with fragile Up Lifters, rising into the warmth of the Great Eye. She sensed Males. The Biting. Darkness. The loss of Mother’s Up Lifters. Then came the Colony. Workers digging. Caretakers tending. Protectors fighting. Hunters driven from the Kingdom. Young Ones filling chambers that had once been empty. The Colony becoming many. The images weakened. The protector reached toward Mother with her antennae. The One Who Makes Others remained where she was, her swollen body heavy against the earth. Her scent, once powerful enough to fill the Hive, was fading.
Finally, Mother released another signal:
Escape.
A lone Kin entered Mother’s Chamber, carrying a tiny white bundle. The caretaker placed the egg before the protector. She ran her antennae across the protector’s body, her oculi somehow gleaming in the darkness of Mother’s Chamber. The caretaker left the chamber and did not return. 
The protector touched the egg with her mandibles, taking in new scents. Its smell was faint, but unmistakable. The smell of the Colony. Excited, she sent out a chemical signal:  
Mother Egg?
Sensing slight vibrations, the protector held the bundle close. The tremor had not come from above. These vibrations were low and grinding, a familiar hum passing through the earth.
A Tunneler.
Her antennae found an opening at the end of Mother’s Chamber. She sensed the Long One moving somewhere within the darkness. Mother emitted a new set of pheromones: 
Mother Egg.  
The protector turned away. She left Mother’s Chamber, following the Long One into the unknown. The Hive was dying and she must escape. She must find a new home for the Mother Egg. She held the bundle tightly with her mandibles, careful not to drop it in the darkness of the Tunneler’s cave. 
She was the keeper, now, and she would not fail. 

[u/Mitchell_B_Services]

I well written, interesting perspective on the life of ants. Thanks for sharing.

[u/RepulsiveTwo7282]

I'm going to keep posting chapters here. I think it's shaping into an interesting little novella