A Small World

Prologue

That day it was peaceful. Everyone was working hard and doing everything they had to do with the utmost seriousness. The scouts came in back and forth reporting what they had found. The army patrolled outside making sure everything was safe. The queen was sitting on her throne planning schedules for the next few months. Everyone was busy, except for me.

I was the lazy type, always finding time to sit around while everyone else seemed to be overwhelmed with work. I was also very mischievous; I liked nothing more than to play pranks on every single person, even the queen. But the one I liked to mess with the most, was that stupid fat human boy and yes, he was smelly.

I'd lie safely in the grass watching quietly as the boy ambled out of his house the fat on his cheeks bouncing as he walked. I'd quietly sneak up his bright white sneakers and laugh as he jumped and rolled around scratching his skin till it bled, red spotted on every part of his body, which I bit.

However that day it seemed the boy had had enough after I had bitten him only two times the boy ran inside.

I laughed at him, being so huge and having to run from someone as little as me. But only moments later the boy came out with a bottle from which a pungent and dizzying odour was coming. My head spun feeling light as breath hit hard within my chest, I almost blacked out as the boy passed, shaking the earth and carrying that horrid smelling bottle. My eyes stung causing tears to fill my vision, with my eyesight blurry I saw him running, but to where?

I rubbed my eyes, blinking away the tears. I struggled to remember what I was doing. Looking around I picked back up the boy. I began to follow him and realised he was heading straight for the nest. I decided I would have to warn everyone, he'd never done anything to the nest before but this time it seemed he was out for revenge.

Today was the worst possible day for such a thing to happen, everyone was in the colony, everyone.

Today was the day my best friend in the whole wide world was going to be knighted as commander of the entire kingdom's army. I should've been there too but he never hung out with me when I messing with the human, I figured he could forgive me for one day.

I ran as fast as my six tiny legs could go crashing through the sharp blades of grass feeling the sting as they whipped by my eyes, trying to avoid stumbling over the thick clumps of dirt.

However by the time I got there the boy was already pouring the foul liquid over the nest, a sneer on his face. I heard the screams of the women and saw the big soldiers passing out instantly from the horrid smell. I saw the tiniest ones simply drowning in the brownish liquid, their anguished screams vibrating through the air.

I tried to get closer to try to help but I couldn't take more than two steps without nearly passing out as waves nausea washed over me, my legs becoming useless to my body as the scent took over. The bottle was soon empty. I thought they were all dead but then I saw a few, the strong willed ones, slowly pulling themselves away. Among them I saw him, Blue, struggling to drag himself out of the sticky fluid. But then there was a noise and a different smell. A smell like, like fire! I looked at the boy and saw him holding it in his hand; it fell so slowly to me. I screamed loudly, yelling for Blue to get away, to get out, his eyes met with mine for a split second, they were streaming with tears, his eyes were fearful, sad, desperate like if his heart was broken a million times, but the thing I thought I saw the most was disappointment, but it wasn't disappointment in me it was disappointment in himself, only a split second later the fire had engulfed his body and all those that remained. I rushed forward only to be blown away by the hot searing pain of the fire.

I awoke with a charred middle left leg. Barely being able to move I dragged myself across the warm dirt, surveying the coal black ground. There were parts of my dead brethren everywhere. I hung my head, gripping tightly onto the black ground as tears poured from my face. If only I had gone to the ceremony. Why couldn't I have been there for him? Now everything was gone, my best friend, the colony he loved so much, I burrowed my head into the ground.

Then I felt a shuddering in the ground. Was the boy coming back? I felt the earth shake beneath me as I was lifted up and a human's coarse fingers came up around me caging me in. The trip was horrible every step that human took sent waves of intense pain through me. I gritted my teeth praying for the nightmare to be over. Soon there was a loud thump and suddenly I felt warmer. I was passed to another, don't know what they were saying, their speech was much too deep. I was set on a hard cold surface and then a bright light came up about me, I cringed closing my eyes. Then with merely a moments pause after the light, an intense pain came over me. I passed out screaming in agony.

When I finally woke again I was out in the open with the grass all around me, the sun had long set and the moon shone down like a proud beacon. I felt a weight at my middle left side. It was a silver leg. I could move it. I pumped it up and down feeling it out, It was just like using any of my other legs. I felt so good, much better than I did even before the fire, stronger too.

While wallowing in my new glory I felt a darkness come into me and I thought up a crazy Idea. I could make a new colony but not with any old ants, I'll make the most powerful colony ever, with the best of any type of any ants I could find and I would be King. The common little red ant will rule them all! And what's more the humans will pay for everything!

Everything!