The Call of the Swarm

by Melani Matejak

  Soon all was clear and Xe could carry on with his journey. Nevertheless, that incident was most unsettling, making him to realize how vulnerable he was down on the ground. After some wavering, the frightened Scout decided to take the way through the thicket where the dense foliage would protect him from being seen from the sky.

  His heart beat wildly as he entered the intimidating green wall. It was like every part of his body was crying out not to do it, but he just kept going deeper. The shoddy thicket was more brassy than green on the inside. The countless vines hang from both large and small stalks and sharp metallic-glittering thorns projected from everywhere, so Scout had to bend and twist in order to get through the undergrowth.

  Once he caught some suspicious sounds coming from behind. It was like a twig cracking or leaves rustling, he couldn’t say precisely, but he popped his blasters out and listened closely for a few moments. Everything remained still so Xe concluded it had to be the wind; but from now on he kept his blasters ready.

  The Scout continued walking for much of the day with only several Flea Beetles showing up along the way. Even the skies overhead cleared up and no rain bothered him on his long and lonely journey. He was tense and rigid all the time, and although he would run into an occasional flower or two here and there, he was too scared to think about food.

  Under a thick canopy it was quite dark even in broad daylight. With twilight coming, the visibility began to decrease rapidly. Exhausted by his day-long trudging, Xe panicked when the light disappeared. The idea of getting stuck here in the dark was horrible and he simply had to get out. Without thinking, he started to run recklessly toward the thicket edge, scooting blindly through tightly-woven walls of metallic leaves and tendrils.

  That was a huge mistake.

  The Scout unexpectedly bumped into something impenetrable, concealed in the dense foliage. He jerked back, trying to retreat the way he came, but some sticky matter attached to his limbs and armor and face, binding him in a net-like structure. Xe struggled like mad, but he was dreadfully aware that he got caught in a spider web; a thicket-dwelling Spotted Spider web, so strong and resilient that it could hold securely not one but three Eeols, and there was no chance he could break free from it.

  Swiftly and soundlessly, some large murky shape climbed down from the closest plant stem, and the web-tangled Scout recoiled and fired his blasters on the approaching thing, but in vain as his enmeshed weapons couldn’t take aim. The monster only needed to wait for his blasters to overheat and block. His situation was hopeless, and Xe knew it.

  Eight vicious eyes, two big and six small, came into sight as the gruesome head of a hungry Spider lowered in his direction. Somewhere at the rear of that bloated, spotted belly the stinger brewing with venom was drawn out. The sinister creature curved backwards getting ready to deliver a lethal blow, and the last thought crossing Xe’s mind was regretting he had yelled at poor Jo the previous morning for not paying proper respect to the passing Superior.

  World around the Scout distorted into a blur. There was a reddish flash and a violent wince, and he passed out.

  24.

  Rogue

  Xe was slowly coming awake.

  There was an odd muffled humming around him, similar to the sound Eeol air-screws made when buzzing in large numbers but duller and clearly in the wrong tone. The second thing he became aware off was the sleekness of some unknown material he was laying on. It was a substance he has never previously encountered and it felt dry and porous.

  Baffled, the Scout sat up and found himself surrounded by shadows and a strange glow eradiating from the rocky walls. It was not the familiar green glow of the Eeol Hive but some sick orange-yellow glittering. There was also a narrow stream of sunlight falling on the rocky floor just before him.

  Distrusting his senses, and wondering if this was reality or a mere hallucination, Xe got on his feet, swaying with weakness at first. The horrid crunching sounds Spider jaws had been making still rang in his ears.

  “Have you finally awoken?” said some voice out of the darkness.

  The Scout flinched.

  A mysterious figure stepped in the small circle of light. At first glance he seemed like an Eeol, but then sunlight hit his jagged helmet.

  He was way too big to be a normal Eeol. Taller than Xe by three heads, he also had a much wider chest and his reddish-golden armor shined with excessive glint. A double belt full of batteries ran around his waist, and his lower arms and legs were enlarged, indicating he bore the powerful, enhanced weaponry of a Rogue.

  For several moments they were just looking at each other.

  “Are you going to say something or just stare?” asked the figure. His voice was deep but steady and calm.

  The Scout was appalled and utterly stunned. “Are you… are you…”

  “If I look like a Rogue, then I must be one.” He seemed to snigger a little. “Yes, Eeol, I am a Rogue. But we’ll leave that for later. You are a long way from home, aren’t you?”

  “I…”

  “Let’s try it another way. What’s your name, Eeol?”

  Xe pulled himself together. “Third Class Commander XeraM6697. My specialty is scouting.”

  “A Scout. It figures. Which Hive are you from?”

  “How… which Hive?”

  “Right. I ask stupid questions. Then, where is your Hive?”

  “Somewhere up the Stream. I got lost.”

  “That’s rather obvious, Scout. What happened? How did you end up here all by yourself?”

  “I fell into the Stream during the storm. One raindrop had knocked me on the head and the current took me away…” Then he remembered. “The Spider! What became of it? I thought I’d die in that web.”

  “I pulled you out before the spider got you,” the Rogue said flatly. “Tearing such a web isn’t a big deal for me. I was just in time, and not by chance. I tailed you all day long, Scout.”

  “Why?” Xe stiffened. “What do you want from me?”

  He suddenly got scared. The Rogue was much stronger than a single regular Eeol. The Scout began to draw back, bit by bit, but then he felt the hard rocky wall against his back, preventing him to retreat any further.

  “Hey, easy,” the Rogue reassured him. “Because you are an interesting fellow. I have no intention in harming you, Scout, so cool off.” He turned around. “I’ll get you something to eat.”

  His steps were fast and sure, and he quickly disappeared into the shadows.

  Slightly trembling, Xe pressed against the cold rocky wall. It was partly covered by sheets of same dry sleekly material he was laying on earlier, glued together by luminous substance resembling Eeol wax but glowing orange-yellow instead of green. He looked up, searching for the hole through which the daylight was coming in, but judging by the size of a light beam, it was too small for him to escape that way.

  The Rogue returned carrying a cup-like vessel full of sweet nectar.

  Xe popped his suckling pipe with a click and immersed its tip into the nectar, only now realizing how hungry he was. As his pipe fed in silence, he dared to look around a bit more.

  “Where are we? What is this place?”

  “My quarters.”

  It was evidently some kind of a cave. All the walls, floor and ceiling were richly padded in creamy-colored sheets of that strange porous material, but the coarse black rock was still showing in many places.

  And the quiet hum that Xe heard from the start was constantly in the background. The Rogue’s air-screw was motionless so the weird buzzing could not come from him. There had to be others, and judging by the sound, in large numbers.

  “There are many of your kind here?”

  “No other Rogues around. I live alone.”

  The Scout pulled in his suction pipe, feeling better now, and shook his head. “So what am I hearing then?”

  His strange host smiled. “Let me show you, Scout. Come with me.”

  He turned away from the light beam and strode deeper into the dark
belly of an eerie cave. The Scout hesitated a bit, but finally swallowed his unease and joined his new acquaintance.

  The Rogue stopped by the black round opening. It was a beginning of a long narrow tunnel tilting downwards, wadded all over in the same sleek padding material just without any luminescence, and Xe reluctantly slipped into darkness behind his guide.

  The tunnel opened into a huge chamber with floor level lying deep below. It was well-illuminated by sunlight penetrating from gaps on the opposite wall, while the adjacent wall harbored another yet much bigger round opening. Besides having its walls thickly wadded, the chamber was occupied by rows of large hexagonal cells made of the identical porous substance like the padding; looking like some type of odd uneven comb.

  There was stirring at the back of the chamber, and four gigantic figures came into sight.

  “Hold still,” the Rogue whispered to Xe. “They respond to movement.”

  ‘They’ were the Galahas.

  Among all of the species of Relatives the Eeols shared their world with, the Galahas where the only ones who lived in communities too. Their swarms couldn’t compare in terms of size, being much smaller and rarely exceeding five hundred Flyers, and they didn’t bother to build Hives either but simply set up their dwellings in caves in the warm south slopes of the rocky hills. Those formidable creatures were meat-eaters and hunted petty prey. Although they didn’t eat Eeols, treating them with disrespect would be incredibly stupid.

  “That porous stuff you see all around, that’s not wax,” added the Rogue. “Galahas can’t produce any. It’s a plant pulp they make out of plant bark by mashing it into paste that later hardens into a light and strong matter they use to improve their homes. The luminous orange substance in my quarters is my wax; it doesn’t glow green any more…”

  The four Galahas down there on the floor seemed undisturbed by their presence. They were huge, and clad in dark-green metallic armors with strange thorny shoulders. Their oddly-shaped helmets tapered into long thin projections at the rear; the tip could reach their loins if they bent their necks backward.

  The two spectators pulled back into the dark tunnel.

  “I have settled into the rooms Galahas had deserted,” explained the Rogue when they returned to his quarters. “This one is the most spacious; the main chamber, I call it. There are two more at the back where I keep my wax combs and a corridor leading out. Galahas don’t mind that I’m here. If you keep your distance, they ignore you completely, and it’s useful to have them around for repelling hostiles and for, well, other stuff.”

  Though interested in the Rogue’s story, Xe couldn’t focus anymore. His injured head started to hurt again and he needed rest.

  “I’m so tired. Is there some place where I could sleep?”

  “Sure.” Drawing out a hand spike powerful like a spear and glittering reddish-gold, the Rogue hovered upwards and pierced a few holes in the sleek sheets covering the ceiling. “Here you go. But your flying gear is knocked out, isn’t it? Come, I’ll help you, Scout.”

  “The name’s Xe.”

  “Right, Scout.”

  With his assistance Xe successfully hooked on the ceiling and hung himself upside down. The Rogue left him alone and buzzed off to attend to his business, whatever that might be.

  Sealing into his armor, the Scout thought about the day he just had. His host was most awkward, and it would be an understatement to say he was astonished. The Rogues were supposed to be mindless monsters; hearing one speak normally and lucidly was truly mindboggling. Even his physical appearance was wrong. Considering his size and color, it looked like he just started to change, but his weaponry was far too strong and overdeveloped for that. The Scout wondered how all this was possible while going to sleep.

  The next day Xe was capable to hover down to the rocky floor on his own as the condition of his air-screw improved further. He was still weak and sore, but his injuries were showing encouraging signs of mending.

  The Rogue was there, scuttling across the room and rolling in several big lumps of old wax convenient for sitting. Xe eased on the closest piece. It was soft and warm and made him feel comfortable; to Eeols, wax was the finest of all materials. This place didn’t seem so bad anymore.

  “Let’s take a look on your situation, Scout,” said the Rogue as he sat down. “You want to go home, and that’s fine with me. Just, getting you back is going to be a problem. You are weak, and you still can’t fly, can you?”

  “Just able to hover for several moments.”

  “Moreover, it’s a swarming season for the Greater Grabbing Flies down in the meadows. Thus, taking everything into consideration,” the Rogue propped against the padded wall behind him and continued, “it’s best you stay here for a while. Keep me company until you get your strength back and the Greater Flies leave the meadows.”

  That offer caught the Scout by surprise, but it actually sounded like a good idea. There was something about this Rogue, and Xe was beginning to like him.

  “You want me around?” he asked carefully.

  “Yes. Why not? You are entertaining. And you can make me some honey while you are here.”

  “You can’t produce honey? So you really are a Rogue?”

  “Sure, that I’m a Rogue. Are you blind?”

  That sounded like a joke, but Xe had no desire to push it further. He still wasn’t certain of his host’s true character and had to be cautious not to say something which might make him angry so he changed the subject.

  “I assume there are some decent meadows in the vicinity?”

  “Not a single one. This whole area looks pretty much as what you saw down by the Stream. Rocks and more rocks and occasional thickets at damp places.”

  “Badlands,” said Xe quietly.

  The Rogue looked insulted at that remark. “It’s my home. It’s not a bad place once you get used to it. You can find enough food here and predators are actually less common than in your prized meadows.”

  “No Hives around, I reckon.”

  The Rogue sneered.

  “I prefer it that way. Your kind isn’t particularly fond of my kind, and I was chased a few times by some pretty large swarms. They couldn’t get me as I’m too fast, but then again, better safe than sorry. I generally keep out of the Swarm territories. The border where the meadowland begins is to the north, with a number of Hives located alongside it. However, your home is even more north, I guess.”

  “A long way up the Stream,” sighed Xe. “How far are we from the Stream anyway?”

  “Not much, but don’t be afraid of the Dragonflies. They are rare in these parts and the presence of Galahas repels them. Speaking of which… come, this is worth seeing.”

  The Rogue said nothing more and took his guest down the short corridor running from his quarters to a tiny gap in the hillside concealed among the stony bulges and overgrown with shaggy lichens. From there they had an excellent view of the cavernous opening beneath that served as a Gate to the Galahas community.

  Greening like a moving meadow, their swarm has just returned from the hunt. There were a couple hundred Flyers set in perfect flying formation.

  “Look!” pointed the Rogue. “My Queen!”

  She was indeed an impressive sight.

  The Galahas Queen was twice the size of regular Flyers and colored in vivid green with a bright red helmet, belt and air-screw. Her thundering buzz was louder than all the others. She hauled a Grasshopper hatchling speared on her handspike, and many other Galahas dragged their kill in the same fashion. But despite that heavy load, the party moved swiftly and disappeared into the caves in a blink of an eye.

  “Galahas,” said the Rogue thoughtfully. “In a way, they are like Eeols, and then, they are nothing like Eeols.”

  Later he went to collect food and Xe stayed alone in the silent quarters.

  Strangely, he was growing accustomed to his surroundings. The padded chambers he was walking up and down now seemed quite cozy. He made himself busy by doing some adj
ustments on the interior using his own wax until the Rogue showed up again.

  “Good to see you.” Xe truly meant it.

  “You worried I won’t come back? I’m able to look after myself, Scout.”

  He brought enough nectar to keep Xe occupied with honey-making until the nightfall. There were several honeycombs in two additional rooms, glowing orange-yellow with Rogue wax but otherwise very similar to those built by normal Eeols. Placed in neat rows, the hexagonal cells gaped in silence; they were completely empty, all of them.

  “I wonder what my Eeols are doing now,” said Xe contemplatively while working. “Back home in the Hive.”

  The Rogue yawned. “Ah, the Hive. That’s all you Eeols ever think off.”

  “They are probably looking for me. No, what am I saying? Surely they have given up, thinking that I’m dead.”

  His host just shrugged.

  “I only hope nobody got hurt. We have a situation with one dangerous location in our neighborhood, you see.” And the Scout told the Rogue about the Puddle and his quarrel with Supreme BeraX7719.

  “I understand your Supreme,” he said dryly.

  That angered Xe, and he banged his suction pipes on a waxy side of the honeycomb. “How can you, when he’s so clearly wrong!”

  “Not necessarily. He has a Swarm to take care of and that’s a difficult job. Sometimes the smallest difference in the status of supplies can decide its fate. Individual Eeols lost in the line of duty are going to be replaced by new generations, no matter how harsh it sounds.”

  Xe scowled. “It’s easy for you to praise the Swarm rules when you live alone.”

  “Don’t fume, Scout, but think about this. Why have I built these honeycombs in the first place if I can’t make honey? Surely I couldn’t predict you would come across.”

  He looked at the honeycomb and then back at the Rogue, and shrugged.

  “You think I’m simply insane, don’t you? But first you must know I’ve been living here for a while. Two lengthy winters I have spent in these chambers, and that opens the question of food stock. Well, Scout, it goes like this. In the fall I look for dead Hives and rummage through them for any remaining honey. Every year there are some around because this is a dangerous world, Scout. That’s why no Supreme is ready to gamble with his Swarm’s future.”