The Call of the Swarm

by Melani Matejak

  The Supreme’s voice broke the silence. “So, Page? The Swarm has to know. What does the Queen say regarding our response to the grisly threat of Evil?”

  The Head Page tampered with his visor, pulling it down and then back up again.

  “The Queen,” he said reluctantly, “agrees with the plan. The Supreme Command is approved to proceed.”

  After that announcement the Head Page quickly disappeared from sight.

  “Eeols of the Swarm, you heard the will of the Queen,” BeraX7719 said firmly. “Now, get to work. Our forces are to be divided into three swarms. The first will make a count of our food stock and brood so we know precisely how much of a load we would have to carry. The remaining two swarms are flying out. One to seek relocation site in the Ridge area, as it’s the farthest point to the current position of the Evil and full of caves fit for our purpose, and the other to go after the Evil and provide regular reports on its whereabouts.”

  He changed his posture a bit, shifting weight from one leg to another. “Flyers for the swarms going out will be picked up by their leaders, Mission Commander LegaS6667 and Mission Commander TeraX8891, respectively. Everyone else serves in the first swarm. Hurry, Eeols, the time is short!”

  The red masses stirred.

  Together with many others, Xe bolted from the wall where he was perched down to the luminous floor. A special company tasked with following the Anteater has already commenced assembling, and logically, its bulk consisted of Scouts. His unit 84 was there, swapping nervous glares, and also Go and Te who patted him on the back with a friendly glint in their eyes.

  TeraX8891 got them situated, issuing orders no less skillfully than any other older and more experienced leader would.

  “Don’t forget, Eeols, stay high in the air whenever Evil might be near us. We’ll probably find it asleep, but you never know. Caution is always the golden rule.”

  There was no time to lose. The special company flew out and turned east toward the Stream to undertake what no Eeol has ever dared to do before; to seek the Evil of the Maya Flower.

  The only sound coming from their crowd was the soft buzzing. The spirits were low and nobody shed a single word, apart from the Commanders yelling short orders. Xe felt horrible, both with fear of Evil and the disappearance of his friend. Not knowing what really happened there on the Promenade was killing him. Damn you Rogue, where are you when I need you the most, he thought desperately.

  However, the sweet Eeol buzz and mere company of his kind had a powerful effect on Xe. Others were feeling the same, and that provided the company with additional strength to keep flying toward their ghastly enemy.

  The weather was poor. The sun scarcely peeked over the horizon, rising later and later every day, and white rime glittered on the bare ground and withered remains of vegetation. The thick clouds drifted among iron-gray skies, mirroring in the glassy surfaces of ice-locked puddles, while the northern wind didn’t cease whipping and whooshing. It became too cold even for Flies and the company encountered not a single one. A dead Butterfly lay decomposing on the top of some prominent peak they went past, with its once brightly-colored tin wings now rusty and dirty-brown.

  There was a heavy mist over the Stream and the damp air made the Eeols shudder with unease. Giving their immense size, the diggings of an Anteater wasn’t hard to locate. The huge paw marks were leaving the first hole in the southwest direction and the company had no problem tracking it, stumbling upon another hole just after midday. Equally black and colossal as the previous one but unfortunately much closer to the Hive, it was dug in the broad range covered only in wilted stalks of scraggly Samse plants. While no part of the monster’s body was visible from outside, the prints clearly showed that the Evil had to be in there.

  “We’ll survey from the air, circling at high attitude,” ordered TeraX8891. “That will put us out of danger. We’ll rest in shifts. Commander XeraM6697, take the first half of the company to have a break on the ground, but take every precaution while there.”

  Xe led his Flyers away from the terrible hole, picking a smooth arid plain for their resting place. Completely deprived of vegetation, this dry wasteland was covered with sand of a nondescript reddish color and blocks of some heavily-spotted sort of granite.

  “Ugly looking place,” commented Fe. “But safe, and that’s the only criteria which really matters. The Commander has to know where his priorities lie.”

  Xe nodded with approval. Obviously, Fe was teaching himself to think like a Commander. Dreaming of becoming a Green in the spring, he was already preparing for it, and in his Scoutmaster’s opinion, he was going to make a fine one.

  If we were still alive by spring, Xe thought grimly.

  There was one downside of resting on the open plain, and that was the wind. The harsh northerner blew relentlessly, worsening the sensation of coldness, and Xe couldn’t resist taking shelter beyond the lumpy granite rock nearby, squatting in the inlet. That got him away from his Flyers, but he was still able to see them.

  The Scout reckoned in his mind how long they should stay here. Certainly not too long as Eeol flying gears needed no more but a brief time to refresh; not to mention the other half of the company had to crave some rest. There was also a possibility that Evil might soon crawl out of its lair to restart roaming, and they needed to be ready to follow it.

  But Xe’s thoughts suddenly broke as he got grabbed from behind.

  The howling wind swallowed his scream. Some invisible force, too strong to resist, pulled him backwards violently, giving him no time to draw his weapons out. Despite struggling desperately and gripping the rocky outgrowths, the Scout was overpowered and dragged into the shadows of a narrow crack in the granite block he failed to notice before.

  There was a tiny hollow within the chilly belly of a rock. Xe was cast on his back and something heavy pressed on his chest, making linkages in his metal armor to creak.

  “You will never learn.”

  Xe stopped fighting, recognizing the voice of a vague figure leaning over him. “Rogue?”

  Kneeling on the Scout’s chest, Rogue laughed with great enjoyment and jumped off of him.

  “It’s so easy to surprise you, my chronically caution-lacking friend. Especially when there is a second entrance from the opposite side of this hollow you missed, as you didn’t bother to inspect the block before using it for cover.”

  Xe staggered to his feet, bumping hard against the rock sides within the small space.

  “Rogue! It’s really you. Where have you been? I was afraid something ate you last night at the Promenade. Others said you fled and called you a coward, but I defended you as I couldn’t believe that…”

  “How nice of you.”

  “Rogue, what you did was wrong! Such behavior is strictly forbidden! You can’t just leave the Hive as you like, especially now when we’re in the middle of the biggest crisis ever.”

  The Rogue’s face turned serious. “That’s precisely the reason I left. I had something very important on my mind, and I had to be totally sure before bringing it up. Now I have to get back to the Hive and see the Supremes at once.”

  Unable to comprehend his friend, Xe shook his head, and his metallic helmet clanged hitting the rocky extension jutting from a low ceiling.

  “Well, it is time to take the first report to the Hive anyway,” he said, rubbing his helmet. “But the Supremes are busy, and I don’t know if they will accept a talk with you.”

  The two friends crept out of the crack, and Xe summoned his Eeols scattered over the adjacent section of a sandy plain. The Rogue’s abrupt reappearance startled some, but interestingly, that was not the case with the majority of them.

  “Good to see you, Rogue,” hailed Se and Se. “We knew we’d see you again.”

  The rested party rejoined the Eeol force keeping watch by the Anteater lair. The monster didn’t show itself in the meantime; which wasn’t odd as these creatures were active mostly at dusk. The Eeol company then split to produce one se
parate party to head home with the first report of the day, and Xe was appointed to be the leader of it.

  After long, cold, and peaceful flight, the small party reached the Hive without further complications. There the arrangements for relocation were in the full swing. Both Internals and Flyers teemed around so preoccupied with their work that nobody even noticed Xe and Rogue rush to the underground.

  “You fellows were a little hard to find,” said Rogue, yawning. “I figured you’d come after the Anteater, but it took you a lot of time to appear by the lair.”

  “Seems like you didn’t get any sleep.”

  “It was worth it. You’ll see.”

  When they got to the Supreme Command Quarters, Commander HegoT8330 and several of his aids showed them in and walked the two friends to the Principal.

  The group found BeraX7719 sitting in his chair all alone in the roomy chamber; obviously some internal meeting of Supremes had just ended a short while ago. He looked depressed.

  “Leave us now,” he ordered to HegoT8330 and his Eeols.

  As they exited the chamber, Xe started hastily; “Sir, as you can see, Rogue is back–”

  “Commander, I have neither the time nor the will for that. Just give me the report.”

  “We located the Evil. It has moved closer to us, digging up another lair down in the eastern meadows where it currently sleeps. Our company is keeping guard over it. But Sir, Rogue has some important news, and I beg you to listen to him.”

  His friend used this opportunity to step forward. “Supreme, I urge you to listen closely what I have to say. Survival of our Swarm depends on it.”

  BeraX7719 looked at him without much trust, but he accepted by nodding and kept silent for the brief time that the Rogue needed to present his new idea.

  “Tula?” Supreme repeated quietly.

  “Yes,” assured Rogue. “That’s the name, Tula. A large prickly plant growing at moist places. It’s flowerless and usually of no importance to you Eeols. It’s rather inconspicuous in general, apart from its strong odor which can be sensed over a great distance; a very pungent smell originating from the plant resin.”

  His eyes went glassy with memories.

  “Trailing Anteaters in my previous life, I sometimes observed them to balk when going through the meadows. Beasts would just turn around and promptly leave that area. I was curious and spent some time studying this phenomenon, figuring out that it always took place in the Tula groves. It happens to be a fact that Anteaters hate their smell so much that they blindly run away from the plant. We can easily use this to our advantage. If we would cover our Hive with Tula resin, its powerful odor would protect us and drive the Beast away.”

  “Strange story. Why didn’t you mention it before?”

  “I had to look for Tula first. If no plants grew in our territory, the whole idea would be pretty useless. But near the Stream there’s a shallow depression with lingering water containing an entire covet of Tula that is more than sufficient for our purpose. Or you are set on evacuating the Hive, Sir? Maybe I’m mistaken, but that plan looks tricky to me.”

  BeraX7719 stared at him for a moment.

  “So maybe it is,” he said flatly, easing in his waxy seat and looking tired. “You really believe that resin of yours could save us?”

  “I’m sure of it, Supreme.”

  BeraX7719 went silent for a long time. Xe and Rogue just stood there before him, careful not to make a sound.

  “We’ll discuss it at the meeting this evening,” said the Supreme at last.

  When both swarms returned and the Evening Rally ended, it was already late in the night. The ordinary Flyers were then ordered to retreat to their sleeping chambers while Commanders and Pages gathered at Subterraneous Level 6, getting seated in the packed Principle in a tense and glum atmosphere.

  Reports were first on the agenda.

  Supreme LegaP9308, who was appointed a Commander in charge of Hive preparations, reported on the honey and brood counts, which were finished by now, and on estimated time required to move it all to a new location. He elaborated in detail on these calculations and concluded they weren’t particularly favorable.

  The next was Mission Commander LegaS6667. His swarm discovered some relatively decent caves in the Ridge zone, but they were still rather small to accommodate a community the size of an Eeol Swarm. It was also questionable if could they provide appropriate protection against the cold during the winter.

  The seeking company supervising the Evil also gave their second report of the day. They saw it moving a little before sunset. The creature crept out of its hole to dig up roots in the withered meadows, and it was getting closer to the Hive. It required a great deal of courage to follow the Evil, but Scouts crunched their teeth and did their duty.

  Then BeraX7719 called Rogue to speak about his Tula idea. The Supreme seemed somewhat ambiguous about the whole thing and keen to shift the burden of decision-making to the masses; yet Rogue compensated successfully for his lack of enthusiasm. He was talking about his solution with great passion and didn’t forget to point out his considerable knowledge about Anteaters.

  “Trust me, Eeols,” he said at the end. “I know what I’m doing.”

  The majority of the crowd gave no response to his proposal whatsoever. It was because the general mood in the Swarm could only be described as a grave depression. From their youngest days, Eeols were taught the Evil of the Maya Flower meant the inevitable demise for the Swarm. Many Commanders believed the end was near and that nothing can be done to change it.

  But, strangely, the Queen’s Servants showed support for the Rogue’s proposal and with astonishing fervor.

  “That’s the right way, Eeols!” MedaM0075 was on his feet. “We should defend the Hive with this resin. I’m positive it will work! Let’s not go anywhere. The Hive is our only home and we mustn’t leave it.”

  Sitting not far from the Servants, Xe marveled at their actions. Why was the Tula idea so attractive to them? And how could they back Rogue with so much zeal when only a short period ago they wanted to kill him? Pages were truly weird, he concluded in bewilderment.

  “In fact,” the Head Page added while buzzing his air-screw and waving to several other Pages to escort him, “I’m going to notify the Queen on this matter straight away. It’s imperative to hear her judgment.”

  After their departure, Rogue made some more arguments backed by Xe’s reasoning, and Mission Commander LegaS6667 also joined the debate, siding with them and warning against many challenging features of natural caves that were suggested to be a substitute for the Hive.

  MedaM0075 and his escort reappeared surprisingly fast.

  “Discussion is over,” he said breathlessly, puffing for air. “The Queen decided to go with the Tula option, and we must follow the will of our Queen.”

  Supreme BeraX7719 shrugged.

  “It is settled then. The previous plan for relocation is hereby abolished and all activities linked to it are to cease instantly. I declare that the Tula plan is in power instead and it is to commence immediately. Rogue, would you run the resin collection?”

  “Yes, Supreme,” said Rogue energetically, being the sole enthusiast in the room. “I’ll show the way to the groves and all, but there’s no need for me to lead the swarm by myself. Give that position to somebody with experience, like our Commander LegaS6667.”

  “Granted,” confirmed the Supreme.

  The next day, a huge Eeol swarm emerged from the Hive with the first light of day.

  For a few moments, it hovered above the frosty meadows, seeming like a single living being indeed. Although it was cold, the sun shoved the clouds aside, eliminating the possibility for the rain or snow, and the wind dropped as well. With low temperatures Eeols were able to cope. Still, their trip to the area where the Tula plants grew showed to be long and time-consuming.

  From above, the groves looked like the oversized tussocks of grass. The Tula plants were tall and very branchy with several brassy stal
ks sprouting out of every massive root and bearing thick crowns full of sharp metal thorns. All their foliage was already gone, disclosing conspicuous white beads speckling the dark bark in large numbers. They formed wherever the branches were damaged as the smelly resin was the means by which Tula plants healed their wounds.

  In a blink of an eye, the Eeol inundated the groves. Some were deftly picking up the malodorous beads, while others broke off entire branches, taking them all together with the resin. Within minutes, the red swarm soared again, rushing home with its precious load.

  Once they dumped it on the heap near the Hive, they returned for more. Diligent Eeols continued to work for the whole day, dashing tirelessly between their home and the groves, and then for the whole next day too. The brassy heap grew and grew, and only when they had more than enough material, they stopped with flights and commenced disguising the Hive. The huge waxy dome was duly covered in Tula branches and countless beads of resin until it practically vanished from sight. The excess loads that wouldn’t fit on the dome were laid over the northern rock and the surrounding ground, just in case.

  After short consultation with the Rogue, BeraX7719 declared the end of Tula operation. “That’s it, Eols. Job can’t be done better than this.”

  Fearful and anxious, Eeols retreated to their Hive; all they could do now was to wait.

  The next two days passed by peacefully. The sky was whitish and bleak and the coldness nipping. The sun became too feeble to melt the white frost that glittered continuously over the lifeless plains. The layer of ice covering the puddles was thickening, and the first gentle snowflakes began to dance in the air.

  Then, in the late afternoon of the third day, the east horizon stirred.

  The walking hill came into sight of the sentinels keeping watch on the Promenade.

  Every nerve in their spines twitched on the sight of a swift mass of rough brown hair trampling its way through the rusty meadow. With its tiny ears perked, a giant elongated head was sniffing low against the frozen ground. The Eeols pulled inside with only a few of the bravest remaining at the Gate to peek between the camouflaging Tula branches.