Lake
-So, what do you think is going to be at the end of the stream? What? I can't wait to see what's there... I feel so excited! Come on, it's over this way...-
-What about you? Are you excited as well? Come on! Get a smile on your face! You're only a few days older than us, anyway...-
I sighed.
-I know as much as you about what's there,- I said with a chuckle. The curious drone just shrugged and continued to walk along, managing to stay a fair way ahead of me. The second stayed by my side and kept pace, playfully nipping at a few flying insects in the air.
The stream wasn't too far up ahead. It looked like someone had just gotten bored and dug a shallow trench into the ground, and then let it fill with water. The bottom was covered in small stones and crabs that were able to scuttle along the bottom as if there was no water flowing overhead.
All three of us stopped at the stream and took a deep drink.
-Okay then, we're here!- announced the curious drone proudly.
-So, which way do we head now?- I said, thinking. The stream went in two directions. In one way it went towards where the creatures had been yesterday, but the other went up a slight slope that stretched behind the area where the cavern and the clearing was. I glanced up at the top but couldn't see anything over the rim.
-Why don't we go up the hill?- the second drone said. -I mean, we don't know how far the stream goes in that direction, but it sounds like the source could be up the hill. If it is, and we run into trouble, we won't be very far away from the hive.-
-Let's do that!- said the curious drone and me at the same time. It started jumping up and down excitedly. I nodded as well. In case anything went wrong with the Hive, we could just run down the slope in a few seconds and be able to help. And we wouldn't be able to get lost very easily, as well, which was a good thing
We trekked up the hill quickly, taking bets as to what would lie at the top. I said that there could be a giant mass of water, but the others didn't believe me. The second drone said that there might be a second entrance to the cavern up there, but the curious drone scoffed at it.
-No, I think that there might just be a lake of something similar up there,- it said. The second drone growled.
-Oh, come on! It's-
The drone stopped halfway through the sentence, looking over the crest of the hill. The curious drone and me also got to the rim and looked out... well, I'll just say that at that point, we all felt a sense of surprise and wonder at what was in front of us.
The curious drone and I were right. A massive lake stretched out in front of us, so big that I could only barely make out any details on the other side. The rim sloped downwards slightly to the water's edge, which was composed of rocks both large and small. The stream was flowing through a small gap in the rim, accounting for how it was able to flow downhill.
The water was deep, too. I could faintly see a few small fish gliding under the surface and periodically leaping out, before hitting the water again with a large splash. Then they swan straight to the bottom before getting back up to the top and jumping again. And not very far from the shore was a massive, dead tree trunk. It jutted out of the water like a stinger in someone's carapace, water lapping gently against its partially fallen trunk.
We just stared.
-I am really glad that you suggested this,- I said to the curious drone. It just stood up proudly, its head raised high in the air.
-Well? Are we just going to stand here or are we going to look around a little?- the second drone said impatiently. Without hesitating, the three of us moved towards the lake.
There was a giant boulder sitting at the edge of the lake. It was leaning against a slightly submerged lump of shale that sat just below the surface of the water, and it was nicely smooth and rounded. The thing was colossal, nearly as tall as the Matriarch herself. Instead of moving down to the edge of the lake, like the others, I went straight for the boulder.
-Hey! What are you doing?- called out one of the drones. I turned back to them as I walked slowly to the boulder, walking casually.
-Nothing,- I called back. -I'm just trying to get a good view of the area! Don't worry!-
I reached the boulder. It was dug into the ground at the edge of the water and, now that I was up close, I could see that the surface of it wasn't as smooth as I had thought. There were some plants growing out of the assorted cracks and gaps in the rock, and the side facing the water had been nearly flattened by weathering and had deep scratches running along the surface.
I tapped it gently with one of my fingers, testing how strong it was. Nothing happened, so I struck it slightly harder with both hands in a slashing motion. My claws raked several light scratches into the surface of the rock but it didn't crumble, which was what I had feared it would do.
So the boulder can be climbed safely, I thought.
I braced myself, crouching down and flattening my arms to my body, and then sprung up, landing squarely on the top of the rock. I shook myself off and then sat on my haunches, surveying what was in front of me.
At the far side was a large rock face that might have been a waterfall at one stage but was now dry, and instead of cascading water there was a whole mass of ivy growing on the face. I looked a little closer and I could see a light trickle of water flowing down across the ivy, making the lake at the bottom froth lightly. I could see quite a few more fish darting around beneath the surface and leaping in the air. When I turned to check on the other two drones I saw the curious one in the water but close to shore, chasing after a creature that was swimming like a fish but when it jumped into the air it flew with a pair of massive wings.
Then something moved beneath the surface of the water.
I caught it only as a glimpse – I was focused on the two drones and even then I was only able to see the thing's pheromones – but as soon as I had turned to it, the thing was gone. I knew that it hadn't been a trick of my vision, because the fish in the lake were acting as if something massive had gone past and swept them along in its wake, but it wasn't anywhere. That confused me. Desperate to try and get a better look, I moved out a little further to the rock and peered out over the edge.
I heard a massive, piercing crack from right below my feet. Suddenly, the boulder that I was sitting on literally split in two, tumbling into the water, dragging me along with it! I had no time to react. Flakes of rock went everywhere before the half that I was on collapsed into the water, and then leaned forward, smacking into the surface of the lake with a tremendous splash!
Because I had thought the rock to be... well, almost completely stable, I had dug my claws into the side of it as I leaned over the side, just in case what was down there was dangerous. Unfortunately, I couldn't yank them out in time, so when the rock went under the surface I was dragged along with it.
The water was cold to my skin as I hit it, not in the least because I had just been in the sun for an hour. My body jolted, and I looked down, seeing that the rock had struck a slope that went down deeper into the lake. Straining, I managed to yank my left arm free just as the boulder began to tip forward and I flattened myself to it. Thankfully the thing didn't roll onto the end I was stuck on, and it instead hit the bottom and began to slide down even deeper into the lake!
Frantically, I yanked on my right arm, which was well and truly jammed into the rock. I tried to look up at the surface of the water to see how deep I was, but the boulder half was sending up so much silt and plant matter that I couldn't see anything above or in front of me. Then, I gave another furious yank-
-and my claws simply tore the rock apart as they broke free.
I gave myself a little push off the rock and shot upwards towards the surface of the lake. I paused to look back at the boulder half as it continued to slide down, sending up so much silt that it hung in the water like a dark raincloud, hiding whatever lay on the bottom. Finally, the boulder seemed to hit another piece of rock and it stopped, the silt flowing forward very briefly before stopping and settling.
I peered around the bottom of the lake, trying to see if there was anything dangerous obscured by the silt cloud. The cloud continued to settle and no giant shadows came out of the depths hungry for blood, so I swam up to the surface.
When I hit the surface I practically leaped out like one of the fish that I had seen earlier. I took a moment to look around and check on where the drones were. They weren't on the edge of the lake where I had last seen them, and I felt worry start to build up. If something had happened, then-
-That was incredible!- squeaked a little voice from behind me. I turned around and saw that both of the drones were now in the water with me, swimming like mad. I chuckled.
-What do you mean? All I did was get stuck on a falling rock,- I said.
-Yes, but you got yourself free, and didn't hurt yourself, and... it was just incredible!- the curious drone said quickly and excitedly. The other was nodding excitedly as well, and I felt the same way as well... after all, it isn't every day that one manages to narrowly escape danger in such a way.
-Seeing as we're all out here, let's explore,- the second drone said, and it ducked under the surface and swam away. The curious drone dived under next and nearly leaped out of the water before submerging, and I followed last.
Almost all of the silt had cleared or settled when I dived back under. The boulder had now cracked into three pieces and it lay on the floor, silent, leaving no indication that it had just tumbled into the lake and ripped up the bottom of the lake. As a matter of fact, now that the silt had settled smoothly, it hardly looked like the lumps of rock were new to the environment, instead looking like they had been there for years.
-I don't know about you, but I'm going to get something to eat.- said the curious drone. Now that I thought about it, I was feeling a little bit hungry as well. The last thing I'd had to eat was a piece of the host creatures yesterday, and that had been in the morning. Looking around I saw that the fish that had been scared away by the boulder chunk were back, casually swimming around, but keeping a fair distance away from us.
We all thought the same thing.
-Think that they taste nice?- the curious drone said. The second shrugged.
-Only one way to find out...- I said hungrily.
The three of us darted forwards at the biggest cluster of fish as fast as we could. As with many other things that I had learned, I got used to swimming much faster than I did with slithering or talking.
Actually, swimming was very much like slithering as a newborn. I flattened my legs and arms so that they were pressed against my body and then, using my tail, I propelled myself forward. The fish cluster noticed and they quickly scattered with amazing speed, but unfortunately for them, we were much faster in the water than we had been on land.
The fish were fairly large – about as long as my body – and they had an arch of sharp looking spines sticking up on their backs. But they weren't actually fearsome looking... they even had suckers for mouths, not huge, gnashing jaws filled with teeth.
As soon as I got close enough, I reached out easily and grabbed one in my hands. It struggled for a second and nearly wormed its way out of my grasp, but I managed to dig my claws into it and it stuck fast, unable to do anything but wriggle and squirm fruitlessly. The other two drones had gotten their own fish and were having a little more trouble than I had with mine, and were getting frustrated. The curious drone finally sank its teeth into the fish and it went rigid before going limp. The second drone was a little less subtle and stung its fish with its tail, producing a similar result.
-I liked that!- said the curious drone. -That was fun! We really should try this more often! Heh, they were fast, I want to catch them all...-
-Definitely,- I replied. -But I'd rather do it after we eat.-
Quickly, it glanced at the fish, and then back at me.
Suddenly, both of the drones went rigid. They could hear something in water. A split second later, I heard it too. It was a... growl.
A hungry growl.
-Where is it?- said the curious drone, its head darting around rapidly. It was impossible to tell, but it seemed to be coming from-
WHUMP.
The attack was so sudden that none of us could react. A gigantic creature – at least five times my size – charged out of a rock crevice just under the two drones and opened its huge, gaping maw of a mouth. It looked more like a worm than a fish, with a long blubbery body and no eyes, or at least none that I could see. But it had scales running along its mass and on the end of its tail were two large flipper-things that went up and down, propelling it forward. A dorsal fin sat on top of the bloated mess, but that was of little importance to me.
-Get away!- I yelled, and immediately all three of us started to swim away from the thing.
For something of its size, it was surprisingly fast, cutting through the water like a quill. It snaked through the water, its body pulsing horribly, emitting a roar that sounded horribly shrill. And seeing as it had come out of the crevice near the shore, we were being pushed to the middle of the lake where there would be little chance of us surviving.
Unfortunately, this creature did not know what it was up against.
-Hey!- I yelled to the others, -We need to turn around and stab it with our tail spikes! There's no way that we can fight it head-on!-
-Okay!- the two drones yelled back at the same time.
I turned around to get a better look at the thing and, shockingly, it was gaining on us. It opened its mouth again and this time I could see that its jaw was split into four parts, with a circle of sharp teeth in the centre. A long rope of something, maybe saliva, came trailing out of its mouth and then, without warning, it practically leapt through the water and tried to snap its jaws shut around my tail!
Somehow I managed to coil my tail away while still moving through the water and I made a reasonable distance between myself and the thing.
-Get ready!- I yelled. This was going to be very tricky...
Another shrill roar. But it was further away this time.
-Turn!-
All three of us turned in the water, flipping around to stare the creature in the face. It kept coming at full speed, churning a trail of silt behind it. We didn't stop moving either, though, and we rocketed towards it, getting our tails ready to attack.
The thing opened its jaws, and at that instant we peeled away from the mouth and moved around to its sides, digging our claws in as hard as we could! The thing began to whip back and forth in the water, and its body rippled violently, but the three of us didn't let go.
Gritting my teeth, I raised my tail barb and slammed it down into the creature's hide. The others did the same. As soon as we had done it, the roar went much higher than I had thought it could.
-Ha ha HA!- said an excited voice. I couldn't tell which drone it was, but I felt the same way. No real fear, but a sense of exhilaration and facing danger that-
Without warning, the fish-worm thing slammed into the bottom of the lake. It yelped in pain and then it pushed itself off of the floor again, sending up a thick screen of silt and small rocks.
It wasn't going down.
-Sting it again!- screeched the second drone.
I buried my barb in a second time, this time much deeper. The creature shrieked once more but this time it was lower, quieter than it had been before. But it was still moving.
-I think it's slowing down!- called out one of the drones.
And then, finally, the thing just slowed in the water and smacked its head into a small barb of rock, tearing a cut into its skin. Dark blood billowed out in a cloud but it didn't react and just lay there still. I finally let go and made for the surface, positive that it wouldn't be picking another fight with us any time soon.
The two drones hit the surface just after me. We were now close to the middle of the lake, but it wouldn't take very long to swim back, maybe a minute or so.
-Now that was fun,- said the second drone, bobbing in the water. I nodded.
-Hey, now that the thing is out cold, can we get more fish?- said the curious drone, panting. I took a glance down at the water and saw that the fish were returning now that the fish-worm was out for the count.
-Sure,- I said, and dived under the water again.
After about half an hour, we had caught some more fish and placed them in a small pile on the shore. There was at least twenty of them, so that if they tasted good they could just be brought back to the hive. Each of us had taken one fish and had stripped the scales off.
-So, what do you think it tastes like?- said the second drone as it prodded at its fish with its tail. The fish twitched gently and left a little track in the sand as it was pushed slightly.
-Well, there's only one way to find out,- I said. Picking it up with both hands, I opened my mouth and took a massive bite out of the fish's stomach.
It was the most delicious thing I'd ever tasted.
-I'll take that as a sign that it's safe to eat,- said the curious drone, and it began to gulp down massive chunks of the fish, as did the second drone. I just laughed quietly and then continued to eat until there only the bones of our fish were left. It was that good... as a matter of fact, I thought that I could eat more.
-Okay, if we don't take these to the hive, I will hurt you,- said the second drone, wiping a few loose scales off of its snout. I chuckled and so did the curious drone.
x-x-x
-You look like you've had a good time,- said Stalker as we came back to the cavern, each of us holding several fish. Stalker was standing at a tree in the clearing, holding it with both hands The two other drones bounded off with their piles of fish and went straight to the cavern's mouth, walking inside like they were going to show the Matriarch their crowning achievement.
-It was good, as a matter of fact. Really good,- I said, grinning. Stalker grinned back.
-It must've been. So, was it a river up there, or a-
-Lake.- I said, finishing the sentence. Stalked nodded and peered up at the gentle hill slope.
-I'll look at it tomorrow. But first,- it said, -here's the newest addition to the hive.-
I looked down at Stalker's feet and saw a little newborn standing there, craning its head up at me. It was young, but already had most of the blood and flesh gone from its body. It chirped happily and opened its mouth.
-How old?- I asked.
-Oh, about an hour. That's why it's fairly clean. But I have something to show you,- Stalker said. He looked back to the tree and took hold of it again. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then, it opened up its mouth and a spray shot out, sticking to the tree and hardening almost straight away.
-The Matriarch told me how to do it,- Stalker said, sounding immensely pleased. I nodded and looked at the row of trees going to the cavern entrance, seeing that several trees were now covered at their bases with chitin.
-Do you want to know how to do it?- Stalker asked. I thought for a moment.
-Well... maybe later,- I said. I took off two of the fish that I had and put them on the ground.
-You really should try this,- I said. Stalker looked at it for a second, picked the fish up, and took a bite out of it. It paused and then wolfed the rest of it down, savouring every moment. The hatchling moved to the second fish and began to tear little lumps of it out as well.
Grinning, I headed back into the cavern with the rest of the fish.
x-x-x
A.N.: Reviews? Crits?
