Chapter 5: Hopper
Inside the hiding chamber, the ants listened to the sound above the dirt with their knees shaking with worry as they listened to the droning sound up above. "They come, they eat, they leave. They come, they eat, they leave." Atta whispered with fear as Aphie hid up in the Queen's crown. "Excuse me, pardon me. Pardon me. Excuse me, coming through. Excuse me. Sorry, sorry. Coming through." Flik said as he and Harry's team pushed through the ants and made their way to Atta. "Princess Atta, there's something I need to tell you." He said. "Not now, Flik." Atta whispered. "Atta, this is important for you to hear." Ginny whispered. "Not now, Ginny." Atta whispered. "But, Your Highness, it's about the offering!" Flik panicked. But Atta shushed him. Flik bit his finger, silencing himself. Just then, the droning sound turned into a thudding sound like something had landed on the ground above. "Hey, what's going on?" A voice asked. "Yeah, where's the food?" Another voice asked. The ants all gasped at what they heard. "Busted." Peyton whimpered. "What did you do?" Atta asked angrily as the ants turned towards Flik and Harry's team. "It was an accident?" Flik said sheepishly. "Well, at least it can't get worse." Tugger whispered.
Suddenly, a big foot stomped through the ground and made a big hole in the roof, surprising everyone. More feet followed, making dozens of holes. "You had to say it!" Victoria exclaimed. Just then, several grasshoppers dove through the holes and started causing a riot, whooping and cackling. (Wilhelm Scream) "Boo!" A large yellow grasshopper named Molt exclaimed as he popped his head in, cackling as he hopped down into the chaos. "Where's the food?" He demanded. Harry's team grouped up, getting ready as a last resort. "Don't show fear, guys. These grasshoppers mean business." Harry said. "No kidding." Cho said. The grasshoppers continued their riot, circling several ants, including Thorny, Cornelius, Dr. Flora and Mr. Soil. 3 other grasshoppers started kicking Flik and 2 other ants around until they fell down. As they tried to crawl away, another grasshopper landed in front of them. They looked up and stared in fear at the face of the grasshopper leader with a scarred eye. "Hopper." Flik said, making the Queen, Atta and Dot worried. "So, that's Hopper." Kaz whispered. "He actually looks scarier than how they described him." Sarah whispered. "What's the plan, Harry?" Ginny asked. "Don't do anything. I don't want to give these ants anything else to be afraid of." Harry whispered.
Hopper started to walk around. The ants, being afraid of him, cleared away from him. After a while of walking, he stopped. "So, where is it?" He asked. Flik grew worried as he asked that. "Where's my FOOD?!" Hopper demanded loudly. Dr. Flora, Mr. Soil, Thorny and Cornelius looked at each other with worry. "Isn't it up there?" Atta asked. "What?!" Hopper asked, walking towards Atta. "The food was in a leaf sitting on a ro-" Atta tried to say. "Excuse me?!" Hopper interrupted. "Are you sure it's not up there?" Atta asked in fear. "Are you saying I'm stupid?" Hopper asked. "No." Atta said. "Do I look stupid to you?" Hopper asked. "That eye scar sure doesn't help." Tugger whispered. Mistoffelees elbowed him, making him shut up. "Let's just think about the logic, shall we? Let's just think about it for a second. If it was up there, would I be coming down here, to your level, looking for it?!" Hopper asked, getting in Atta's face. "Uh…" Atta tried to answer. "Why am I even talking to you? You're not the queen. You don't smell like the queen." Hopper said, using his antennae to smell Atta's scent. "She's learning to take over from me, Hopper." The Queen said. "Oh, I see. Under new management." Hopper said in understanding before glaring at Atta. "So, it's your fault." "No, it wasn't me. It was-" Atta tried to say. Flik hid himself behind Harry's team as they protected him. "Uh-uh-uh. First rule of leadership, everything is your fault." Hopper said, forcing Atta to sit down. "It's a bug-eat-bug world out there, Princess, one of those circle-of-life kinda things." Molt nudged his fellow grasshoppers, knowing where Hopper was gonna go with this. "Now, let me tell you how things are supposed to work. The sun grows the food. The ants pick the food. The grasshoppers eat the food-"
"And the birds eat the grasshoppers." Molt interrupted. "Hey, like the one that nearly ate you, you remember? You remember? Oh, you should've seen it." "Molt." Hopper said, trying to interrupt. "This blue jay, he has him halfway down his throat, okay? And Hopper's kicking and screaming, okay? And I'm scared, okay? And I'm not going anywhere near, okay?" Molt explained. But then, Hopper started walking towards his blather-mouth brother. "Oh, come on. It's a great story." Molt assured. But Hopper grabbed him by the antennae and dragged him along. 2 grasshoppers leapt out of the way as Hopper forced Molt up against the wall. "I swear, if I hadn't promised Mother on her deathbed that I wouldn't kill you, I would kill you." Hopper said angrily. "And believe me, no one appreciates that more than I do." Molt said. "Shut up! I don't want to hear another word out of you while we're on this island. Do you understand me?" Hopper asked. Molt just whimpered. "I said do you understand me?!" Hopper exclaimed. "Well, how can I answer? You said I couldn't say another word." Molt said. Hopper growled as he was ready to punch Molt. "Remember Ma!" Molt cried. Hopper snarled as he turned around and punched one of the other grasshoppers, knocking him out. He panted as he looked at the ants, who were shocked at what happened. "Wow. That was harsh." Parvati whispered.
"Hey, I'm a compassionate insect. There's still a few months till the rains come, so you can all just try again." Hopper said. "But, Hopper, since it's almost the rainy season, we need this time to gather food for ourselves." The Queen objected. "Listen, if you don't keep your end of the bargain, then I can't guarantee your safety. And there are insects out there that will take advantage of you. Someone could get hurt." Hopper said, snapping his fingers. Suddenly, there was a snarl echoing in the cavern, getting everyone's attention. Dot whimpered, knowing who was snarling. 2 Grasshoppers stepped aside as 2 more grasshoppers brought in a feral grasshopper on a zip tie leash named Thumper. As Thumper was brought in, he roared as he saw Dot. "Who is that?" Sarah asked. "If I were to take a guess, I'd say that…is Thumper, the feral grasshopper." Ron guessed. Dot gasped and tried to make a run for it, but Hopper caught her and picked her up. "What's the matter? You scared of grasshoppers?" Hopper asked, holding out Dot as he walked towards the snarling Thumper. "Dot!" Flik said with worry. "What's he doing?" Demeter asked. "Endangering a child!" Carmelita growled. "You don't like Thumper?" Hopper asked. Dot whimpered as she was almost withing Thumper's reach. "Leave her alone!" Flik exclaimed as he and Harry's team stepped out. "Put her down, you oversized cricket!" Carmelita exclaimed. Hopper turned to face them, seemingly surprised by this sudden act of resistance. He walked up to them and held out Dot. "You want her? Go ahead. Take her." He said. But Flik lowered his head. Harry motioned his team to stand down as they tried to make a move. "No? Then get back in line." Hopper threatened. Flik and Harry's team backed up into the ant crowd.
"It seems to me that you ants are forgetting your place." Hopper said as he dropped Dot and let her run back to the Queen's arms. "So, let's double the order of food." That made the ants gasp. "No! But-But-" Atta tried to say. "We'll be back at the end of the season…" Hopper said as he walked up to Molt and picked a molting flake off his arm. "…when the last leaf falls." He said, dropping the flake like a leaf. Atta looked up at the tree with worry. "You ants have a nice summer. Let's ride!" Hopper ordered. The grasshoppers whooped as they readied their wings for takeoff. Hopper readied his wings and leapt out through the hole. The grasshoppers cackled as they followed their leader through the holes. Molt cackled, but when he tried to take off, he hit his head on the ceiling. But he shook it off and flew out through the hole. With the grasshoppers gone, all the ants turned and glared at Flik and Harry's team. Flik let out a nervous chuckle. "We're in for it now." Jemima said with worry.