The day started out as any other normal day. Bill woke up, stretched, went to the bathroom and got ready for work. He stared in the mirror. It was going to be one of those days. One of those days when everything was just "blah". He asked his reflection, "Well, is there anything more to life than this?" But he never got a response.
Sighing, he gathered his things and went to work. So many of his neighbors were headed the same way. They all followed the same path just like a bunch of herd animals. Everyone plodded along, lost in their own little words, a occasional apology mumbled when they all had to stop. No one talked to each other, no one cared.
At work, they had to have the morning safety meeting. Bill didn't want to be there. He didn't want to be at work. He longed to be outside, enjoying the sun and grass and fresh air. He longed for that opportunity. Every now and then, he got outside on a supervision detail. He wanted to do more, but "no," they said "he was too important to be outside, he had to supervise the workers in the tunnels." What a croc of beetle dung!
The boss droned on and on about the importance of making this tunnel strong. It was supposed to be the new thorough-fare. Their route to the new expansion, the colony had gotten too big. It was time to branch out. Bill couldn't think of anything else but fresh air and sunshine.
Lost in his daydreams, Bill came to to find the safety meeting over, and everyone heading out to their posts. Bill collected himself, and started to head out when he saw the boss headed in his direction. "Great," Bill thought. "So much for blending in today." He just didn't feel like hearing it today. He just wanted to get through the day and go back to bed. It just wasn't a good day.
"Bill, before you go, I need to have a word with you." The boss began. Bill sucked in his sigh, and nodded his head. The boss droned on and on about project timeline's, and meeting goals and expectations. Some slight mention of a bonus involved, which was quickly glossed over. They didn't want to promise too much, those bosses. Just work an ant to death.
The day passed uneventfully. They were making good progress. But they had come to a point where they needed to dig an outside portal. They were getting close to breaching the surface today. Once that was done and the outcropping was secured, they could begin the last stage of the tunnel. Then it would be time for the explorers to begin building the new Colony.
Bill knew he would never be chosen for the new Colony. He was an older ant, larger and slower. The new colony would be for the young, agile, go-getter ants. They would start the new dream. He would be stuck here doing his tunneling until he died. Some dirt fell from the ceiling nearby. That is if one of these new tunnels didn't kill him first. But Bill was the kind of foreman that worked. He would get in there and do what needed to be done. He wasn't afraid to get dirty.
He was at the end of the tunnel, inspecting the support structure, when it happened. A cave-in. There was yells that the rain had come out of its normal pattern. Before Bill could do anything, the ground rumbled and the entire opening burst in with large chunks of dirt and water droplets.The ants behind Bill were falling to their deaths. There was only one option for him, fight his way through.
Furiously Bill struggled upwards. Somehow, defying gravity and logic, he managed to break free of the falling debris to find himself climbing a blade of grass to see what what going on. Ants were pouring out of other holes to see what was going on. He could see the Generals directing the young soldiers into a perimeter of defense. The rain wasn't falling from the sky, but coming from somewhere else.
Bill scanned the horizon. Taking in the beauty around him. The sky was blue, the sunshine felt warm on him, the grass was green and there was slight breeze blowing. Bill was in heaven.
The screams of ants nearby brought him out of his reverie. There was something massive walking across the ground. This surely was the cause of water. He watched a foot come down on some of his fellow ants, the brave souls that made it out of the way, turned and attacked, grabbing ahold of the bottom of the appendage and racing towards the top. These were the best fighters that his colony had to offer. Bill was certain that they would be able to chase away this threat. Then it was back to work for Bill.
He leaned back, at least he could enjoy the outside for a little while longer. No one knew he was here, and he wasn't needed right now. A brief shadow over the sun threw Bill's eyes wide open. He saw the foot heading straight down on top of him. Bill didn't realize that this being had two feet. Bill scrambled as fast as he could down the blade of grass he was on. He started sliding and jumped through the air for the next blade, he missed his landing, hitting a bead of water instead. Loosing his balance, he rolled end over end down that blade of grass and onto the next. Landing on his back, Bill watched with horror as the foot descended right before his eyes. It was RIGHT next to him. The force of the air from the foot landing on the Terra threw Bill up into the air.
Before he knew what was going on, Bill found himself on top of the creatures foot. He was being lifted into the air. At first Bill was terrified and held on for dear life. But after a few minutes of not going flying off, Bill started to enjoy the wind rushing over him as the foot moved. It was like riding a colosal beast, but with no way of control. Bill had never felt so much fear, so much joy in his entire life. THIS is what he had been searching for!
No longer frightened, Bill started looking around him. He looked back to the other foot just in time to see those crazy warrior ants start to attack the other foot. The human felt them and started stomping and dancing around. It was like riding a bucking elephant. Bill was holding on for dear life. But it wasn't enough, he was slipping. Finally in desperation, Bill reached out and bit the flesh to hold on. The human felt him and swept his giant hand across his foot. Bill let go and just rolled along the hand. At the last instant, he grabbed hold of the hand and let it lift him high into the air.
At the peak of the swing, Bill leaped off. "This was the end," he thought. He could think of no better way to die than falling free through the air, soaring like a bird. Down and down he fell, the wind whistling past him. He saw the ground rushing up to meet him. Bill closed his eyes and smiled. He was ready to go.
Sploosh!
Bill landed in a bead of water. He floated a minute before the force of his impact broke the surface tension and burst the bead. He landed on the ground sputtering and shaking. He couldn't believe what had happened. He had lived through it. He had managed to survive.
Bill stood tall. He was blessed by the gods. It was time to return to colony, and take his place as a shaman. His days of meaningless toil were over. Bill had been tried and found true. It was time for Bill to relax and tell the bosses what to do.
As he started back towards the colony, Bill found his footing slippery and hard to control. Looking around, he realized he wasn't on the ground, but still high in the air. He was on the shiny metal thing that the human moved around in. Just as this realization hit him, he managed to see the hand sliding right at him. Bill had just enough time to grab hold before it swept him off his feet.
"How Ironic," Bill thought. Just another story of how holy he was. The human bringing him to the Earth. The hand came to an aburpt stop, and then reversed directions. Bill hadn't been paying attention, making up a story about how powerfully magic he was. Instinctively reaching out, Bill grabbed hold of the skin with everything he had, including his teeth.
The Human was already enraged by the earlier attack, Bill never had a chance. The human quickly pinned Bill against the car and squished him dead. Bill never saw it coming.
The last sound Bill heard was "Gotcha!", then the world went black.
And the human continued on.
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