Page 345 - Demo

345The Commander rushed up to him and tapped, %u201cWell done? Are you alright?%u201dAnton got to his feet, nodded, and tapped a reply, %u201cSore neck. Nothing more.%u201d%u201cGood work, sister. I%u2019ll give you a mention. My, you%u2019re big for a worker and brave too. Go and rest, my soldiers will take it from here.%u201d The leader said.Anton looked at her. She was huge and heavily chitin-armoured. He had nothing but respect for her and her fearless warriors. The leader tapped him with her mandible%u2014a mark of respect. He felt quite chuffed, bowed in appreciation, and then ran to the nest. He went into the tunnels and met Eve, the only sister that knew he was a he and not a she. And she had kept his secret. They were friends and nothing more. They had hatched from eggs beside each other and she had been missed by the nursery ants cleaning process. As soon as he%u2019d been cleaned, he%u2019d seen she was in distress and so he%u2019d cleaned her%u2014saving her young life; an ant caught in liquid still covering her body was unable to breathe. He had licked it away and she had taken her first breath.%u201cAnton. I watched you. How brave of you.%u201d She tapped to him.%u201cNot at all. We desperately needed to eat. I was just in the right place at the right time.%u201d He tapped back. %u201cCome on. They%u2019re bringing it in. I%u2019ve never seen how they divide such a large chunk of meat and store it. We can hide in the shadows and see.%u201dThey hid in one of the many smaller tunnels as teams of soldiers dragged and pushed the now-dead worm into the dividing chamber. Once it was in position, they began using their large mandibles to cut it up into tiny packages. Eve nestled up close to Anton.%u201cI like being close to you Anton. Can we have sex?%u201d%u201cIf we do and we%u2019re caught, they%u2019ll know I%u2019m a male. I will be War