The colony stretched out beneath the dirt-packed plains.
A wide network of tunnels and chambers ran through the soil, layered and connected in long branching paths that disappeared into darkness.
From the surface, the land looked flat and still.
But underground, the colony was active.
Workers moved through the tunnels in steady rotations, carrying packed soil in cylindrical containers shaped for transport.
Others sorted small food supplies, berries gathered from the forest edge not far from the outskirts and stored them in designated chambers lined with hardened earth walls.
Warden ants stood along the lower chambers.
They did not speak.
Their posture remained straight, their attention fixed forward as they watched prisoners working along the mines.
The prisoners chipped at the hardened soil with pickaxes, each strike producing dry, sharp impacts that broke into small falling clumps.
Dust gathered at their feet and settled again with each movement.
At the southern edge of the colony, the tunnels narrowed.
Here, the constructed earth slowly gave way to untouched terrain.
This section marked the boundary between the colony's dug-out structure and the forest beyond.
Lancelot, Isla, and Ari moved through the forest.
Trees stood close together ahead of them, their trunks rising unevenly through thick underbrush.
Roots spread across the forest floor in long, uneven lines, twisting over rocks and pushing through hollowed stumps.
The ground was uneven underfoot, forcing careful placement with each step.
Leaves of different sizes rustled overhead, and the breeze passed through the canopy in short, uneven waves.
Lancelot walked in front.
His mandibles cut through tangled vines.
Plant fibers parted and fell aside as he cleared a narrow path forward.
After a moment, he stopped and sheathed his mandibles.
He let out a slow breath through his mouth and continued forward without speaking.
Ari followed behind him.
His shoulders rolled slightly as he stretched his arms upward.
A yawn escaped him mid-step.
He lowered his arms again and kept walking at the same pace.
Isla moved just beside them.
Her head turned quickly from side to side.
Her steps were light but uneven, adjusting as she walked.
A leaf drifted down behind her and brushed her back.
Her antennae pointed straight and her spine stiffened for a brief moment.
She turned her head sharply, checking behind her.
Nothing.
The tension left her in a small release of breath then a short, awkward chuckle followed.
Lancelot sighed.
"I can't believe this… Out of all the options they had, we're stuck with patrol duty?" he said.
He cut through another vine with his mandibles.
"I never left my post as a warden for this," he muttered.
Ari turned his head slightly toward Lancelot.
His lips parted slightly.
"Lance…" Ari said.
He adjusted his pace to stay even with him.
"I haven't been a soldier much longer than you, but our duties go beyond just defending the colony or wielding weapons."
A brief pause followed as they stepped over a raised root.
"Patrols go hand in hand with defense," he continued.
"Detecting threats early lets us plan. It keeps the colony safe… and it reduces casualties."
Lancelot's eyes narrowed.
"You're starting to sound exactly like Corporal Beatrice," he said.
Ari slowed his pace.
One finger lifted and scratched lightly at his cheek.
His gaze drifted forward as he answered.
"I guess you're right," he said.
"Everything I just said… that's exactly what Beatrice briefed us before we started patrols."
He let his hand fall back to his side.
"I could be honing my skills," Lancelot muttered, "but instead… I'm stuck doing the work of a low-ranking soldier."
Isla tilted her head slightly.
"Well… technically, we are low-class soldiers. Just Lance Corporals."
She tapped a fingertip against her sheathed mandibles once, a small, absent motion.
"Anyone below Corporal usually gets these kinds of missions."
A brief pause followed as they continued walking through the underbrush.
Then Isla exhaled softly.
"And honestly…"
A small smile formed, faint but visible.
"I don't mind it. I kind of like the quiet. It's less chaotic than what we've dealt with on the battlefield."
"Besides…" Isla said.
Her gaze lingered on Lancelot for a moment.
Then she looked down slightly as she continued.
"I wouldn't really call your sparring real training. Every time you fight, it ends the same way, flat on your face before Ari even draws his mandibles."
A vein visibly tightened on Lancelot's forehead.
"Shut it," he said.
"I don't need you mocking my training when you're the one too hesitant to push yourself. Look at you...you're practically shivering."
Isla stiffened.
Her cheeks turned red almost instantly, and her eyes narrowed.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" she said.
"I've trained just as hard as you to earn this rank, and I'm not afraid."
A brief silence followed.
Lancelot exhaled through his nose.
"Fine… whatever. Let me focus," he said.
His mandibles flexed once as he cut through another vine ahead.
I hate to admit it, but she's right.
Privates and Lance Corporals are the two lowest ranks. Of course we ended up with a task like this.
Ever since the food supply expedition…
Ari's thoughts drifted as he walked.
Everyone in the colony has been on edge. I don't understand why.
Is it because winter is only two weeks away?
Even Captain Valeria has been acting differently.
And Princess Emilia… she looked worried too.
Ari let out a quiet breath through his nose.
"Could it have something to do with the grasshoppers Evelyn mentioned?"
"The ones that destroyed her colony?"
His antennae shifted slightly.
Maybe I'm reading too much into it.
Ari closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them again.
"This place is..." Isla said.
Her pace slowed.
"I don't know..."
She lowered a hand and touched the ground.
Faint vibrations pulsed through the soil beneath her fingertips.
Her expression tightened.
"It doesn't feel right. It feels... hollow."
Before anyone could respond, the ground beneath them trembled.
The vibration traveled through their legs.
Loose dirt shifted across the surface.
"What...?" Lancelot said.
A sharp cracking sound echoed beneath them.
Isla's eyes widened.
The soil under her feet suddenly gave way.
Her body dropped.
"Isla!" Lancelot shouted.
He lunged forward.
Isla pitched toward the opening as dirt crumbled beneath her legs.
Small clumps of soil tumbled into the darkness below.
Her arms flailed wildly.
Fingers clawed at the loose earth.
"Ahhh! Help!" she screamed.
"I'm gonna fall!"
Another tremor rattled through the hollow ground.
Tiny stones bounced along the collapsing edge before disappearing into the darkness.
Roots hung from the exposed walls, coated with damp mud.
"No!" Isla cried.
Her voice cracked.
"I can't hold on!"
Her legs kicked frantically as more dirt broke away beneath her.
"Hold on.." Lancelot said.
He dropped to one knee and thrust out his arm.
"Grab my hand!"
His feet dug into the soil as he braced himself against a thick root.
"Don't move until I say so!"
Isla stretched upward.
Her fingers shook.
The gap between them felt impossibly large.
A few grains of dirt slipped from beneath her grip.
Then, their hands met.
Lancelot immediately locked his grip around her wrist.
His jaw tightened.
Muscles in his arms tensed as he pulled.
More dirt collapsed into the crater.
Dust burst upward around them.
With a final heave, he dragged Isla back onto solid ground.
The three of them stumbled away from the edge.
Dust drifted through the air.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
As the dust slowly settled, Isla pushed herself upright.
She looked down into the crater.
Her breathing remained uneven.
"That..." she said.
She swallowed.
"That was almost it."
Ari stepped closer to the edge.
His eyes moved across the exposed walls.
These tunnels aren't natural.
His gaze followed the openings disappearing beneath the surface.
"Whatever made them"
"Is either enormous...or there are multiple creatures."
"Yeah..." Isla said.
She looked down into the darkness.
"And apparently I'm the first one who got to test them."
Lancelot folded his arms.
"Next time, watch where you're stepping," he said.
He turned away from the crater.
"So clumsy."
Isla's antennae twitched.
"Hey!"
Lancelot ignored her and continued walking.
Ari remained near the edge.
Something caught his attention.
His eyes narrowed.
Dark slime coated portions of the exposed soil and roots.
The substance glistened faintly under the sunlight filtering through the trees.
A cold feeling settled in his chest.
"We need to head back immediately and report this to Captain Valeria."
Lancelot stopped walking.
"Whatever made these could be heading toward the colony."
"I'm with you," Lancelot said.
His expression became serious.
"Something like this can't be ignored."
Isla nodded.
The three exchanged a tense glance.
Carefully, they began making their way back through the forest.
Then, deep beneath the hollowed earth...
Something moved.
A massive shadow rushed through one of the tunnels.
Fast enough to disappear almost instantly.
The ground trembled once.
Then everything became quiet again.