The Nick Of Time (and other abrasions)
A Heart Full Of Dust
by
Al Bruno III
(Twenty Six)
The first Myrmex guard swung at Vagabond but he ducked under the blow. The second swept low at his legs, toppling him. The third and fourth grabbed hold of him and tried to hoist him into the air but Vagabond simply slipped out of his coat and scrambled away.
Just as he had thought, the majority of the Myrmex were workers and took no notice in him. The glare from the tower beat down on them like an artificial sun. He ran for the hive, the four sentries hot on his heels.
Alerted by the commotion more sentries were leaving their posts. They converged around him as he neared the hive. In moments Vagabond found himself surrounded. They closed in, whistling their curious high-pitched whistles.
Vagabond licked his lips and began to whistle himself. The Myrmex regarded him with confusion but continued to advance. An alarmed look crossed his features and he tried again. The Myrmex drew in closer, tendrils slipping from their proboscises. A panic was rising his chest, he was losing time.
A pair of clawed hands wrapped around his waist and his whistles became screams. His ribs felt ready to shatter and the Myrmex's claws were digging into the flesh of his sides. Blood ran down his wildly kicking legs. Another of the insectoid creatures tried to grab him by the feet but only managed to pull off one of his shoes. It stared at the boot with confusion, its tendrils probing beneath the tongue.
There was only going to be this one more chance, Vagabond took a deep breath and whistled.
And this time the tone was just right.
The Myrmex reeled with confusion; some stepped back and some drew closer. The one holding him began to make high pitched squeals and let go.
The impact with the ground was jarring enough, the wounds on his sides only made it worse. Vagabond gasped.
This only served to make the Myrmex even more disoriented. They had been trained to intercept all intruders, but this strange intruder had sung to them with the voice their Queen. Their eyes told them they had a human in their midst but they were hearing their mother's song. The song of they had hatched to and heard all during their pupal stage, it resonated with warmth and love and memories of a simpler time.
And when he began to whistle again, they fell to the ground and began to mewl like hungry hatchlings in need of the sustenance that only a Queen could give.
Five minutes more of the song was all it took to completely undo their conditioning. Vagabond ran for the complex, knowing that by the time replacements arrived it would be too late.
One way or another.
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