Beneath the Spider Tree

My name is Zo, and my ID is W-333. Worker 333. I’m a worker ant, but I hate it. Why do I need to be a worker? Why do I have to carry the colony? Yes, I’m whiny. I care mostly about me, because if I don’t, who will?

I said that all the time back when I took therapy. Everyone thought I was insane, not always thinking about the colony. The ‘Great Good’ and all that. They call it insanity, I call it individuality. Apparently, I was a few centuries ahead of my time.

So, this one day I’m slaving away at the tunnels. We were trying to make this whole new part of the colony called the Safety Chamber. A place to hide if the colony was threatened. Then Vil, my best friend, starts running up.

“HEY! It’s back, the food is BACK!”

We all knew what that meant. Every week on this day a huge quilt was laid out under the Spider Tree and some kind of basket was brought and we would feast. But we had to be quick, because once one of us was spotted these giants would come take it away.

So I hurried along, but I hated this outing. I’d always be spotted first, before I got any food. Once I was squashed and put in the hospital for two weeks.

I’d barely gotten to the big orange fruit when the feet came down. One hit right beside me. I yelped and scuttled away, but my escape was blocked by another. I turned and ran off the quilt, looking back at my colony. Go back and die, or go home and pretend I never went?

I wondered how they were doing as I munched on crumbs in the lunch room.