Drone: Chapter 2

Curiosity

I made my way out of the Matriarch’s lair and back into the sunlight. It was at that point that I realised just how cold it was inside the cavern where she rested, and the sun on my back felt wonderful. I was now getting used to navigating around my surroundings much better than I had earlier, and I practiced moving faster and faster.

I heard the cries of the new one, trying to break through the wall of its prison. It was only a few yards away, so I went up to it to watch and, if necessary, help if assistance was needed.

So far, the little one was almost free, and was now ramming into the hard structure at the front with all its might. The structure cracked and burst outwards, spraying more of the warm liquid over the ground, and then a little head popped out. The little one looked back and forth, and it screeched.

I just stared back with amazement. Was that what I had done a few minutes ago? It didn’t really matter to me, so I just shrugged it off and continued to watch the birth with fascination.

The little one started to wriggle out of the prison, much calmer than I had been, and eventually managed to jump straight out of the cavity it had been in. It reared up, shaking off the remains it had gathered on its way out, but suddenly paused and looked straight at me. I stared back in bewilderment, wondering what the hell it was doing.

Neither of us moved.

I cocked my head slowly, and then as I watched, the little one did the same. Slightly confused, I pulled back my head and once again it mimicked my movements.

Humph, I thought, two can do this.

I slithered off to the left and the little one did the same, following every move that I made. I stopped suddenly and, to my surprise, it did so at the exact same time. I got a faint inkling as to how it was able to do that, so I tried it again. This time, I kept my mind blank, thinking that it might have been listening to me all along as I thought.

I went to the right and didn’t take my eyes off of the young one. We both went that way, never taking our eyes off one another, until I doubled back and sped back to the point where I had started! And, as I expected, the little one couldn’t have known because my mind was blank. I just stood there for a second in my wake before darting off after me.

-Ha aha ha- I said, taunting it. The little one didn’t react; it just sat there for a moment, trying to mimic what I had said.

-Hha ah s ahh...- it said, fumbling the words. -Haaa... aha! Ah! He!-

It played with the words, rocking back and forth as it did so, enjoying the new sensation. I was going to follow it, as I wanted somebody to play with, but then I heard the Matriarch’s voice once more.

-Ah,- she said, -so you have figured out how to put words together and speak.- Her tone was slightly surprised, but at the same time it was happy. I turned to the entrance of the cavern and saw that she was now standing there, stretching out her limbs and tail, taking in the warmth of the sunlight.

I tried to respond. I remembered how to put the words and letters together to make sounds, so I tried it.

-Ica-I ca...nn tri to speck.- I said a little roughly. I felt a wave of excitement spread through me. I could speak! I had mastered how to speak... a little rudimentary, of course, but I had managed it nonetheless! I felt immensely proud and stood up as tall as I could. The Matriarch looked at me, and I could tell that she was happy with how I was progressing.

-Very good. I must say, little one, you are doing better than I did when I first tried to speak properly.-

Her attention went to the newly-born little one. It had to crane its head up skywards just to see the Matriarch’s face. She lowered her great skull down until she was level with it, just as it had with me.

-I think that you’re going to progress very quickly as well,- she said soothingly. The little one gave a little chirp of happiness at the praise it was being given. It then scurried off near the entrance of the cavern and she stood back up, flexing her limbs once more to get rid of the stiffness in them. With that, she took several massive, booming strides and went away from the clearing. At that point, my young mind could not comprehend why she would leave us. Confused, I scurried after her as fast as I could.

-Wai moter!- I cried. –Where a you goi-going?-

She paused. Slowly, she tilted her head back towards me.

-Do not worry, little drone,- she said. -I will be back in less than a minute.-

-Bu-but whar?- I stuttered again, not quite getting the words out properly. The matriarch seemed to smile.

-I am getting food and a host.- she answered. I thought for a second. A host? Somehow, the unfamiliar word rang a bell, but I decided that I should worry about it later. Slowly, the matriarch took several large steps and moved through the trees, eventually leaving my range of vision.

I could sense the Matriarch’s presence not far away, so I used my echolocation to see where she was. I caught sight of her, stalking a few small, four-legged creatures. Compared to me, they were massive, but they were only about the size of the Matriarch's legs.

With shocking speed, she burst out of the undergrowth, lashing out with her tail and striking one of the creatures with the barb on her tail. It shrieked and swayed on its feet for a second as the neurotoxins went to work. Finally, it collapsed and went still. A second creature tried to run, but it was speared as well, and then the Matriarch roared.

Even though she was nearly twenty of her body lengths away, the roar made me recoil and jump back slightly with its ferocity. The remaining creatures took the hint and rose up on their rear legs, fleeing as fast as they could. The Matriarch could have caught them easily enough, but evidently the two comatose creatures were all that she needed. Grabbing both of them with her large upper arms, she dragged them back to the clearing where I sat.

I just gawked at her the whole way back. The sheer size of her was one thing, but the speed of her and the fact that she was able to drag creatures that size was incredible to me. She turned to me as she walked past and smiled. -Impressive, is it not?- she said. I nodded.

The other little one had also been watching. I hadn’t realised that it had been able to sneak up on from behind and do it as quietly as it did. We both looked at each other and then back to the Matriarch.

-How did do that?- I asked. I paused for a second and then realised that I had pronounced the words properly. I felt immensely pleased with myself.

-Simple,- she began. -Inside the barb on my tail is an amount of toxin. It paralyses most creatures when it enters their bloodstream, and it is one of our most useful weapons and defence mechanisms. If you want to use a creature as a host, as I am doing, you can use the toxin and they will not be able to react or run away.-

I listened with fascination, as did the other little one. I was excited about having such a thing on my tail, so I flicked it around to my face to see. But there wasn’t anything there. Disappointed, I turned back to her. -Wait, you one, why don’t me?-

She chuckled. -Relax, little drone. You will get a properly formed tail in a few days time. It will not take very long, so just be patient.-

The Matriarch... she had called me something. And it seemed like a nice thing to be called. -Wha did call me?- I asked.

-I only said your name,- she said. -Both of you are drones. More than that, though, you are both a part of the hive.-

I felt proud at that moment, now that I had a name. The other “drone” chirped happily, as if it had given up on speaking for a moment. I noticed that it had some remnants of a hard shell on its face, and quickly it darted off to where it had been when the matriarch had left. Disappearing into a bush for a second, it came up with one of the small flying things that I had eaten earlier. It tossed the bug over to me, and gestured that I should have it.

-Go. Try ih,- it said before ducking back down. I was hungry again, so I moved to the bug and ate it, as I had done with the other one.

Glancing over as I ate, I saw the Matriarch laying one of the four-legged creatures onto a tree. She held it in place with her large forelimbs, before opening up her mouth and making a gurgling sound. The spines on her back quivered slightly at that point, but I paid little attention, too focused on what she was doing.

Suddenly, a liquid sprayed out of her mouth and all over the creature. I saw that it quickly hardened and stuck the creature to the tree, pinning it in place. The Matriarch covered every part of the body except for the chest and the head, which remained exposed. She took a step back, checking to see if the substance would hold, then tapped it lightly with her tail. It held strong. Satisfied, she ducked a short distance into the cavern before emerging with one of the eggs. She sat it down gently, placing it directly in front of the creature and pointing it upwards. When the Matriarch was satisfied with the egg's position, she focused her attention on the second creature.

Curious as to what would happen, I approached the egg. It was massive compared to me; I only reached about a quarter of its height, and eve thn just barely. I peered at it-

HISS!

Startled, I leapt backwards. The egg had just hissed at me!

Slowly, I went back to where I had stood, making sure that the thing was not going to lash out and hurt me. Needless to say, it didn’t make any moves. However, when I got close enough, I saw something.

The egg had gone slightly transparent. Inside, I could see what looked like organs – until one of them moved. There was something inside, and it was alive. Fascinated but now sure that no harm would come to me, I watched. The thing inside was about my size, although it had several huge fingers that were easily the length of my body. The fingers twitched, moving rapidly, flexing itself just as the Matriarch had done. As quickly as it had come awake, the creature went still.

The egg quivered and the top opened up. I watched it, surprised, wondering what was going to happen now. The top split into four parts, opening up like a blooming flower. My attention was then drawn to the many-fingered creature inside the egg. Slowly, it moved upwards to the rim of the egg, and it stepped out into the light, edging forward.

I tried to say “hello” to it, when I realised that this thing couldn’t communicate. Shaking my head, I was about to move away when I heard a low grunting noise.

I looked up at the creature that the matriarch had stuck to the tree. It was stirring, getting ready to wake up, but the toxin was still prevalent in its system. Slowly, reluctantly, its large head drooped down and it fell asleep. The many-fingered creature turned so that it was looking straight at the creature. Its fingers drummed excitedly around the rim of the egg and it reared up. I peered closer for a better look.

With shocking speed, the many-fingered creature leapt out of the egg, its fingers splayed wide, and it clamped around the head of the thing stuck to the tree! The tail whipped around for a second before grabbing the throat and coiling around it tightly. After a few seconds, the two air sacks that sat just below the fingers started to pump rhythmically. And it was over.

I stared at the scene in awe. I couldn’t believe how fast the thing had moved, and in the back of my mind, I desired to move that fast as well.

From behind me I heard the same familiar steps of the Matriarch. She had just finished preparing the second creature for... for whatever it was that the many-fingers did. I looked up at her.

-Do those many-fingered things bring more drones?- I asked. The Matriarch nodded.

-Yes. It is how we are all born. By tomorrow there will be some new little ones.-

I felt happy and excited at this news. There would be more companions! More drones to play with! Twitching with excitement, I scuttled off.

I began to feel tired, so I went a short distance inside the cavern. I found a small alcove within the rock, big enough for me to fit inside without being squashed. I turned back to see the other drone, the sneaky one, trying to catch the flying bugs, and the Matriarch carrying a second egg. Content, I wriggled into the alcove, curled up, and prepared to sleep.

For some reason, I felt excited, as if something big would be happening the next day. I knew that there were going to be some new little drones and more time to play and mess around, but I couldn’t stay awake for very long and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

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