The Illustrated PROPHETS OF THE GHOST ANTS: Part One, The Roach Boy by Carlton Clark Thomas

Author:Carlton, Clark Thomas [Carlton, Clark Thomas]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: Science-fiction, fantasy, insects, ants, military science fiction, cult, Ant Man, Dune, Marvel, E.O. Wilson, evolutionary biology, LSD, Star Trek, religion, humanism, action-adventure, micro-worlds, world building, hallucinogens, mushrooms, illustrations
Publisher: Seven of Cups LLC
Published: 2014-11-13T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Promises

Bulging from the wasp’s head were monstrous eyes as dark and deep as death itself and as wide as Anand was tall. The wasp hovered with two pairs of orange wings, more garish than the dying sun. A long and sinister stalk connected its middle to a black abdomen with indigo stripes. At its end was the long and notorious stinger.

A dozen wasps had landed silently at the camp’s edge and were crawling into its center. The tribe flipped over their carpets to expose undersides encrusted with crystal razors. The people scrambled under the carpets and curled themselves into balls. Atop the chieftains’ platform, Daveena and Corra were hesitant to take cover, staring at the wasp descending on Anand. The chieftains grabbed the women by their ankles and yanked them down and under.

Atop Bejetz’s shoulders, Anand had been the easiest target. As the two of them dropped, the wasp lunged at Anand as he scrambled for the carpet. He gasped when the wasp caught him then cried in pain when its leg needles pierced his skin. Daveena looked out as Anand groped for the carpet’s edge, only to see him jerked into the wasp’s embrace.

“No!” she shouted, as she popped from the carpet and threw herself at the insect’s forelegs. She banged against them but caught the hem of Anand’s cape. When the wasp rose in vertical flight, it took both Anand and Daveena.

“Let go, Daveena,” Anand wheezed, struggling to stay conscious, “Let go now or you’ll die!”

But Daveena would not let go, though her clutching hands were fatigued in an instant. Her fingers slipped from the oiled cape, then caught the ankles of Anand’s boots. She swayed below him like a kite’s tail, swinging left and right. The wasp wobbled in its flight as its antennae picked up her scent and probed downwards.

Below them, Corra peered out in panic, writhing, as the two were spirited away. “Be still!” Zedral shouted at her as he felt the predators crawling over them.

“I can’t just lie here and do nothing!” Corra cried.

“You have to,” shouted Zedral.

As they ascended toward the wasp’s nest in a distant tree, Daveena shrieked when the wasp’s abdomen curved under and towards her. At its end was the clear, sword-like stinger with its inner needle pulsing inside. As if she were on a rope swing, Daveena pumped her legs, rocking herself and Anand. She avoided the stinger as it stabbed and missed and stabbed again.

Anand’s clothing and skin were coated with oil. Each time Daveena swung, he felt himself slipping. The wasp’s grip had shifted from his chest to his shoulders. His lungs were freed to breathe and his mind cleared.

“Keep swinging,” he shouted to her and she pumped even harder.

He squirmed himself out and fell, only to be caught again. His cape had flown up and the wasp had snatched it in its mouth. The collar gagged him. He took his knife from its sheath and brought it to his neck.

When he cut the collar, the two of them plummeted.

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