Day 7 Writing Short Stories

Ants

It was a simple choice to be made: to exist or not to exist. I made those choices every day. Sometimes more successfully, and other times not so much. This was one of those times I made a mistake. Watching my spaceship devoured by a mammoth ant makes you reconsider all of your choices, especially as the said spaceship was the only thing getting me off the planet.

I had always considered retiring to some remote planet with a peculiar nature and a relaxed atmosphere. If you stretched that statement, this planet might fit the bill, but I wasn’t ready to retire and not like this. All the luxuries went down with the ship. I wasn’t ready to become a caveman.

The metal screeched as the ant’s jaws snapped it in half.

I should have surveyed the land better, but no one expects mammoth ants. The tiny ones were already scary as heck. But it was my darn own fault. The fauna was the size of skyscrapers and the other signs on the survey maps of giant earthworks should have been a clue. I had expected worms. They were everywhere. Worms seemed to be the most prevalent organic form in the known universe. Their size varied, but they were always there. Parasitic or not.

“Ants,” I said, and witnessed my spaceship being hauled into those giant earthworks. I dared not think what moved underneath my feet, yet my skin crawled. I could feel ants all over me.

I hopped from one foot to another.

It was the jungle for me then. There had to be someone else stranded here, too. The mysterious, invisible, possible they were my only hope. The corporation would not send anyone after me. My ship and I were small bucks, and my boss hated me.

—

I was pretty sure I would come up empty with this one. I got a voice-driven, sci-fi, comedy, and first-person assignment. When I saw it, I was okay, good, good, and then shit. The comedy element made me question all of my choices. I wanted to raffle it again, but I didn’t. What good would that do?

I like insects. I really do. I used to photograph them, but ants have never been my favorite ones. A few summers ago, one did a kamikaze from a tree and jumped inside my shirt to bite me. There was intention and malice for sure. So, it’s no wonder that an ant would eat a spaceship just to screw you. Poor bastard. Either he goes mad or finds something on the plant. More madness, as no actual environment can handle giant ants. They are bad enough when they come so small. Giant ones would eat and terraform an entire planet.

Thank you for reading! Have a day of possibilities ❤