FicWad

The ground quaked at the stampeding of the horses above, specks of dirt fell on top of the Pismire workers as they mined for salt in the underground cavern. A boy no more than 5 feet tall stopped in his tracks his good eye fixated on the ceiling above. Resting his pick axe on his shoulder, Zahn held his hand out from underneath his torn dirty brown cloak revealing red human like hands emphasizing the black joints in between his wrists and fingers. From behind came a voice, a large husky ant called out to him his tone showed his obvious annoyance.
“Get back to work! We need to get as much salt as we can or the humans are going to get pissed!” he demanded glaring at him with cold distant eyes.
He nodded, his short obsidian hair bouncing up and down over his bandaged left eye. With that he lifted the wood and steel off his shoulder and into the hardened earth, the metal causing it to scream underneath its force. This was it. This was the life he lived ever since he came here, slaving in the salt mines gathering the white specks of crystal for human consumption. His people, the Pismire, had ant like characteristics coming in all shapes and sizes. Although unlike normal ants they were capable of language and over the millenniums gained a bipedal form but lost their second pair of arms. The Pismires were in the trade of salt mining for other races such as humans and the Wolfens. Unlike the other races, his kind had been forced underground with no hope of ever leaving this forced slavery. However, there seemed to be a time where the Pismire did not live beneath the surface and in fact walked on the land above, but after the hundred year war between all the races they were forced to live under the lightless Earth.
Staring at a semi-large boulder, Zahn slammed his axe down bombarding the hardened earth with continuous blows to the center before it cracked under the pressure and broke apart. The ant continued until yet another voice interrupted him, this time it came from his childhood friend Viski who spoke,” Yo Zahn! Take a break will ya? You’ve been working since dawn and it already half pass noon.”
His antennae turned to her direction as he laid down his ax and replied,” Can’t. Zagon said to keep working. The Humans are coming to retrieve the salt, so I need to get as much as possible.”
She glared at him and yelled,” Don’t worry about that buffoon! You know he has it out for you! Beside he’s not even the Head Chief, so he's the same rank as us! Besides, the humans won't be here for another 3 days or so, so you don't need to work so hard in a single day.” Zahn was about to answer but Viski cut him off with a quick bop to the head and continued,” I don’t wanna hear any objections! You’re taking a break and that’s final, understood?” She asked him knowing the answer.
Not wanting to invoke her wrath he nodded receiving a smile for his obedience, and then was dragged off out of the cavern and into the main hall. Walking down the dark path, he felt a pair of eye seer through his exoskeleton wondering who was looking at him with such malice. As he was about to gaze upon his "attacker", Viski pulled him along turning the next corner into a large room filled with tables. There seated, were a great many Pismire chatting about their day and other things that Zahn would never understand or see the point of.
“Ahhh Look! There serving Freska! It smells delicious don’t ya think Zahn?” she asked excitedly waiting for his response. However, her words did not reach him as he stared at the ceiling up above where one stray of light entered. Out of all the places in this underground city this was his favorite place to be even with all the chattering of the colonists. The lunch hall was the closest thing to the outside world he knew, second to the Pickup Center that lead to the world above. Sadly, workers such as himself were not allowed near it, and there were very few who dare walk through it. Sunlight is so beautiful. Can I touch it? Will it burn if I do? What is it like above? He thought to himself always wondering what was out there.
“Zahn. Hey Zahn. ZAHN! HEY I’M TALKING TO YOU!” Viski yelled in a shrill voice.
Jerking his head away from her mouth, he paused for a moment waiting for the ringing of his antennae to stop before looking at her and questioned,” Viski what was that for?” his voice not shifting from his usual calm tone.
She pouted,” I was talking to you, and you completely ignored me! You went into that thing again and blanked out!” she stared at Zahn with an angered expression. “Oh did I? I’m sorry Viski ummm. . . Sorry could you repeat what you said?” he inquired rubbing his head knowing what was to come next. The female Pismire sighed, pushing a stray piece of her long lavender hair behind her antennae she glared at Zahn with her pink irises.
“Damn it Zahn! At least you could remember the last thing I said!” she yelled at him this time his hand covered his antennae muffling her loud voice. Letting out a sigh she continued,” Anyway, I was saying how the Freska looked good today."Zahn glared at the gigantic pot of green as Viski forced him into line, a smile running across her face as she slammed a bowl into his hands. Freska was a horrendous concotion made up of Termite larvae as well as chewed peices of a particullary sweet plant known as Chillium found within the depth of the underground cavern. It looked and smelled as bad as it tasted, and Zahn could honestly say that he completely hated it, one of the few things he did have an opinion on. However, for some odd reason, Viski found the soup to be extremely delicious and often times would force it down his throat. Approaching the putrid substance, Zahn took a gulp thinking that if it was Pismirely possible for them to sweat then it would have been an excellent time to do so. He loved Viski, he truly did, but sometimes he got the feeling that she enjoyed torturing him by cruel and unusual methods.
Dragging his feet, he stood in front of the disproportioned chef, his meaty hands choking the wooden ladel in his grasp. "Bowl." he commanded, Zahn hesitantly holding his bowl out in order to catch the green goop that he soon would unwillingly be eating. The sound sent chills down his spine, the green menace sliding down his bowl like a monsterous blob, it's hand extending out until it had fully taken control of the inanimate object. A low giggling could be heard in the background, Viski poorly trying to hide her obvious laughter at his misfortune.
"Is it really that funny?"he questioned, moving out of the line so she could get her own helping of regurgitated goo.
"Why yes, yes it is." she danced cheerfully to a nearby seat, her face glowing with joy. Zahn followed behind her, taking a seat on the cool mud stool that was to be his chair. Staring at his "lunch", if this could even be considered food, he poked at with his elongated fingers waiting for it to attack him in any second. The stew made no sudden movement and instead jiggled with each touch, sometimes gently sucking his fingers to appear to be as harmless as any other bowl of goop out there. It wasn't fooling anyone, especially not him, a Pismire who knew what this thing was fully capable of doing. Although his kind had specially developed an incredibly stong acidic stomach in order to digest food easily, this was one of the few things capable of causing serious intestinal problems within them, or him at least.
"Zahn! Stop playing with your food." she commanded, his body turning stiff at her words. "Good. Now instead of poking your food to death, why don't you try ya know, eating it? Probably would be better you know." she advised, Zahn followed her orders reluctantly, weidling his spoon like a weapon to kill the beast in front of him. Slamming his hammer down, he managed to wound it only slightly, a small piece of it stuck within makeshift club. The moment of truth had arrived, oh how he had wished it not to be so, but duty called as he dutifully placed it in his mouth and swallowed not even considering chewing as it would make this hell last longer.
Disgusting. Absolutley disgusting. Even without having to bite into it, he could still taste the sliminess of the larvae that was only made somewhat durable by the sweetness provided by the Chullium. Zahn had a good mind to spit out whatever he was eating, a sudden wiggling in his throat made him want to vomit. "It's only food." he reminded himself, the thought helping him endure this torturous process. Viski laughed in her seat, uncaring whether she had been spotted by the throughly disgusted Zahn. She let out a loud hardy laugh, the other Pismire looking in their direction and one by one joining her until the room was a buzz with anonmous chuckling, most not even knowing what they were laughing at. If his exoskeleton hadn't already been red, he would have surely been caught red with embarrassment, already hiding his rounded face underneath his dirt covered cape.
Suddenly it went silent, not even Viski made a sound as a large Pismire entered the hall. His body was huge an estimated 6'3" rather tall for a species that normally grows to be around 5'6". Zahn turned to see who had brought about such silence, seeing the Pismire who's face showed his immediate unhappiness and then he understood. That man was Helio, the son of the Head Chief and only successor to his position. Helio wore a leathery hood that one could only imagine how he recieved as the materials of that quality had become extremely difficult to find or more so impossible to get without outside help. He wore no shoes, as most of the colonist didn't, and his hair had grown a fiery red falling down to his shoulders.
"What are you doing?" he asked calmly, no one dare answer him for they fear of incurring his wrath. He repeated it once more recieving the same silence as he had the first. Growing frustrated by his mute clan members he took a deep breathe before asking once more.
"What are you idiots doing!" his voice shook the room, Pismire of all sizes jumped at the base of his voice. "We have only a few days before the humans come expecting their salt. They want five hundred pounds! Five hundred pounds and we have only collected a measely three hundred." he paused to let out his irritation with a blood curdling growl. "You all know that this is the only way we've survived thus far. If we start half-assing our work now, who knows what may happen to us." The ant ceased his speech, Zahn confused by the sudden ending. His confusion soon turned into surprise as the other slammed a unsuspecting fellow's Freska bowl onto the table, the wood breaking into tiny pieces. "Could have been mine." he complained, before the ant once again started his rant.
Helio talked for another minute or so, Zahn completely blanking out, looking at the ceiling his thoughts floating into a world of his own making. Once over, they colonist who were once eating left their seats, the sound of wood thumped against their shoulder as each took hold of their pick ax walking into a seperate tunnel. The only one left were Viski and Zahn, Viski who let out a deep breath as if she had been to afraid to breathe while Zahn kept staring at the ceiling. Examining her friend, she grew angry for reasons unknown and popped the unsuspecting boy on his head, Zahn letting out what she thought was a satisfying oww.
"Again." he whimpered. Viski hopping up from her seat and did as she had always done, dragged him off to some place he surely didn't want to go to.
"I'm pretty sure you were having one of your dellusional day dreams when Helio was talking so I'll just sum it up for you. We gotta mine 200 more pounds of salt, or he'll burn us alive." she stated bluntly, Zahn nodding his head as a sign that he understood, Viski rewarding him with a simple pat on the head. He groaned, as she brought him towards the Pick Ax rack that was conveintly place here for them to get back to work once eating was over.
"Zahn, I-" Viski attempted to say before Zahn cut her off. "I know, no need to worry about it. Truthfully, I didn't want to eat it anyway." he stated, Viski puffing her face in a childish rage, punching him in the gut before walking off, expecting him to follow behind. Trailing behind, Zahn stopped, his back felt like it was burning just like before he had left the cavern the first time. Who was staring at him? He quickly look behind only to see and empty lunch room, the feeling having imemdiately left. Strange. He wondered who could have been in there, but his thoughts were put to an end by a screaming Viski. Jumping at her voice, he walked towards her, the sensation leaving him with a feeling that something was going on. And it didn't feel right.