and the Insects had their Hour .... short story

[GeoffC]

A shortie for quick readers ...

and the Insects had their Hour ....


There had been rain the night before, though the puddles were slowly drying from the roads, pavements and roofs of the buildings. But it was now sunny; with a deep blue sky overhead reflected in puddles that shone with a vast array of colours from doorways, shops and stationary vehicles. Now a few hours after dawn, the rain was readily evaporating from all except deeper pools and where the warmth of the sun had not yet reached.

But the town lay quiet that morning; with no movement of people, young or old, to be seen anywhere. Vehicles stood silent on the roads; some seemed abandoned mid-street, with a few straddling pavements as if drivers had swerved to avoid something; and then fled. On the breeze there were faint and distant sounds of adults shouting, and what sounded like screams beyond the walls and hedges of the rural surroundings.

Down the side of one road marched an army of foraging ants. They walked steadily and purposefully around the last few pools of water, eager to keep to a route that followed the drying surfaces. The sun shone brightly down and, as the morning progressed, the day became almost unbearably hot, and still a little humid. It remained dark across some streets and parks where buildings and trees were tall and dense enough to generate shadows.

Suddenly; there was a movement behind the Town Hall, and the last of the ants scurried away. Three stygian-hued horned beetles stamped their way into the square. The leader lifted its head and horns making a move to scent the air and note the distant screams. He seemed to sniff and snort before swinging his head to guide and alert his colleagues that they were to march towards the sounds. All Three moved intently across the grass and through the trees, heading for the edge of town. One caught its horns, for a moment, in the upper branches of an old oak; but with a twist of its head, uprooted it. Its mate, following, trampled into the fallen canopy, but with a swift flick of its wings leaped over the fallen trunk.

From the end of the street a worm squirmed its way towards the insects. For a fleeting fraction of time he appeared as if he might attack, lifting his head slightly to look before prudently deciding against. He slithered quickly down a side-street, brushing away the overhanging upper stories of one or two of the older properties along the way. Without breaking sweat, nor with any thought of deviation, the Three leviathans continued on their way towards the distant screams.

Overhead three ravens cawed, and if in response, the Three shifted speed and, raising dust, they strode quickly on.

The Main Street, by midday, was bright in the sunshine. A rainbow of colours greeted a hairy caterpillar as she bristled along a pavement, reflecting her bulk in each shop window, clambering over the few cars that were in her way, scratching, denting and gouging paintwork whilst breaking a few windscreens.

The distant hullabaloo continued in strident volumes, but seemed to come closer with time, together with crashes of metal and breaking of glass.

A grasshopper dropped down from the top of the church steeple, then looked back, at eye-level, into the belfry as if to source the ticking of the town clock.

The clock struck One.

From the edge of town in marched a battalion of earwigs, flanked by marauding aphids with skirmishers formed from a mix of wasps and hornets. In the lead a Queen Bee and her honour guard.....


... followed a trail of sugar . . .



“Come on Charlie,” shouted a mother’s voice, “it’s time we should be leaving, and you did want that ice cream from the stall before we left”.
“Aw, Mum. Just as it was getting exciting in the model town.....”

[dreams]

.... bravo, GeoffC!

This one had me ing as I pondered the reality. I loved it!!

[Verencat]

HEY! You said I'd be the first to know! And you waited for my weekend out!

I love it Geoff, I'm really happy you are writing!

[kennyc]

Nice one Geoff.