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Contributed by gt
on Thursday, 4th November 2004 @ 04:10:15 PM AEST
Topic:
short
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The ant was happy. It had been a good day for the colony. The setting sun shone orange light over the abandoned, overgrown yard, signalling the beginning of the end of the workers’ shift. Much food was already stacked to drag inside the ants’ vast hill in the centre of the flagstones, and there was enough time for just a few more leaves to be carried back by the ant. Surprisingly near the colony, the ant spotted a large dandelion leaf in the middle distance, and scurried off towards it, happy, for in its ignorance of the events that were unfolding, it had no problems in the world.
The table stood, proud and erect, above the anthill, in the middle of the flagged square. Its pale grey, round plastic surface was corrupted by many things; stains from previous users, fallen leaves, patches bleached by intense sunlight, and above all a cracked Victorian style plate, with a small mouse sitting on it.
The ant looked up. Squinting into the sunlight, it saw the cause of the sudden shadow that had fallen on its carapace. A large cat now stood on the table.
The cat was hungry. Her and her companions, two smaller felines, had not eaten in days, and they were relying on her to bring food soon: they were too weak to run. She must hunt. The cat had been stalking a rabbit on the other side of the yard for some time now. Her efforts were greatly hampered by starvation, and so she had developed a plan. She knew of a mouse that was sitting on a Victorian-style plate in the middle of the large patio table, which in itself would do nothing to satisfy her hunger, only anger the yard’s ruler. It would, however, provide the strength to allow her to stalk the rabbit effectively, which would be a good meal for the three felines. She bounded onto the table, putting her plan into motion. The mouse did not move. It was either very brave, or very stupid, thought the cat. The cat had almost pounced, when she heard a growl.
The dog growled. She leapt on to the table, her table. She had issued her warning, and the intruder knew that it was trespassing in the canine’s yard. The dog felt protective over the mouse, as it could be no threat to her, and she felt sorry for its helplessness. She also felt a sense of vicarious pride, in that the mouse had stayed to stand up to the cat, even though it was doomed if it did not run. She moved slowly, emphasising a confident, superior attitude, to stop and sit, the mouse between her front legs. The dog looked the cat directly in the eyes, and waited.
The ant was no longer the only one of the colony’s residents to have its eyes fixed on the events up on the table. There was now a huge number of insects emerging from the anthill, all in response to whispered word of the events above. The ant saw all that happened above, but could not understand it. None could.
The table was the domain of the more important, larger creatures. The ants couldn’t climb high enough, and usually respected the forbidden zone. The table was always where large events happened, those that concerned all creatures in the yard, and outside it.
The ant was beginning to realise what it was seeing. The immensity of the situation was terrifying to it, even though the thoughts of the creatures on the table still eluded its understanding. Whilst not fully knowing what would happen, and only half believing they were in danger, all the ants knew that something big was about to occur.
The cat was taken aback. She had not expected the dog to move against her. She knew the canine would be angry, but she had not expected to face it on the table. She held the dog’s proud, powerful gaze with her own unpredictable, desperate one, trying to hide her terror. She had no choice but to act, her bond to her friends was too strong for her to back down and return with nothing. She knew she had no choice, but she also knew the implications of what she would do, or she thought she did. She knew there was now a huge risk of failure in her plan, and the stakes were now high enough that all the creatures in the yard would be affected by her attack. She could not, however, know how horrific those effects would be, as the ants, the bees, the flies, the beetles and all the others were drawn into the conflict. Time was of the essence, for not only were the cats hungry, they were vulnerable. There was a fox that lived somewhere behind the cats, and so she could not pause and give it the chance to reach her comrades. With that thought in mind, the cat steeled herself to move, swallowing hard against the bitter mix of emotion that engulfed her mouth. She had no choice, and she could not wait.
Forcing her shaking limbs to move, the cat pounced.
Copyright © gt
... [2004-11-0404:10:15]
(Date/Time posted on site)
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Re: No Escape
(User Rating: 1)
by Stonedraider23 on Tuesday, 21st December 2004 @ 12:38:43 PM AEST
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ooooooooo i wanna read more cats rule but whats with the ant good write |
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Re: No Escape
(User Rating: 1)
by thisismesodeal on Saturday, 12th February 2005 @ 11:58:17 AM AEST
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awsome story |
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Re: No Escape
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by CloakedMystery on Monday, 7th March 2005 @ 08:35:41 PM AEST
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i get it! kool...good story. |
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Re: No Escape
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by EverlastingDawn on Monday, 14th March 2005 @ 11:50:03 AM AEST
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Great Write |
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Re: No Escape
(User Rating: 1)
by Essentially9 on Tuesday, 24th May 2005 @ 11:00:52 PM AEST
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hrm, good allegory. i cant say that i liked reading about it from the perspective of an ant and a cat though. hrm, well that is life at its normality though. very original, i will grant you that. |
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