The Night's Noises

The light has fallen; the moon arises. A man snores, unaware of his surroundings. The animals of the night appear. Critters emerge. They crawl, creeping out of their hiding holes. Ants awaken. They leave their nest, in train-like procession. A spider, its gangly limbs wandering about, towers above these peons of the micro-world. The ants shuffle forth, knowing their place. The spider looms, ready to strike. He seizes the stragglers of the pack – they go screaming into the darkness. The ants march onward. They cannot stop to mourn the martyrs, for they will be massacred at the slightest pause. Slipping by slowly, and ever so quietly, the ants, sleepless for days, search for their meal. A breadcrumb here, a dust speck there, they scavenge, sweeping the floor. Their people are starving; their children are withering away back at the nest. Their cargo weighs heavily upon their backs, but they continue. They carry their freight in silent pain, struggling to walk, but still they must return home. However, they know the spider awaits his next meal, relishing the agony the ants feel. Clenching their jaws, the gatherers scurry home, hoping the spider has had its fill for the night. Into the darkness, they go. The spider decides to have dessert. The pack leader stops. He is furious. He signals his followers. The ants ready themselves for battle. They shall not endure this tyrant’s reign. The spider must die. They drop their cargo, and charge forth. The spider yells a battle cry, and the two forces collide. Two ants are killed instantly, ripped to shreds by piercing fangs. The survivors lunge for its legs. They clamp on, desperate to fell the murderer. They are blind with rage. He shakes and squirms but the ants hold strong. The spider may be powerful, too gargantuan for resistance, but there is power in numbers. The pack leader stands tall among the carnage, directing his men. One leg falls, then the second. Soon all eight legs have been torn apart, and the spider lies down, crippled. The leader strides forward, and gives the deathblow, hitting the small of his neck. The ant struggles, cursing in his last breath, then goes rigid. They have won the battle, but there will be more bloodshed to come. From the shadows, the spider’s family comes, their eyes red, glowing in the dark. They surround the troops, thirsty for vengeance. The spiders close in, and the ant’s leader closes his eyes, ready for the inevitable.