Sweet-Berries looked off into the distance, as if thinking. Finally she focused back on Yellow-Spot. “Okay. You said the other day we’ll meet tonight. It doesn’t make any sense to leave at night, but … I know, it’s the gods’ request.”

“Thanks, sister.”

“I can’t help but do something for my closest clutchsister.”

“That’s why this betrayal of trust hurts so much,”Yellow-Spot thought.

“But you’ll get away from these false gods!”the demon retorted. “You’ll be free, at last.”

“Free from what? I’m leading my sisters away from our colony, away from everything they love, away from the Queen’s { }. For what? To give a god her own Queen, even though you yourself do not believe them to be gods?”That must be their secret mission. The gods had somehow implanted this demon so that Yellow-Spot could fulfill a purpose whereby a new Queen was created. But the gods must be the ones providing the Queen. That didn’t quite make sense …

“Sister, you all right?” Sweet-Berries asked.

“Huh?”

“You look confused. Your color-face is green.”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” she stammered, trying to stop thinking about the demon. “Let’s { }, shall we?”

The two { }, which only left Yellow-Spot more anguished.

Yellow-Spot helped out with repairs for the rest of the day, as she was a Builder. She tried to ignore the demon, even though it took on a ghostly form not only in her mind’s eye, but also in her visual field. When night fell, she only pretended to sleep in her cell. In the cell closest to her, Sweet-Berries’ scent tickled her nose, producing a low-level { } in Yellow-Spot, which only increased her anxiety over what she was about to do. When the time seemed right she got out of her cell but didn’t get her sisters immediately.

“What’re you waiting for?”the demon asked.

“I don’t want to do this!”

“Sister, what’s wrong?” Sweet-Berries got out of her cell.

“I’m … just frightened. I don’t know if I can handle any of it.”

“Yellow-Spot, the gods have chosenyou. I know you’ll be an excellent leader. Just follow the gods’ directive and we’ll be rewarded. Okay?”

If she tried arguing, Sweet-Berries might think less of her. “Okay,” she said.

***

“You want me to give you a Drone in the middle of the night?” the Nurse asked, her hands sluggish from stupor. Yellow-Spot hadn’t seen this Nurse before.

“Yes. It’s the gods’ imperative.” Her hands felt numb, as if someone else was saying them.

The Nurse got out of her cell and looked past Yellow-Spot. She saw with her rear eyes Sweet-Berries giving the affirmative to her sister Nurse.

The Nurse didn’t bother lighting any candles. She stumbled around; perhaps the heat-light from surrounding bodies was not enough. After a few moments of looking, Yellow-Spot feared her Paste she’d deposited earlier had been thrown out. She thought about joining the search-she had a Paste-wax torch after all-but then the Nurse found the wax basket. “A strange request, but … Queen’s orders, gods’ orders.”

The Nurse gave Yellow-Spot a berry to make Paste. Again, Yellow-Spot cringed at its bitterness. After a short moment Yellow-Spot deposited the Paste into the basket, the Nurse stirred the two Paste batches, then licked it up. “Yes, I Taste only one person.” Her color-face looked brown, from disappointment, though Yellow-Spot couldn’t tell very well in the dim light. The Nurse walked toward the colony’s own Drones.

“Actually,” Yellow-Spot said, “could we get one of those?” She pointed to the section of Drones from other colonies. “The Queen never specified which Drone I could take.”

“Good. That’d be the best option.”

Yellow-Spot closed her eyes, hoping the ghostly demon would disappear. Instead, it appeared as an after-image behind her eyelids.

The nurse looked perplexed, but said, “I suppose it’s all the same, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Yellow-Spot said nervously.

The Nurse led the Drone out of its cell. It sniffed around and whimpered. Yellow-Spot grabbed its soft arm. Soft, like the gods’ skin, not the hard armor of a person’s.

Yellow-Spot and the Nurse briefly touched antennae to say goodbye; Yellow-Spot couldn’t stand too much { }. Yellow-Spot, Sweet-Berries, and Electric-Touch left, with the Drone in tow.

***

Pain exploded and Yellow-Spot startled awake.

The open sky hung above, with trees framing it. Where was she? The short night walk away from the colony. Setting up camp in the surrounding forest.

Now, noises everywhere. God noises. Yellow-Spot smelled the stink of pain on her. Her

pain.

“She’s hurt,” Sweet-Berries said.

“What’s going on?” Electric-Touch too smelled of fear and pain.

“Can you move?” Sweet-Berries asked.

“Yes.”

Yellow-Spot got up wobbly. She was blind. Not totally, but pain throbbed where one of her rear eyes had seen.

“Come on, sisters,” Sweet-Berries said. “Downhill.”

The three stumbled down the hillside. Trees parted, making room for them. In her pain haze Yellow-Spot couldn’t mind her feet too well, as she tripped a few times over the trees’ root-legs. It was only with Sweet-Berries’ vigilance that she managed to stay up.

Sound continued to roar around Yellow-Spot. She managed to realize much of it was god-speak, but she still needed concentration to understand. Tree leaves popped and disintegrated as they were hit by the gods’ hard projectile nuggets. Thunder sounded as the gods discharged their stick weapons-"guns” the gods called them in their sound language. Her vision spun, dizzy from the loss of one eye’s sight. And through all this, the pain, oh, the constant pain. Yellow-Spot prayed to the gods-the true gods-but only the demon appeared, looking more distinct than ever. “I need to stop.”

Sweet-Berries guided them behind a large tree, making sure its lower fronds would give them adequate cover. If it moved, they’d have to move with it.

“Give me a berry,” Sweet-Berries said to Electric-Touch.

“Where’s the Drone?” Yellow-Spot asked, smelling new fear coming from her body.

“Never mind. We need to attend to you. Electric-Touch, that berry.”

“No!” Yellow-Spot started to move, then saw the dumb thing ambling down the hill, following the three sisters’ scent trail.