Worker was an unstoppable driven work of remorseless persistence; she knew what she had to do, and she had to do it fast, and she had to do it everyday.
Today was not exceptionally different, except for the small fact that her commune had suffered some not so minor setback from relentless floods in the past few days.
She, along with others had been working at strengthening some of the weaker walls of their alate colonies, but they had not anticipated the cataclysmic force of this new kind of flood. It seemed to suddenly come out of nowhere. A few hours prior they'd noticed their world go dark, it was ominous, and out of nowhere there began a downpour succeeded by a torrential current of water so devastating that it tore through some of their walls as if they were autumnal leaves.
More than a mere hundred were displaced. Their ancient commune and still older colonies suffered massive setback. A few areas neared complete collapse while some remained untouched by flood waters. Those that still lived or injured were immediately transferred to safer haven, and those that didn't make it through were gone.
It was useless to mourn their passing. They were dead. Had Worker not seen a thousand such meaningless deaths in the past. Deaths of her friends, her colleagues from her squadron, her superiors..all gone. It wasn't always flood.
She had lost her entire division in one day, that day she always remembered, when it rained mountains.
It was useless, Worker knew, to reminisce about the past. To think of her people who were one of the soil now.
She had things to do. The flood had wiped out almost all their food supplies, and the able bodied that still remained were sent in all directions to find food; be it hunting, stealing or even killing.
Worker was on her way back to the commune from her food hunt. She'd amassed enough, for anymore than that she wouldn't be able to carry, which is why she was running at a lightening gallop, her movements accelerated every moment at the thought of the destruction wrought on her world and the futile deaths it resulted in.
She was plagued by her soulless insensitivity for her dead comrades, but that's how it was; hardened by years of war and adversity; Worker was called this name because she epitomized their commune's three pillars of belief Rigid, Rigour, Responsible. This was their solution to surviving a world where war was the only means to get by.
On reaching back home she'd either report to the reconstruction site of damaged areas or be sent back to looking for food. She didn't care either ways; her life wasn't about thinking for herself. Her life belonged to her commune, her people, her responsibilities, which she would be committed to doing until she was dead or killed.
Worker was an imperishable roar of durability, and yet she felt a bit tired. It hadn't felt so hot a while back, but just now, as she was running through the cavernous cracks of a planetary stone mountain she felt like she was about to burn.
The heat seemed to follow her. Worker quickened her pace, her legs wouldn't give up, she knew that. Far up ahead through the mammoth fissures of this formidable mountain she could see overgrown trees with lofty leaves. A good place to shade herself from the blazing heat. She'd make her way back to the commune under the shelter of these overgrown thickets. Food supplies are dwindling, we need food. Her agenda and her reason to be alive at this very moment were as clear as day, but it had begun to feel hot.
The heat had begun to sear through her skin, breathing was becoming difficult. The air about her felt like it was on fire.
Worker rememberd that time she was running away from a world of heat and smoke. Chunks of fiery matter rained around her, all she could see were sparks and the entrance and exits were aflame. Had she not escaped that infernal moment alive. Was it anymore hotter than the heat that scalded her skin now? She lived through that moment, and she'll live through this, and even is she doesn't, I will run as long and as far as my legs take me. Nothing save death can stop me.
Wisps of smoke rose from her skin. She knew now that she'd be burnt alive. A thick streak of scorching light was hovering over her head. No matter how she changed her path, ducked or hid behind the crevices and hidden rocks of this fissured mountain, the incinerating stream of blinding light always found her. An anomaly, but she'd seen enough to be surprised anymore, ever.
The dense jungle was still a little further away. She wouldn't make it, she knew. She would be another forgotten name in a worthless list of useless deaths.
The charring heat had become unbearable. It felt like someone had placed a burning kindle on her back. The air felt too thick to breathe. Worker was caked in a smoldering nightmare.
Her body had begun to slowly roast. How pathetic, to be cooked alive. She could walk no more. That's it she thought. What a pity, all this food could have really helped my people.
She could hear sounds now. They meant nothing to her. They were just sounds devoid of any meaning, like the gust of winds or splattering raindrops; perhaps she'd heard them before. Was it that day of the flood? She couldn't remember. She didn't feel alive anymore.
"What are you doing stooped over the stones with that magnifying glass, son?"
"I'm just having fun with ants, Pa. Can't believe what a small piece of fat glass can do"
"Well, you better believe it and stop messing around. It's not very nice to kill. Come in and have your dinner, and don't use that magnifying glass to burn ants"
It was dark and cool. Worker woke to a dim stinging throb that immediately accelerated as she tried to stand up.. Her body was inflamed, feverish and painful, but was she alive?.
All the food she'd collected still lay by her side, so she was alive then. It wasn't hot anymore, the burning stream of white light no longer lingered over head but how her body ached. Slowly she got up, gathered her food and started walking again. Cautiously at first, within moments she could feel herself healing. Maybe she'd fall sick again, but not now. This food was needed and she wasn't going to stop.
The forest was in sight which meant the commune was not far.
