(Rose)
Deep down. I visited mines before. But I never expected to see the entrance to a tunnel leading to another land; a tunnel directly linking two countries. Furthermore these two countries given their history, recent and old.
It's looking much more grim than I expected. I expected to see roman style carved sculptures, and statues everywhere around the entrance. I expected the entrance to have wide and tall columns like antiquity's temples.
It should have looked like a landmark, even a palace to the glory of the achievement.
This looks as sad as a coal mine entrance, only more sinister somehow. No carving or painting remains. Only a dull wall, surrounded by pikes that probably carried fences before.
It doesn't like it's flooded from the entrance, but I'm much further inland that I expected, so I'm way above the sea level too.
How long would it take to walk inside and check if it's sunken?
And how long to walk through by foot, in the darkness that surely hosts an odd being or another...
I'm not prepared for urban speleology yet. But I'm curious. I don't plan on leaving the country yet, but do want to make sure I could.
So that when the time comes, I will.
While I stand there, looking at the entrance, I can feel being watched. The darkness is looking at me.... Something lurks there. This, I'm not surprised if by now.
I whisper something and Blume takes a better look at it for me.
B - There are animals there yes. Many species. It's almost a city it seems. They look afraid more than hungry.
R - A haven... Here?
B - I think they're all part of a colony, like ants or bees, except they are of multiple species living together. I guess the tunnel is their comb now.
R - So... There might be a monstrous Queen in the tunnel somewhere, with its whole society living around it?
B - Probably. Though I guess that either they adopted other species, or enslaved them, or there could be a queen for each species.
R - Slavery is common among ants I know, and humans too. What are they here, can you tell? And what species are there?
B - I don't know if some are slaves to the others. I can't tell from here. Species wise, I recognise frogs, rats, ferrets, weasels, small rabbits, moles, mice, bats, other small mammals I don't know and other things I know even less.
R - Wow. A real city's zoo. We've never encountered so many living beings before. How come? Ah, let me guess.... The Queen?
B - That would be my guess. A very powerful being seems to act like a queen down there, and regrouped all those critters over time.
R - In other words, there is a being-like-you below, which rules over this tunnel. Most probably yes?
B - Most probably yes.
I think about it. I get slowly closer to the edge of the tunnel's shadow.
I sit there as the fauna receded, stepping back as I approached. They're afraid, or simply cautious.
R - They can't understand me surely, but perhaps you could send them a message for me?
B - I can try, though I can't reach the Queen from here; I only can guess her presence. What do you want to tell them?
R -Simply that I come in peace. I would only like to know if the tunnel does go to France also. I mean, is it opened too at the other end?
B - I'll try telling them that. Please stand still for a little while.
I take a nap. I trust her entirely.
~
I wake up as she calls me.
B - Rose, they understood. Well, some of them anyway.
R - Hm. Ah? And what did they say?
B - That you should wait here for the night, they'll send someone to talk to you. I did tell them you were human, so maybe they are looking for one they would have in their ranks.
R - But I don't speak... Well, well, we'll see then. Let's make camp.
I eat some grass lying around like a sheep. Well, not with the manners of a sheep, but I ate what I had at hands.
R - Thank you for not needing dirt anymore. Mud just tastes awful.
B - That was back when most of my body was plant. I'm fully you now. You still can eat dirt and soil, but the more nutritious the better, right?
R - Indeed... I miss meat... It's been so long since I last had some. And fruits. I hope summer comes back soon.
B - It'll be back.
We laugh a little and talk merrily, like always. Night fell on us. The fire we made is a little one, aside the main path entering the tunnels. As we guessed, the animals spread around at night. The tunnel is their nest and home.
I go to sleep. Blume wakes me up shortly after. Someone is approaching she says.
I dress up and Blume reignites the fire outside. I then wait, still, in the cold. I see no lights in the tunnel. But someone approaches indeed. Someone walking slowly, and very calm, very confident.
She's naked and it embarrasses me. She stands very straight, like the cold air of the night is nothing to her.
I say hi and offer my hand to shake. She looks at it for an embarrassingly long time. She then does. Her hand is cold to the touch obviously. She looks absent minded.
B - She's not human.
R - Wha...?
I look at her empty face. It shows no expression or emotion. Its eyes do follow me though.
Q - It's... An unexpected... Team, that you two make.
R - Oh, good, you speak English. I wasn't sure you would. But if you're not human...
Q - I'm the queen of this hive, in your words. I was... Curious to meet you. I was curious to see a human speaking to animals. This wasn't entirely accurate.
R - So there are no humans here then?
Q - There are no humans among my children. Some of them did met humans before however, here and there.
R - So is the path to France still fine? I was wondering if I could reach the continent from here someday.
Q - The path is no straight anymore, but you can reach the other side crossing my hive yes... As long as you don't bear any ill intent toward me or any of my children, you're free to go through.
R - Thank you very much, Queen. This wouldn't be in the near future, but I'll remember your agreement for when the time comes.
We stand there silently for a while. We don't know what to talk about?
R - Is there anything I could do to repay your kindness?
Q - I don't need anything. Do you need something more?
R - Would you mind talking a little longer? I'm also curious about what you are...
She doesn't mind. I'm lucky. She answers my every questions plainly, without emotions, because she has very little of them.
She's truly a shapeless, huge amount of flesh, buried somewhere below the water.
She's eating all the residues her family does, along with their corpses when they die. In return, she provides them a structure akin to a society, shelter and food as much as she can. She can't produce enough food for all now, but makes what she can.
She organises her adoptive children as they dig tunnels and live in this society. She's not quite an insect queen, as she gives birth to nothing, though she rules them all.
R - Are some slaves to others?
Q - I don't force them to live with me. What they do between themselves is rarely a bother to me. They're all quite equals to me so I don't think they are.
B - How many are you?
Q - Currently about 2180 individuals, including all the new-borns.
R - You may be the most heavily populated city left on Earth...
Q - I don't think that's possible. But I can't grow much more nor feed them all by myself alone. I'm at my limits. We can't go much further than that.
R - I guess all that matters to you is living all peacefully hereafter?
Q - Yes. I'm growing slowly in intelligence. Meanwhile, I just want my body and my family to go on living.
R - I can understand that. Any advice you could give us as we travel around? You know the world better than us.
Q - Be wary of beings-like-us, and beings like you. My children met many monsters and humans.
R - I... see... Thank you, Queen.
Q - Travel safe, cute team.
She smiles awkwardly. She then steps back into the darkness instead of turning around to walk normally in it.
R - Did she smile at us?
B - She did. She's rather kind.
R - Do all beings-like-you grow so large in the end?
B - I don't think so. She's very plant like in her way, similar to me, so she has roots spread very far. I think the tunnel hosts her so called children more than her whole body. They are her flora in a way...
R - I hope she and her children will stay well... She had quite more emotions than what she seemed still.
B - What do you mean?
R - She seemed cold outwardly as a human, but... She kept referring to them as her children. Adopted children. She protects them, and loves them in a kind of motherly way... Enough to refer to them as her children... Interesting queen...
She reminded me of my mother, in a bittersweet way.
~