***
The team studying the ants had been making slow but steady progress. They found a burrow, it was unusually large, a gaping hole in the ground that led beneath the towering tree. No other creatures had been spotted near it, as if the entire area belonged to the ants alone. That alone was strange.
"What's keeping predators away?" Meera muttered as she observed the scene. The oversized ants moved with mechanical precision, their movements synchronized.
Then, something even stranger happened.
A group of ants came from another direction, carrying prey—small rabbits, birds, even larger animals that looked too heavy for insects to haul. But these ants worked together, dragging their catches underground.
The team realised. The ants that just came were gone hunting!
That was not really abnormal for ants to go out of the nest to look for food, but, this felt strange...
Maybe it was because the ants are large and were carrying rabbits and somewhat big birds. Which was obviously very abnormal.
But this sent chills down their spines.
"These things are coordinated," Riya noted, adjusting the camera she brought. "They're acting more like a pack of wolves than a colony of ants."
Then it happened.
One ant paused mid-step. Then another. And another.
The team stood frozen as the ants, once minding their own business, suddenly turned toward them.
"Uh… why are they looking at us?" one of the researchers asked nervously.
No one had an answer.
Then, without warning, the ants started moving—fast.
"They're coming straight at us," Meera yelled.
At first, it didn't seem real. Ants didn't chase humans. But these weren't normal ants.
"Move!" Riya shouted.
The team bolted, sprinting through the underbrush as the ants swarmed after them. They didn't stop to look back. The jungle was thick, but the ants were faster than expected, closing the distance in seconds.
"What the hell is going on? We didn't do anything to them!"
No one had an answer. But one thing was clear—these ants weren't just defending their nest. They were actively pursuing the intruders.
The team needed to find cover, fast.
The team didn't stop running until they burst into a small clearing, gasping for breath. Behind them, the relentless chase of the ants had abruptly ceased. They paused, hearts pounding, eyes scanning the jungle for any sign of pursuit.
In the distance, the mass of ants had shifted its focus. What had once been a determined chase was now a frenzied attack on something else. The air was charged with tension, and the sound of rustling leaves mixed with frantic antennae scraping against bark. It was as if the ants had sensed another threat nearby—a predator or another disturbance that set them off—and had redirected their collective fury.
"Did you see that?" Riya panted, clutching her camera. "They… they just stopped chasing us and turned towards that direction over there."
Meera crouched behind a thick shrub, peering cautiously in the direction of the disturbance. "Whatever it is, it must be dangerous."
Advika, still catching her breath, scanned the treeline. "It seems something near here has triggered them. We need to be careful. Let's stick together and keep moving. We're not safe until we regroup at the extraction point."
The jungle now felt ominous and unpredictable, alot more than when they arived. The sudden shift in the ants' behavior had left the team with more questions than answers—what had they sensed, and what was lurking nearby to provoke such a response?
With measured urgency, the team resumed their escape, their minds buzzing with theories as they retraced their steps toward safer ground. Every shadow and rustle was now a potential threat. They knew one thing for certain: in this wild, hidden ecosystem, even the smallest creatures could signal the presence of something far more dangerous lurking beneath the surface.
To be continued...