Death by CHO-LAT-CA

Staying together is our main directive. Red Fire and Black Knight are with me. We have been sent out together many times because of our mutual resourcefulness. Each of us is strong and courageous, and together we are unstoppable. In the first part of our journey, we trudge through the sand and then we arrive at what we call the lazy trees. They tend to bend and wave in the breeze. We use mile markers and landmarks to help us navigate and find our way back home. Today, our search has not been fruitful.

We climbed the brick wall to pass through the magnificent flower trees that press against each other and lift us to the main factory of food. Under the swinging gates we went and clung to the barriers, so that we would not be seen. We scoured the porcelain grounds and did not find even small amounts of food. Nearing our allotted search deadline, the colors of the sky began changing.

The nourishment detail has always been my assignment; especially, since I am one of the few who can read. Simply put, our days are spent in search of food. Today, my stomach is groaning because most of us have not had a good meal in weeks. We always persevere though, because sometimes food just rains down upon us when we least expect it.

Our squad has been sent to the north which is quite dangerous because the terrain is wide open, and the sun’s rays can scorch us. I cherish the days when we pass the fountain, and it is generous enough to shower us with liquid that cools us. But beyond the open plain, lies dwellings that have often provided us with sustenance in the past. My unit is made up of our most dedicated searchers who have had success when many others have not. We travel as far as necessary to accomplish our mission.

After searching our assigned areas, we gather to discuss our next move.

“Guys, I think we should stop wasting time. It has been 2 weeks since we found a plentiful source of food,” I said.

“I agree, Pharoah. Let’s go straight to the forbidden zone. There doesn’t seem to be any other option,” said Black Knight.

“Yeah, I’m with you guys. We are desperate.”

In the hope that at least one of us survives, we defy our ancestors main directive and split up. The courtyard appears to be clear, so, I decide to go for the glory and run halfway across to a barrier where I can hide. Next, Fire runs at an angle to the far end of the structure. Then, Knight runs along the wall and moves ahead of us. He begins to shout and jump up and down because he has found something. Fire and I head in the direction of his wails, but we are halted in our tracks when an enormous uraman, our staunch enemy, enters the courtyard. We scurry back to the edges of the barriers trying to keep from being discovered. I direct Fire away from the danger and he is able to meet up with Knight. He gives Fire a glimpse of the food he has found. Fire is bursting with excitement.

“We must get it back to the others,” he says. Of course, we agree on that.

But, the uraman, who is capable of crushing all of us without even having a weapon, is guarding the stockpile of food and we cannot get near without being noticed. After what felt like eternity without seeing the uraman again, I sucked in a deep breath and ran from my hiding place to survey the situation. The uraman was reclining facing the opposite direction; so, I beckoned to my partners to leave their hiding places and run full speed toward the hoard of food.

We each loaded up our backs with all that we could carry and hurried back to the barriers. Slowly, we moved along the wall undetected and went under the swinging gate back out into the open space. Our bounty is great, and we know we will be hailed and rewarded. The food we have obtained is some of the highest quality. It will feed everyone well. It is heavy but our adrenaline is pumping, and we don’t have much farther to go. Queen Shakina will be proud of us. She will eat first, so, she has the strength to rule.

Upon our return to the compound, the masses part to allow us through. They sing and applaud. We carry our bounty before the Queen, and she thanks us and exalts us before the crowd for our dedication and how we have saved our species. Then, she reaches up and tears off a piece of food and eats it. Excitement overtakes her and she begins to dance. Her body has forgotten the joy of eating causing her to become intoxicated by the food. When she has engorged herself, she appears to faint.

Now, the food is fair game for everyone else. We run and attack the food, breaking off pieces and devouring them and behaving just like our Queen. Everyone is singing and shouting, and all eventually fall over just as she did.

Hours later, when Queen Shakina awakes and returns to her quarters, she summons Red Fire, Black Knight and me.

“Where did you get this delicious food?” she asked.

“In the forbidden zone.”

“You must go back. And find out its name.” she implored. “Take more help with you.”

At first light, we left with 5 more helpers and traveled the same route. The stockpile was still in the same location, which is unusual, but we each were able to get away with as much as we could carry. When we returned, our comrades wanted to know what it was called. We had no idea.

On our third trip, I was able to search for the name while the other searchers loaded the food onto their backs. I encountered a sign that said CHO on it. I told the others to help me remember CHO. We were thrilled to call it CHO. Chanting it on our return to the compound helped keep us moving quickly.

“This delicious food we have brought you is called CHO,” I announced. “Enjoy it and remember this day when all our bellies were filled with CHO.”

On each trip, I attempted to get closer to the sign. During our fifth trip, I was bold enough to get close enough to read LAT. LAT meant nothing to me, but I shared the news with everyone.

“I have bravely searched the forbidden zone and have seen another word upon the CHO sign, it is LAT. There is more to its name, though. I will soon discover it.”

Visit number seven provided the remainder of the name. The sign was in a different position, and I was able to read CA. Now we had CHO, LAT, and CA. CHO-LAT-CA. The workers began to chant. CHO-LAT-CA, CHO-LAT-CA, CHO-LAT-CA.

Each trip, we took a dozen more workers with us and were always successful. All our storage areas were jammed full, yet we continued to send envoys to retrieve more twice a day. We would have enough CHO-LAT-CA for several years. Everyone was addicted to it and the marvelous feeling it gave us. We fell into a coma like state after eating it, but the energy we had when the haze wore off was extraordinary. CHO-LAT-CA had become our savior.

Queen Shakina was so in love with CHO-LAT-CA that she wanted to go with us to find its origins. This was an unprecedented event. No Queen had ever left the compound. I had to be sure we had enough protection for her. Many, many warriors wanted to accompany us. Confident that Queen Shakina would be well protected and returned to the compound without harm, our envoy set out to the forbidden zone.

Arriving in the courtyard without incident, probably caused us to let our guard down. The Queen’s zeal for CHO-LAT-CA was overwhelming. I quickly lost sight of her in the midst of the melee. Suddenly, a dense fog came upon us without warning. My comrades began to fall dead all around me.

I must protect the Queen, was my only thought.

Where was she? I scanned the forbidden zone high and low and finally saw her dancing and singing way up high above me. She had scaled the bright wall with ornamental protrusions and a swinging gate. I could just barely make out her silhouette.

“No!” The canon of our myths was real. I saw the uraman raising the canon toward her. It was black and yellow and had huge letters on it. An R and an A stood out to me on its first pass. Queen Shakina was in a drunken stupor from the CHO-LAT-CA and was not aware of her impending doom. There was not enough time for me to scale the bright wall, so I decided to gather my last bunch of CHO-LAT-CA to carry back to the compound. As I ran for the exit of the forbidden zone, a thundering noise shook me to my core. I dared not look back. My heart sunk for my fellow warriors that were being destroyed. But I recognized part of the cadence of the sound. It resembled CHO-LAT-CA.

“MY CHO-CO-LATE CA-KE!” Cried the thunder.

Somehow, I managed to get all the way to the huge swinging gate. And I was about to make my escape underneath it when I heard the thunder again. This time, I felt it as well. The ground was shaking while the thunder was booming. “This will teach you ants to try to eat my slice of Chocolate Cake,” I heard as the fog engulfed my friends.

Fortunately, I managed to emerge in the open space with my final piece of CHO-LAT-CA. The fog only barely reached me, and I felt a little weak. But I would not succumb as the others had. I must return to the compound to share the story with the others, I thought.

The CHO-LAT-CA began to weigh on me like stone and I stopped to rest near the fountain.

It suddenly sprung to life and emitted the liquid energy I needed to return to the compound, but its magical fluid somehow destroyed my final piece of CHO-LAT-CA. The scouts from my colony found me and carried me back to the compound. My despair for the fate of our Queen engulfed me once I returned. I relayed the story of Queen Shakina’s demise and of how I couldn’t save her from the deadly fog. Usually, the workers sacrifice themselves to save the Queen, but we are not always successful.

I confirmed to those remaining that the myth of the huge weapon-like canon making the fog was real. Those of us remaining live day to day hoping it doesn’t return. We had lost many of our courageous warriors as well as Fire and Knight two of our most fruitful searchers besides me.

At least, I had lived to tell the story and teach the others about the fog and the origins of CHO-LAT-CA. It was sad about our Queen, but “at least, she died eating exactly what she loved!”