Saturday, July 19, 2008

THE GREAT ANT INVASION

THE GREAT ANT INVASION
by
GLENN G. THATER



They came in waves -hundreds of craven soldiers marching fearlessly into enemy territory - my territory, my castle. They knew as they crossed the border there would be war - that no quarter would be given or received, but on they came, intent on destruction - intent on conquest.

I met their vanguard at the kitchen - already deep within my keep. I launched my forces and briefly repulsed them - but on came their legions - an innumerable mass of gibbering inhuman death. I could not hold them. For all my powers and experience I was nigh overwhelmed and nearly pulled down by force of numbers. I had no choice...no choice I say but to launch my weapons of mass destruction. A chemical attack designed not to throw them back, not to repulse their troops, but designed to annihilate them. It was genocide. Ant Armageddon.

It was victory. When it was over I walked through the bloody killing field. Ant bodies piled atop ant bodies, a charnel house of destruction. Their once proud standards crushed underfoot, their pincers broken and lifeless. Dead, all dead...I had shown them no mercy. You may think me harsh, even foul for these tactics - but would I have faired any better if the victory had been theirs? I think not.

Most frightening of all, I learned only now it was not my land or even my life these beastly denizens of the pit sought. No - not these did they hunger for. Their goal was more sinister, more base. To carry off the fair princess of my realm was their mind, their evil plan. A woman whose beauty is beyond compare and whose smile could melt the most stoney heart. It was for her that I fought - though perhaps I grasped it not at the time. But she was not even here - she was far off in the east, in the Land of Rye – and until her return, she is but a memory etched into my mind and engraved upon my heart. I long to see her soon again.
End
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Author's Note: Like many of my works of short fiction, I wrote 'The Great Ant Invasion' in a single draft on my PDA in 35 minutes or so while on a train one morning. I hope that you enjoyed it. Most of my fantasy is darker and more serious than this, but this story gives you at least some small flavor of my writing style. I have several works in print, available on Amazon.com (paperback and Kindle versions) and Mobipocket. I hope that you'll check them out.

Mr. Thater's books can be purchased from Amazon.com. Mr. Thater's Amazon.com profile page, which includes a complete listing of his books can be accessed here:
Mr. Thater's books are available in Trade Paperback (Harbinger of Doom - 1st & 2nd Editions), Kindle Editions (Harbinger of Doom, The Gateway, The Fallen Angle, and eBook Editions (from Mobipocket and other leading eBook retailers)
If you're outside the United States and can't purchase from Amazon.com (or you just don't want to purchase from Amazon), you can purchase Mr. Thater's Trade Paperback books directly from the Publisher using these links:
Harbinger of Doom (1st Edition): http://www.createspace.com/3334712
Harbinger of Doom (2nd Edition): http://www.createspace.com/3342167

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