The Unexpected Friendship Part II
Novel By Arabella
ABOUT AUTHOR
@Insight Co-leader | Arabella is a pioneering female writer for Sweden’s The Ants Novel Team.
She demonstrated her exceptional writing talent in the Night at the Anthill (NA) series, in which she uses a very anthropomorphic approach to show us the beautiful life of Ant. After a few months, she brought us The Unexpected Friendship, a new work based on the Lost Island gameplay.
The red envelope in Bella’s hand was big, with her name
written in big, beautiful letters.
- Give me a knife to open it - Bella asked an ant nearby.
A knife in her hand, she took the envelope and was just about
to open it when a scream could be heard - Nooooooo!!!
She dropped the knife and the envelope in fright.
Looking towards the forest, Bella could see a group of giant
ants dressed in black suits, white shirts, black ties and
sunglasses. - Ants in Black? - she asked unsurely
- Yes, we are. We’re your first, last, and only line of
defence. - OK, I am thrilled to have you with us, but what are you
doing here right now? - We have to examine that letter. It can be a bomb.
- A BOMB??!!!
Bella and her ants took steps away from the envelope lying on
the ground and looked at it suspiciously.
Suddenly an alarm clock could be heard from Bellas tower. - The Lost Island! We are going now! Everyone has to get
ready; all units must be inside the anthill.
Ants were running everywhere, trying to find their spot for the
move. So ants in Black built a wall around the letter to keep it
safe during that time.
Even though they knew it beforehand, the move was a
surprise. One second they were in their home server; the next,
they could see a completely different view. - I want troops outside taking the nodes! We need t11
shooters. Home troops should start preparing the housing
for new soldiers!
The orders made ants run again, but team leaders showed the
way.
After most of the ants had left, Bella looked at the letter again.
Ants in Black were still standing on guard, but now she could
see two ants dressed in a heavy suit of body armour moving
carefully towards the letter. - Who are you guys? - she asked
- The Bomb Squad.
- Why do we even have a Bomb Squad?
- Well, after the accident with the fireworks on New Year’s
Eve, we decided we had to be prepared.
Bella looked with astonishment. She did try to make her ants
live after the motto “Always Prepared”, but even she could not
imagine having a Bomb Squad on hand just in case.
The envelope was examined thoroughly, and finally, the
envelope was deemed safe to be opened. Bella took the letter
inside her tower to the conference room. Ants in Black followed
inside and took sits at the round table. Tea, coffee and snacks
were served. Using a butter knife, Bella opened the letter and
read it aloud.
To the leader of the anthill!
Greetings from your neighbour, Sixthdate. We have been neighbours
for quite some time now, and we think it would be wonderful if we
could meet and maybe become friends.
We propose to meet in two weeks in your anthill. A delegation from
our anthill, with our leader Sixthdate, would come and stay for some
days. This could be the opportunity for us to get to know each
other.
We hope to hear from you soon.
Bella looked around the room. - Well? What do we know about Sixthdate?
- She is very nice. She always gives us water for our pea
and helps us when we rally for lizards. - What do we know about her ants?
- Our spies tell us that we are stronger.
- Wait, spies? Since when do we have spies?
- Our Intelligence Service of Ants, INA, needed
information, so we sent out some ants to spy.
Bella felt like her head would explode soon. Things were
happening in her anthill she had no idea about. Bomb Squad,
Intelligence Service, Ants in Black. She wondered what more
was there, but she was unwilling to ask. - Shell we send a letter back with acceptance of the
invitation? - We believe it would be OK.
The response letter was soon written and sent away with one of
the spies. The planning for the visit would take place the day
after. In what way will they be able to make the visit more fun
and memorable?