Arabella is a long-time member of the Insight Team. So here come the two last chapters in The Unexpected Friendship - a novel by Arabella about making friends on the Lost Island. I am sure many of us can recognize ourselves in making friends in the game, hopefully without all those crazy ants in Bella’s anthill.
Bella and Sixth are in the forest trying to find the treasure. Will they succeed?
Bella and Sixth continued on their journey to find the treasure. Last we saw them they saw a shadow in the darkness of the forest.
The shadow moved slowly and seemed to sway in the wind. Bella moved forward, remembering that she was supposed to be hurt. Sixth was just behind her.
- Do you want to check what is in front of you? - Sero asked, looking into his notes again.
- We do. I use my darksight again. What is that shadow?
Bella felt her heart beat faster and faster. She knew her ants would not want to kill her, but she felt anxious. - You see a giant monster. You can not see details, but you can smell smoke, making you think it can use fire.
Bella and Sixth looked at each other. Well, it was a game of daring. They both wanted to win. So as one, they moved forward, ready to fight if needed.
Looking closer at the monster, Bella saw something moving on its skin. The monster was big, it looked down at Bella and Sixth, and they could see the smoke coming out of its mouth.
Looking even closer, Bella could see this monster was not ordinary. Thousands of ants sitting on each other shoulders were building the monster as a giant pyramid. And when she tried to listen to what those ants were saying, she could hear: “move to the left, I’m falling”, “do not put your foot in my mouth”, and “I have to pee, let me go down!”.
Trying not to laugh out loud, Bella turned to Sero and asked:
- What are our options with this monster?
- Fight, persuade or try to sneak by.
Bella and Sixth talked about the next step and decided to persuade. - OK, I am trying to persuade it by offering an invitation to a party.
Excited voices could be heard from the monster, and Sero answered: - You are successful. You may go on.
Looking at the map, Bella and Sixth could see that the treasure was very close. Two more steps, and they could see a big wooden chest just in front of them. They moved to open it and looked inside. There on a pillow, they could see two eggs.
- With those eggs, you have a chance to hatch Island special ant - Sero said proudly - Congratulations on finding the treasure!!
Bella and Sixth took one egg each and smiled at each other. That game was so much fun!
The evening ended, and everyone went to sleep. Tomorrow they would have the promised party for the ants that build the monster. It would be one more opportunity to spend time with Sixth, and Bella felt happy about it. She felt that Sixth could be a good friend. And friends were needed on the Island. Seven other alliances were on the Island, and not all were peaceful. The big tree in the middle of the Island promised many rewards, and everyone wanted to get there first. She and Sixth could talk tomorrow and plan how to win the race to the tree. After all, they had already won one race, and the treasure was theirs.
The next day started with a bang. First, Bella saw something fly by her window, so she ran outside and saw a pig land on the lawn. Then, she could see her ants looking down from the roof.
- What are you doing?!
- We read in a book that pigs can’t fly. So we wanted to see if it was true.
- And?
- They can fly, but only for a short time.
Well, if pigs could fly, anything was possible. Bella just hoped Sixth would not be scared by her crazy ants. Bella was happy that Sixth was not here on National Tooth Fairy Day. That day she woke up to screaming, and when she ran outside, she could see her ants running around with wire sticking out of their mouths. When asked what they were doing, she heard: - We are pulling our teeth out to meet the Fairy tomorrow. It comes if you have a tooth under the pillow.
That day Bella accepted that her ants were crazy. And spend the rest of that day trying to find the money to put under all their pillows. Flying pigs were not that crazy in comparison.
After breakfast, Bella invited Sixth to her tower for coffee and to discuss the plan for taking the big wonder. They sat at the table and were just about to speak when they heard a sound from outside the door. Was someone trying to listen? Was there a spy in Bella’s anthill???
Bella and Sixth are sitting at the table in the meeting room to discuss the plan for taking the wonder when they hear a sound from outside the door. Was there someone trying to eavesdrop?
Was there a spy in Bella’s anthill?
Bella moved carefully to the door, trying to avoid being visible thru the keyhole. Finally, she stopped by the door and quickly opened it. Outside, she could see two ants she did not recognise, so she caught both of them with her hands and dragged them into the room. Bella locked the door and went to the window. Looking outside where her ants were playing and training. She called one of them and asked to get Ants in Black. If those ants were spies, she needed experienced investigators.
She looked at Sixth.
- Have you seen those ants before?
- I am not sure.
- We will have to send out spies. We will do everything to get that wonder!
- Why is that so important?
- We will get lots of rewards if we succeed.
Bella sat on a chair, waiting for Ants in Black. There was a lot of swearing coming from outside the window. Bella looked out. On the lawn, her ants were sitting around many cut-up watermelons. Bella knew that they loved watermelons as much as she did. But looking closer, she saw that they were not eating them. Instead, they were picking out the black seeds.
- What are you doing?
- We heard that seedless watermelon is sweeter, so we are making it seedless.
Bella just sighed and went back to her chair. She should be used to her crazy ants by now, but they still made her question if being their leader was good for her sanity.
Fast-running steps could be heard now from the stars outside. Four Ants in Black ants run into the room with their weapon in their hands, ready for battle.
Quickly they bound the unknown ants to the chairs and started an investigation:
- Who are you?
- Please, don’t hurt us! We came from an anthill nearby. nc is our leader.
- What are you after?
- We heard a party here, and you played with monsters, and it sounded so much fun. So we just wanted to ask if we could be your friends too.
The new ants were now shaking and crying. Ants in Black could intimidate anyone. Even Bella and Sixth felt slightly scared, looking at their black masks and weapons. - Wait, you came from nc? - Bella asked
- Yes, we are allies. We do not want to steal any secrets.
Bella called Ants in Black to the table to have a quick conversation.
- I believe them. But we can ask nc to come here and see if those are his.
- Is nc trustworthy? - Ants in Black were always so suspicious.
- Yes, he is. Most of the time, anyway. You have met him. He was Santa here last Christmas.
- The Santa with clown hair??
- Yup, that was him.
Knowing that those were not spies made Bella relax. She wrote a letter to nc and asked him to come to her tower. They sat together and talked about what had happened. nc sent his ants back to their home. As they left, Bella promised a big party for all the anthills in their alliance.
The planning for taking the big wonder went well, but it was not done until midnight. Placing hills and towers was very important; they needed to discuss it thoroughly.
Bella thought about the last few days, filled with adventure and excitement, mostly with friends. Becoming a leader for her anthill, Bella never could imagine that she would meet such good friends while taking care of crazy ants. Sixth, Black Widow, nc, Sero, Iron, Beli, Metal, Stash, Wombat, Papaya, and many more.
It was an unexpected friendship, but Bella knew they would be friends forever.