[ This is a work of fiction. The characters and incidents are products of the owning corporate hegemonies. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely ludicrous. No bugs were hurt in the making of this work. ]

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        After the horrible moment had passed, they looked up at the bird's nest, silhouetted in the night by the storm's bright flashes. The bird had settled in over her chicks, sheltering them from the storm. But she was still far too alert, and the two ants dared not move from their hiding place yet. They retreated back out of sight behind the rock, where Flik sagged to the ground, totally exhausted.
        The lightning diminished as the storm front passed overhead, but the rain was again a steady downpour. A raindrop struck the rock above their heads with explosive effect, making missiles of water-droplets. Water flowed off the rock and began to pool at their feet. The air was cooling rapidly, and the rock offered no shelter. Atta knew they could not remain here. "Flik, we have to go now."
        Flik did not respond. He lay crumpled on the ground, his eyes closed. He was badly battered and bruised. One foot lay at a slightly odd angle, and Atta recalled how Hopper had hauled Flik through the sky by that leg, before nearly choking him to death on the ground. The insane night had taken its toll on poor Flik, and now the elements threatened to finish him.
        "Flik?" Atta shook him.
        "I'm all right," he replied hoarsely, but he did not open his eyes. "You go back Princess... tell others... I'll rest here, just a little while."
        "No Flik, I'll fly us both back! You can make it." Atta knew he would die here if she left him. He could not cross the raging creek to the Island, even if he was fit. "Come on!" she said, taking his hand and trying to coax him to his feet. But Flik's strength was rapidly failing and he would not get up.
        Atta was very worried. She had to get Flik to Doctor Flora, but it would be very dangerous to fly back now. The rain was coming down hard, and the lightning had all but ceased, leaving the night skies so dark that only shadowy outlines of nearby objects were visible. They could easily become lost, or fly into an unfriendly spider's web, or worse. Atta's head still ached from having been stunned by a large raindrop, which would have drowned her had Flik not worked both of them free. Another might be too much for her now, particularly with Flik badly weakened and unable to help. She could hear the rushing of the creek's waters. If the rain struck them down over the creek, they would perish.
        She thought about flying back for help, but the risk was just as great. If she failed to make the Colony, no one would know where Flik was, and no help would come. Even if she did make it back to the Colony, a rescue party might not find the bird's nest easily in the night, or they might attract the attention of the bird, or something might take Flik away in the night, or a thousand other terrible things could happen.
        Atta was cold and wet and tired and afraid, and she did not know what to do. She was never comfortable on her own even in the best of circumstances, and this situation was completely outside of her experience. Confusion and panic threatened to overwhelm her. She looked down at Flik, helpless and vulnerable at her feet, and she began to get angry. He had been through so much, done too much, to end here like this. She wanted to shout her frustration into the night, but instead she wiped tears from her eyes and looked down at Flik again. Something hardened inside her, and her fear and panic subsided.
        A flash of lightning illuminated their surroundings. Atta glimpsed a small fallen leaf in a hollow made by a thick group of grasses. The leaf was tightly curled on itself, and might provide shelter. It seemed very far away over open ground, but maybe they could make it. As thunder rolled overhead, Atta steeled herself to try. She gathered Flik up in her arms, being careful of his injured ankle and bruised throat, and made off into the darkness toward where she thought the leaf lay. Rain spray soaked the two ants, but no raindrops struck them. At every step Atta expected the bird to pounce on them from the sky. More than once she stumbled on a rock or a root and nearly fell. At last she came to a place where the rain was not falling on them, and she knew they were under the sheltering hollow of the grass clump. The leaf would be nearby.
        Questions plagued her. What if the leaf was too rotten to be of use? What if it was full of water? What if something monstrous was already sheltering there? She pushed her worries aside and searched in the dark. She found the leaf as she remembered it, and to her relief discovered nothing hostile. There was a hint of spider, but the scent was old and conveyed no sense of danger. She carried Flik inside and laid him down on the soft dry surface.
        Atta dried herself with a buzz of her wings, and began a quick exploration of the leaf. She found it curled to a narrow cone at the far end. In the darkness she gathered some loose soil and bits of leaf and plugged the far end as best she could, making the leaf an acceptable dry shelter, free of drafts. Satisfied, she returned to Flik.
        He was wet and cold and very still. For an awful heart-wrenching moment Atta feared he had died. She cradled his head and was relieved to hear him moan. His breathing was shallow, but he was breathing. Gently she began brushing away the mud and water from his face, feeling the awful bruises inflicted by Hopper and his thugs. Atta recalled how Flik had been as horrified by Hopper's end as she, and it pleased her that he could feel sorry for the cruel grasshopper lord even after receiving such a terrible beating. Smiling down at him, she cleaned Flik's antennae and dried him as best she could, and tried to make him confortable.
        Hopper had been cunning and brutal, but in the end this clumsy, unassuming and socially-awkward ant lying in her arms had beaten the powerful grasshopper chief. Even as she had snatched Flik from Hopper's grasp, thinking only of getting away, Flik had schemed a way to defeat the grasshopper. He had used himself to bait the trap, but only after seeing that Atta was safely concealed. It was all clear to Atta now, but very confusing at the time. But Flik had put the plan together so fast and had known exactly what he was doing all the time. Atta realized that she just didn't think the same way, and neither did anyone else in the Colony.
        She found it hard to believe this was the same ant who as a youth had totally wrecked the grain-storage chamber, and whose weird ideas had complicated the lives of so many other ants, young and old. Atta had seldom noticed him back then, recalling an awkward little fellow who largely played by himself and was never picked for games. The few times she had been with him, he would start talking excitedly about something she didn't understand, and she would find an excuse to get away. But he was always nice to her, and that could not be said of everyone when she was small. She was skinny and gangling as a child, and she knew some kids made fun of her behind her back. Adults didn't talk to her because she was young and 'wouldn't understand', and many her age wouldn't talk to her because she was 'the Princess' and might tell on them. But Flik always treated her sincerely and without pretense, even if it was just to have someone to talk to.
        Perhaps that was why it had hurt so much that he had lied to her. For all his strangeness, Flik was always honest, and until recently Atta had never known him to lie; he just wasn't clever that way. Perhaps he lied to conceal the origin of his bird idea so the Colony wouldn't immediately dismiss it. Perhaps he thought the Colony would never take a chance on circus performers against Hopper's gang. In any event, she was convinced a lie would torment Flik, which would explain some of his behavior. Atta no longer cared what his reasons were. She had forgiven Flik a thousand times, if only he would come back and everything could be like it was before. Her own torment consisted of the pain in Flik's eyes when she had banished him, and shame that the circus troupe had been willing to stay and fight for the Colony, while she and her people were all too ready to surrender yet again to the grasshoppers. How Flik had found the courage to return was a question near to Atta's heart.
        Flik's bird had nearly worked; only bad luck defeated it. But it was Flik himself, not his bird, that roused the Colony by his taking responsibility for the bird and publicly labeling Hopper for what he was. She would never forget Flik rising painfully to his feet to stand alone and defiant before the terrible grasshopper.
        She could feel Flik breathing easily now, and he seemed to be sleeping. She began to worry less, and listened through the open end of the leaf to the steady pattering of the rain. Although very tired, Atta vowed to stay awake and hope for a break in the weather, and she passed the time thinking of what she would do when they got back, for there would be many changes.
        Atta held Flik close and waited for Moon to return and drive away the clouds and rain, and send them light again so that she might fly them home.