“If we just go running down there with so many ant-men around, all they’re going to do is capture us,” Laura said. “And then we’ll be pizza for the ants as well.”
“Do ants even eat pizza?” Henderson asked.
“Ants eat everything,” Jesse said.
“None of this is helping,” Laura said. She looked back over her shoulder at the giant green insect, which was still just standing around like it had no idea what to do with itself. “I’ve got an idea. We can cause a distraction and get most of the guards away from the eating area.”
“So what, we just send that thing running down there?” Henderson asked. “How are we supposed to do that? We don’t know that it’ll lead them away or not.”
“That’s why we don’t send it by itself. We send it down with someone riding it.”
“And who the hell would be dumb enough to do that?” Henderson asked.
Both Jesse and Laura turned to look right at him. It took him a moment to understand.
“Wait, what?” Henderson asked.
“Out of all of us, you’re the best BMX rider,” Laura said. “You would be the best one to ride it down, confuse the hell out of all the ant people, and then run on out with all of them chasing after you.”
“Excuse me, but how the hell are you thinking that’s similar to a BMX?” Henderson asked, pointing at the giant green bug.
Laura pointed at its antennae. “Those are sort of like handlebars.”
Henderson shook his head. “No. They’re really not.”
“Just imagine it’s a Murray or a Mongoose,” Laura said. “I’ve seen the way you can handle a bike. Handling a giant bug can’t be that much different.”
“You guys are crazy,” Henderson said. But both Laura and Jesse could see the look in his eye as he started to imagine himself on top of the creature. He was probably thinking of how to do jumps and wheelies with it, if such a thing could even be done with a giant bug. “Okay, so if I did try this, and that’s a really big if, what would the plan be?”
“It looks like there’s stairs that lead down there over to the right,” Laura said. “You get on the aphid, steer it down those stairs, cause a ruckus among the ants, and then use the bug to run out of the room and draw the ants with you. Once all or most of them are away, Jesse and I can run down there and free everybody.”
“And what happens after that?” Henderson asked. “What happens when you have several hundred people trying to run out of the dining room and the city of a race of giant ant people?”
“How the hell should I know?” Laura said. “I’ve been playing this whole thing by ear since we came down here. If you’ve got a problem with my planning skills, then maybe you can come up with something better?”
“Hey, calm down, okay?” Henderson said. “I was just wondering. And no, I don’t have anything better.” He looked again at the giant aphid standing behind them like it was waiting for someone or something to give it orders. “Okay. Let’s go for it.” He went over to the bug and felt along the sides of it for handholds he could use to climb onto its back. “It’s a shame none of us have a camcorder, because I’m totally betting I’d be able to send a VHS of this to get on a pro BMX team.”
With some effort, Henderson was able to climb up on top of the insect’s back. It didn’t start to get skittish until he came close to its head. “All right,” Henderson said. “Give me a minute or two to get used to this before we do it. Let’s see. No pedals to control the speed but if I do this…”
He grabbed the antennae, and instantly the aphid went berserk. Before he could do anything resembling gaining control of the creature, it ran right for the edge of the ledge and leaped off into the large dining chamber below. Henderson’s scream started out as one of terror, but even as the bug landed in the room below and startled all the ants swarming around getting ready for dinner, the sound evolved into a sound of joy and taunting.
“Hey, numbnuts!” he yelled at the ants. “If you think those people look tasty, you should get a load of me! Come on, you know you want some of this!” Laura couldn’t tell if he managed to steer the bug around or if was just spinning in confusion and fear, but the aphid bolted for a large gateway. After a moment of shock and confusion, all of the ants in the room ran after it.
“It worked,” Jesse said. “How in the hell did that actually work?”
“Let’s not question it,” Laura said. “Come on. We probably don’t have a lot of time before some of them decide chasing Henderson down isn’t the best way to be spending their time.”
They ran down the slope into the dining hall and took a quick look around at the many captives. A few of them might have been asleep or unconscious, but it didn’t look like any of them were dead. If the ants really were planning on eating them, they looked like they had intended on doing it with their prey still alive and wriggling. Many of them had the weird resin-like substance over their mouths to keep them from talking, but a few that didn’t saw them and started shouting for help.
“Shh!” Laura said. “The ants will hear you.”
Most of them quieted down at that, but one particular voice kept talking. “Laura? Laura, honey, is that you?”
Laura turned
