thirtysilver
The ants in 15 out of the 20 colonies were dying. 3 more were dead already. The nanites were killing them. But the rest were graying and strange. Changing. Adam watched them every night, unsure whether to be afraid for Douglas or ecstatic. The ones that were flourishing moved at odd times, and in certain slants of shadow seemed to glow.
She was a flirt. Long skirt, sandals, brown hair bobbing in a high bun, one lock pressed behind her ear. She moved through the crowd like a vapor. I watched her from the darkness, hiding, but I felt exposed. She penetrated me with something, I breathed her in, and it was as if she was poisoning me.