//------------------------------// // 18. Savin' the Hive // Story: Catherine the Great // by Scarheart //------------------------------// Edited by TuxOKC and Malozi. Levi Coffin had been a minister since retiring from the Civil Engineers. He had witnessed much in his years, volunteering his services in the Middle East after the first Gulf War before leaving his job to enter a different sort of Service. He was a Quaker, hailing from Quaker country in Pennsylvania. Yes, he had witnessed much in his fifty some odd years, settling down here in Springfield to be near his baby sister and her family. He joined a church he found both favorable and tolerant. In his heart, it matched how he felt his fellow men and women should view the world: live and let live. To forgive and forge unbreakable bonds of friendship. Levi believed in the fellowship and goodness of his fellow Man. His faith was built upon stone, guided by the Lord, in whom Levi believed fully. His faith in God was about to be tested. It started soon after services had let out. The last of the congregation had departed. It was a small group. The number of parishioners hovered around fifty souls, give or take. He had turned to go back into the church to gather his things. A curious sound in the bushes to his right gave Levi pause. Blinking in confusion, he surmised the buzzing in his ears was coming from a rather large insect. Dragonfly? No, bigger. As he turned, his curiosity piqued, Levi Coffin saw something large and dark leap out from the bushes and straight at him. The last thing he heard was, “Dude, I am like, totally sorry about this!” Then Levi Coffin’s world went black in a sea of stars. His head hurt. It throbbed. Levi winced and tried to move his hands. They were bound, he discovered. Blinking his eyes, he allowed himself a moment to focus before seeing exactly where he was. It appeared he was in some sort of shed. The smell of oil and cut grass assailed his nostrils. Light streamed in from a partially open door. Levi found he had been propped up against the wall on the opposite end of the shed facing the twin doors. Around him, tools were hung up on shelves and a riding mower served to help keep him in a sitting position. “Where...?” he blearily wondered. Why was he tied up? “Who did this?” Something buzzed and groaned. It was at the front of the mower. Was that a dog? He blinked and stared at the shape, his eyes not exactly focused quite yet. “My sister could not handle the sudden influx of information,” explained a dry, bored voice above him. “As a result, she lost her grip and fell. She will be fine. Happens all the time.” Levi looked up. Above him, in the rafters of the shed, was… was… “Oh, good Lord!” he mumbled, not believing his eyes. The… creature was the size of a large dog, with oversized solid blue eyes. It appeared to be black in the gloom of the shadows. The light from outside was on his face and made it harder to make out any features of the thing. “We decided to take you to meet our queen, so she might learn to be like you,” the thing went on, either uncaring of the man’s shock or having not even noticed. “My head hurts. I had to cut off the hive mind. The mental wave coming from my brothers was unexpected. I think Newton might have seen it coming. He tried to warn. My sister,” —there was a wave of an appendage at the unmoving form at Levi’s feet— “did not react quickly enough. I fear my brothers and sisters met similar fates.” “What are you?” Levi asked, his curiosity overcoming his initial fears. They were still there, but whatever the creature was, it had no interest at the moment of showing violence. “I am a changeling,” replied the creature with a slow blink of its eyes. “My name is Alpha. It was given to me by my brothers and sisters. I do not want an identity. I want to be what I was before. I am afraid of being an individual. Beta is my sister. She is there on the floor in front of you. I think she shall be all right.” “What do you want from me?” Levi was still digesting the part where Alpha mentioned the word queen and the sentence it was contained within. “Mother was evil. She still is, I think. We left her because we don’t want to be evil. We want to be accepted. That was the new hive consensus. We were not perfect in the eyes of our mother, therefore we were relegated to menial duties and not considered essential to the functionality of the hive.” Alpha sighed and buzzed what sounded like wings. They were a familiar sound to Levi. “We had to take you as my sister and I deemed you a viable asset. We need you. What we sensed from you is charisma and a sense of wanting to do and be good.” “Why am I tied up?” “A precaution. Hoomans are unpredictable. There are few of us. We must take caution.” There was a pause and Alpha blinked her huge eyes again. “We also need to practice our knots. There are so many varieties. We used a hitch knot on you. Are you properly bound? I do hope the knot is not too tight. Circulation is important.” Levi inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. Now was not a good time to be angry. Counting backwards from ten, he opened his eyes at four and said to the changeling, “I’m fine, thank you. Do you think it would have been nicer if you had just, oh, I don’t know, asked for help?” “You are assuming we changelings are logical creatures,” countered Alpha with a sniff. “It is hard, considering our mother commanded and we obeyed. The whole notion of having a free will is terrifying. Mistakes are being made. Taking you against your will might have been one of those mistakes. The hive mind is a mess and I cannot reach my brothers and sisters for clarification. We are waiting for clarification.” Her bored voice was offset by her head spinning slowly in place on her neck. To Levi, it was unsettling. “Clarification?” The changeling dropped from the ceiling, flipping in midair and buzzing her wings. She was held aloft by her wings, alighting on top of the riding mower and settling on the seat. Levi could make out the details of her form with much more clarity, noting how Alpha appeared to be armored, like a xenomorph from the movies. Her crest rose and fell, seeming to match her mood. Her ears were perked forward and had an equine look to them. A pair of small fangs could be seen protruding from her mouth. She appeared to be quadrupedal. Levi found himself staring at her legs, as they had an odd appearance of being filled with holes up and down the lengths of each of them. She nodded at him as she settled on the seat of the mower. “Yes. We can do nothing until the hive recovers. We were flooded with information and went down like noobs.” There was a pause. “How do I know the word ‘noob’?” Alpha tilted her head to one side. pursing her lips as she digested her own query. “We were pwned.” Another pause. “How do I know ‘pwned’? I am confused! Where are the vowels? There is only one vowel in that word! I am not even sure that is a word! Your English is confusing as a language! Why could it not just be Equish?” Levi thought the creature was panicking. It was hard to tell, given she had such a dry and boring monotone voice. “Can you at least untie me?” The changeling stiffened and stared at him. “If I do that, there is a chance you will retaliate for being held against your will. I do not handle retaliations very well. Please forgive me and please be patient until we figure out how to deal with you. Newton will know. Maybe Speaker. He speaks for all of us. That is why we call him Speaker. It is a very important name.” The man found the changeling’s mannerisms to be childlike in many ways. He found he could not be angry at her. Confused, of course. Angry? No. It was more like he was resigned to endure what came with the human fear of the unknown. An opportunity was presenting itself, one Levi Coffin was not at all prepared for, but one nonetheless. Life had not prepared him for meeting aliens. Or were they demons? “You are connected to our new queen,” Alpha said in an abrupt tone. She blinked, tilted her head the other way and blinked again. “She gives us love. She does not hold back her love for us. She is not like mother. You are connected to our queen and she loves us. Are you related? I think you are. You humans have a strange aura over all of you. It does not cling to you, nor does it cling to our new queen. The aura we sensed is something we feel is familiar to us. It is not of your world. It must be from our world. There is magic. It is a magic, of sorts. I am no expert. Netwon would know. This is why we wait and hide.” “What?” blurted Levi, confused. He shook his head. “You’re babbling.” “I am scared. I am told I babble when I am scared,” replied the changeling with all the excitement of watching paint dry. She stretched out her neck to Levi. He recoiled out of instinct from her. Her nostrils flared as she sniffed at his neck and head. “You smell like Catherine, but you are not Catherine. You must be related to her.” “Cathy? My niece? What have you done to my niece?” He was afraid for her. “Nothing. We made her our Queen. We obey her. She will be great. It was an all or nothing choice. We voted. It was a landslide. We will make the hive great again.” “Why is she your queen? Why did you choose her? What do you want from her?” “Her mother and father asked the same questions. I will be honest with you. Your niece has magic on her. Powerful, dormant magic. It drew us to her. There is love in her magic. She is also six. We feel that is an upgrade from Mother.” Alpha withdrew and settled back on the seat of the riding mower. It was more of a sprawl than an actual sitting position. It seemed awkward from Levi’s point of view. “Mother has gone mad with power. We do not want a ruler immersing herself into such things. We want a queen that will love us and guide us. The alternative is far too colorful and awful to comprehend.” Alpha shuddered and blinked, making a sour face. Levi inhaled. It was a slow, ragged breath he took. From what he understood, these… changelings did not intend Catherine harm. Worry creased his features and his nose itched. There was no means to scratch that itch. His baby sister, Beatrice was no doubt also in the middle of this, as well as Frank. “Lord, give me patience and give me strength,” he whispered an imploring prayer. “This is family. My family,” he told Alpha. His tone suggested disappointment. Alpha’s ears drooped and she hung her head. “We do not harm. We do not wish to harm. We wish to be loved. All we want is love. All we want is to belong. We need guidance. We need a queen. We need leadership. We are no longer on our world. The rules of this world are confusing and harsh. Will you help us? Will you help our queen?” Levi squinted at the changeling. “Hold your horses a sec. Magic? You said magic. There’s no such thing as magic. Catherine does not have magic!” “Really?” Alpha deadpanned. Her crooked horn lit up and tools began to lift from their places along the walls. A rake lifted up from behind her and whacked her in the back. The changeling was startled and yelped, her horn’s glow ceased. Everything fell and clattered to the floor. “Ow.” The man almost swore. “Good heavens!” If he had been unbound, he would have shielded his face with his hands. He did try to meld into the wall behind him. “You’re a demon!” A sad mask fell over Alpha’s equine-like features. “So we have been called before,” she sniffled. “We are not demons. We are magical creatures and we are not of this world. I have already said what we need, what we want. We would contribute to this world and do good if allowed. But we do not do bathrooms.” Her muzzle scrunched in distaste. “Magic,” Levi breathed, still unable to bring himself to believe. Scripture had taught that those who dabbled in magic were charlatans who were not good. Then again, Scripture had also preached that men must learn to love and let live. As a minister, he found conflict as he looked upon this demonic creature pleading for help. She was asking for aid, asking to be shown how to be good and do good. How would a rabbi handle this? Or a Catholic priest? Or an imam? More importantly, why him? It was about that moment when the doors to the shed were flung open, letting the full glory of the late afternoon sun spill inside. “I have chocolate!” proclaimed a loud and far too cheerful voice. “I have escaped the multitudes of hoomans who wanted to take what I had rightfully stolen!” Another changeling stood at the doorway, holding aloft boxes of candy bars and an assortment of chocolatey treats. Alpha stared at the newcomer. “You should not have, Wesley,” she told him in a flat voice. “I am trying to build the bonds of trust with this hooman. The hive mind is not working. Everyling was knocked out, I think. Beta is out.” She pointed at her inert sister on the ground at Levi’s feet. Another voice piped up from behind Wesley. A fourth changeling appeared. She chittered, put out and annoyed, shoving Wesley from behind. He scrambled to keep his treats in his grasp, buzzing his wings and crying out in alarm. She pointed at the treats in his grasp, wagging a holed hoof in exasperation, puffing out her cheeks. TK continued her silent tirade by exhaling and explosive breath before drooping in exhaustion. It had been a very trying day. “Hey!” Wesley complained as he steadied his pile. “Oh, hey, what’s wrong with Beta?” Alpha rolled her eyes. “That is TK421,” she said, pointing at the changeling not holding candy. “She is a mute. The thief is Wesley. Chocolate is a weakness for us changelings. Some are more susceptible to the smell than others. Beta was struck by the wave of knowledge. Someling miscast the spell.” “Are you sure?” TK421 eyed the bound human. Wesley was filling in for her muteness with his own voice. “Why is he— oh, no, you didn’t. You did. Newton said no, but you went and did what you wanted.” She slowly ran a hoof over her face and heaved out a great sigh. “This is why we can’t have nice things.” Wesley scowled as he conveyed her words, glaring at her. “We do this to save the hive!” said Alpha. Levi thought he could hear music starting up. “What?” He didn’t know there was a radio in the shed. “Where is that music coming from?” The changelings were bobbing their heads in rhythm. Levi was not a huge fan of disco. It wasn’t the music, no, but the horrible fashion design of the era. The three changelings stood at the door (Wesley set his candy aside with a sigh and reluctance), and were moving to the music. Alpha stood in between the other two and began to sing in her monotone voice. Well, I can tell my siblings around can’t talk, I’m a ‘ling genius: no time to trot. Just look at my family, we’ve been kicked around Since we were born. Now it’s not all right, not OK. We haven’t been allowed our say. No changeling can comprehend The World Wide Web’s effect on us. It doesn’t matter what I know or think I might know, I’m savin’ the Hive, savin’ the Hive. Felt our world breakin’ and every changeling shakin’, And we’re savin’ the hive, savin’ the hive. Ah, ha, ha, ha, savin’ the hive, savin’ the hive. Ah, ha, ha, ha, savin’ the hive. Look now, we need you and we need her, And if we can’t some love, we still try. Got the hopes of dreamin’ on my hooves. I’m a singin’ ‘ling and we just won’t lose. We know it’s all right. We’re OK. We’d love to sing another day. Sometimes we don’t understand We just want to know the world of Man. It doesn’t matter what I know or think I might know, I’m savin’ the Hive, savin’ the Hive. Felt our world breakin’ and everychangeling shakin’, And we’re savin’ the hive, savin’ the hive. Ah, ha, ha, ha, savin’ the hive, savin’ the hive. Ah, ha, ha, ha, savin’ the hive. A hive life right here. Someling help us. Someling help us, yeah. A hive life right here. Someling help us, yeah. Savin’ the hive. Look now, we need you and we need her, And if we can’t some love, we still try. Got the hopes of dreamin’ on my hooves. I’m a singin’ ‘ling and we just won’t lose. We know it’s all right. We’re OK. We’d love to sing another day. Sometimes we don’t understand We just want to know the world of Man. It doesn’t matter what I know or think I might know, I’m savin’ the Hive, savin’ the Hive. Felt our world breakin’ and everychangeling shakin’, And we’re savin’ the hive, savin’ the hive. Ah, ha, ha, ha, savin’ the hive, savin’ the hive. Ah, ha, ha, ha, savin’ the hive. A hive life right here. Someling help us. Someling help us, yeah. A hive life right here. Someling help us, yeah. Savin’ the hive. A hive life right here. Someling help us. Someling help us, yeah. A hive life right here. Someling help us, yeah. Savin’ the hive. A hive life right here. Someling help us. Someling help us, yeah. A hive life right here. Someling help us, yeah. Savin’ the hive. A hive life right here. Someling help us. Someling help us, yeah. A hive life right here. Someling help us, yeah. Savin’ the hive. They finished, and Alpha preened in front of Levi, offering the first hint of a smile since introducing herself to the man. The music faded and was instead replaced by the sounds of songbirds outside chirping the same song with what appeared to be a great deal of confusion in their voices. “What am I getting myself into?” Levi asked, bewildered. Why is he bound? TK421 jabbed a hoof at the man's bonds, mouthing the question. Alpha shrugged and harrumphed. “Chocolate?” offered Wesley with a shameless grin. He held out a Milky Way. It was the dark chocolate version. Levi sighed. “This is going to be the start of an interesting relationship,” he mused.