Enlightened

Jax could feel all six of his legs buckling under the weight of the hundreds of pairs of horrified eyes staring at him in shocked silence. The weekly meeting was usually a boring affair where personal grievances were aired and gossip was exchanged, but every now and then someone had some exciting news about food. Today Jax was that someone, and the rest of the colony listened joyful anticipation until he mentioned the location of the new food source he’d discovered. He knew that part wouldn’t go over well, but he didn’t expect this. He probably should have. 

“Did you really just suggest we go into the Light?” Grandfather Cluster asked incredulously. “Absolutely not!" 

“But…” Jax began.

“The answer is no, Jax!” Grand Aunt Leaky snapped. “What you’re suggesting is nothing short of madness!” The rest of the Elders waved their antennae in agreement.

Jax felt his frustration mount. From the moment he and his two dozen siblings hatched they had been taught to embrace the Dark and fear the Light. The Dark allowed them to move about in safety, while the Light exposed them to the Giants with their crushing blows. The Dark was life and the Light was death, said the Elders. But what Jax had seen had thrown all their wisdom into question, and he simply could not stay silent.

“With all due respect, Elders, I’ve seen the Light and it offers not death, but chocolate!” Loud gasps echoed though the room, and the thousands of eyes instantly shifted from horror to awe. Emboldened, Jax continued. “The Light has a mountain of soft, sweet chocolate sitting out on the Great Tiled Plain! I can lead us there right now!” 

Excited murmurs began to ripple through the colony. A large supply of chocolate was certainly hard to pass up, even if it meant going into Light. Grandfather Cluster and Aunt Leaky sputtered indignantly, not used to having their authority challenged. But just as it looked like Jax had won them over, a rapid series of shrill clicks echoed through the room. The chatter immediately ceased as Great-Grandfather Husk slowly scuttled in. His movement was hampered by a missing antennae and two missing limbs, testaments to a life of hard lessons learned. Jax swallowed nervously as Husk ambled over and sized him up with his one good eye.

“So…you saw the Light one time and think you’ve got it all figured out, have you?” He growled.

“I never said I did, sir,” Jax gulped. “I just meant that…”

“Do you know how I got these scars?” Husk bellowed, waving his stumps. “I, too, was once seduced by her sweet promises and warm embrace. But it was lies, all lies!” His voice dropped to a whisper. “I was one of the lucky ones. Most who dance with Lady Light never make it back.”

Silence filled the room. Husk looked Jax square in the eye with a look that dared the young one to challenge him. Jax looked to the colony for support, but they had traded their excitement for averted gazes and drooping antennas. “I’m sorry Great-Grandfather Husk,” he said, bowing his head. 

“You’re forgiven,” Husk replied with a small smile. He looked over at the Elders. “I think it’s time we wrapped things up. The Dark will be here soon.” The Elders nodded, and the colony respectfully watched in silence as their patriarch slowly scuttled out the way he came. 

Once Husk was gone the meeting wrapped and everyone quietly filed out of the room to prepare for the evening forage, not one of them sparing a glance at the jerk who got their hopes up. Jax could feel the chill rattling around in his exoskeleton. He waited for five minutes after they were gone to leave himself, only to find his brother Rance waiting for him outside.

“I know, I know, I’m an idiot,” Jax huffed, preparing for an onslaught of sibling mockery.

“Relax, Jax, I’m not here for that,” Rance replied, his antennae quivering with amusement. “Come with me.” He then turned and scurried off, much to Jax’s annoyance. Of course his older brother expected him to follow, just like the Elders expected him to follow their outdated ideas. Well he wasn’t a nymph anymore, he was a full member of the colony, and it was about time-

“NOW!” Rance yelled, and Jax quickly scurried after it. 

Jax’s resentment turned to curiosity as Rance’s scent led him away from the main nesting areas and down into an abandoned tunnel that had fallen into disrepair. Jax gingerly stepped over eggshells and squeezed through partially collapsed sections until he arrived at an old hatchery. Waiting for him was Rance and about a dozen other roaches. “Welcome to Light Club!” Rance announced proudly.

“Light Club?” Jax blinked.

Suddenly a roach Jax knew as Rance’s best friend Crust was in his face. “First rule of Light Club, don’t talk about Light Club!” He hissed. 

“Back off, Crust, you know I wouldn’t have brought my little bro into this if he wasn’t cool,” Rance said. Crust’s beady eyes narrowed, but he did as Rance instructed. “Sorry, Jax, what Crust meant to say is, don’t talk about Light Club outside of this room.”

“But what is Li-what is it?” Jax asked.

“We seek to dispel the myth of the Light,” Rance said. “The Elders make us fear the Light to keep us tied to the old ways, so that they alone control the colony’s every move. Light Club seeks to dispel these lies and embrace a bold new future, one where we no longer have to settle for whatever crumbs the Dark sees fit to throw us, but we couldn’t figure out how to do it. Then you told us that crazy story.” 

“It’s not crazy! It’s the truth!” Jax exclaimed.

“Hey, I believe you bro, but nobody else will without proof,” Rance said. “That’s why you’re going to take me to this fantastical chocolate mountain and get some!” 

“What, now?” Jax blinked.

“Yes, now! Let’s go!” Rance said, and scurried into the tunnel. Jax followed, his mind spinning. They were actually doing it. Going against everything they’d ever been taught to believe, with the promise of more chocolate than they could ever eat in their lifetime! It was exhilarating. He was trembling with excitement. Jax caught up to Rance at the entrance and saw that he was trembling too, but for an entirely different reason.

“Hello Jax,” Great-Grandfather Husk said. “Perhaps you can tell me where you boys are off too at this odd hour. Your brother seems to have lost the ability to answer a simple question.” He nodded at Rance, who looked like he was about to throw up.

“Rance feels sick!” Jax blurted out. “I’m taking him to Steel Pipe Falls for some water.” He topped off his explanation with a sheepish grin, hoping to disarm the patriarch’s steel gaze. 

Husk’s good eye shifted from Jax to Rance and back. “And what were you doing down that old tunnel? Get lost on your way to the Falls, did you?”

Rance began to dry heave. “Sorry, Great-Grandfather Husk, but we really need to go!” Jax said. He quickly ushered Rance away, not daring to stop until they arrived at Entrance Crack 116AB. It led right to the Great Tiled Plain, but it was rarely used since the Plain offered little in the way of food or hiding places, making it a risky venture even in the Dark. “This is it. Ready to have your mind blown, Rance?” Jax asked breathlessly.

“Maybe we should turn back,” Rance said. “Go to Steel Pipe Falls like we said we would to divert suspicion and try this another day.”

Jax turned to Rance and was surprised to see him looking even paler and more nauseous, not at all like his usual cocky self. “We’re so close, Rance! We’ll be in and out in no time. The Light is nothing to be afraid of, remember?”

Rance glanced down at Crack 116AB. The Light was peeking through from the other side, as if inviting them in. Jax was shocked to see Rance take a half step backwards. “Rance?” He said, but Rance wouldn’t look at him. “Wait here, I’ll be right back,” Jax sighed, and squeezed through to the other side.

Massive as it was, the chocolate mountain was the first thing he saw, sitting right where he remembered it was. He stood perfectly still for a few moments listening for danger, but the air was quiet and still. His disappointment over Rance was forgotten as he scurried over, the scent of chocolate growing so strong he practically had to wade through it to get to the base of the mountain. At last! After spending so much time admiring it from afar and dreaming about it and singing its praises to anyone who would listen, he was standing right in front of it. All he had to do was reach out and…

Suddenly his body, finely tuned by millions of years of evolution, sent a shockwave of panic to his brain. Instinctively Jax began scurrying back to the crack when the piercing roar of a Giant tore through the air. Suddenly he found himself engulfed by a soft white blanket that started tightening around him. A frantic burst of energy allowed him to scramble out of its grasp and he hit the ground running. Knowing he wasn’t going to make it back to the crack in time, he raced to the edge of the Great Tile Plain and scurried under it. Finding a small niche he crammed his body in as far as it would go, and waited. 

The hairs on his legs quivered violently, as if trying to tear themselves free to run away. He could sense the Giant nearby, searching for him. Then he heard another defining roar, and as quickly as it had arrived, the Giant was suddenly gone. Jax no longer herd the stomping of a massive monster, but the pattering of dozens of little feet. Feet that was very familiar. Jax pulled himself free and scurried back up to the top of the Plain, where he saw the entire Light Club, including Rance, scurrying around calling for him. 

“There he is!” Jax heard Crust yell. Everyone quickly swarmed around Jax, clicking in joy and relief. Rance pushed his way to the front and the two brothers waved their antennae over one another with brotherly affection.

“You okay?” He asked. Jax nodded. “Then let’s get out of here!” 

“I can’t believe you got the entire club to come after me!” Jax said as they rushed back to the crack. “How did they get here so fast?”

“I’d love to take the credit, but it wasn’t me,” Rance said, gesturing for Jax to go first. Jax squeezed through the crack and gasped in shock at what was waiting for him on the other side, and briefly wished the Giant had succeeded in killing him. 

******   

Much to Jax’s surprise, Great-Grandfather Husk didn’t rip his head clean off. Instead, he brought him back to his burrow and offered him a stale muffin crumb from his private reserve. As Jax ate and rested, the adrenaline quickly drained from his body and he soon fell asleep. He woke to find Husk staring thoughtfully at him. “I’m sorry, Great-Grandfather Husk,” he said. “I can’t believe what an idiot I was. I’ll never question you or the Elders again.”

“Then you really will be an idiot,” Husk snorted, surprising Jax yet again. “Blind obedience isn’t any better than reckless abandon. We need youngsters who are willing to challenge the rules. You just need to be smarter about it.”

Jax had never been so confused in his life. “So…was this some kind of test?”

“You need a lot of gumption if you’re going to dance with Lady Light,” Husk said. He waved his stumps. “These scars don’t just represent my mistakes, they also represent the wisdom I gleaned from them. For instance, the Giants are actually pretty timid. One or two of us they can handle, but they run for the hills when we swarm.”

“I was a hair’s length from chocolate mountain and I blew it,” Jax said gloomily. “I let the whole colony down.”

“Not necessarily,” Husk said. He gestured for Jax to come with him, and the two left the burrow. It didn’t take long for Jax to realize they were headed for the Great Plastic Pit, where the Giants dumped their garbage. There was food to forage in there, but it was mostly rotting scraps mixed in with a lot of inedible waste, and usually not worth the effort. But as the Pit came into view, a familiar heavenly smell hit Jax’s senses. He rushed over and peered over the edge. 

There was chocolate mountain, lying on the top of the heap with half the colony happily pouring over it, including the Light Club. One of them noticed Jax and let out a loud cheer, the rest quickly joining in. “Another trick I learned when I was your age,” Husk chuckled as he ambled up next to Jax. “If the Giants see you within a hair’s length from their stuff, they throw it into the Pit. I’ve been trying to get those fuddy-duddy Elders to listen for years. Maybe now they finally will, thanks to you.” 

Though the Light was nowhere near the Pit, Jax could feel a warm glow tingling all over his body. He saw Rance, Crust and the others beckoning him to join them. He cast a glance at Great-Grandfather Husk’s approving smile, gave him one in return, and dove in.