You go into your front yard to find that a colony of ants is marching around wearing armor and using small weapons. Near the anthill you see a book you own that covers the history and military of Rome
"War Antics" Part 4 of 4. Enjoy the Finale!
The bulk of my army went marching across the street, led by Grant with a sword held high. I watched in anticipation, my body shaking in exhilaration.
"I don't get it," Roger said from his driveway, scratching the back of his head. He was my neighbor on my left, where Riley was the neighbor to my right. "I know you explained something about ants on the way back from the airport, but they listen to you in your ongoing feud with Hans?"
"Best not to think about it, Bernard doesn't make much sense," Riley shrugged from her driveway.
"No, you're not any better," Roger said, shaking his head. "You also have a bunch of ants that worship you or whatever."
"They don't worship me, and mine didn't make a pantheon in my name like the Bernants did," she pointed to my ants' hill.
"Can you both shut up?" I said, focusing back on my ants.
"I mean, an explanation would be nice," Roger grumbled.
"Okay, fine. Just shut up. I'm sending it a much larger force of ants to flank Hans's ants and take over his military power and turn it against him while he's away from his porch," I said.
"You're going in head-on? How is that going to end up better than a few days ago? Oh right, you got nuked! This is the exact same plan as last time," Riley said as if speaking to an idiot.
"This is going to be better because they have a plan. They're not just going in like last time," I said.
“None of that was an explanation,” Roger said.
“Yeah, well, it’s a great plan,” I assured him.
"It really doesn't sound like you have a plan, though?" Roger said, watching my Bernants.
"You don't have a plan!" I retorted snappily.
"Y-yeah, why would I have a--"
"Just shut up. Both of you," I said, watching intently.
Grant had made it to the other side of the street, climbing up the curb with the rest of the army. I held my breath. Hans's front door flung open, light spilling out from his living room showing a ghastly silhouette of a man emerge.
"Now!" he yelled, fists in the air.
A dozen ants climbed over the edge of the Nationalants hill with another firework.
"Nooo," I said dreadfully, shaking my head slowly watching through my binoculars.
"I don't understand how you thought this would go differently!" Riley hissed.
Hans’s ants pulled out a match and lit the end of it, pulling it closer to the fuse.
"What's happening right now? Is that a firecracker?" Roger asked.
“A nuke,” Riley confirmed.
"Grant! Hide! Get to safety!" I screamed as the end of the deadly explosive was lit.
I was too late.
Like last time, the top of the anthill was blown off by the force of the blast and the rocket went sprawling into the Bernants. Bodies were flung in every direction before it exploded in one blinding instance, leaving nothing but ash in its wake.
"Not only are you stupid, but also dumb Bernard!" Hans taunted, pointing and laughing once again.
"Shut up Hans!" I screamed.
"So... they're all just dead?" Roger said, scratching his head.
"Not all of them," I whispered slyly.
"What do you mean?" Riley asked, first annoyed, then interested by my confidence.
"This war was never about beating Hans's ants. It was to beat Hans. And I sent a second squadron of ants around the back to chew through the inside of the house," I said, getting more excited.
"You what?" Riley screamed.
"I don't--what does that mean?" Roger asked.
"I mean I'm going to cut off the power to his house. They're gonna eat right through all his electrical wires and get him where it hurts," I said, rubbing my hands together.
"Bernard, even you have to know that's way too far!" Riley urged.
"Isn't that illegal?" Roger asked. Then he lowered his head in thought. “Actually, is it? Can ants be charged?”
Hans stopped laughing to give an order.
"Now my Nationalants! We will finally go on the offensive while the enemy is weak and--" Hans stopped when the light in the living room behind him suddenly went out. He looked back, then saw another number of lights going dark in his home. Both fixtures and appliances blinked off.
"What?" he said as the kitchen lights popped out.
"That's right Hans! You thought you had me this time but Grant was perfect! He allowed for a second group to cut the wires to your house and cause a power outage..." I blinked a few times when I thought I saw a wisp of smoke from inside Hans's house.
"Did you leave your fireplace on or something?" I asked slowly.
Rather than answer, Hans took a few steps back to watch an ember crawl along the edge of his house and erupt into flames. His entire house was engulfed in the blaze in minutes and he could only watch with his mouth agape.
"What... what happened to his house?" I asked no one in particular.
"I'm no electrician," Roger said, "but I'm pretty sure biting through wires might start a spark which could catch through the rest of the house."
"Oh..." I said, watching the flames dance on the grave of Hans's house. He was walking over to me in a daze. I stood motionless, unsure of what he was planning now.
"I did not believe you were capable of such a thing," Hans said once he stood in front of me.
"Me either, honestly," I replied.
"I will admit, you have won this battle," he stood with his back straight, the most respect I had ever seen from him.
I immediately began beaming.
"Really!?" I exclaimed excitedly.
"Yes, but you will not win this war," Hans said.
"Yeah? Gonna send your ants to get me or something? I doubt they'll survive the flames on the lawn," I spat back.
"Ants? Barnard, no. Look what you did to my home. I will see you in court," Hans said simply, walking back to the sidewalk to watch his house burn down.
"Oh," I said, stunned. I frowned in thought. He was just a sore loser. The Nationalants were going to die a slow death and he was jealous.
A portion of his house collapsed in on itself, just as sirens sang into our neighborhood. Policemen approached Hans for questioning. As he pointed to me while explaining the situation, I could only think of one thing:
I definitely won.
Thank you for reading! I really hope you enjoyed reading because I enjoyed writing it!
And if you enjoyed this short multi-part series, you’ll definitely enjoy my longer one: The Homseeker
Either way, thanks for reading. See you in the next ones
Well, that was fun.
The Bernants definitely won a shining victory, but it was overkill.