A wave of ice rushed down my spine and for the briefest moment, I was frozen. They weren’t supposed to have found out this quickly. They were all dead. Did someone escape our circle? Was there a messenger that just happened to have come that day? What happened?

My mind was still spinning when Durgal interjected, “Do we begin the evacuation?”

I shook myself out of it, then channeled my magic to my throat and bellowed, “SWARM! PLANS HAVE CHANGED! GATHER IN THE DEEPEST PART OF THE DEN IMMEDIATELY! I WILL PERSONALLY KILL YOU IF YOU DELAY!”

“How many were there? Where were they coming from? Was the rest of your scouting party felled as well?” I immediately shifted into a more focused mood.

“At least twice the numbers as we fought before, and they seem to have more of their ‘Speakers’ as you’ve called them. They’re following the same path as before, and about one hour away. They’re proceeding cautiously, checking for ambushes and so on at every step, so they’re slower than they should be. The rest of my scouts are keeping a general eye on them as they proceed, they should be here before too long.”

I nodded tersely and continued jogging towards the deepest part of the den. As I entered the hall, Took and Sybil caught my eye as they followed me.

“The humans are on their way here now. We have maybe an hour before they get here. Took, are there any hunting packs out of the den right now?”

She nodded. “Five, a total of twenty-six.”

I couldn’t restrain the curses, this one a keelish one I’d recently picked up from Rulac that basically meant cowardly dirt muncher. “Kreerlk! Not as bad as it could be, but we should just count them as dead. We can’t spare the time and resources to try to find them. Hopefully, they can find us. Took, gather your packs and begin clearing the way. We can’t be slowed.” She nodded and rushed up ahead, a communicative growl burbling up from her throat. “Sybil, begin disseminating the information about our immediate relocation and get them moving to the eastern exit.”

“If I may, Alpha?” Sybil spoke up.

I tersely nodded.

“I’ll begin telling everyone what to do while you go to the mouths of the dens that we won’t be exiting from and calling out any commands you’d like to issue to those who may be within earshot. Then, you’ll join us on the exodus?” She voiced it as a question, but it was immediately obvious it was a better plan, considering the army heading our way couldn’t understand our commands and may even believe it to be a call to battle.

“Then I’ll start with the further exit, in the hopes to confuse the humans who hear me coming nearer.”

Without waiting for a response, I accelerated to a sprint down the tunnels to the nearest access point to the southwest exit.

…

It wasn’t often that I actually sprinted for longer than a brief moment, but I was amazed by my stamina. I could keep a near sprinting pace up nonstop without exhausting myself for the entire time that it took me to get to the other exit, something like two miles. On my way, I’d become more and more aware of the fact that once we got out of here, it wouldn’t be sustainable or wise to continue living underground. As a khatif, I’d found myself nearly smashing my head on ceilings that had never been notable to me, and a part of me rankled at the thought of being underground.

After passing through throngs of keelish pressing downwards, I was finally able to take a breath of fresh air, which swiftly powered my shout.

“ALL MEMBERS OF THE SWARM, GO EAST TO THE FURTHEST EXIT, NOW.”

My objective achieved, I descended once more to the den, returning to the entrance I’d come from. On my way, the foot traffic had dwindled to just a few stragglers and I was quickly able to poke my head out of the den just long enough to scream again for any remaining members of the swarm to gather up.

Finally, I was going down to the depths of the den, for the last time. Subconsciously, I found myself flexing the mobile scales around my hands and forearms over and over, my fists clenching and claws scraping noisily over each other as I rushed down the slope to the depths of the den.

I wasn’t sure if I was feeling emotional about this being possibly the last time I was ever here, or even if I should be. The nerves of the impending attack, the stress from needing to relocate earlier than planned, the weight of it all… it all washed over me.

With a roll of my neck and shrug of my shoulders, I continued down until I found myself pushing through a thronging mass of scaled swarmmates. Instinctually, I nearly roared “OUT OF MY WAY!” Immediately, my path forward was cleared and I could jog forward to the western exit. There waiting for me were Took, Sybil, and Rulac. I stood tall and strode to the front of the space before speaking.

“Those known as humans marched on our home in an attempt to slaughter us to the last. In return, we destroyed the assault force as well as their home, leaving it as a mass grave after adding their strength to our own. They were a worthy foe, and they fell before our feet!” As I finished the phrase in a crescendo, the raucous cheers and excitement began to wash through the hundreds of keelish before me. I raised a hand to quiet them before I continued.

“However, they do not consider us a worthy foe, but a pest. They seek to wipe us out to the last, just as we did to those who underestimated us. They will swarm in numbers like ants, but stronger than our greatest foes, and they will destroy us. We knew this would happen, and thus have decided to retreat, to survive, and, eventually, return!” My personal emotions began to swell within me as I considered the possibility. “We will return stronger than ever, to destroy all those who wronged us, to eviscerate their warriors and subjugate their people, and to grow fat on the fruits of their labor! Because WE ARE THE KEELISH! WE ARE THE FANGED ONES! THE VICTORS! AND WE WILL NOT STOP BEFORE WE ACHIEVE VICTORY!”

I recognized the dichotomy of glory and retreat, but I didn’t care as the swarm began thronging, moshing, and cheering. “We will survive today and return tomorrow! We are wise and we will be victorious!” I stepped forward, jogging up the incline towards the easternmost exit.

The swarm followed.