As the night grew closer, the pile of trash in the hole grew smaller and smaller. The thin stream of moles carrying the pieces of plastic couldn't keep up with the rate at which the queen consumed.

As the night drew closer, the mountain was reduced to a gentle rolling hill.

"What happened."

A frantic scurrying ensued.

"Your Highness, we had a huge set back earlier and our workforce has been reduced by two-thirds! They're already working as hard as they can but they can't keep up!"

"What would it take for them to complete the task."

"Well, we'd need about five hundred more moles to replenish the amount we lost, and if we want to pick out most of the type-0053-0059 plastics we'd need one or two hundred more workers on that!"

"Cut the digging and other nonessentials, I'll give you four hundred to do that."

"What about the waste plastic! What about the tunnels!"

"That's your problem. Get it done."

--Tunnels--

"Get up! You've been reassigned! Let's move!"

"Pssst Henry. What happened?"

"Don't know, there never has been a reassignment like this. Just follow the lead of the people in front and we'll be fine. If their heads get chopped off we'll know what not to do."

"Are we finally getting a vacation? What if we're getting lead up to the surface! We can finally see it!"

"As if! If the rumors are true, this tunnel passes the queen! We might be getting executed!"

"But doesn't she need us? We're the ones keeping her alive!"

"Eh, easier for the colony to travel if she just eats us and stores the energy."

"Is it that tunnel to the left there?"

"Yeah, looks like we're not dying today."

"What are we doing then?"

"Who knows, just wait and see."

"What do you mean wait! Our lives are so short! We have to do something!"

"Yeah, go become a scavenger, then you'll have just about the longest life ever!"

"Wait! If I become a scavenger, why wouldn't I just run?"

"Because this is just about the only source of water dummy. Unless… Nah, couldn't be."

"What? Wheres that source of water?"

"There's a place with water, but that's restricted from us entering. You've heard the rumors about him, right? The ones who enter the hole never came back! So many too! Too many to fit inside the concrete! But here's the thing! The humans were right above him!"

"How'd you get that information though? Sounds a bit… fake?"

"Hah! I was up there myself! The darn humans ran away the moment I charged! About the other part though, I had a friend who did the deliveries of trash to him! Didn't see him again one day, a new mole was assigned to that duty soon after."

"Well, how do you know he wasn't a dissenter? Or accused to be one!"

"Cause I've had countless friends who've disappeared! And friends of friends too!"

"So what you're telling me is that I can become a scavenger and escape?"

"Sure, but ya gotta be real tough to survive out there, gotta complete them tests too."

"What's out there even? Isn't it just a wasteland? What tests!?"

"Well, it's less of a formalized test but rather they'll watch your behavior."

"Watch my behavior? How?"

"Well you gotta be extremely aggressive, but at the same time submit to the strongest, which is the queen. You see where I'm going with this?"

"Ah so those spineless bootlickers are gonna live forever while the rest of us suffer. Seems fit, but what's even out there for them to bully?"

"Oh you wouldn't believe what they drag in here! You might've been assigned to a path too offroad to see, but they bring in nasty creatures sometimes! Their tribute to the queen of course. But they've gotta run away properly when they face the strong ones which is why that test applies."

"Well isn't it logical to not die? Everybody knows that! Why not just let everyone go scavenge!"

"Well, you see the queen still has to pump us out now and then however reluctant she is and we die less if we have some of those plastics in us!"

"I still don't understand why she won't let more of us scavenge! It burns in me to go out and explore!"

"And that's how you die kid, don't take any offense to it, many of your type have also been rejected. They'd waste a heavy investment of energy on your type, especially if you die on your first exploration."

--In the walls of the tunnel--

"Hey you think we should scare that kid a bit? Who knows, he might just be perfect deep down."

"Hah! He'll get himself killed in no time!"

"Shouldn't be a problem to spook him a bit, should be quite fun!"

"How we gonna get the conspiracy theorist away from him though? Might just tell him we're in the walls right away!"

"So what? We're acting under the authority of their queen!"

"He doesn't seem to know we're in the walls though, speaks as if no one else can hear him!"

"Remember that thing they call the bible? We could pull something out of there!"

"What good would that do though, would just make him more emboldened!"

"Let's make him think satan is around him? Would make him a lot wearier of everything happening around him!"

"Not a bad idea, but how would we execute the plan?"

"Easy, tempt him to murder that conspiracist fool with the outside! Then we just laugh evilly!"

"Sure that's simple and all but what do we do then? It simply wouldn't do to leave a malleable young fool to sit!"

"What if we grant his wish? He'd clearly be willing to submit to a higher power and kill those weaker than him!"

"Hah! We've got a plan!"

--Inside--

"Alejandros! Let's just stay here and eat! It's so plentiful!"

"Hey! Maybe you're fine with just eating, but I like to move! You're also forgetting about Senny! What about him!"