The Great Journey to Refuge

The Encounter

In the south, after 12 long days of travel, they arrived at a place where the infected river would never reach, as it was a desert. However, they were not thirsty (at least not yet), but that wasn't important at the moment. They were hungry, but they couldn't find anything until... they found a dead buffalo. They approached it, but when they got closer, they discovered something unexpected.

It's infected... Let's go.-Said my uncle Kamba.

What? Are we going to leave this carcass here? What if someone eats it? It could spread the disease, affecting everyone, not just the south.-Said my grandfather Bahati.

What do you suggest, sir?-Said my uncle.

(Sigh) I don't know, any option is dangerous.-He said.

What are the options?-Asked my mother.

Well... I don't know, I can't think when I'm hungry...-He said.

How about taking it with us?-Suggested my aunt.

Taking it would be the worst decision, someone could eat it when we're not looking.-Said my grandmother.

Hmm... Is there an anthill nearby? Or something similar?-Asked my aunt.

Well... There's one over there... But it's better not to mess with them... There are too many... Too many indeed...-Said my aunt's husband.

Hmm... How do we attract them?-She asks.

With meat... Why?-Said my uncle.

So they can eat it...-She said.

But wouldn't they get infected too?-Asked my uncle Kamba.

I think not, but if they do, a sandstorm can hide them and no one will get infected.-Said my aunt.

It will take a while to start...-My grandfather said.

Alright, but where can we find meat? His meat can infect us...-Said my uncle Kamba's girlfriend.

Hmm... Is there another way?-Asked my aunt to her husband.

Well... There is... But it's too risky...-He says as he goes towards the anthill.

What are you going to do?-She asks.

I will be the live bait, I will lead them to the buffalo.-He said.

That's really risky... How do you plan to do it?-Asked my uncle Kamba.

You'll see, Kamba, you'll see...-He said.

He went there and killed 8 ants that were outside the anthill, but... He killed them with great force.

The intention was to call all the ants out and the smell of the dead ants would make them attack my uncle (it's the classic "mess with one, mess with all" scenario). Then my uncle would have to run to save his life.

My aunt wanted to help, but he didn't want her to take risks...

As soon as they all came out and went towards him, he was trying to reach the buffalo but couldn't go too fast because he had to lead them to it. They were getting closer quickly... My uncle started to panic because he was still far from the buffalo, the ants were speeding up... They would attack him soon... So he decided to run a little, in the process he killed 15 more... which made the situation worse... When he was about to stop running, he tripped. He had to get up quickly before the ants reached him... They were just centimeters away... If they reached my uncle, it would be certain death... That's when my grandfather went there and lifted my uncle up, and they went to the buffalo... They put the dead ants on top of the buffalo so the smell would attract them. With the smell of 23 dead ants, the dead buffalo became the new target. And so it was being consumed...