I looked at the shocked-looking bugs trying to figure out what I had said to make them act so surprised. There was a short moment of awkward silence between the three of us, but then I spoke up.

“What’s going on? What is with the surprised looks?” I asked the two beetles.

They both looked stunned, but it was the one that hadn’t spoken yet that shook his head first and then nudged the other horned beetle. That seemed to get his brain moving again, and after another short shake of his hard shell-covered face, the bug started to speak again.

“Sorry, we just didn’t expect you to be able to understand us or that you would be able to talk to us in our language! Normally, we have trouble talking between different species of bugs. I am sure you can understand how surprised we were to find that you can not only translate what we say but speak it back to us better than most of us can!” the beetle explained.

I nodded my head but shrugged at the same time.

“I am a bit of a weird one, there is no doubt about that, but understanding and speaking languages is something that I am very good at. Please take me to meet with your leader, I have some questions, and I would like to meet some people here. My name is Zack, and I am the Demon Lord ruling over this island now, but I will be leaving in less than two days,” I explained to the two bugs, and then both nodded to me.

“Yes, follow us to the center, and we will take you to meet with Grixaitalax. As for the rest of the stuff, Grixaitalax will help you with it; we are just guards that were sent to fetch you. My name is Zibafatodick, and this is Raulmexsloberries, but you can call us Zib and Raul,” the second-horned beetle, and I nodded in confirmation as the two turned to the center of the sand circle.

[Well, this is going far better than you could have ever hoped!]

‘Shut the fuck up! Are you trying to Jinx me?! You never say that things are going better than expected! That is a clear invitation for some bad Karma to come and fuck everything up! Don’t you know that Murphy is always watching?!’

[Bah, don’t be so superstitious! That is just old women talking!]

*Blaza: I agree with the pink stick, any time I mention something is going better than it normally is, I get fucked with a wire brush!*

*Fireden: Stop saying it so close to Maelstrom then!*

*Grogvel: Speaking of that poisonous water whole, where is he? Shouldn’t he be unmuted?*

[Oh, umm, I have him locked in my basement right now. Don’t worry; if Mex needs use of the Dark Water Elemental, I will let it out. Me and… they are having lots of fun right now, and I would hate for that to end, so don’t worry about him.]

*Wataluga: Why do I constantly get the feeling that the Dark Elementals are not the worst people inside of your head?*

*Windorf: Because we are all bad in our own way, but our bad is a controlled thing, unlike the other two that just let the crazy out every time that they open their mouths.*

I watched the chat continue to scroll by as I followed along behind the two bugs, but I was looking around to try and see what else I could find in the area. I half expected to see some kind of structure, but there was nothing but sand and holes.

[putting anything above the sand would attract attention, so I can assume that if they have structures, they would be under the sand. Still, they are all still bugs, so I don’t know what they would need structures for.]

That was a fair point, and when we finally got to the center of things, there was a large hole in the ground that had a spiral path that went down. From above, the hole had only been maybe a foot wide and nothing more than a tripping hazard.

Now, it was much larger to me from this perspective, and I followed the two bugs down into it. I couldn’t see the bottom of the hole, and the road down was very sturdy, but I couldn’t help but think how much safer it would be if there was a railing around the edge.

“Do you ever have bugs fall off the edge? Like into the hole?” I asked as we moved down what felt like a hundred feet, but I was sure it was less than two.

“Fall? Maybe if they were in a hurry, but anyone that does that kind of thing usually gets in trouble from the Sector Director. They don’t like when things are interrupted, so I suggest that you stay close and listen where we have to cross the lower floor,” Raul, the first guard, told me, and I nodded.

“Yeah, don’t worry, I will stay close, but what do you mean? Is there traffic or something down there?” I asked with confusion as I again tried to peer over the edge.

“Every big sector has a Sector Director, and they are in charge of making sure that everyone keeps moving and there is no delay. Where are going to one of the biggest central intersections in the Dune, so it is always busy, and there are over seventy-five exits and entrances, and people need to keep moving, or big problems start,” Zib explained to me, and I started to hear the buzzing and clicking from below as we continued down.

Well, I guess it was going to be a bit of a trip to get across this next spot, but it was just crossing the road. Out of all the things that I have done in my life, crossing the road would be a walk in the park.

Or that was how I felt until we reached the bottom level, and I wasn’t introduced to the embodiment of living chaos.