The morsels scattered along the counter lured the scavengers of the night out of their daytime lair. Their twitching antennae, not to mention their stomachs, told them the time was right. As they scampered along the rough terrain, the scent of danger was in the air. Their nervousness was displayed by the nonstop convulsing of their antennae. They quickly consulted their leader for orders on their next plan of action. The leader knew he had control of all of them, or so he thought. He knew there was some opposition, but he also knew that they were submissive under his command because of the fear he had placed in them. As he quickly assessed the situation he told his followers to proceed with the collection. Each tiny crumb was colleted and brought back to the den strategically hidden in a wall behind the Cold Region. The cockroaches carefully avoided this place because it was widely known that if they were caught in its reaches they would never be seen again.

Back in the den, there was a hum of conversation that only they understood. The cockroaches quickly became impatient as their leader got to pick the prize morsels for himself. After he gave them permission, they quickly raided the cache of food. The two caregivers fought hard for their food because not only did they have to feed themselves but also the maimed and the sick. They often went without food which was evident by their frailness. “If only we could be bigger,” they thought. They held a secret contempt for their leader, who was getting plump and fat while imposing a greater number of restrictions on how much food, or lack thereof, the nurses could feed the sick and destitute. They wished they could do something, anything, to change the way things were. But they knew that his word was the law and that their lives would be terminated if they spoke out against him. This thought sent shivers down the nurses' bodies.

As the leader went back to his own private part of the den, his thoughts centered on one thing, himself. He was apathetic toward the injustices that were being served in his society and his followers knew it. If there was one thing that could have stopped the inevitable, it would have started with him. For you see, all his followers wanted him to do was listen to their requests. But this would have been allowing them power and he didn't want that. He wanted complete and absolute power over his followers.

There was a scent of revolt in the air and it bounced from antenna to antenna, vibrating back and forth, filling the wall with a faint buzz. The only obstacle standing in the way of freedom was their leader who was presently in his plush and luxurious part of the den eating the crumbs that they had collected in the night's raid. This angered them all but no one did anything because of the fear they had in their hearts.

As the night dragged on, the workers grew weary and prepared their dens for the day ahead. As this was being done, a war was being planned, carefully and secretly, by the one creature who had the courage to think for herself and not be held back by the tight restraints that their foreboding and oppressive leader had placed on their society. Soldiers were being drafted and the battle lines were being drawn. The only obstacle standing in the way of success was unification. The only way unification could be achieved was if an end was put to the competition between the two commanders. For many days, in fact for all the days of their time, there was always a roach who was more worried about his own advancement in society and his position with the leader than with the exposure of lies, the injustices, and, most importantly, the solution. This roach would stop at nothing in order that no one see him as a troublemaker and put a halt to his advancement in society. He did not care about the right thing to do so long as his name wasn't tarnished in the sinister eyes of their leader. With these ideas in mind, he decided to inform the leader of the opposition movement in order to put an end to it. As he made his way to the leader's den, his conscience did not bother him one bit because he knew in the end he would be rewarded for his treason. The cold and calculating leader heard the commander's story and decided something had to be done. So during the day while the roaches slept, he staged a kidnapping and forcefully took the opposition commander back to his lair. The commander then proceeded to tell the leader exactly what she thought of him. This angered him so greatly that he ordered her immediate execution. As she was being thrown into the Cold Region her thoughts centered on the good of society and then on the cold numbness that invaded her body, slowly freezing her to death.

When the other roaches heard about her execution the following night, they were furious. But still not one roach spoke out. Their leader noticed the growing resentment, so he decided to punish them all. He knew their stomachs were already starting to turn and their antennae furiously twitching. So he took the lead and led them across the barren terrain from the walls to the pantry. Their trek lasted for what seemed like hours. But still not one roach spoke out. They each longed for the leadership and guidance of the opposition commander. But still they followed. As they neared their leader's objective, the pantry, an earthquake filled the room. They all froze in place, including the leader. The vibrations were getting stronger and stronger when suddenly ad loud shrill overloaded their sensitive antennae, leaving them blind and stunned. The only sounds present were of a rubber-soled so crushing the bodies of the roaches and the crunching of the dead carcasses. The last fleeting moments of their short lives were spent coming to the realization that it would have only taken one voice to speak out against the injustices imposed on them by their ruthless, and now dead, leader and their tragic deaths could have been averted.