Chapter 1
The feel of blood dripping down my arm, the anguishing pain coursing through me, the exhaustion of each of my limbs as I struggled to push forward, and the burning of my lungs as I desperately tried to draw in breath.
all of these things would probably drive a person to stop, to give up, to just roll over and succumb to their fate. Even though my life has been nothing but miserable up until now, I still found myself clinging to the frayed and worn threads of my life.
If I stopped running, then the monster behind me would catch up, it would tear me apart before I could even blink. the pain i would feel would be agonizing im sure, it wouldn’t be a swift end…I don’t want to die like that.
I blinked away tears that stung my eyes and tried to focus on the path ahead. not that there was any path, I was completely lost, isolated deep in the dark forest with no one else around. the only light I had, was the bright full moon shining high above.
coming to a small split in the brush I briefly stopped to look around, looking for something, anything that might help me to escape this hellish nightmare.
a weapon, a hiding place, a shelter, anything!
The heavy panting and thudding footfalls of something approaching from behind forced me back into another full sprint in a completely random direction.
There is no hiding from it while I’m bleeding, there is no escaping this forest, and there is no fighting the beast that hunts me. The only thing I can do to survive is run.
I couldn’t keep this up, my body was screaming at me to stop and rest, and as I nearly stumbled and tripped over a rock I found myself starting to lose traction, my steps were becoming sloppy.
shaking my head I pushed myself to keep running. ‘not like this! please, not like this!’
seeing something reflecting the moonlight ahead of me, i stopped in my tracks right on the edge of a clearing in the middle of the forest. my eyes widened at the sight before me.
weaved between two large trees was an intricate web that towered over me, Larger than your average house. Fresh dewdrops glistened upon its surface like twinkling stars as the moonlight danced upon its surface. The web was put on display like some sort of art piece, free of any debris or tears from its environment; it was hauntingly beautiful.
But what kind of spider could have created such a massive web?
I didn’t have much time to think about it before the creature that was chasing me finally caught up.
I tried to dodge out of the way of its claws as the giant cat beast lunged at me, but my foot caught on a root and I found myself falling as the creature pounced.
It was as if time seemed to slow down as I fell backward and the beast was seconds from landing on me and tearing my throat out.
as my back hit the forest floor, it seemed to dip and give way underneath, my stomach sank as I attempted to look back and grab at anything I could but the only thing my hand managed to grab onto was part of the Giant web. Unfortunately for me, it was unable to hold my weight and tore, so inevitably I found myself falling into a large pit.
The wild cat monster fell in right after me screeching as we both tumbled down a small slope before suddenly free-falling into a dark abyss.
—-
opening my eyes I groaned and blinked a few times. high above me I could see the full moon in the sky, shining brightly, as well as the top of the massive hole I had fallen into.
Where had the hole even come from? there was nothing there beforehand, the ground looked solid!
lifting my hand I tried to touch my face only to find my arm wouldn’t move. it was not as if I couldn’t feel it, because I most definitely could still clench my fist and flex my muscles as I tried to lift it, it was just stuck– restrained by the cloak I wore.
as I tried to move my other arm, it was the same thing, although only the upper half of my arm seemed to be pinned down. Attempting to sit up was futile as well.
turning my head I felt a slight pull on my hair and winced but I managed to turn my face enough to see why I was having such a hard time moving and why I was even still alive after falling down such a deep hole.
a spider’s web.
I had fallen right into a spider’s web, suspended in the air.
an angry snarling grabbed my attention and I tilted my head back to see the cat beast that had been chasing me was also caught in the web, a mere foot or two above me.
I paled, seeing how close it was but luckily for me, it seemed to be stuck as well and unable to move.
my chest heaved and my heart raced as I looked around to the best of my ability. my cloak was completely stuck to the web but that seemed to be it. For the most part, most of my body was free, except for one of my boots and the end of my braid.
taking a few deep breaths I tried to calm myself and slowly slipped my arms out of the cloak I wore; freeing them.
I winced feeling the tug on my hair and tried to pull my hair free, but the webbing was relentless and wouldn’t let go.
with a muttered curse I closed my eyes to concentrate. a small orange glow emanated before me and I opened my eyes once more to see a small flame in the palm of my hand, barely bigger than that of a candle.
bringing the flame close to the web I managed to burn away the few strands stuck to me, freeing my hair. Unfortunately, I seared the end of my braid a bit in the process letting it lose but that was a small sacrifice.
As I sat upright the web started to shake as the cat beast started thrashing about, snarling as it tried to break free.
as its trashing stopped I could hear the echo of something clicking as it approached from down a tunnel I hadn’t even noticed before.
my stomach sank as I realized that I might just meet the creature these giant webs belong to. feeling a bit panicked, i start looking all around for a way off this web.
it would be impossible to climb across it to reach the cave wall. I would only end up getting stuck further, the only other option I have is to possibly burn the webs around me so I can fall through. looking down I could see the bottom of the pit wasn’t too far but the sight of all the bones that littered its surface was not a very welcoming one.
‘It’s not like I have a choice right now though.’ summoning the flame in my hand once again I started burning the threads around me but as I got closer to the cat beast it started wildly thrashing once more shaking the entire web and making it harder for me to keep steady.
“s-stop! you keep thrashing like that and the entire thing will–”
As if fate couldn’t be any crueler, the web’s entire structure seemed to fall apart with the cats thrashing and my burning, and before I knew It. we were both falling again.
I shrieked as we fell and I landed none too comfortably on a pile of fur scraps and bones.
“ow-” I winced as I pushed myself up and looked towards the cat beast. it was still helplessly thrashing around, now completely entangled in the fallen web.
The sound of tapping up above drew my attention and I turned my head up to see a shadow of spider legs emerging from the tunnel.
My heart all but stopped as I quickly pushed myself up to my feet and fled towards a few stalagmites near the edge of the pit, losing one of my boots in the process.
Hiding behind the stone pillar, I listened and waited.
The tap of claws across stone echoed in the pit, although most of the sound was drowned out by the ceaseless snarling and growls of the cat beast as it attempted to break free.
Peeking around the corner I watched the beast thrash violently on the ground and looked for whatever nightmarish creature would have come from the tunnel.
The lighting in the pit was sparse, being the only source of light, was coming from the moon up above, making it hard to see anything within all the shadows and dark spaces.
as my eyes scanned the area I saw no signs of any other creatures, but I swear I saw something coming from the tunnel?
my gaze moved back to the cat and I watched carefully. it’s not as if whatever was living here couldn’t hear it, so where did it–
my eyes widened as I noticed something stealthily moving in the dark around the beast. There was the slightest glint of moonlight reflecting off something metallic before a dark mass of legs and darkness lunged out of shadows and on top of the cat beast.
I quickly looked away, unable to watch.
angry snarls, followed by thrashing, and the sound of thrashing filled the air and I covered my ears, but even as I tried to block out the sounds I could hear the pained yelp of the beast right before everything went quiet.
With shaky breaths, I tried to calm my breathing as I peeked around the stone pillar once again.
The once lively and dangerous cat beast now lay unmoving and silent upon the floor of bones, but that was hardly the first thing that caught my eye and caused my blood to run cold.
standing over the big cat beast was the large body of a giant spider. I couldn’t see any details of the creature besides the outline of its long legs and abdomen in the moonlight. but even in the dim lighting of the pit, something seemed off about this spider?...
as I watched it move my eyes widened at what I had seen next. This wasn’t just a spider, it was something much worse.
stepping away from the cat beast’s body the creature became much easier to see underneath the moonlight. where the head of the spider should have been was the upper half of a man’s body with pale skin connected at the waist to the spider’s abdomen.
An Arachne.
With four dark eyes, two sets of arms, 6– no, 5 spider legs, pale skin, and short messy hair. This Arachne was both beautiful and deadly.
I had read about their kind Before, they were reclusive, often living in dark caves so not many people saw them. Most of their kind were females that –Like sirens– would often lure men to their Graves but this Arachne was male?
as the human half of the Arachne straightened itself and peered down at the dead cat I watched him lift his blood-soaked hand and lick his fingers.
giant spiders were dangerous in their own right, they were predators that would eat anything that they could catch in their webs or near their dens, that being said though giant spiders lack intelligence and strength, not to mention they can easily be scared away by a little fire, unlike Arachne’s.
Arachnes were far more dangerous, with the human half of their bodies they are capable of rational thinking and calculating, they know how their prey works and how to hunt all manners of creatures, not to mention they are fast and venomous. they should be avoided at all costs.
‘Lucky me for falling right into one’s den…’ turning a way I put one hand over my chest to calm my rapid heartbeat. ‘I need to get out of here quickly.’
looking around i found it hard to see anything in this insufferable pit, there’s no way I could climb out, could I get to the tunnel the Arachne came from? I looked back and up towards the dark hole in the wall a few feet above the bottom of the pit. There were some thick vines and jutting rocks I could climb up but the question was if I could do it before the Arachne saw me.
looking back at the monster, he seemed distracted by the beast he just killed, thoughtfully poking at it with his claws and inspecting its body and the torn webbing it was tangled in. If he started eating it then maybe I would have a chance to slip past unnoticed.
I waited and watched as he removed the sticky webbing from the cat’s fur with ease and stroked the soft pelt with genuine interest. As he circled around it i was able to make out his face. four eyes blinked in sync upon a beautifully sculpted face, had his mouth not been covered in the blood of his most recent kill, I might’ve been awestruck by the sight of him.
half of his body was obscured by the darkness, almost making him seem like any other man just standing in the pale moonlight; had I not known any better. if a normal man had four eyes, four arms, and pointed ears.
Despite the obvious differences I couldn’t help but stare as he inspected his latest kill, seeming to be in deep thought. I was only snapped out of my daze as he leaned in and bit down into the creature’s body to tear off a piece of flesh to start devouring it, the sound making my stomach churn and my mind dreading the idea of what he would do to me.
Shuddering I shook my head and looked towards the tunnel. It’s now or never.
Creeping out of my hiding place, I crept closer to the wall right underneath the tunnel opening just a few paces away, and glanced back.
The Arachne was well occupied with his meal as he tore into the beast hungrily. taking a deep breath I made my ascent upwards being as careful as possible. my injured arm screamed at me as I scaled the wall but I clenched my teeth and ignored it, pushing through the pain.
My hand nearly slipped as I grabbed onto a loose rock but I caught myself just in time and kept from making any noise.
It didn’t take long for me to climb into the tunnel, a smile making its way into my lips as I got inside. looking down in the pit my face immediately fell and my heart dropped as I saw the arachne was gone.
my eyes frantically searched the ground below me for any sign of him but there was none. “Where did he–”
something warm dripped down from above landing on my shoulder and I took in a sharp breath, turning my head to see a drop of blood that wasn’t my own, on my skin. tilting my head back my eyes were met by the that of the dark outline of the Arachne clinging to the cave wall above me, his four eyes looking right at me.
I couldn’t muster a sound as he moved closer, seeming ready to lunge as a smile crossed his face.
What did I do to deserve this?
