Ch. 21: Giving Up

It smelled like mold and rotting wood in the blacked out alleyway. Water splashed under their feet, a squish-squish sound that betrayed the silence of the night. There were no lamps here, no police guards, nor rats that infested the streets. This part of the city was devoid of all life, for good reason. The sound of a metal tub being banged echoed and frightened Serena. She turned to her friend, Red, snapping her large teeth at him before leading them further into the labyrinth. Only the dismally unfortunate lived in the vicinity of the industrial warehouses that reeked of chemicals and oil. Serena knew of this place and one of the building's crucial contents through a man she only referred to as Mr. Heart. She smiled sadly, trying hard to focus on the task at hand rather than the man's fate under the human law. They ascended onto the rooftop of a five-story building, sliding in through a broken window on the side. The fifth floor had long since been forgotten by the owner, since business had plummeted, and Mr. Heart had used this to his advantage. Down below, there was a small shop that held underground tunnels for protecting the lab's investments, including the serum. Or at least it used to protect it.

Here they were, sitting inconspicuous in a broken cabinet, the stolen boxes. The two arachnoids crawled over to the cabinet, with Serena not quite believing again in her existence that she would consider using it again. Red was swelling in excitement and pride about the moment.

…

Months Earlier

She was working a crooked landlord of his greed when she encountered it. That smell. It was itchingly familiar, its origin just on the tip of her tongue. The scent drowned her mind of all else besides one thought. Follow, and follow she did. The sun had nearly risen before she reached the building, shutting herself in to hide. It took her up winding steps, behind large metal doors, and past menacing devices. When she reached the final room, a memory sprang into mind with the weight of a thousand tons, leaving her disoriented and nauseous. She couldn't remember the face, but his actions were never forgotten.

He always greeted his co-workers with a gentle smile, crinkling the skin around his eyes. His hands were soft, more compliant to her, to them too, when he had to pick them up. It was like he was the glassmaker and they were his most prized creations. His voice was rough and deep, but quiet. He rarely talked about his life to the humans, pouring his heart and soul out to the spiders that couldn't criticize him. But she would never have done so anyway. When the others weren't around, he would sneak a special treat for them. It was a lot of work. He had to grow the plants himself, imported from the spider's home. Dark blue flowers.

Like the one sitting in the metal box. Its petals had long since shriveled up and fallen off. The large plant's rooted had broken through the pot it sat in, making a mess all around it. It had a strong, pungent, rotting smell that had her covering her now human nose. There was a faint aroma of sweetness that lingered in the air, satisfying to her spider form. She wondered why of all places the man left the plant here to die. Looking around the room, she noticed that the only other item there was a metal cabinet.

…

They dazzled brilliantly under the fading moonlight, the golden liquid swooshing around as Red held it up in the air. There were two satchels filled with the viles and clothing to prevent a premature 'activation'. Serena held another vile, this one a blue as dark as their skin. From what she understood, both viles produced the safe effects with the gold one intended for humans and the blue for them. The two together weren't supposed to produce anything, but oh well.

"Here," she gestured to Red to drink. He looked reluctant, so she held his hand and helped him bring the vile to his mouth. The taste was bitter like copper, apparent on his sour face. He stood stock still, anticipating the change. So there he stood, waiting. Eventually, he got bored and let his arms down, looking at Serena expectantly. She shrugged, "I dunno. Really thought that would work though." They sat on one of the crates that covered the rooftop, slumped against one another.

The woman picked up the suitcase at their feet, taking out a large coat, "guess we're gonna have to go with this." He huffed in her face and spit at the coat. She glared at him in return, lifting the article up and forcing him into it. Of course, he fought it like a toddler with his sunday clothes. He hissed under his breath, shaking and thrashing. His efforts became more panicked and he started to scream. It echoed and vibrated in the area, possibly waking the entire population. Serena dropped the garment, growing bigger and wrapping her arms around her friend. He whimpered quietly, only slightly comforted by the contact. Slowly, Red's figure became harder for Serena to hold. He was slipping out of her grip and it was frustrating. She looked down to reprimand him, but was surprised into silence.

Blue faded into a creamy white, his hard exoskeleton turning fleshy. Neither made a move out of the 'embrace'. Red was now panting, anxiety rising. Everything in him felt wrong. He wanted to cut and scratch at the soft skin, feeling irritation all over. Tears were escaping his firmly shut eyes, springing Serena into action. She grabbed the coat and gently placed it over his shoulders, remembering how horrifically cold she felt the first time too. This time, he took it without complaint. She held his hands in hers, running her thumb over his left knuckles, "It's only temporary, to get all of us out of here safely. You can do it for them. They need you, and so do I." He didn't understand all of her statement, but recognized her tone as one of comfort and reliance. Yes, he had a family to protect. Not a single of them can be lost to the lab, not anymore.

After a few deep breaths, he opened his eyes and they widened in astonishment. There were so many colors, everything so, so beautiful. With every change, his vision became more clear and distinct. It was incredible. He looked to his friend, both taking the other in. Serena worried for Red, his pale skin looked more pink than white in some areas like it was irritated which would explain the pain etched on his face. His eyes glowed orange, somewhat illuminating the rest of his features. He had a heart-shaped face that was decorated in tiny little spots she heard were called freckles. His hair was still orange and frizzy, just a darker color than before, and it went down to his ears. They stood at about the same height, with him slouched more in his stance. His body was thin like hers, except his more openly showed the strength beneath the surface with distinct abs and muscles.

This might be a problem. Serena wasn't vain, but she recognized that many humans considered her highly attractive, and no doubt they would think the same of Red. And if someone wasn't attracted to him they'd still remember him by the strange color of his eyes and hair. They stood out now more than ever: two very tall, lean, good-looking humans with accents of unfamiliar descent.

"As happy I am to see you like this, we're still going to have to cover you up in the big clothing."

Red made a dismayed gurgling sound before pushing past Serena to the doorway and down the dark steps of the abandoned attic. Ah, the hunt begins. So she followed swiftly behind, mentally preparing for the battle ahead.

Hello, thank you to all my wonderful readers for making it this far. I've been silent until now, too nervous about my first work to spare a word. I hope you've enjoyed it so far, it's been a lot of work. I also maybe might have dragged this on for longer than I planned for.

Serena: We haven't even made it out of England yet.

They'll get to Paris, don't worry this isn't going to be like 50 chapters. Or, it might. Anyway, thanks for the reviews! Sorry for the slow updates. I just have one question. Do you think I should just skip, for the most part, Serena's journey out of England or would that be too much of a jump? I still need to think of how she gets her, Red, and the other seven spiders on a boat and stuff without being followed and captured by the scientists.