Chapter 16: Creepy Crawlies
Hey there everyone, welcome back to the latest Chapter of Friendship! Sorry for the long wait, hopefully this Chapter will make up for it
I do not own Terraria, that belongs to Microsoft and ReLogic
"Nightmares about skulls, you say?" Wyatt inquired, a frown on his face. "You sure about this."
A small frown appeared on Katherine's face, as she took a deep drag of the cigarette in her hand. In the back of his head, Wyatt couldn't help but find it ironic, someone dedicated to making sure people stayed healthy smoking a cigarette. But he kept that to himself, of course. No point in poking the bear any more, so to speak.
"I'm quite positive, Wyatt. I wouldn't be breaking nurse-patient confidentiality if I wasn't sure about this." Katherine responded. "One person having recurring nightmares about skulls is one thing. But two? That's a pattern. Something is going on here Wyatt, I assure you of that."
"Trust me, I really do appreciate it." Wyatt answered. "So, you got any theories about these nightmares and the skulls?"
Katherine leaned against the wall silently for a few minutes, as if deep in thought, before tossing the cigarette to the ground and crushing it underneath her heel.
"Like I've told you before, as well as Roland and Merry, I am not a professional at this. My skill set is setting bones and stitching up wounds, not interpreting dreams." The Nurse admitted. "I was hoping you might have more of an idea of what is going on. You've explored practically every inch of this world; surely I'm missing something that you can pick up on."
Before he could respond, the sound of something shattering and a high-pitched scream filled the air. Without even thinking about it, Wyatt was already bolting towards the source of the noise, hand on his sword and ready to do battle. He thought he heard the Nurse saying something, but she was quickly out of his earshot as Wyatt ran off. Soon enough he found himself outside of the Stylist's salon, with Roxanne the Stylist standing outside of the salon, breathing heavily and shaking like a leaf.
"Oh my god, finally someone's come by to check!" Roxanne said, clutching her chest. "My salon, it's under attack!"
"Under attack from what?" The Player inquired. "Pirates? Goblins? Zombies?"
"S-spiders." Roxanne muttered, spitting out the word as if it was a dirty word. "No good goddamn spiders are inside of my salon. How am I supposed to work under these conditions, doll?"
"...spiders?" Wyatt asked, eyebrow slightly raised.
A scowl quickly formed on Roxanne's face, as she lifted her scissors in a threatening manner in Wyatt's general direction. The Player couldn't help but take a step backwards, as he saw the steel of the scissors glean in the sunlight. Okay yeah, better tread a bit carefully here.
"I want those spiders gone, doll. I cannot work in a building with spiders in it, you know that." The Stylist stated simply. "You do this for me and I'll give you free haircuts for a month. You think you can help me out, doll? Pretty please?"
"Well…alright, I'll help you out here." Wyatt stated, hand still on the handle of his sword. "Just stay back, while I scope out the situation. How many spiders did you see inside?"
"One, just one. But I bolted out of there as soon as I saw that one." Roxanne admitted. "So there could be more than one in there, waiting to strike."
The Player nodded his head, before taking a deep breath and making his way into the Salon. It looked
However there was one noticeable difference; one the floor was the shattered remains of a purple ceramic jar, which Wyatt assumed was the source of the shattering sound he had previously heard. And resting in the center of the ceramic remains, was the cause of Roxanne's panic attack. A black spider, no bigger than the palm of Wyatt's hands, and most importantly had not moved an inch since Wyatt had laid eyes on it. Easing his grip on his sword, the Player made his way over towards the spider, before gently poking it with a finger. To his surprise, what he felt wasn't flesh and blood, but rather….plastic?
As the pieces quickly started falling into place for Wyatt, the Player snatched up the spider and made his way out of the Salon. He found Roxanne still standing outside, biting her nails seemingly out of nerves. Her eyes flashed in fear, as she saw what Wyatt was currently holding in his hands. She took several quick steps back, her pair of scissors out and ready to stab.
"Wyatt, that thing better be fucking dead." The Stylist stated, an edge of steel to her voice. "I'm not in the mood for jokes."
"It wasn't alive in the first place, Rox." Wyatt answered, tossing the spider onto the ground. "It's a plastic spider; apparently someone's idea of a joke on you."
Roxanne stood there silently for a few seconds, seemingly processing the new information she had just heard. She took a few steps forward, gently nudging the plastic spider as if to test whether Wyatt's claims were true. The look of confusion deepened, as Roxanne tried to figure out what the hell was going on.
"Plastic? But who would own…" Roxanne muttered, as if mulling it over in her head, as her words slowly pettered off.
Her face quickly soured into a tight scowl, as a flash of recognition appeared in her eyes, and she clutched her scissors so tight her knuckles went white. "Miles, that little shit head. This has to be his idea of a goddamned prank."
Before the Player could say anything, Roxanne moved as fast as lightning, jamming her scissors deep into the plastic spider resting on the floor. Wyatt could swear he heard a faint squeak, as he saw the toy cleaved into two with the scissors. Roxanne, letting out an annoyed grunt, pulled out her scissors and started making a beeline towards the lake, her high heels loudly thudding in anger. Wyatt quickly ran towards the rampaging Stylist, trying to catch up with her angry power walk.
"Roxanne, please tell me you're not thinking about doing anything you'll regret." Wyatt stated.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt the child." Roxanne muttered. "I'm just gonna toss him into the lake, and see how good he is at swimming."
"That really doesn't make me feel any better, Rox." The Player admitted. "Can we at least stop and talk about this?"
The Stylist soon came to a halt, her face contorted into a look of deep concentration. After what seemed like an eternity, she let out a disgruntled sigh, before turning around to face Wyatt.
"One minute." Roxanne stated simply, tapping her foot impatient on the ground. "Start talking, doll."
"I'm not trying to defend what Miles did. It was cruel and I'll make sure he gets an earful for what he did." The Player stated. "But I really don't like that look you got in your eyes, Rox. Can you at least let me handle this one? Please, as a friend?"
The Stylist stood there silently, her heeled foot tapping against the ground beneath her, before she let out an annoyed grunt. She pocketed her scissors, putting Wyatt at ease a bit, before turning to face the Player.
"Alright, I won't hurt Miles. Much as it would make me feel better seeing him squirm a bit." Roxanne huffed. "But I'm warning you right now, Wyatt; you better rope that boy into line. Cause if he pulls something like this again? I'm gonna shave his eyebrows off."
"I'll be sure to relay that message to Miles, Rox." Wyatt said, a relieved tone to his voice.
"I'm not finished, doll." Roxanne continued. "Then I'm going to shave off your eyebrows, since you're vouching for him now."
"...I see." Wyatt muttered, as he looked in Roxanne's eyes. Yeah he could see, she was definitely not kidding here.
"Glad we understand each other then." Roxanne said, before turning around to head back to her salon. "Just keep that in mind, doll."
And Chapter 16 of Friendship is done and dusted! I hope you all liked this; remember, reviews are always appreciated. Anyway, I hope to see all of you wonderful readers soon!
Love,
The Desert Dancer
