As Eight ran further down the corridor, she felt herself grow more fatigued, lungs burning, legs and arms aching. Of course, the guest was fine. Though he had fallen down, he didn't let that stop him, and was now crawling closer and closer to her. She could feel his hot breath on her back as his mouth opened wide to swallow her whole.
She felt a burst of adrenaline when she noticed a small hole in the wall at the end of the hall, just big enough for her to crawl through. She dashed toward it, ignoring the pain in her side and the burning in her throat and lungs.
She slid into it, just missing the giant's hand by mere inches. It wailed in a ghostly moan as Eight crawled through the small tunnel, panting heavily.
She put Gregory down and leaned back, catching her breath. "Never again." She replied, breathlessly.
It wasn't the first time and, unfortunately for her, it wouldn't be the last time she was in danger.
Once she collected herself, she carried on down through the tunnel. It was a tight squeeze, but she and Gregory managed. The tunnel was long, and filled with thick spiderwebs. They stuck to her clothing and hair, and Eight has to hope that their residents were long gone. She saw Gregory shiver and wondered if he was thinking the same thing.
Finally, an opening appeared before them in a wall, just as Eight's back and arms were starting to cramp up. She crawled out of it, Gregory just after her. They had arrived in large, empty room. It was two stories high, with balconies overlooking the room. It was dimly lit with sconces lining the cream colored wallpaper with dark wooded floors. It seemed to be some type of theater, but without the stage in the back.
Cobwebs were strung from the ceiling, and this time their inhabitants were definitely still there. Spiders almost as big as Eight's head sat in the middle of the webs, practically daring her to walk into their trap. Their legs spread out around them, their eyes glinting in the dim light as their venom-filled fangs snapped back and forth making a click clack sound.
Eight felt her body go numb and seize up with pure terror. Sure, she could handle a few small ones, no big deal. But this? This was every kid's worst nightmare.
Click-clack click.
Eight took a deep breath. "I-I can do this..." she whispered hoarsely. "No... no fear." Meanwhile fear had set up camp in her stomach, along with its own fear carnival, complete with a fear carousel and a Ferris Wheel of fear.
Click Click-clack.
Eight slowly walked through the cavernous room of spiders, one step at a time. Every time she glanced up at them she felt herself become paralyzed with fear, so she kept her head down and focused on the floor. Gregory was never more than an inch away from her, but he seemed to have more courage to look at the spiders, as he kept glancing up to make sure they weren't crawling towards them on their eight, spindly legs.
Click-clack.
The noises echoed through the empty room and in Eight's head.
Click click.
Eight's breath came in short gasps as she tried her best to just keep going... going... going...
She saw a door up ahead. She felt a wave of relief and pure happiness when she did. Her steps became faster now that she had a certain goal. Breathing became easier. She was almost there! Just a little farther. A few more steps. Almost there...
Suddenly, she was jerked upward by a piece of silk that wrapped itself around her foot. She screamed as the ground grew farther away and she was pulled upwards by the gargantuan spider.
The spider grabbed hold of Eight with spindly legs and clicked it mandibles at her. Eight felt tears stream down her face as her heart beat a mile a minute. She looked into the spiders eyes and saw nothing but her own reflection. This beast was unfeeling and merciless.
It secured Eight in its web and weaved a little cocoon around her. As it covered her face, she felt herself slowly go numb and her vision began to black out, until she passed out completely.
Gregory looked on as his only friend was taken by the eight-legged monsters. He couldn't do anything as she was wrapped up. He couldn't do anything as the spider took the cocoon off the web and slowly brought itself to the ground with its silk.
The spider held the cocoon on its back as it crawled into a dark corner, disappearing into the shadows. A sweet, chilling laugh echoed through the room. A figure was sitting in a makeshift swing of web in the far corner of the room. Gregory watched as the figure shot out its webbing and lifted itself through a crack in the ceiling.
He stood there watching the corner, waiting for it to appear again, forgetting about the world and spiders around him.
Phew, what a chapter! This gave me creepy-crawlies just writing it. As an arachnophobe, I feel like it's my job to warn people about the dangers of spiders. Though I may have embellished a bit, but for the sake of the story.
Now, this isn't the end, in case you thought that. I have much more planned for Eight and Gregory.
But I am leading up to a boss. The thing is though, that this big bad is one of my creations. I call her the Spider Lady. But if you feel like I shouldn't add her to the story, and should stick to the characters already introduced, please tell me! I can rewrite this story to fit original characters if you want. Just thought it'd be fun to explore with different bosses, but I want this story to be enjoyable for both you and me, so tell me if you want to stick with the original cast or if you want to see what Spider Lady is all about.
Thank you, and I'll see ya later, entertainers.