CHAPTER 13: PREPARING FOR THE CONFRONTATION

Shermy hung out on the rough side of town hoping to see the same girls that heckled them at Joe's so they could lead them to Tarantula, his cousin. He figured if she listened to a family member she'd stop her reign of terror. He waited for a while, until he finally hit paydirt. Komodo Dragon and Skink just so happened to come out of an arcade. Shermy listened in.

"We better head back to the hideout where Tarantula is so we can hear what she wants us to do next," said Komodo.

"Reckon we's should, Komodo," agreed Skink. And Shermy followed the girls from a safe distance to where his cousin was. It took a while but he eventually made it to the abandoned house where she was hiding at. He hung back for a while to formulate a plan. Then he walked up to the house. To his surprise the door was open. We went in and saw how nasty and disgusting the place was. As he peered around a wall, he saw Tarantula talking to Gertie.

"We have a problem, boss," said Gertie.

"Let me have it," said Tarantula.

"Our so-called Secret Weapon went back to tha Soipent Sistahs," Gertie replied.

"So Anaconda is back with her 'sisters'," Tarantula pondered. "No big deal, we can still waste them and Anaconda for betraying us in the same shot." Shermy gasped. That brought attention to the rest of the crew.

"Gecko! See who that is!" ordered Tarantula. Shermy hid behind a couch in the living room. Gecko looked around but didn't see him. When it looked like she left, Shermy peeked over the couch. That was when he was taken by surprise.

"Why hello, cutie!" said Gecko. "If you wanted to meet a real girl, you didn't have to sneak in." And Gecko brought Shermy to Tarantula.

"Here's the spy, Tarantula," announced Gecko. "He's pretty handsome, though."

"Shermy?!" gasped Tarantula, seeing her cousin.

"Uh, hey, cuz," said a nervous Shermy.

"You know dis dude, chief?" asked Gertie.

"He's my cousin, Gertie," Tarantula responded.

"So you're our bosses cousin, slim," said Komodo Dragon. "Had I known that, I never would have messed with you or Pollyanna and your other goons."

"So what brings you by, Shermy," asked a suspicious Tarantula.

"Okay, I followed your girls here," confessed Shermy. "Komodo and Skink, is it?"

"You remember our names," said Komodo. "How sweet of you."

"Cute and good with names," cooed Gecko. "Sounds like a keeper."

"Cool it, Gecko!" commanded Tarantula. "Continue, Shermy."

"I just wanted to tell you I know the Serpent Sisters," Shermy began.

"YOU DO?!" exclaimed Tarantula, interest now peaked.

"And I just so happen to be friends with one of them. Lucy Van Pelt. You probably know her as Mamba, and…"

"YOU'RE FRIENDS WITH MAMBA?!" screamed Tarantula.

"Yes, Hilly," said Shermy, calling her by her family nickname. "She's a good friend of mine. And I would like it if you would stop targeting them and stop all of this destruction to our town. Do it for me. Do it for your Sherm Dog!"

"Sherm Dog?!" snickered Komodo. "Nice!"

"Well, you see, cuzzo," Tarantula began, "we've put a lot of work into this chaos and mayhem that it's too late for us to stop. And as for calling off the vendetta towards your friends, why would I do that? Besides, cuz, I thought blood was thicker than water."

"Not if you're hurting innocent people," Shermy retorted.

"Innocent people?!" giggled Tarantula. "Give me a break! There's NOTHING innocent about the Serpents. You do remember they vandalized a reform school, don't ya?"

"Yeah, everyone knows about that. They haven't done anything of that nature since the confrontation at Sam's."

"Ah, you know about our first encounter! Well to be fair, everyone knew about that, as well."

"Good grief, Hilly! What is it going to take to get you to stop this madness?!"

"You wanna know what it'll take, Sherm Dog?"

"Yes!"

"The head of Lucille Van Pelt, aka MAMBA! As well as the other Serpents!" Shermy's blood ran cold at that statement. "Well I think time is up, cousin. It was a fun family reunion we had here."

"I may not be able to talk you out of doing what you're going to do, but I can still put a stop to it!" And before Shermy could get to the door, the Lizards blocked it and aimed their guns at him.

"Oh, you don't think I'm just going to let you do that, do ya, cuzzo?" sneered Tarantula. "Because you are family, I'm not going to end you like I would anyone else who does this. Instead I'm going to keep you here as my guest for a while. Gecko, take him downstairs and lock him up in the cage. And keep my cousin company by watching him."

"The pleasure is all mine, Tarantula," said Gecko with a smile. "Come on, cutie. Let me show you to your temporary accommodations." And Gecko escorted Shermy to the basement.

"Don't worry, cuz," Tarantula said as he was leaving. "We will feed you while you're here. And I will personally make sure Komodo Dragon DOESN'T eat it all like before!" And the girls laughed as he was being brought to the cage.

When they got downstairs and Gecko placed Shermy in the cage, he said to her, "What are you guys going to do with me?"

"For starters, be quiet!" whispered Gecko.

"Your voice!" noticed Shermy. "It's changed."

"My name is not really Gecko. I'm the leader of the Spiders, Black Widow."

"Black Widow?!"

"Keep it down, you blockhead!" scolded Widow. "I'm undercover as a Lizard Lady. I figure I'd infiltrate Tarantula's inner workings. I'm actually surprised she hasn't recognized me as of yet."

"So how are you going to get me out of here?" wondered Shermy.

"If you cooperate and do exactly as I say, I will get you to safety," assured Widow.

"Does the Serpent Sisters know you're here?"

"No, and I want it to stay that way until the right time. I know they're wondering what happened to me and my gang. I have some of my Spiders inside the Lizards inner workings, as well."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And luckily, me and a couple of my officers were selected to 'watch' Mamba, Cobra, and Rattler. The girl you saw with the green hair that's supposed to be named Chameleon is actually my current second-in-command Orbweaver. And the other girl who is going by Iguana is my first lieutenant Wolf Spider. When they think we are scouting them and trying to learn their inner workings, we are actually looking out for them."

"So when do we get out of this?"

"Right now you'll have to remain my 'prisoner' until we know for sure it's safe to let you 'escape'. Don't worry. I won't let the real Lizards lay a finger on you." And Shermy and Widow sat and waited for something to happen.

NEXT CHAPTER: SNEAK ATTACK