Chapter 3: Time of Healing

There was nothing but darkness. Everywhere he looked, darkness. He couldn't hide from it. He couldn't run from it. Darkness was everywhere. Then suddenly, what seemed like a spider web, began to surround him. It closed in on him from all around. He feared for his life, as if he knew he was going to die.

Suddenly, everything was wiped away by a blinding light. There was no longer darkness, nor was there a spider web. All there was, was light. Hope had replaced fear, when Nick finally woke up.

Even though he was awake, Nick didn't open his eyes, for he was afraid of what he might see. Then he heard a voice that sounded like an angel. "Nick, can you hear me?"

It was Dr. Roberts. Nick looked around to see he was no longer at the university. It looked as if he was in some sort of hospital. He looked back at Dr. Roberts and asked, "What happened, Dr. Roberts?"

"First off, you don't have to keep calling me Dr. Roberts," said the scientist as she went to grab a cup of water for Nick, "personally, I hate being called that. Just call me Anne."

"Now, as to what happened," said Anne as she handed Nick the cup, "I was hoping that you could tell me." She looked straight at Nick, when she asked, "What is the last thing that you can remember?"

"Well, I remember that Mr. Peterson had told me to stay behind," said Nick, vaguely trying to remember what had happened, "so I went and looked at the spiders again." Nick went on and told Anne everything that had happened, up to when he had lost conscious. When he had finished, Nick took a deep breath and wait for Anne's response.

"About that spider," said Anne, with a worried look on her face, "what did it look like?" Nick thought it was a weird question, but he answered anyway. He told her it looked like a cross between a tarantula and a black widow. It was red and had a black spot on its belly." After describing the spider, Nick looked at Anne and saw what looked like horror in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" asked Nick, feeling a little scared himself. Anne walked towards the window and took a few deep breaths. After about two minutes, she walked back to Nick and sat down next to him.

"I think you were bitten by that mutant spider that had gone missing," said Anne with dread in her voice. Nick was thrown into shock. "What?!" yelped Nick, fear in his voice. He felt sick to his stomach, wondering what was going to happen to him.

"Am I gonna die?" said Nick aloud without thinking. Anne sighed and replied, "Fortunately, the spider was not venomous, so no, you are not going to die." Nick breathed a deep sigh of relief. "But," continued Anne, "there might be some side effects due to the mutation." He should have known there was a catch, thought Nick, feeling like crap.

"What side effects might there be?" asked Nick, still scolding himself for raising his own hopes up. Anne shrugged and replied, "I can't say. You're the first living organism to be bitten by any of those mutant spiders."

"Well, what am I gonna do?" asked Nick, still worried about the side effects. Anne was silent for like a minute before she replied, "Well, all you can do for now is just go and live your life as normal."

"So, wait," said Nick angrily, "you're not going to do anything?" Anne quickly replied, "Well, there's nothing we can do. But there's something you can do." Nick was confused by this comment, but Anne quickly explained.

"Here's my number," said Anne as she handed Nick her card, "now, I want you to call me when you experience any strange abilities or side effects." Nick stared at the card, then looked at Anne.

"Why is she being so nice to me?" thought Nick, not used to being treated with such kindness by a stranger. He continued to stare at her as he thought, "She's so beautiful." What had he just thought?! He mentally shook himself and then looked back at the card.

After a long silence, Nick finally answered, "Ok, I will." He took the card out of Anne's hand and put inside his pocket. After another long silence, Nick looked back at Anne and said, "Thanks." Anne stood up, smiled, and replied, "No problem." She then bowed and walked out of the room.

Nick laid down and took a long, deep breath. He kept thinking about what the side effects were going to be, how life might change for him, and how beautiful Anne was. "Wait, what?!" said Nick aloud. Why was he thinking about Anne like that? "I mean, I'm seventeen and she's like in her late twenty's or something," Nick thought as he sat up, "Come on, Nick, think straight!" He tightened his fists, when suddenly, he felt a tingling feeling through his arms and a whooshing sound.

He stared at his wrists ad saw something incredible. Giant spider webbing had came out of his wrists. He loosened his fists and the webbing cut itself off his wrists. He looked back and forth between the webbing and his wrists. "Ok," said Nick aloud, "I think I found a side effect."

Well, here's the new chapter. After about 2 or 3 years of no updates, this story is officially back. Hope you enjoy it. Cya later.