This was a bit of a quick chapter, but I just wrote it today so hooopefully the writing should seem a little improved? Hopefully.
Thank you very much again for waiting so long. I can't promise any more chapters for another few months due to exams but I may be able to slip a few in whilst I'm procrastinating.
If he could take what was in his head and fabricate it into the real world, this would be the realisation of Link's greatest nightmare.
Though he hadn't particularly identified arachnophobia as a condition of his in the past, he was sure he had been missing something – never had he felt his lungs freeze so fast or the feeling in his fingers blur with such intensity he was scared that he'd lost them in the dark.
Hero. Yes, that was his title now: 'hero'. That meant he went first.
Uneven ground mimicked his heartbeats – bumpy and uncomfortable, and his ankles wobbled over twigs. In any other circumstance, the white light of his phone torch shimmering the webs would have been interesting, beautiful even. For now, that, combined with the soft click-clicking coming from up ahead was everything he needed to turn and run.
Yet he kept treading lightly, feeling the stick of webbing on the soles of his boots and keeping his profile as low as he could, sword shaking in his fist. He wished he had a giant hoover.
As the clicking grew unbearingly loud, Link paused and leant back against a root for a few seconds, closing his eyes and steadying his breaths. Goddesses he felt sick.
Even the hand on his arm made him flinch, though he knew it was just Vio, but nonetheless his eyes still searched for his faint silver outline and red eyes. He didn't speak. Who knew how much these beasts could hear?
The physical comfort was enough, however, and Link felt as if he'd regained some of his drained energy. He rocked back to the balls of his feet, pressed his knuckles to the root and peered over the top.
Oh no.
'Oh no' was the only way of putting it, really. How else do you react to seeing a nest of giant spiders? He sat back down. Seven, eight, nine of them? He didn't know and really didn't want to check. His throat had closed up. So… what do they do? Charge in? Die immediately? Nope… pick them off one-by-one? How?
He looked up at Vio, who was taking a quick look himself, and watched those red eyes widen then look back down at him.
"What do we do?" Link mouthed. Vio didn't seem to see, so he tapped him on the knee until Vi raised his phone light to illuminate Link's face. He mouthed again and raised his own light, causing Vio to squint slightly.
"I saw a chest." He murmured back, "The key for that door has to be in it."
"Great." Link looked away for a moment, at a rock on the floor and supressed the urge to poke it with a toe. He was nervous. What a hero he was. "So how-" But before he could finish his sentence, Vio had done the most un-Vio but simultaneously Vio thing Link had ever seen Vio do in his life.
He'd stood up, waved his torch light at the – giant – spiders – before speaking very, very loudly – "Hello there, I was wondering if you fine men had any time to talk about current world issues?"
Still crouched, Link stared at Vio, sure he was now looking at a ghost, soon-to-be at least. This was it; Vio had gone mad. Mad enough to point at the chest and flash Link a wide grin.
Following his instructions, Link rolled left, just enough to peek around the edge of the root and watch the spiders scuttle toward Vio, leaving the chest clear. Oh. He was a distraction.
Looking back at a yelp, he plastered himself against the bark as hairy legs clambered over him, ignored him thank the goddesses, and gave chase to the fleeing Vio, who, within seconds, had disappeared into the stinking smog. He didn't have long.
Link vaulted the root and held up the torch to make sure no one had been left behind. Just the chest. Perfect. He stepped into the dipped clearing, skin crawling at the bed of webs he now tip-toed across, the hairs on the back of his neck rising and all those other clichés he now pinned as completely, utterly spot-on. He was a deer in headlights, he'd swallowed his heart, and here's another: thinking he was alone? He'd spoken too soon.
Link crouched down and flipped up the latch on the chest, dug his nails under the lid and threw it open. Aha. A key. Without hesitation, he swiped the little rusted item from the box and stood back up, smiling a little in pride. That had felt so natural.
Uh… what was that? He looked to his left, to his right, stuffed the key in his bag whilst keeping an eyebrow high. He'd heard more clicking, he was sure of it, but maybe it had been from Vio's little gang. There it was again! But where could it… except… he looked up.
Uh oh.
There was one above him, hanging from the ceiling on a thread, eight eyes locked on the boy below. Neither moved. Link couldn't breathe. Maybe if he didn't panic… If he just moved slowly then maybe he'd be okay…
But as soon as he took a step back, the spider cut its thread and dropped, missing Link by a hair and hitting the floor with such impact it- it fell through!
Link screamed, feeling the web bed beneath him collapse and gravity pull at him. In this moment, he and that damned spider were equal – they were both falling, falling into a pit which Link couldn't see the bottom of.