Moving with a faster confidence, Jacqui stepped right into the cave and ducked under the hanging webs like she had never been afraid at all. She held the glowstick towards the ground, looking for the start of the drop and lighting up a skeleton that they missed the first time in the caves. Picked clean and curled up on itself as though to shield itself. Moments away from freedom. Jacqui ignored it, walking straight past it, and when she found the sharp downward turn she planted her feet in the trail of condensation down the middle of the path. She turned her feet sideways and slid right down into the depths.

Takeda crowded after her, staying instead on the dry rocks to the side to keep his shoes and socks from getting wet again. He didn't want to deal with that discomfort unless he had to. He ran down, skidding where they were loose, and when he hit the bottom, he collided gently with Jacqui's back. She steadied him, and the two of them waited for Jin and Cassie to follow behind.

They walked forward, and Jacqui paused to reexamine the fresh blood stain they found on the wall the first time. "It may not even be human," Jacqui said, stepping closer to it. "It could be spider blood."

"I didn't think about that," Cassie said. The trail smeared to the left, turning with the angle of the cave, and Jacqui followed it with her hand as it wound up and around the arch. As the trail widened the webs grew thicker and thicker, wrapping tightly around the upper left. Jacqui led them closer to it, dodging loose strands that hung low, and when she lit up the largest cluster of webs, they found another skeleton fastened to the wall there. Its arms were crossed across its chest and even its ankles were crossed as well, and Takeda's heart sank into his stomach as he realized they had wrapped him up.

Jacqui swallowed thickly, the sound echoing weakly in their small enclosure. "Come on." She glanced down the length of the cave, stretching for what seemed like miles in front of them. "There's some natural light up there. Maybe we won't end up super far underground." The four of them crunched and splashed over dirt and cave water, and occasionally Takeda heard the ripping and tearing of webs that they stepped in being pulled from the ground. He also heard other sounds snapping underfoot, but without looking he knew they were bones.

The cave opened up a bit, and the four of them were able to stand two abreast instead of single file. Takeda closed the distance to Jacqui and brushed up against her side, just to let her know he was there. He knew it would have brought him comfort. A blue-ish light spilled into the cave from somewhere above them, and Jacqui lowered the glowstick to follow where it came from. It was only a small inlet, completely covered in webs, but sure enough they were backlit by a small crack in the rocks that let the moonlight of the graveyard spill through.

Jacqui eyed up the path ahead of them, with the small portions of natural light shining down, and it seemed to boost her wavering confidence. Her eyes hardened and her aura surged, and she motioned for them to follow. "Come on," she said again. She took two steps into the next section and her foot brushed against something that clattered. She shrieked and put her fists up, glowstick clenched tightly in one hand, but from the rattling Takeda knew it was a skeleton.

"It's okay!" he told her, grabbing her arm. "It's cool. It was just a skeleton." He pulled her arm down and let the glowstick light it up, face down on the ground and directly in their path. It had been there for a while, he knew, and had left a clean patch of cave where it had been lying, curled up like the others.

He pulled Jacqui away from the cave wall and dusted her off, wiping away some webbing that had stuck to her shoulder and back. "A little further," he urged her gently, pointing to another section of the cave that opened up, with more natural light spilling through.

"Right," she said, voice shaky.

They piled into the open section, each hopping over the skeleton, and Jin sighed frustratedly. "We gotta be careful. Each one of these sections looks exactly the same."

Takeda looked back behind him, at the last section they left, and saw that he was right. The section before had natural lighting and opened to the left and right as well. Takeda rushed back and counted the recesses behind them, the one they were in, and he even inched forward into the next section to peek into the tunnels. "There are three," he said. "There's one behind us, the one we're in, and another one ahead. The next section really opens up." He craned his neck, trying to see around the walls as best he could without heading into the next area.

"I'll write that down," Jin said. He dropped to the ground and started to reach into his bag for the map paper, but Cassie stopped him, grabbing his arm.

"Shh!" she hissed. "Shh! Stop. I hear something," she whispered. They froze, each listening, but all Takeda could hear was a quick drip of water echoing somewhere in the cave. He stayed silent, in case the others could hear anything. "You hear that?" Cassie asked. She clutched her pistol with both hands and motioned for them all to follow her. Jacqui pressed a button somewhere on her gauntlets and they buzzed to life, little arcs of power jumping from end to end while they calibrated.

Cassie creeped forward slowly, softening her footsteps in the water as best she could. Step by step, they inched closer to the next section, and the drop Takeda heard grew louder and louder. He wanted to say that was what it was. That was all he could hear, and that was all that it was. Just a drip of water. The closer and closer they got to the opening, the more steady and louder it became until it sounded like a small stream was dripping down the walls. They ducked under some low-hanging webs, and when they emerged into the new section, it sounded like a waterfall in the cave.

The natural light filtered through in two places, one right in the middle of the large and open area, and one small spotlight at the very ceiling stretched high up above them, and it was a great relief from being so cramped. Takeda stared up at it, wondering how high it went, but the darkness was too intense the higher it went. So intense, it looked like it was moving, swirling and writhing on top of itself. If he looked closely, he thought he could see shapes-

He frantically patted Cassie's arm and pointed up towards the ceiling, and her eyes widened. She fumbled for a real flashlight from a pouch on her belt, and when she found it she clicked it on and pointed it up towards the ceiling.

What he thought was water dripping was actually hundreds of spiders, scuttling across the ceiling. Their legs clattered against the stone, squealing and chittering to themselves and weaving in and out of each other. Varying sizes and colors peppered the mass, and Cassie's mouth dropped open in shock.

A piece of the blackness separated itself from the mass and lowered itself down towards them, and Takeda gasped before he could help himself. He grabbed Cassie and dragged her back the way they came, and all four of them huddled together while the spider's legs curled and uncurled around its body as it descended down to the floor of the cave. It landed smoothly in the water and turned towards them, standing at full height, and a chill spread down Takeda's back, freezing him in place. The spider was nearly as tall as they were. The body was definitely wider than two of them put together. It stopped and stared, leveling all eight of its beady red eyes at their group. It shifted back and forth on its legs, harshly clacking and splashing against the floor.

"Guys . . . don't move," he sent to all of them praying they heard it.

It finally skittered to the right, and their group shifted to the left, leaving space for it. It kept its eyes on them but kept moving, circling around until it was standing where they had been, blocking their escape. It opened its mouth and two fangs that were wider than Takeda's torso flashed in its mouth before it backed up again. It disappeared into a black recess behind it, and a second later re-emerged dragging something behind it. This time, it kept its eyes on them and skittered back to the left, and their group compensated for it, circling back to the right. It never took its eyes off of them, even as it picked up its prize with a few of its legs, circling it around and around to wrap it up in a thick case of webbing. What looked like a limb tumbled out of the bundle at one point, and Takeda realized it was a person. When it was finished, it dragged the body to the wall and clamored back up, using the webbing already there to climb with its kill.

Takeda didn't breathe until it was gone in the darkness from where it emerged. "Someone k-keep their eyes on the ceiling. We don't want any dropping on us," he whispered.

"I got it," Cassie said, flashlight still in hand.

Jacqui didn't seem as eager to take the point anymore. They walked slowly, splashing and crunching in bones and any number of things, and as they passed under one of the sky lights, they spotted another skeleton lying face down. This one still had the tatters of its clothes on. Who knew how long it had been there.

"Okay, those recesses are dark. I almost didn't know they were there," Jin said. "Takeda, come with me and check them out."

"You really think splitting up is a good idea?" he asked.

"This place isn't that big. The spiders are ignoring us for now. It's the perfect time to split up. We're just going to the edges." Jin started walking away from Jacqui and Cassie, and Takeda sighed.

"You're so reckless."

"Wouldn't be the first time someone told me that."

They backtracked and headed to the recesses on the left, and Jin used the orb in his staff for a dim lighting to help them. They only found dried up skeletons in the first one, piled on top of each other like they were thrown there in haste. They crossed the area to the recess on the right, and Takeda found another clothed skeleton there, even with some shreds of rotting skin left on it. The stench of death had long since faded.

They stepped out and were about to walk to the next one when Jin groaned in front of him.

"Oh, gods. No. No, no."

Takeda peeked over his shoulder, and wished he hadn't. The body was fully fleshed, but its skin was pasty white and looked leather-thin. It was curled around itself like all the others, but its hands were clasped around its head and its mouth was locked open. Bits of webbing pooled in and around its mouth, and the skin was ripped and torn outwards in both eye sockets. There were holes all around its body, holes burst outwards.

They had forced their way out from inside of him. While he was still alive.

"Come on," Jin whined. "No way. Nope."

The mental image he conjured before, before they even set foot in the caves, assaulted him once again. Tiny spiders, crawling all over him. Scratching with their claws. Biting with their fangs. Fuzzy bodies tickling him, on his face, in his hair, in his mouth, down his throat, in his nose and all over. It was so strong, he thought he already felt the sensations on him, and he wiped and clawed at his face before he could help himself.

Jin shuddered and walked ahead into the next recess, and retreated just as quickly.

"Fuck, no. Come on!" he cried, growing frantic.

"Shh!" Cassie hissed from wherever her and Jacqui had gotten to in their exploring.

"Come look at this fucking shit," Jin said. He threw his arms up and walked away. "No, no, no. That's it. I'm fucking done with this place . . . " he grumbled, trailing off.

Takeda peeked into the recess, and for a moment all he saw was a tangle of thick webs twisting from the ceiling. He followed it with his eyes, and when he saw what was at the bottom of the webs, he was nearly sick. Only the legs and torso were encased in webbing, suspending a body upside down from the ceiling. Rigor mortis had already frozen its arms across its chest, and its jaw locked open from gravity. It had small yellow boils all over its skin, filled with what looked like puss. One of them pulsed, and when Takeda looked more closely he saw a small black dot inside. A dot with eight legs coming off of it.

They laid eggs in the bodies.

"Oh my fucking god," Jacqui muttered, covering her mouth with her hand. "What the fuck? What the fuck?! What the fuck is that?!"

"Let's get out of here," Cassie said. "Let's go."

"W-we can't-" Jacqui tried to protest weakly. Her face was a mask of shock, and he could see it in her eyes that her thoughts didn't match what she was saying. Her voice cracked and died, and she swallowed thickly before finding it again. "We can't. We gotta keep going."

"Fucking look at this, Jacqui! Look at this!" she said, pointing to the body. As if on cue, one of the boils on the body burst, and a tiny brown spider crawled out and up the webbing.

"M-my dad . . . "

The weak protest hung in the air and disappeared, and all that was heard was the sounds of the spiders, like a waterfall.

"And mine, too," Takeda said. His voice sounded small. Just as small as hers. But he knew he had to stick up for Jacqui and for himself. "We gotta keep going. We gotta."

" . . . If anyone even still gives a shit," Jin called from the furthest end of the clearing. "I found Raiden's staff."