A large fuzzy body emerged from behind the pillar leaping out and revealing itself as a giant spider. The fuzzy rope they had seen was one of its eight legs. It had eight bright red eyes and large pinchers on its face that clicked together as it hissed at them.
"S..sp...Spider!" Ace shouted, stumbling backward.
"That...It's too fucking big to be a spider!" Miles yelled, thrusting his spear toward the large arachnid as he backed away slowly. The large creature hissed and lifted its font legs revealing its horrendous underbelly. Ace threw stones, only angering it further, while Beck stared in disbelief. The spider lowered its front legs to the ground once more. It started at the three trespassers and crouched down. Quickly and aggressively it launched itself into the air.
The large spider hurdled toward Miles, clicking its teeth as it flew. As it vaulted through the air Miles waited for his opportunity to strike. He realized as the spider flew, it extended its legs as if it were going to hug him to death, and he knew this was the moment he needed. He gripped his spear tighter in his hands and thrust it deep into the spider's underbelly. Its legs retracted as the spear pierced through its back, breaking its exoskeleton and filling the cave with a gut-quenching crunch. It let out a faint squeal before Miles dropped it to the ground. It slid off of the hand-made spear slowly before slapping against the cold hard floor. A large sigh of relief escaped their lungs as the spider let out its final dying squeal and it's legs constricted into its chest.
"What the fuck was that?" Miles asked, shaking the oozing green blood from the tip of his spear.
"It was a cave spider," Ace said, his voice trembling the words as his eyes gazed upon the clenched body of the oversized hairy beast.
"My brother and I would come out here and peg them with slingshots," He continued.
"I've never heard of a three-foot cave spider," Beck said, staring at the dead arachnid in disbelief.
"That's because they don't exist, not here anyway," Ace said, clenching the sides of his head in frustration and confusion. The cave around them grew quiet once more the stale air encumbered their lungs as they sat there, staring down at the rigid corpse. The light from the small flashlight focused on the ground, barely creating a dim glow through the cave.
Miles stared at his weapon, the blade was tilted slightly and the rope was stained with the spider's blood. Beck rubbed the tips of her fingers together slowly as her mind began to wander. What was going on in the world? Was this everywhere or was it all just a bad dream? She had no idea, nobody did.
"What the fuck is going on?" She shouted, standing abruptly from her spot on the floor.
"Medicinal plants, disappearing buildings, red clouds, and now this a giant mutant killer fucking spider!" She shouted, kicking the now decomposing body of the spider. The spider's body tumbled across the floor of the cave swiftly before smacking into the side of the wall, squelching as it slammed into the rock. Beck began once more opening her mouth to speak but before she could, the spider's body began to slowly rock back and forth.
The two boys stood from their seats on the ground. Ace lifted his light slowly, illuming the spider as it rocked. He attempted to keep his hands steady but he couldn't seem to as the corpse crunched and cracked slightly.
"What the fuck is that?" Miles asked, slowly pointing his spear at the dead creature.
"Maybe this is what happens when spiders die and we just don't see it cuz they're so small," Ace said, attempting to convince himself more than the group.
"Didn't you use to kill these things?" Miles asked, confused.
"Yeah, I was trying to make myself feel better," Ace replied, shrugging slightly and taking a few steps back. The three of them stood and watched as the body rocked back and forth for a moment longer. Then it stopped, Miles loosened his grip on his spear, Ace's hands steadied slightly, and Beck began approaching it slowly.
"What are you doing?" Miles whisper shouted.
"Research," She replied, reaching her hand down to the corpse. Suddenly one after the other three long fuzzy black legs sprouted from the back of the corpse. Beck shot backward as the legs began to wiggle and sprout. The loud crunching of the stiff body rippled through the cave making it impossible to focus on anything else.
"Run," Miles said calmly.
"What?" Ace asked, looking at him nervously. The legs gripped the cave floor around them and began pulling. The corpse began to crack and split down the middle. In the dark crack, glowing red eyes gleamed in the light from the plastic torch. Loud screeching erupted as the corpse was ripped apart. In its place stood three more slightly smaller cave spiders.
"Run!" Miles shouted, breaking off into a full sprint. Ace and Beck followed behind him keeping pace as the loud scattered footsteps bounced all around them. Miles slowed down allowing his friends to pass. He gripped his spear once again and turned around. Above him, a spider raced across the ceiling.
It's bright red eyes met his before letting out a heinous screech. The spider leaped from the ceiling and toward his face. He rotated his hips and with one swift motion, his spear was stabbed through another spider. He whipped the handle aggressively sending the dead spider flying back into the dark cold cave.
In the distance, he could see another set of those beady red eyes. He sprinted once more and caught up with his friends as they continued for the exit. The scattered tapping of arachnid legs slapping the various surfaces in the cave boomed as they continued to run. Ahead of them, a small light gleamed in the distance.
"That is the exit!" Ace shouted, pointing to the light.
"Why is it so small?" Miles asked, looking behind him and seeing the spiders begin to catch up.
"It's been sealed off with stones. We'll have to break through," Ace replied, picking up the pace. Miles grew weary of the situation. He didn't know if he could bust through a stone wall, or if he could hold off these things long enough for anyone else to.
"You better know what you're doing," he said, spearing a spider through the back on the floor behind him.
"Trust me," Ace replied, clenching his fists. The light became more visible the further they traveled through. The spiders continued to reproduce after each kill leaving them running from a dozen of them. Everything seemed hopeless as they approached the exit of the cave. The light they had seen was nothing more than a slight crack in the stone wall that had been covering the door. Ace placed his hands against the wall and began to feel around.
Miles passed off the small knife he had used to saw through the vines to Beck. The two of them stood with their backs to Ace and began to defend him, stabbing and slicing at anything with more than two legs.
"Hurry up!" Miles said, driving his spear into another spider leaping from the wall, before kicking the corpse back into the abyss.
"Please open the door," Beck said, slicing one down the center of a spiders underbelly and kicking it down the corridor.
"I'm working on it!" He shouted, dragging his fingers across the surface of each stone. Miles and Beck stood hacking and slashing spiders. They kicked the corpses down the long dark chasm to ensure they had more time before the others came crawling, but the sound of scattering legs reinstated the sense of impending doom amongst the group. Ace continued to drag his hands across the stones quickly. The feeling of the rough edges enticed his blistered fingertips.
He was searching for something familiar, something he had felt once before. He dragged each finger across each stone until he felt it. A stone with two oddly shaped cracks. Shining his light on the stone, he saw the letters carved into it. T and A; sat prominently on the surface of this well-hidden stone.
"Thanks, Alex," He whispered to himself, before cocking back his elbow and striking the stone with all of his might. His hand smashed into the stone causing it to shake slightly. Again he cocked back his elbow and struck the wall. Nothing. Frustrated, he slammed his fist into the stone repeatedly. Blood and skin stuck to the rocks each time he struck them.
With a tense face and clenched teeth, he let out a vicious scream and struck the wall one more time. His hand went through, breaking the stone from its position. He pulled his hand from the other side, and the wall crumbled. The sunlight quickly set the cave ablaze with its blinding rays. The spiders screeched and retreated scattering down the long corridor and back into their holes.
Yeah, you'd better run!" Miles shouted, shaking his spear in the air. Ace fell to his knees just outside of the cave, his hand shaking as the blood washed down his exposed knuckles. A single tear fell down the side of his face and landed just beside him in the dirt. His hand was bright red and purple, and the large gashes revealed the bones and muscle beneath. The letter stone sat tight in his hand. Miles and Beck walked out of the cave kneeling beside their friend, concerned about him.
The river rushed beside them, washing away stray twigs and sticks. In the distance rose a large cloud of white smoke cresting over the newly broken bridge.
"Are...are you okay?" Miles asked, looking at his tattered hand.
"Let's go home," He replied standing from his kneeling position and dropping the stone he held so tight in the dirt below. The three of them stared into the deep cave behind them. The dim red glow of dozens of spider eyes looking back at them menacingly. They waited a moment before looking back to the trail.
"We need to look at your hand first," Miles said.
"It's fine, let's go," He replied, wrapping his swollen fist in a shirt he had grabbed from the cabin.
"We are almost there," Beck said, gripping Miles' hand and nudging him to keep moving.
"Okay," He replied, hesitantly.