9By S.T.Y.A
It was waiting underneath her bed. She knew it. In the darkness, the only sound was that of it devouring her family. If she moved away from the safety of her bed, it would catch her too.
Her whole room was filled with its web. Almost thirty hours ago, her mom had gone into her room, and had gotten stuck. Like Jesus, she'd been crucified, unable to move even the slightest, and the worst part was that the bug had merely watched her. It had just been sitting there, refusing to move. Its many eyes slowly enjoying the sight of her struggles.
Then it had moved one leg closer to her. Then another one, and suddenly the whole damn beast had positioned itself on top of her, chuckling.
A drop of spit had hit her cheek, causing it to petrify. The spider could do that. The petrified cheek caused her screams to sound strangely muffed. Then the rest of her had been bathed in its saliva. The womb the girl had been born from, the breasts that had fed her, and the arms that had been holding her. All was petrified, caught like a statue in the web.
Then the creature had starting letting web surround her, wrapping her as had she been a present. When finished, it used its fangs to rip her off the web, placing her right next to the girls bed.
Then it had laughed. Oh, god, she could swear she'd heard it laugh.
That had been thirty hours ago. Since then, her father had shared his wife's fate, and hunger and thirst had crept in on her.
She had read that you could go a week without eating, but only a couple of days without drinking. Utter lies. At that point, her throat might have been causing her severe pain due to absolute dryness, but that was nothing compared to the waves of hunger coming from her stomach. Really, she would gladly let the spider eat her, if only she could have some food first.
There's plenty of that in the kitchen said the luring voice. Yes, it was right, but she would have to step out from the safety of her bed to get there.
Suddenly, a leg shot out from underneath her bed, and it appeared yet again. Within the second, it was standing next to her, watching her gasp for breath. She could almost swear that it was chuckling, before it started tearing the web concealing her father apart.
A gooey liquid started flowing from the package and gave out a sour, nauseating smell of decay. Blood and some oddly yellow and greenish stuff – most likely her father's liquidated carcass. Like a cat drinking its milk, the spider sucked up the liquid, and then started devouring the remaining flesh. Multiple red eyes, scanning the organic fluid for every last bit of nourishment. It seemed enjoyed, as its many legs was bathed in blood.
She closed her eyes like any other ostrich. If you couldn't see it, it would be there.
But she could still hear it crawling around. Rapid and unpredicted movements in the room she'd treasured so much. Now a prison.
In the darkness of her closed eyes, the hunger grew. From a constant pain, it became a true torture. Little drops of salt water escaped her eyelids, and she soon found herself sopping, wishing for death.
Hours passed, until her eyes opened up. She was still crying, but the tears had stopped a long time ago. Not any liquids left in my body she thought bitterly. It was too true to be funny.
Then she saw it. Her father's ripped off hand lay in front of her. She was puzzled. Was this a trick to lure her out of the bed? No, it couldn't be. It was right there in front of her.
She didn't understand why she was so hypnotised be the sight of the hand, until she remembered the spider ripping apart her father, eating raw limps.
She really was hungry.
But she couldn't.
She really was hungry.
She reached out and started petting the limp. No, she wouldn't eat it, she would just look at it. Maybe later, she would eat it. She noticed something wet on her arm, but was unsurprised to discover that it was drool. Her drool. The hand appeared almost hypnotising, and she brushed off some of the gooey stuff. Ripping off a piece of skin was easy. It didn't look like her father anymore. It was just a little piece of skin. That would hardly be cannibalism, now would it?
She took a bite. It tasted terrible, but she could hardly worry about that. Her stomach complained about her not eating the rest of it, and she ripped of another piece. Soon, she found herself gnawing through the hand, crying of happiness.
Then she looked at the ceiling, and in the dim light of her room, she saw it. The arachnid was looking down at her. Eight legs, each bend halfway through. A two-parted body, two opposite fangs and multiple eyes. It was bigger than her bed.
With a little food in her stomach, her tiredness took over. In a web-filled room, a girl lay sleeping.
She cried. A glass of pills in her hand, begging for her to eat them. Devour them, and let them end her pitiful life.
Then she awoke and looked at the room. There was no web any longer. Really, it had just been a dream! Happily, she got up.
When she opened the door, she saw her family.
Only that it wasn't her family, it was the spider wearing their clothes. She tried getting back to the bed, but she found herself caught in thin, silken threads. She fought, she really did, but the web was too strong.
The spider smiled and started moving. Her mouth slowly opened.
There's no escape, she thought to herself. She sighed and stopped struggling. Soon, pain would arrive, no doubt.
Is it because of the spider I killed? she asked, without really moving her mouth. It is, isn't it?
It moved rapidly. Then it stopped. Then suddenly, it was above her, it's hideous face starring at her, the two fangs filled with the petrifying saliva.
Soon, she found herself unable to move. Strings shot out of the spider, slowly capturing her in a beautifully crafted net.
Caught in the web, her body started melting. She went blind, and awaited her body to turn into a soulless carcass.
And just so you know, she heard somebody say. I'm not killing you because of the spider you killed. We don't kill just to get something as juvenile as revenge. The reason you're going to die is simple.
She guessed it before the answer was told. Food.
No, the voice mumbled. We need food to live, but I'm not hungry no more.
Her mind started racing, as the pain caused her to pass out. Soon, the spider's poison would cause her to go into a coma. She desperately tried to figure it out. What could be more important than food?
Her question was answered as the spider pierced its eggs through her body, causing her lungs to explode. She gasped for breath, but to no avail. The eight-legged beast had won.
When the right amount of time had passed, the eggs would crack open, and hundreds of spiders, each at the size of larger ashtrays, would crawl out of her body, eating rotten flesh on their way. They would grow enormous.
Would they invade the world? She did not know. She did not know anything anymore.
In the small town of Alum, the girl lays sleeping and rotting. The webbing that is blocking the window looks just like any other curtain.
On the ceiling of her room, an enormous spider sits. It watches the girl's rotting body and awaits the day of its babies cracking out of their eggs. As the proud mother, it stretches out. If she could, she would smile.
It crawls down in one quick motion. Uses its fangs to rip a piece of skin off the two other bodies. Enjoying its meal, it hears the girl moan. She is still alive, yes. Its toxins didn't kill her. they paralysed her, and they made her body rot, but it didn't kill her. The eggs need the heat from her body.
The spider doesn't feel sorry for the humans.
It thinks of the world outside of the room. It is amazing that none of them truly understood what had happened. How in the world could they ever call this place 'earth'?
It had seen earth, and this place didn't even compare. Why won't the humans realize what this place is? Can't they see how people are starving? Can't they see how they start wars, torturing others?
People in this place have forgotten all about beauty, she thought.
The humans don't like beauty, for it reminds them of what they have lost. The spider is a being of true beauty. That is why humans hate it, and has developed a phobia for its kind.
The humans will never realize the truth.
That the spider is an angel.
And that this place is hell.