The Lair of the Spider Queen
Prisoner and Ransom, Story 4. The captive and the queen.
Jen stirred awake; the rotten stench of death first greeted her, though she was too groggy to make sense of it. Her head felt like it was going to explode. And her aching body was absolutely immobilized. A ball of webbing had been formed all around her body save for the head. Breathing was difficult, the air was damp and heavy.
Slowly, her eyes adjusted to the dim light, and the full horror of her surroundings soon came into focus.
The cavern was massive; the rocky ceiling was adorned by wet stalactites… and webbing - lots of webbing. These webs stretched from ceiling to floor, thick as cables. They moved ever slightly; wrapped around that same webbing, Jen could feel its vibrations. But what truly struck out were the bones all around her. Human or otherwise, they were picked clean and arranged in grotesque piles. Jen’s stomach churned as she spotted the corpse of a recently eaten human; his - or perhaps her, Jen could not tell - lifeless eyes stared back at her.
Her memories soon returned, and she remembered where she was: deep beneath the surface of Ankabut. Her team, under the command of Major Paul Sobieski, had been sent to root out the so-called Spider Queen that had been terrorizing that world for years now. The team went deep into the great caverns of Ankabut; Jen as the scout took point. She remembered having discovered the trails of the Spider Queen, surely leading to her nest.
At this point, they had gone on all day. Sobieski was ready to call it a day and continue tomorrow. Everyone was exhausted, especially the combat team who had been fighting the Spider Queen’s children. Jen disagreed. ‘Too many people had been killed by this genetic monstrosity’, she argued. She further added that there was a risk of the trail going cold. Thus, she offered to further scout and locate the nest.
Reluctantly, Sobieski gave her the go ahead.
Jen recalled going further down and reaching the lair of the Spider Queen. The grotesque scene was such that the Lieutenant failed to take into account the ceiling, where the gigantic Queen - its eight-eyes locking on to her - was hanging.
As the Queen crashed to the ground, Jen felt the earth shaking all around, losing her balance. That was the end for her. The Spider Queen bashed its gigantic, chitinous body on Jen, sending her crashing into the wall.
Then, darkness.
Now, the Spider Queen loomed before her, its grotesque form blocking her view of the lair’s entrance. As it moved closer to her prey, its mandibles clicked like a timer.
Jen struggled against the webbing, but it was no use. She began hyperventilating as the Queen’s shadow engulfed her. Jen had one final, instinctive defense: she screamed hysterically, her shrill panic could be heard all around the caverns. Yet the Spider Queen was undeterred, and marched ever closer to its next meal.
Jen began to swoon. Her body, knowing that there was no escape, was protecting her; if she was to be eaten alive, at least she wouldn’t be conscious to experience it. As the void was claiming her, a single thought flashed through her mind: ‘Paul… I’m sorry’.
Sleep did not come for Jen. An explosion rocking the lair followed by the sound of gunfire shook Jen awake. Then, the unmistakable sound of boots on the ground. A familiar voice, loud yet reassuring, rang through the lair:
“Get away from her!” Sobieski shouted. The Major, holding a machine gun, was firing on the Spider Queen.
The Spider Queen shrieked, rearing up on its hind legs. More soldiers stormed the cavern, their weapons blazing. Bullets and plasma balls flew through the air, striking the armored exoskeleton of the genetic monstrosity. It lashed out with its massive legs, sending two soldiers flying into the walls. It attacked again, a leg swipe barely missed Sobieski.
“Focus fire on the legs!” the Major shouted.
From above, Jen could witness the chaos and the brutality of battle. Her rescuers, the soldiers of the EDC, coordinated their bursts of fire. Slowly, the EDC were chipping away the Queen’s armored defenses. But the cornered creature, shrieking and thrashing wildly, only became more dangerous. Sobieski bravely led the final charge, his movements fearless yet calculated. A well-thrown grenade from the Major swished into the Spider Queen’s mouth before it exploded, blowing apart the Queen’s head.
Disgusting goop of arachnid fluid poured out of what was left of the Spider Queen as it slumped to the ground, its limbs still twitching.
Sobieski wasted no time. He rushed to Jen. With a knife pulled from his belt, he cut through the thick webbing.
“Hang on Jen,” he said. Yet no words were needed. His methodical cutting through the thick web was all she needed for reassurance.
As the last of the web fell away, Jen slumped into his arms. Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around his neck. And she kissed him.
Sobieski froze for a moment, but not for long. He wrapped his own arms around her, steadying her trembling body.
When the two finally broke their kiss, they could barely catch their breaths.
Jen gazed at Sobieski, her smile sheepish. “Sorry about that.”
“Don’t be,” responded Sobieski, smirking. “That said, next time you should save the thanks for a better ambiance.” As he was saying this, he gestured to the scattered pile of bones around them.
Jen, still leaning on Sobieski for support, laughed softly. “I’ll keep that in mind. Guess I was just grateful that I didn’t become one of them.”
Sobieski nodded. “That was a close one, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Jen said. “And not for the first time. I guess I really have a habit of getting captured. Some infiltrator I am…”
Sobieski hugged Jen, breaking her trance. “Don’t blame yourself, Jen. First of all, I was the one who gave you the go-ahead. Secondly, you did the right thing. If you didn’t keep tracking, there was no guarantee that we would have found the Spider Queen’s lair. More people would have died then.”
Jen met his gaze. “You always know what to say, Major.”
“It’s part of the job,” Sobieski said.
As the EDC began to secure the area, Jen and Sobieski saw the soldiers cleaning up the lair, picking up the bones, and recovering any bits of the Spider Queen and its children. One soldier approached the two, he saluted.
“Major, Sir,” he said. “An update.”
Sobieski nodded. “Go on.”
“We’ve recovered all the artifacts we could of the Spider Queen,” responded the soldier. “And we found traces of the Biogenesis.”
Jen gasped. “You mean…?”
“Yes, Lieutenant,” the soldier said. “Usuria’s patented pride and joy.”
“Which means,” Sobieski began, “the Megacorp is definitely responsible for this thing.”
The soldier saluted again. “Orders, sir?”
Sobieski responded, “Sweep the area. Make sure there are no stragglers. For all we know, the Queen’s children have already reproduced. For now, we leave. But the EDC will have to keep an eye on these caverns.”
“Yes sir!”
As the soldier was leaving, Sobieski turned to Jen, his expression softened. “There you have it.”
Jen smiled. “Yeah, Megacorp’s going to take a major hit after this.”
“All thanks to you,” said Sobieski, standing up. “You good to walk?”
Jen nodded, then she stood up. “Let’s go.”
As they moved towards the lair’s exit, Jen’s hand brushed against Sobieski’s. Sensing her opportunity, she held it tight. Sobieski let her. And with that, her heart lightened. Ankabut was her first mission after her ordeal on Usuria, and she was happy that it was a rousing success.
‘One step at a time’, she thought. ‘And I know I can do this, Paul. Because you’re with me.’
To be continued…
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