Itsy Bitsy Spider

The spider stood there, fangs quivering, poisonous venom dropping on the floor. The girl quivered, crouching on the smooth wood, staring up at the creature. It’s body was huge, legs long and hairy. The eyes! Oh those terrible, terrible eyes! They were large, eight in total, and glowed a demonic blood red. Alex whimpered pitifully in fear. She was done for, a goner for sure.

“What about Mommy? And Daddy? What about Nag? I can’t just leave them! Not like this!” She thought.

But there was nothing to be done. She couldn’t stop the spider, couldn’t keep it from killing her, from taking her life. And her parents couldn’t either. “Stupid!” She mentally cursed herself. The one rule that dictated her entire family’s existence, and she couldn’t even follow it.

Don’t get caught. That was it. One rule. One tiny rule. And yet here she was, in the same situation as her now deceased husband. “I’m sorry Nag.” Alex thought to her daughter as the spider bore down on her. She waited. Waited for the fangs to sink into her, for venom to tear into her tiny body. But they never came and the next thing she knew she was being lifted up. Alex uncovered her head and sat up, heart dropping to her feet. She was in the hand of a giant boy, who peered intently at her.

‘Mom!,’ The boy called, closing his meaty hands about her and taking off. Alex bounced in his grip, tumbling head over heels.

‘What is it, child?,’ A female voice spoke. The boy lifted his hand, palm up.

‘Look! I found a human!,’ The child cried triumphantly, a large and proud smile on his face. The mother shrieked, dropping her laundry.

‘Kill it! Kill it!’

Alex hunkered down, cowering before the giant mother’s rage. She need not have feared, for the boy drew her back in his hand, hold protective now.

‘I wanna keep her! Please Mommy!’ The father laughed from the kitchen. ‘Let the boy keep it, it won’t do no harm.’ The mother still seemed uncertain, but eventually relented. Alex listened, not making a sound as she listened to them debated, breaking a sigh of relief that she was safe. For now.

She was dropped into a glass jar, a lid securely fastened over her head. The jar was placed on the counter while the family found and prepared an old bird cage they had. It took the majority of the day to fix up and she was dumped inside that night. Alex waited until the family slept before she crept to the cage door, peering through the white painted bars at the floor far below. Even if she could open the door there was no way down, for her cage hung in midair.

She turned, pressing her back against the bars as she slid down them, tears welling in her eyes. She sobbed herself to sleep that night.

The next two days were pure misery. The boy played with her almost non-stop, having her fetch and testing just how quickly she could run from Brutus, the spider. He always picked her up at the last minute, a sure way to anger Brutus. There were many times when he was so enraged he lunged after her, but the boy would knock him away. At night after the boy slept, and all was quiet, Alex heard Brutus scraping at the top of the cage and saw his hate filled red eyes, promising vengeance. Alex knew sooner or later he was going to get her once and for all.

It was only a matter of time. On the second night she heard someone calling her name, so softly she barely heard it. Alex peered through the bars and to her horror saw her parents with baby Nag.

‘No! Go back! Back!’ Alex cried as she saw Brutus’ red eyes flash in the dark.

Too late.

Brutus was on them. The dying screams of her parent’s and child, as well as her own cries of anguish rang in her ears. Alex collapsed on her knees, sobs racking her body. The door to the cage clicked open. Brutus was inside.