It was into this opening that the spider inserted two of its eight long legs. Once they were in, and with a grace that the Virgin Mary would have envied, the spider pulled herself through, spinning a thin strand of silk to catch her as she danced into the blackness within. For a moment, she hung, perfectly poised on the ceiling of the tent, only one leg touching the fabric side. As she was suspended, she could feel the hot breath and strong heartbeats of the tent’s occupant, directly below her in the darkness.
She uncurled her mouthparts, letting her fangs flash down out of her chelicerae before retracting them again. Her legs curled and straightened above the sleeping mammal. It was only about four feet below her. She could not salivate, but she allowed venom to flow from its heavy sacs down through her furry chelicerae, where it flooded into her fangs. It filled them until their tips glistened with the milky white liquid.
With only the flicker of a thought, the spinnerets at the rear of her abdomen began to extrude the Kevlar-like silk. She then began the descent from her perch. The motion was as smooth as an ocean wave, but as she descended, a heavy vibration disturbed her. The hairs on her back bristled with changing sound waves. Her quarry was close, only two feet beneath her, close enough that she could see the white stubble on its face. But caution was important, it was vital.
She felt, listened, and watched as the vibrations increased. There was a long tearing sound, and then a shaft of moonlight poured into the tent. Now she felt a second heartbeat. Her back legs grabbed the silk line and she readied herself for a rapid ascent if necessary.
Captain Shuler heard the zipper on his tent the moment it was touched. He could sleep through wind, rain, and the occasional animal foraging nearby, but the sound of a zipper was unmistakably unnatural, and no one should be touching his tent right now.
Captain continued to breathe normally and kept his eyes closed. His right hand snaked out silently and closed around the hilt of his bowie knife. He wondered if he would need to use it. Who would be coming into his tent right now? The photographer? Dr. Connel? Perhaps the big biologist was seeking retribution for when he had scolded him earlier. Men would kill for pride; the captain knew that because he had seen it before.
The fly of his tent was now fully open and his hand was tight and ready on the big knife. Someone was trying to crawl quietly into the tent. Then he heard the zipper being closed. The intruder was shutting the door behind him? That was odd behavior. Then he heard breathing. It was not the hard rough breathing of a big man, but light and calm, almost soft.
A moment later a hand touched his leg on top of his light sleeping bag. The hand was petite and warm. Then he smelled her. She smelled like vanilla cookies. Captain released the knife as Magda slid her hand over his thigh. The hand rode up over his belly, and then she crawled on top of him. He brought his large, scarred hands up to touch her face. His eyes were open and adjusting to the dark, and he could see her short hair above him.
“What are you doing?” he asked, keeping his voice as quiet as possible.
In response, she lowered herself down and kissed him on the mouth. It was not a dainty or chaste kiss. This was deep and intense with longing. Her lips lit up his nerves like a hot fire. As she kissed him, he let his hands trail over her muscular body. Magda was in incredible shape.
Magda pulled back and gasped for breath for a moment. Captain saw her smiling down at him, then in one motion, she somehow managed to pull his shirt off while he was laying there. Captain grinned like a fool as she bent down to kiss him again. He saw – what? There was just something – then it was gone – then she was kissing him again. Nevertheless, he thought he had seen something – or did he?
Shuler broke away from her for a moment, pretending he needed air. He tried to peer around her, but all he saw was the roof of the tent, slightly backlit by the faint moonlight filtering through. It must have been nothing, he thought, but then he saw movement. What the-?
“What is it, Captain?” her voice was breathy.
“I-I don’t know. I thought I saw-” he brushed a hand over her back. There was nothing but hard muscle. “Nothing.”
Shuler kissed her again, but when he looked up, he saw it. It was on her shoulder, next to her neck. It was large and silhouetted by the moonlight: a big fucking spider.
“What now?” she breathed, wriggling against him.
“Magda, stay very still for a moment. There’s a – there’s a spider on your shoulder, I’m going to get it off-”
He didn’t get to finish his statement, for as soon as he said spider, she jerked to the side, as if suddenly feeling the alien being on her shoulder.
“Shit!” she shouted. “Get it off!” Magda flailed and swiped at the spider.
Then it bit her.
She wailed; it was a high-pitched, angry sound. She thrashed about, panicking in the small space.
“It burns, it burns!” she cried.
“Try to hold still!” he shouted back at her. She didn’t listen and instead went crashing into the side of the tent. The force of her body hitting the tent wall caused the small structure to roll. The captain was flung over on top of her.
“Magda, stop!” The spider was clinging to her shoulder. Gritting his teeth, Shuler grabbed the spider by its abdomen, squeezing hard as he tore it away from Magda. The spider exploded into a grisly, gooey mush in his hand, but not before tearing a small chunk out of Magda’s shoulder.
“It’s off, it’s off,” he told her, but she was still freaking out. Captain found the zipper and jerked it open, spilling himself out of the tent. He rolled onto his knees only to find someone standing over him, shining a flashlight that seemed as bright as the sun into his face.
“What the hell is going on Captain? What did you do to Magda?” It was Connel, and Marion the botanist was standing right beside her.
Just then Magda rolled out of the tent herself. The flashlight found her. She looked like a fractious cat, eyes wide, mouth hanging open, hair standing up every which way. There was blood dripping from her shoulder.
“Jesus, Magda,” Connel said, “what did he do?”
Captain tried to get up, but the botanist held a large stick threateningly toward him. He looked ready to strike. Jesus, Shuler thought, they think I tried to assault her.
Magda finally found her voice and said, “He didn’t do anything, doctor.”
Connel looked skeptical.
“Really, he didn’t.”
“Really, I didn’t,” Shuler echoed.
Marion shuffled from foot to foot, unsure if he should let his guard down. He was clearly shaken. Well, they all were.
“This is what happened,” Captain said, holding up his hand. In his fist he still clutched the mashed remains of the spider that attacked her. Connel shone her light on it. When the bright white beam hit the dark mass of black, grey and orange, she gasped.
“Holy crap! How did it get into your tent?”
Captain shrugged, “I have no idea.”
“Wait, why was she in your tent?”
The captain raised an eyebrow and started to reply but Magda cut him off.
“I went into his tent because I wanted to err – talk to him about something. I guess the spider could have snuck in when I entered.”
The captain nodded. “Doctor, I know it’s hard to tell, but could this have been the same type of spider that bit Dr. Patel? The ones that came after you all in the field?”
The doctor peered closely at it, and shook her head. “It’s impossible for me to tell with any certainty, but I don’t think so. That spider was small and furry, about the size of a half dollar. This one looks much bigger.”
“Its big brother, maybe?” Marion inserted.
Connel sighed. “Come on, Magda.” She motioned toward her tent. Magda followed her off, leaving the captain standin
g next to Marion.
“Where’s Charles?” he asked.
“He’s in with Dr. Patel, monitoring him for any changes. His fever is very high,” the doctor said.
Captain nodded at this. “Would you have hit me with that?” He referred to the large stick Marion still held.
Marion chuckled and dropped the stick. “Well, I suppose I might have, you know, if you were dangerous.”
The captain laughed. “Marion, we’re humans, we’re all dangerous.”
Captain wandered over to Connel’s tent, where she was cleaning up Magda’s shoulder with some saline wash. Connel had a large pelican case opened with a red cross stamped on one side. After she cleaned the shoulder wound, she dressed it with some white bandaging. Magda reached out a hand to the captain, which he accepted right away.
“Sorry for all the drama, captain.”
“It was fun while it lasted, right?”
“It was great,” she said with a halfhearted smile.
“Do you have any heart conditions or high blood pressure?” Connel asked her.
“No,” Magda replied, then the doctor jammed her in the thigh with something and Magda shouted.
“Dammit! What the hell?”
“Sorry, it was an EpiPen, just in case that thing has some kind of weird shit in it you might be allergic to.”
“Weird shit?” Captain asked.
She shrugged, “Those are medical terms, captain.” She looked at Magda seriously.
“After the reaction Dr. Patel has had to the strange insect life on this island, we’re going to want to keep a close eye on you.”
“Great,” Magda muttered.
“And Magda, maybe stay out of the boys’ tents for a while, eh?” Connel lifted her eyebrows and smirked at her.
The captain chuckled even as his face flushed beneath his white beard.
Less than an hour later, Dr. Patel started seizing. Connel moved things out of the way so he wouldn’t injure himself, loosened the clothing around his neck, put a pillow under his head, and laid him on his side. Then they all waited anxiously for the seizure to end.
“Jesus. Damn, he’s burning up, Dr. Connel!” Captain shouted, recoiling after placing a hand on the man’s shaking head.
“It’s been getting worse and worse all night,” remarked Charles, one of the other men from Connel’s group.
“I’ve given him antibiotics and painkillers, but that’s all we’ve got. There’s nothing else I can do,” she said resignedly.
When Dr. Patel started squealing and howling, Magda approached him. Her calm, penetrating eyes were now wide with fear.
“His heart is beating like mad,” Charles said, “I can’t even keep count of the beats anymore.”
Death came for Raj Patel with brutal speed. His howls cut off suddenly and his back spasmed once more. Then there was a deep gurgling noise and his bowels emptied. That was it. That was all. He was dead. Dr. Patel was a brilliant scientist, possibly a future Nobel Prize winner. He could have helped find a cure for cancer or a vaccine for AIDS. He could have helped millions of people around the world. Instead, he died on a humid tropical island in a puddle of his own shit.
Dr. Connel stared down at him, her face and jaw slack, her eyes sad and beaten. Dawn was not far off but it was still dark, and the glow of the electric lanterns revealed deep circles under her eyes. She did not speak.
The captain stumbled backward and fell flat on his ass – they were still on a slope after all. He stared down at the ground between his legs and his head was shaking. Marion stood with Charles off to the side. Their heads were bent low and tears leaked from Charles’s face. It was Magda who broke the silence with a loud wail.
“Why! Why?” she cried out. She turned from them and walked into the darkness beyond the electric torches. They could hear her cries as she walked away. Soon she had disappeared into the dark morning.
“Captain,” Dr. Connel called. “Captain! Go and get her.”
Captain snapped out of the daze he was in and got up, wobbling a bit as he did so. Then he hurried after Magda, snagging an electric torch and carrying it with him. She was headed in the direction of the caves, where the landscape would be impassable without injury in the darkness.
“Magda, Magda wait,” he called into the dark as he took off after her. She did not get far. When he found her, she was walking and waving her hands around in a display of mad frustration.
“Magda,” he said, and put a hand on her uninjured shoulder. She shrugged him off and tried to pull away but he put his strong, sinewy arms around her and pulled her to his chest. She sobbed against him. Her arms hung limply beside her. “I’m so sorry, Magda. He was a really nice young man.”
Magda sobbed harder and slid down to the ground. The captain followed her down. She cupped her head in her hands and moaned. He rubbed her back and tried to think of something to say. He hadn’t been aware the two were close.
“Do you think that is to be my fate as well, Bart?” she asked without raising her head.
Then it sunk in for the captain. He understood that she cried not only for her fallen comrade, but for her own fate as well. He shivered and realized that he was frightened for her too.
“I-I don’t know,” the captain looked down at the ground and then stood abruptly. “No, you will not die. Not here, not because of a damn bug bit.”
Magda stared up at him questioningly. “What can we do?”
“We’re going back to the ship,” he said, “I’m going to take you to the mainland for treatment.” Shuler held his hand down to her.
“This mission is over.”
Chapter 19
He didn’t expect anyone to answer the satellite phone, so when Kuma picked up, the captain was a little startled.
“This is Captain Shuler, who is this?”
“Kuma.”
That’s odd. “We have an emergency situation out here. Where is your group?”
“We’re back at the RHIB, on the beach.”
“Wait – why are you on the beach?”
“Jens tried to jump over a little creek and busted his ankle.”
Captain was silent for a moment. “Are you serious?”
He heard a sigh, then, “Yeah, I know.”
“Well, that’s actually good news. We need to evac from this place immediately.”
“Evac? Why? Jens will be fine, he’s taking Vicodin.”
“Dr. Patel is dead.”
There was a clattering sound, as if Kuma had dropped the phone.
“Wha-how?”
“He was bit by a poisonous spider and had a heart attack, seizure and a stroke.” Sadly, there was nothing we could do.
“Holy shit.”
“Magda’s been bitten, too, but we don’t know for sure if it was the same kind of bug. Still we need to get her to a hospital, and fast.”
“But Captain, we’re hours away from the nearest hospital.”
“That’s right, and that’s why I need you to listen very carefully.”
The woman screamed at it, a loud noise that the female spider interpreted as heavy vibrations in the air. This new place they had come to was full of loud noises. She had crept out of the closet when darkness came, and found the woman lying in bed, covered only by a thin sheet. She crept up silently as she always did. She meant to immobilize the big mammal and lay her eggs.
It did not happen as she expected.
She bit the black-haired woman on the side of one exposed foot. The foot jerked instantly, but she held on, expecting this instinctual reaction. Then her quarry did something unexpected. The woman sat up in bed and grasped her just behind her cephalothorax . The spider panicked a little, letting go with her legs and letting them flail toward the woman’s hands. She held onto
the light brown foot with her fangs, pumping in venom that should slow her victim’s breathing and paralyze her. Then she could insert her cache of eggs. Her babies.
Her prey was extremely clever. While holding her from behind, the woman took her other hand and physically peeled the spider’s big fangs out of her foot. Now she was completely helpless. The woman brought her up in front of her small face where the spider could see that she was strangely unafraid, and that her narrow almond-shaped eyes betrayed no anger. She moved her mouth, making more loud noises the spider couldn’t understand, then she stood up.
She was carried into the kitchen, where her ‘would have been’ victim turned on the stove and set a small frying pan on the burner. Then she pulled out a thin plastic cutting board, and set it on the counter. All this took time to do with one hand, but she was unhurried. The spider felt fear, but that was as deep as emotion could run within it. The woman placed the arachnid on the cutting board and held her down with one hand, while the other picked up the knife.
She didn’t understand what was happening when the woman began to cut off her legs, one by one. Each amputation made a loud crunch accompanied by a burst of pain and loss of bodily fluid. The woman dropped each leg into the pan, which had heated on the stove. They made a clank and then sizzled when the body fluids hit the hot steel. After each of the legs were removed, the woman released the spider.
She could no longer move on her own, and as the life drained out of her, the woman turned her a little so that her head was pointing out into the kitchen. As she watched, the strange woman removed her legs from the pan and placed them on a plate. Then she began to eat them, one by one, making sure the spider could see. The spider expired in agony, there on the counter, watching as Kimmy Soon ate her last meal.
Pathosis (A Dark Evolution Book 1) Page 15
