by L. S. O'Dea
It stopped, raising one leg and tapping on the glass that separated the two cages. She almost crumbled in relief. It couldn’t get her.
The creature danced along the length of its cell, chirping softly. “Fersia? Is that you?”
“Jocko?” It couldn’t be him, but it was. Even though his voice sounded weird like hers, it vibrated through her in familiar waves.
“Fersia,” he said almost reverently. “It is you.”
“What happened to you?” She didn’t quite remember what he used to look like but it wasn’t this. He was hideous.
“What do you mean?”
“Y-you look different. You are different.”
“I don’t understand. We’re the same. You and me.”
Her heart slammed in her chest. She wasn’t like him. She wasn’t a monster but she knew he was right. Too much was different—her voice, how she moved, how she saw. She raised her hand and stared at the long, hairy leg with the sharp claws at the end and screamed.
CHAPTER 31: McBrid
MCBRID FROZE AS FERSIA jumped off the cot and scurried across the cage. She shouldn’t be awake. It was too soon, but there she was in all her terrifying beauty.
The male, Aranea54, had been hovering around the glass divider watching her sleep ever since he’d woken. He’d acted more curious than aggressive. Only time would tell if they would be a viable pair. They seemed to be communicating in soft chirps and screeches. Of course, they could be posturing for territory, but Aranea54 seemed more relaxed than before and so did she. Aranea19 raised her leg toward her face and the sound she made echoed through the room. McBrid clenched his hands at his sides, forcing himself not to run and hide. Charlie covered his ears, his body trembling, but his eyes never leaving the two Araneas.
“You can go.” McBrid gave the young Guard a little push toward the door.
Charlie hurried across the room. Aranea19 stopped screaming, as she turned and stared at the Guard. The male also watched, liquid dripping from his fangs.
Charlie hesitated at the door, his wide eyes darting between the giant spider-like creatures and McBrid. “Are you sure you’ll be okay alone?”
“Thank you, but yes.” He wasn’t an idiot. He wouldn’t go anywhere near that cage. “But I do need you to bring back something for them to eat. Fer...She’s probably very hungry.”
Charlie nodded as he almost ran out the door.
“Fersia.” She wasn’t in there, not anymore but he couldn’t bring himself to address her as Aranea19. He moved toward the enclosure, stopping before he was even close to being in range of her long legs. “How are you feeling?”
Both Araneas turned toward him. She moved to the front of the cage, whereas Jocko hurried to haunt the dark corner like so many of his predecessors had done. Araneas liked the shadows.
She grasped the bars and opened her large mouth. A high pitch squeak came out and then another and another. She waved one of her front legs in the air. He’d never seen one act like that.
“Calm down. Charlie went to get you something to eat. You’ll feel better soon.” He hoped. He had no idea how his modifications to the serum would affect them. Their transformation had been easier and their eye pattern was different than the previous specimens, but there could be other traits that had yet to reveal themselves.
She screeched louder and zipped around her enclosure, shoving the bed aside.
“Shhh. Slow down. I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
She stopped for a fraction of a second and then was back at the front of the cage so fast McBrid’s heart stopped. For one tiny second he’d almost run. She clacked her fangs together, venom dripping from the tips. She was furious or unbalanced. Her fever hadn’t run as long as the male’s but it had run hotter. It could’ve altered her mental state.
The door opened and Laddie and Louis forced an elderly House Servant through the doors. Charlie and Jorge followed them inside.
The Servant screamed when his gaze landed on the Araneas and he struggled in their grasp. “No. Please. For Araldo’s sake, don’t do this.”
Aranea19 had grown still, her eyes on the Servant.
“Feed the male first.” McBrid moved so he was in her line of sight. “Watch your mate. See how this is done.” He walked toward Aranea54’s cage, making sure to stay out of reach. “You know the rules. You want to eat. You stay where you are until the Servant is inside.”
He had no idea if they understood him or not, but they did learn. The first few feedings he often had to let the Servant go free. Well, not free so much as in a cage until it was time to try again. All the Araneas eventually understood what was expected, but Aranea54 had learned very quickly what he had to do in order to eat. It was a good sign. Wolf spiders, which were now the primary supplier of DNA, were known to be intelligent. The male had proven he was smart and could learn. McBrid could work with that.
Aranea54 stayed in his corner as Jorge and Charlie grabbed the long poles and moved to the cage. As soon as they were in position, Louis and Laddie forced the Servant closer.
“Ready?” asked Jorge, key in hand.
Laddie nodded.
“No. Please. No.” The elderly Servant pissed himself as Jorge unlocked the cage and opened it just far enough for the others to shove the Servant inside.
As soon as the door clanged shut the Guards backed away. The Servant tried to shove himself through the bars but as quick as a blink, Aranea54 was on him, moving so fast that there’d barely been the clatter of claws. The male wrapped his two front legs around the Servant who threw his elbows back and yanked on the hairy legs but Aranea54 wasn’t going to give up his dinner. He opened his mouth, spreading his fangs wide and paused for a few seconds before sinking them into the Servant’s chest. The Servant screamed one sharp sound that soon garbled as blood filled his mouth, spilling down his face.
Aranea54 held the old male in his embrace until the Servant stopped moving. McBrid wasn’t sure if Araneas waited until their dinner was dead to feed because it was safer or if they waited for the poison to liquefy the body. It was something he may never know.
A moment later, the Servant crumpled in the Aranea’s grasp and the male began to eat. McBrid couldn’t stop the shiver from dancing through his body. He hated the sounds of slurping the Araneas made when feeding. It was almost as bad as the noise of the Brush-Men’s clacking.
Fersia huddled at the side of her cage, watching the male feed. As she stared, a small drop of moisture fell from her mouth.
“Get Aranea19’s dinner,” he ordered the Guards.
The four hurried from the room as he walked toward her cage. “I need you to move to the back corner of your enclosure.”
She didn’t turn toward him, but her body tensed. He was pretty sure she was watching him out of the eye on the side of her face.
“I don’t know if you can understand me.” In the past, the Araneas seemed to understand some words at first but their comprehension lessoned over time. “I hope you can because if you’re hungry, you need to go to the back of the cage.”
She didn’t move.
“You won’t get anything to eat until you do.” He hoped she’d follow the male’s example.
He moved a step closer and before he could breathe, she was at the front of the cage, her long arm reaching for him. His heart slammed against his chest. She hadn’t run; she’d jumped. He forced himself to stay put, but his eyes darted to the floor. It was marked for the length of an Aranea’s arm plus two feet. He was behind that line. She couldn’t reach him.
She clacked her claws together in front of his face.
“Calm down. You’re just hungry.”
Her arm waved more frantically before she brought it back into the cage and shoved the cot to the other side of the cell, knocking it over. She had quite a temper. She hadn’t as a Servant. It wasn’t promising.
The Guards came in dragging a small female Servant. She was frail and old–the perfect dinner for a new Aranea. The female’s gaze fell on
the Servant and more drool dripped from her mouth.
He held up his hand, stopping the Guards. “Fersia, move to the back of the cage and stay there until your dinner is inside and the door is shut.”
The old Servant’s eyes were wide and milky white. She was sniffing fast but apparently she couldn’t see anything because she was basically calm and everyone panicked when they first saw an Aranea.
Fersia didn’t move.
“If you don’t do as I say, you’ll go hungry.” Usually, the first few times they had to use the poles to force the new Aranea to the back of the cage and that often went bad for both the Aranea and the Guards. She needed to eat, but he couldn’t risk it. He’d make her wait a few days before feeding her if he had to.
The male Aranea stopped eating and chirped. Aranea19 moved to the back of her cage.
This was a great sign. None of the others had seemed to communicate. They’d either been busy establishing territory or in courtship which had never ended well.
“Careful, boys.” He waved his hand, motioning for them to move forward. “She jumps.”
“What?” Laddie stopped in his tracks.
“She can jump.” Obviously, the change in the DNA had more physiological effects than the eyes.
“Great. Just great,” muttered Jorge.
He grabbed the hose. He didn’t want to kill her. He wasn’t sure he would, but he could use it as a threat. Even if she didn’t understand him, she should instinctively recognize his stance as one of aggression. “Do you want to know what happened to your predecessor?” He unraveled the hose and stomped forward a few steps, pointing the nozzle at her. “This killed her. Water. Simple but deadly to Araneas like you.” He put his hand on the valve. “So, behave or I’ll use this.”
She moved farther back in the corner, clacking her fangs and tapping her claws on the floor.
“Go ahead.” He said to the Guards.
They gently escorted the elderly Servant to the enclosure.
“Step in here,” said Laddie.
“Thank you, dear.” She said as she moved into the cage.
He needed to find more blind Servants. This was definitely better than all the screaming.
Laddie slammed the door closed and they all hurried to the back of the room. The Guards always stayed to watch the feeding. McBrid understood. It was his job but even if he didn’t have to stay he would’ve. The killing called to him–the violence of taking a life and eating.
“You can get your dinner now.” He handed the hose to Charlie who put it back on the reel.
“Dinner?” asked the Servant. “Where?”
The Guards glanced at one another. He wasn’t sure how to respond and then he didn’t have to. Aranea19 flew across the cell, grabbing the Servant in her legs and pushing her claws into the elderly Servant’s gut. The Servant screamed but Fersia’s fangs sank into her throat stopping the sound. Aranea19 waited. It had to be instinct because no one had taught her to do that. As soon as the Servant stopped twitching, Aranea19 fed.
“Excuse me, but can I go?” Charlie’s voice was husky with tears.
“Of course.” They didn’t clean the carcasses from the Araneas’ cages until there were quite a few. It was too dangerous and bodies devoid of all fluids never smelled.
Charlie darted to the door.
“Is this the first one he knew before...and after?” asked Laddie.
“Nah,” said Louis. “We’ve met a few before.”
McBrid didn’t explain because he didn’t want to cause Charlie any problems with the other Guards. Guards and Servants hated each other, but Charlie and Fersia had become friends. His eyes drifted back to Aranea19. She’d been his friend too and he’d sacrificed her to science.
CHAPTER 32: Fersia
FERSIA SUCKED THE LAST of the juice from the body and scurried to the corner. She hadn’t wanted to hurt the elderly female, but she’d been so hungry. The smells from Jocko’s...meal had made her abdomen ache with emptiness. Before she’d realized it her legs were around the old female. The screams had ricocheted through her body. It’d been too much vibration. Her limbs had burned with pain. She hadn’t meant to kill her, she’d only wanted her to stop screaming, but once her fangs had sunk into the soft flesh everything had fled except her need to feed.
The screams had turned to gurgles and her stomach had groaned, demanding to be filled, but she’d waited. She didn’t know why but she knew she had to wait. When the heart pumped its last surge of blood, she’d fed. The meal had been warm and rich, filling her hollow stomach.
Now, all she wanted was to sleep. To forget about what she’d done. What she’d become. She grabbed the bed with her long arm and pulled it close, making a safe crevice to hide. She tucked her legs up around her and closed her eyes. The movement of the others echoed through the floor and into her body. They were active but not close enough to be dangerous.
Something glided near her. She opened her eyes, ready to attack. Jocko was moving from his corner on the opposite side of the cage to the one closest to her. She had no idea how this had happened to them. She didn’t remember much from before she woke, but she knew there had been something else, something different. Moisture gathered near her large, front eyes. She rested one of her claws against the glass that separated them.
He snuggled closer and did the same with his claw.
“Do you know where we are?” she asked.
“Home. I guess.”
She sat up and looked around. It might be home, but she didn’t remember it. Home had a table, chairs and books. Her satchel. She remembered that. She’d clutched it to her chest. It’d held everything—all her belongings, her fear of...something and her hope that she and Jocko would be mates. She sighed and laid her head against the glass. “What did they do with our stuff?”
“What stuff?”
“My bag. Your things. You know—clothes, blankets, books. Our stuff.”
“Don’t remember any of that.” He shifted lower and closed his eyes.
He’d forgotten so much and he didn’t care, but she did. Those things were all that was left of who she’d been. They were her memories and without them, she feared she’d forget everything.
CHAPTER 33: McBrid
“THE TRANSFORMATION ON ARANEA19 completed two days ago.” McBrid sat in Conguise’s office, his emotions wavering between pride and sadness.
“She survived. Good. But that’s only part of the task.” Conguise looked up from his papers. “A big part, yes. We needed to successfully transform another female but what about breeding or controlling them?”
“I’m working on training them. They, like the others before, have learned how to act in order to be fed.”
“That’s relatively simple.” Conguise waved his hand. “We need more. We need them to attack on command. To not kill us when given the first opportunity.”
“I understand and I’m working on it.” Or part of it. It’d be a long time, if ever, before he’d trust them with his life or the life of a Guard.
“Have they mated yet?”
“I haven’t given them the opportunity.”
“Why not?” Conguise lips thinned with disapproval.
“I don’t think we should rush this.” He leaned forward. “The two Araneas seem to remember each other. They’ve had numerous...conversations over—”
“Conversations?”
He’d known that was the wrong word but he’d bet his life that was what they were doing. “They chirp and clack at each other.”
“They could be posturing for territory.”
“Possible, but I don’t think so. Hear me out.” He forced himself to remain calm. “They engage in these...noises throughout the day. It seems to bring them comfort. Also, the male moved his den from the opposite side of his cage to as close to the female as possible.”
“That is a good sign.” Conguise leaned back in his seat. “Is the male smaller than the female?”
“Some but not a lot.”
�
��Female spiders usually only attack and kill the smaller males.” Conguise looked back down at his pile of papers. “Put them together tomorrow. If she kills him, you can make another male for her.”
“I think we should spend more time with Aranea54.”
“Why?”
“He’s progressing faster with training than the female.”
“How so?” Conguise began scribbling notes on the papers.
“We’ve been playing ball.”
“What?”
He had the professor’s full attention now. “Joc...Aranea54 will stop a ball and roll it back on command.”
“He does this every time?”
“Only on my command. If I don’t tell him what to do, he lets it roll until it stops. He knows it isn’t food.”
“That’s excellent.”
He tried to tamp down the surge of pride at the praise but he couldn’t. This was a huge accomplishment. None of the other Araneas had been willing to do anything except wait in the corner for their food. “The female refuses. She’ll only obey when food is offered. In her defense, her transformation process was different–”
“That’s right. You thought she was immune.” Conguise chuckled.
McBrid almost snarled. He’d wanted her to be immune. “As I was saying, she hasn’t been out of hibernation as long as the male so things may change but she shows no sign of obeying.”
