Chapter: Web of Lies

The air was still as we stared into the yawning darkness ahead, but I could feel the tension in the young girl’s grip, her small hands trembling as they clung to me. I barely had time to register her face, her wide eyes and pale complexion, before the silence was broken by the faintest, most unsettling sound.

Crack. Crack. Pop.

I turned my head, eyes widening as I saw the source of the noise. From the ceiling where the now-dead spider creature had been lurking, a trapdoor had slid open, and from it, hundreds—no, millions—of tiny, twitching legs spilled out like an avalanche. Baby spiders. They scuttled out on two legs, like something straight out of a nightmare, their tiny bodies twitching with hunger and vicious intent. Each one was a miniature version of the grotesque monster I’d just killed, and they were all headed straight for us.

“Run!” I screamed, grabbing the girl’s hand as I yanked her forward.

We took off, our feet pounding against the stone floor as the baby spiders poured into the chamber behind us, their screeches filling the cave with a deafening chorus. I could hear their tiny, razor-sharp legs tapping against the stone, faster than any creature should be able to move. They were gaining on us.

I barely had time to think, only react, as we darted through the tunnels, the walls narrowing and twisting in every direction. I could hear the girl’s panicked breaths beside me, her small hand still gripping mine as tightly as she could. My heart pounded in my chest, but I knew we couldn’t stop. The skittering mass behind us sounded like it was just inches away, a wave of death ready to swarm over us at any second.

Up ahead, the tunnel forked, splitting off into two paths. Without hesitation, I pulled her down the left, praying it wasn’t a dead end.

We kept running, the sounds of the spiders still chasing us but fading slightly as we put distance between them. The tunnel narrowed even more, twisting and turning, until suddenly it opened up into a massive chamber. The ceiling was so high it disappeared into the shadows, and the floor was littered with webs, thick and heavy like a forest of ropes.

I stumbled to a halt, gasping for air, my chest burning. The girl collapsed next to me, her breathing ragged and uneven. For a moment, all I could hear was our heavy breathing, the echo of our footfalls still bouncing off the cave walls.

“We… we have to keep moving,” I managed to say between breaths, but the girl shook her head, too exhausted to respond.

I dropped down beside her, trying to catch my breath, and for the first time since I’d found her, I got a good look at her face. She was young, maybe twelve or thirteen, her short hair matted with grime and dust. There was a haunted look in her eyes, like she had seen too much for someone her age. She looked up at me, her lips trembling.

“Who… who are you?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

I hesitated. “I’m… I’m not sure...  Jessie??? I can’t remember. But I think they called me Subject 0173.”

The girl’s eyes widened. “Subject 0173? I’m Subject 0027.”

“Another experiment, then?” I asked, wiping sweat from my brow. “What did they do to you?”

She shivered, hugging her knees to her chest. “I don’t remember much, but they… they made me see things. I can see a few seconds into the future.”

I blinked in surprise, leaning back against the cool stone wall. “That’s… that’s a hell of a gift. Could you see those spiders coming?”

She shook her head, her eyes welling with tears. “It doesn’t always work when I’m scared… I couldn’t see them. I didn’t know they were going to hatch.”

I exhaled slowly, my thoughts racing. So she could see the future. Not far, just a few seconds ahead, but that was something. It explained why she had been able to stay ahead of the traps and monsters in this hellhole. But still, it wasn’t perfect, and it wasn’t enough to get us out of here.

“And you?” she asked after a moment, glancing at me through her tear-streaked face. “What’s your power?”

I thought back to the flashes of electricity coursing through my veins, the strange, unnatural strength that had saved me more than once. I clenched my fists, feeling the faint hum of energy still buzzing beneath my skin.

“Electricity,” I muttered, holding out my hand. “I don’t know how, but I can… control it. Sort of.”

The girl nodded, wiping her face. She seemed calmer now, though I could still see the fear in her eyes. “Do you think we can get out of here?”

I didn’t have an answer. I didn’t know if we’d get out of this place alive, or if we’d end up like the others—like those grotesque creatures. But I couldn’t tell her that. I had to keep her hope alive, even if mine was fading.

“Yeah,” I said, forcing a smile. “We’ll get out. Together.”

Just as I said it, I heard a faint, distant skittering sound again. The baby spiders were still out there, still hunting. We couldn’t stay here long.

I stood up, offering her my hand. “Come on. We have to move before they find us.”

She hesitated for a moment before taking my hand, and together, we continued into the unknown, deeper into the darkness. There had to be a way out, but the further we went, the more I could feel the walls closing in around us. This maze of caves was endless, twisting in every direction, and I knew the spiders weren’t far behind.

But for now, we were still alive.

And that was enough. For now.