From its vantage point, it spotted Alex and dropped from the ceiling with terrifying speed. Alex watched in horror as it landed on the ground and charged at him.

The spider raced toward him. In a panic, Alex swung his katana behind him with all his strength. He felt the blade connect.

The spider screeched and paused, giving Alex a few precious seconds to widen the gap. But it wasn’t enough. The parking garage was a dead end in that direction.

Alex turned to face it, katana at the ready. The spider, now cautious, slowed its approach. It had learned that Alex could hurt it.

The creature crouched, preparing to pounce. Alex dove to his right, swinging at its front leg. The blade bit into its exoskeleton, but it wasn’t strong enough to sever the limb. The spider hissed, retreating a few steps to keep him cornered.

Alex now had a car next to him. He considered evading the other way but realized it would be predictable.

When the spider leapt again, Alex jumped onto the car’s hood instead. He swung the katana downward as hard as he could.

The blade struck the joint of the spider’s front leg with a gooey crunch. The spider recoiled, crouching in pain. Spurred by the success, Alex swung again, this time severing half the leg. A wet noise accompanied the crunch as brownish ichor spilled onto the floor.

But the spider lashed out with its remaining front leg, catching Alex’s side. Two parallel gashes opened on his abdomen, and he staggered back, wincing in pain.

The battle dragged on. Alex evaded and struck repeatedly, aiming for its legs. He confirmed two things:

1. Hitting the joints was the only way to deal real damage.

2. The spider was learning.

His katana bit into its limbs again and again, but he wasn’t unscathed. His left arm bore a deep cut, and his side bled profusely.

Finally, after countless strikes, one of the spider’s legs came off completely. Alex was drenched in sweat, barely holding on, but the creature was clearly hurting.

Now missing a leg and an arm on one side, the spider grew more aggressive. It lunged recklessly, compensating for its injury.

After failing to take out another leg, Alex weighed his options. He probably could outrun it now but  if he couldn’t break the ropes blocking the door, he’d be in trouble. Even worse if the katana got stuck on those webs or if the smaller spiders also attacked.

 He quickly decided to focus on its right front arm—the one doing the most damage. After several well-placed hits, the limb finally came off.

The spider screamed in fury and leapt at him. Alex, caught off guard, instinctively thrust his katana forward.

The blade sank deep into the spider’s face.

If it still had its front legs, it would’ve reached him, but the injury forced it back. The monstrous spider writhed in agony, hissing violently, before clumsily turning to retreat into the shadows.

Without losing a second, Alex swung with all his strength at the spider’s back left leg. The blade struck true, slicing into the joint, but the creature kept moving. Its damaged legs reduced its movements to a clumsy combination of trotting and crawling, its balance faltering.

Sweat poured into Alex’s eyes, burning as it mixed with grime and adrenaline, but he didn’t stop. He hacked and slashed from behind, each blow met with the sickening crunch of exoskeleton. On the fourth strike to the joint, the spider’s back left leg finally came off.

Now missing three limbs on its left side, the spider collapsed into a crawl, dragging itself while desperately trying to turn around. Alex didn’t let it. He darted to remain behind it and stabbed his katana into its abdomen with every ounce of strength he could muster.

The creature screeched, its body convulsing, but it still wouldn’t die. Green-brown goo oozed from its wounds, pooling onto the garage floor, but the monstrosity kept crawling forward.