A thunderstorm on Devil's night? What a cliche, April thought to herself. A particularly loud crack of thunder startled her, causing her to jump in her seat. She was home alone, with her husband, Mike, working a night shift tonight. She had curled up on the couch watching a cheesy “true” haunting show on TV. Despite her best efforts, she had to admit to herself that she was feeling creeped out. She had wanted to watch something appropriate for the spooky season but not so scary that she wasn't able to sleep afterwards. The thunderstorm certainly wasn't helping her feelings of trepidation, and she pulled a blanket tighter around herself as sheets of rain pounded against the side of the house.
At least there won't be any kids up to no good out tonight, this storm is unbelievable. April peeked out through the window and watched as the lightning rolled through the clouds overhead, the flashes leaving afterimages behind her eyes as she blinked. She closed the curtains and turned back to the TV, trying to take some solace in the warm glow. Holding a cup of herbal tea in both hands, she inhaled deeply through her nose, taking comfort in the warm and inviting scent.
Trying to get back into her show, April listened to the narrator describing the protagonist’s plight with their haunted house when another crack of thunder crashed outside, sounding like it was right next door. She jumped up and a small scream escaped her lips as all the lights went out in the house, plunging her into darkness. Her tea spilled over the lip of the cup, dousing her blanket and spilling onto the couch.
Cursing in frustration, April set her cup onto the coffee table, fumbling to extricate herself from the blanket in the dark while shaking the liquid off. Grabbing her phone, the screen illuminated at the touch of the power button, casting a soft glow into the darkness of the room. April saw that her battery was down to 14%, and she cursed again. I hate this stupid phone, the battery sucks.
A cursory glance showed that she had no Wi-Fi connection. She sighed, not wanting to call Mike for assistance at the moment. I'm a strong, independent woman. I can handle a little power outage, no sweat. Not yet ready to resign herself to an evening spent in the darkness, she felt a chill run down her spine as the rain continued to pound against the house, showing no signs of letting up any time soon. Trying not to let her nerves get the best of her, April considered her options.
Glancing through the windows again, she saw that several houses on the street still had their lights on. Probably a blown fuse, she thought to herself. Damn, I guess that means I have to check the fuse box.
April shivered again, not from the cold or the spilled tea. She hated the basement, with its dark nooks and crannies, not to mention the creepy sounds that accompanied the machinery of the house. All basements were creepy, at least in her opinion, and she hated going into their basement even in broad daylight, let alone in the middle of a thunderstorm on Devil's night. Then there were the bugs. Despite her best efforts at pest control, there seemed to be a never-ending supply of centipedes and spiders that had the habit of always appearing when she least expected it. April usually tried to project an air that she wasn’t particularly grossed out by bugs, but the thought of wandering through a pitch black basement and encountering a monstrous spider filled her with a gnawing anxiety.
Hanging the wet blanket on the back of the couch, she steeled her nerves, holding her phone in front of her, allowing the screen to light her path. Reaching their junk drawer, she opened it, rooting around until she found one of several flashlights stashed there. She remembered mocking Mike for putting multiple flashlights in the drawer, but as she pulled one out and its bright white beam slashed through the darkness, she was enormously grateful that he did. Not that she would admit it of course, she couldn't give him that satisfaction, Lord knows she'd never hear the end of it.
Feeling slightly emboldened by the comfort of the flashlight in her hand, she breathed deeply, preparing herself for a quick trip downstairs. Nothing to worry about, you've got this. Quick trip, in and out. You'll have the power back on in no time, then maybe a nice baking show to settle the nerves before bed.
Approaching the stairs to the basement, she shone her flashlight down the stairs. The beam carried down to the bottom, where it seemed to diffuse and scatter. She paused, trying to figure out what exactly she was looking at. It almost looked like, mist? No, that's impossible. It must be a trick of the light. Out of habit, she flicked the switch on the wall, and chuckled to herself as the overhead light remained stubbornly off. Force of habit.
Feeling slightly more courageous, she started down the stairs, her flashlight beam illuminating the path in front of her. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she panned the light back and forth. Something was definitely odd, the air seemed thicker, and there seemed to be a strange haze hanging in the air. The flashlight cast its own shadows as she scanned the room, the light appearing oddly dimmed through the haze. In a moment of panic, she wondered if it was smoke. Sniffing deeply, she detected no odour of smoke, only an earthy, musty smell that reminded her of freshly turned soil. The mist held limply in the air, and she waved her hand through it experimentally. It swirled around her hand, leaving a trail of eddies as her hand completed its arc.
Whoa, this is wild. I better tell Mike about this when he gets home, I don't know what this is but it seems like an expensive fix.
Turning her mind back to the more pressing issue, April wracked her brain, trying to remember where the fuse box was. Scanning the darkness, the flashlight beam played over the walls. Is it just me or is this mist getting thicker?
Locating the dull grey panel on the far wall, April found her target. She took a moment to pump her fist in a physical expression of success. Suddenly, a shadow moved along the wall, low to the ground and darting quickly. April pointed the light towards the movement. The beam of the flashlight illuminated the base of the wall, and she played the beam along it, tracking the movement she had seen. The light revealed nothing of interest, only the light sheen of the plastic vapour barrier and insulation covering the walls. The dull grey concrete of the floor was almost completely hidden under the film of growing mist, and the swirling patterns were almost hypnotic as she stared, the flashlight beam playing along the base of the wall.
I've got to lay off the horror shows, my eyes are playing tricks on me.
Turning her attention back to the fuse panel, April stepped deeper into the basement, her flashlight beam trained on the box. Now, with the panel in front of her, she found herself wondering what exactly she was looking for. Tragically, there were no blinking lights or arrows to point out exactly where the problem was, and truthfully, the fuse box looked exactly the same to her now as it did when it was functioning normally.
Maybe if I open it up, that'll help? Pulling open the access door, she gazed into the box, shining her flashlight inside. She smelled the acrid odour of ozone, and guessed that the lightning strike had blown at least one of the fuses. Now the problem was, which one?
Leaning in for a closer look, April scanned the rows of fuses, hoping one would jump out in an obvious manner to help her search. As she panned through the rows, she saw one fuse with a blackened glass window. One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn't belong…
Chuckling to herself as the childhood song rose in her subconscious, she gingerly touched the fuse, worried that it would be hot. It was cool to the touch, having done its job and shorted before the electrical arc could start a fire. April began to unscrew it carefully. After several turns, it popped free, dropping into her palm. The acrid smell was stronger now, and she was glad that the house hadn't burnt down.
Now, if I were a spare fuse, where would I be? Admittedly, this was outside her area of expertise, and what she would characterize as a “blue” job. Figures that Mike would have to work tonight, of all nights.
Reaching overhead to the top of the panel, April began to carefully feel around, looking for any spare fuses. She recoiled in disgust as the dust stuck to her fingers, and she wiped them clean on her pants. Gotta have a talk with the maid, she's been slacking in the dusting department. An image rose in her mind of a patrician looking man running a white-gloved finger over the fuse panel and casting a disapproving look her way, shaking his head in a silent condemnation of her housekeeping standards. She couldn’t help but smile at the mental image, and she felt some of the tension draining from her shoulders.
Returning her hand to the top of the panel, she continued her careful exploration. The last thing I want is to feel a bug. I might just scream, she thought. As she passed her hand from left to right, her fingers brushed against something hard, and she yelped, pulling her hand back as though burned. Examining her hand in the light, she saw that she was uninjured, although still dusty. Reaching back up, she felt around and found the same hard object. As her fingers played across its surface, she hoped against hope that it was a spare fuse. Grabbing the object, she brought it down towards her face and shone the light towards it. Success! One spare fuse, and in good news it looked to be the same size and shape as the one she had just removed.
Feeling incredibly satisfied with her remarkable home repair skills, April took a moment to examine the new fuse in detail. It had numbers written on it, which truthfully meant nothing to her. What's the worst that can happen?
Lining up the new fuse with the now vacant socket, April began to insert it when she heard a skittering sound behind her. All of her pent up anxiety returned in a flash and she spun, the flashlight cutting through the dark. A shadow moved along the floor, darting along the far wall, she tracked its movement with the light. It disappeared in the low hanging mist, small ripples billowing outwards.
What the fuck was that? It's too big to be a bug. Oh God, is it a rat?
She certainly hoped not. April's fondness for animals did not extend to rats, they were exempt due to their inherent creepiness. She imagined that naked, snake-like tail running over her foot and bit back a scream. Her senses were on high alert, and she imagined that she could hear its squeaking. Scanning frantically with the flashlight, April panned the light all over the floor. Nothing appeared to be moving, although the mist was definitely thicker now than it had been when she first came downstairs.
Whatever had moved in the darkness, it had been between her and the stairs, and the flashlight was no longer as effective as she had hoped with the thickening mist hanging in the air. How bad can it be? It's just a rat. Just a horrible, disgusting rat that’s probably infected with rabies, laying in wait in this dark basement to run out and bite me. She shuddered and the flashlight beam wavered as she pictured its dark, beady little eyes staring at her from a darkened corner.
Torn between her mission of fixing the fuse panel and getting the hell out of the basement, April considered her options, the flashlight dancing wildly around the floor. Nothing moved, and aside from her own heavy breathing and the muted sounds of distant thunder, she heard no other sounds.
Gripping the glass fuse tightly in her hand, she turned back to the fuse panel, screwing it quickly into place while throwing quick glances back over her shoulder. The fuse spun until it ground to a halt, she stepped back and glanced around. Nothing appeared to be happening. She tiptoed carefully over to a nearby wall switch and flicked it rapidly, her flashlight scanning rapidly back and forth over the floor. The mist hung thickly along the floor, covering her ankles and rolling away in gentle waves as she passed through it.
Goddamn it. Why isn't this working?
She turned back to the fuse box, checking the various rows and hoping that she had missed something. Sure enough, she located another two burnt out fuses along the bottom row, their blackened glass windows mocking her. Reaching back up to the top of the box, she carefully ran her hand blindly across, praying that there were two extra fuses hiding up there. April's fingers brushed against something soft and bristly, and it suddenly moved, darting away from her hand. She couldn't bite back her scream this time and she leapt back, dropping the flashlight as she flinched. Her feet tangled together and she lost her balance, falling backwards and landing heavily on her butt. She managed to break her fall before her head hit the floor, and she panted heavily, the edges of genuine panic creeping in as she imagined how close she had come to cracking her head on the concrete floor. She felt her pulse pounding in her temples and she was dangerously close to hyperventilating.
The flashlight glowed nearby, casting a luminous light through the mist. The beam flickered, once, twice, and then went out, plunging the basement into darkness.
No! No no no no no no no! April scrambled forwards, reaching towards the light. She pawed frantically along the floor, searching for the flashlight. Her fingers brushed across cool metal and curled around the barrel, clutching it tightly against her chest. She thumbed the button on and off, the ineffectual clicking deafening to her ears. She slapped the flashlight against her palm and the beam flickered back to life.
Casting the light around the basement, her eye was drawn towards a deeper darkness along the furthest wall. Training the beam in that direction, she saw an inexplicable sight. There was a hole in the wall, roughly two feet in diameter. The hole emerged from the dark soil behind the wall, the edges appearing smooth and rounded. The plastic and insulation that had previously covered it were torn and ragged, hanging limply along the wall. A slow trickle of mist slowly poured out of the hole, tumbling lazily down to the floor.
Well, that explains the mist, at least. What the hell made that hole though? Fuck this, I'm not sticking around to find out.
Turning back to the stairs, the flashlight chose this moment to go out again, plunging her again into darkness.
Fucking piece of shit, come on! April frantically pounded the light against her palm, willing it to turn back on. It flickered weakly, the beam strobing through the darkness. April slammed it against the concrete, willing with every fiber of her being for it to turn back on.
Mercifully, the light returned, the beam cutting through the darkness and illuminating the stairs that would lead her back upstairs and out of this nightmare. April was already fantasizing about never returning to this basement ever again. Maybe even bricking over the door and pretending that it didn’t even exist.
She got back to her feet gingerly, rolling over to her knees and wincing at the pain in her lower back and hips. The journey back to her feet was a slow and careful one, and she played the flashlight over her limbs slowly, looking for any visible injuries. Fortunately, nothing seemed to be broken, and aside from some bruises, she wasn’t injured. Breathing a sigh of relief as she rose, she glanced back towards the stairs, and that's when she saw it.
She froze, her mind struggling to process the image in front of her. Oddly, her mind flashed back to a visit to a natural history museum, and there had been a number of preserved insects on display. She had been particularly fascinated by one of the specimens, and she saw the image clearly in her mind. It had been a tarantula, a massive one the size of a dinner plate, and the card prominently displayed next to it read “Goliath bird eater”, followed by a Latin name that she couldn't pronounce.
The creature in front of her resembled that spider, although this one was jet black, with a hard, chitinous body and sickeningly bristled abdomen. Its fangs were raised menacingly in the air, along with its two front legs. Its other mouth parts (the word pedipalps rose in her mind, unbidden) moved back and forth, as if tasting the air. Several rows of eyes glistened in the beam of the flashlight, reflecting back at her dully. This spider was at least the size of the specimen she had seen at the museum, if not bigger. Its fangs seemed to glisten wetly in the light, and she realized that a low groan was coming from her lips as she tracked its movements.
Frozen in fear, she stood motionless as the spider lowered its front legs slowly to the floor. With all eight legs on the ground, it was almost completely hidden by the mist, only a faint black shape and glossy eyes giving away its position. Abruptly, it darted away to the right, the mist roiling along the floor as it passed.
April's fear turned into complete panic at this moment, and she hurled the flashlight towards the creature, the metal body clattering against the concrete before the light went out again. She hurled herself towards the stairs, scrambling on all fours to climb the flight up to the main floor. Navigating on blind instinct and memory, April shot up the stairs, her mind only on escaping and the solid wooden door she could close behind her.
Chain lightning flickered outside, offering brief flashes of illumination through the windows as she climbed, and she felt the comforting surface of the kitchen tile under her hand as she reached the threshold.
Suddenly, a searing pain shot through her calf, and she kicked out blindly, feeling a hairy mass attached to her leg. Turning towards the pain, she saw the hideous creature clinging to her lower leg, its fangs buried into the meaty part of her calf, illuminated by the brief flashes of lightning outside. She kicked again, throwing all her weight into the effort and the creature spun away into the darkness, a sickening splat echoing from a far corner of the basement.
Crawling into the kitchen, April slammed the door behind her, panting in fear and disgust. She held her right leg gingerly, feeling a tingling numbness spreading from the bite. Two small holes slowly leaked blood down the back of her leg. She tried to wiggle her toes and felt nothing, only a hollow numbness. April tried to pivot her ankle back and forth and her leg stubbornly refused to respond, sitting limply underneath her.
Frantically, April pawed at her pockets, searching for her phone to call for help. The numbness crept through her at an alarming speed as she grasped at her phone, her fingers refusing to close securely around it. A heavy, sinking feeling crept over her, stealing the strength from her limbs, and her phone dropped to the floor, sliding just out of reach of her trembling hands.
She reached towards the phone and collapsed facedown on the floor, her arms outstretched in front of her as the tingling numbness spread throughout her entire body. Her chest felt tight but mercifully she could still breathe, her lungs continuing to inflate and deflate despite the paralytic now working its way through her.
April laid with her cheek on the cool tile, unable to even lift a finger as the storm continued to lash outside. She tried to scream for help and the only sound that emerged from her lips was a low moan, barely audible to even her own ears.
Shit shit shit! Fuck, what now? At least that thing is down in the basement, I hope that it's dead. April willed herself to move, anything, Even just a finger to activate the emergency function on her phone, but her body remained paralyzed, the glow of her phone screen mere inches away from her outstretched hand. The only sounds in the house were the low rumble of thunder and the slow rasp of her own breathing.
The darkness was oppressive, feeling like something alive closing in around her. April continued her frantic struggle to overcome the toxin without success, and slow tears rolled down her cheeks as the magnitude of her helplessness sank in. The lightning continued unabated, occasionally illuminating the house in brief flashes. She heard a soft rustling, just out of sight, coming from somewhere to her right and ahead. Unable to lift her head, her eyes tracked towards the sound and she felt her heartrate jump as she tried to locate its source.
Lightning flashed again, and her eyes frantically darted around the room as she tried to locate the source of the low rustling. As the flash faded, it came again, moving behind the island in the kitchen. Eyes wide, April laid on the floor, helpless, willing her limbs to respond and feeling her heart pounding relentlessly in her chest.
Lightning flashed again, and her eyes went wide as a black shape emerged from behind the kitchen island, the hairy legs coming into view first. The darkness returned, as oppressive as ever, and April felt her breath hitch as she tried to scream, producing only a low moan from her numb lips. She listened intently, hoping for any clues as to where the creature was now.
Lightning flashed, and she gasped in horror as the spider came into full view. This one was even bigger, with a body at least a foot and a half across. Its legs extended at least twice as far, and she tried to imagine how it had fit through the hole in the basement wall. Her mind raced, trying to reconcile the impossible size of the monstrous arachnid but here it was in front of her, twice the size of the one in the basement and even uglier.
She was sure that she would have passed out from hyperventilating, if not for the slow poison working through her body, slowing her heartrate and breathing. The creature crept closer, its front legs tracing over her body slowly and tentatively, testing her for a reaction. April became aware of a low keening sound coming from her lips and realized that she was screaming in terror, the paralyzing effect of the venom reducing her screams to a tinny whine. It prodded her lightly with its front legs, pausing as it waited for a reaction. Seemingly satisfied that she was paralyzed, it squatted down, snaring her outstretched wrist with a strand of silk it drew from its abdomen. Slowly, it tugged on the silk, dragging her hand back towards her body and pausing again. Feeling like a trapped animal, April willed her limbs to move, summoning every ounce of effort she could manage. Her body refused to respond, laying still on the floor as the spider collected her other arm, silk tangling around her wrist as it drew her arms together behind her back.
Now emboldened, the spider wasted no time, wrapping webs over and around her torso and arms. April was shocked at how quickly it moved, rolling her effortlessly from side to side as it layered its webs over her. In a matter of moments, her arms were pinned against her torso, held securely by the sticky silken wrappings. It quickly moved on to her legs, trapping them together in a single tube, welding them together and effectively mummifying her under multiple layers.
Even through the numbness, April could feel the pressure of the webs holding her in place, a steady squeeze that offered no chance of escape. Thankfully, the creature had left her head free, the wrappings terminating at her neck as it rolled her back and forth, solidifying her bindings. A high-pitched whine escaped her lips and the beast paused, regarding her with its dead black eyes.
The spider changed tactics abruptly, spinning a wide web and pulling it tightly over her mouth, gluing her lips together. It spun more webs, wrapping them around and around her head, covering her from her neck all the way to the top of her head. She screamed as best as she could, only a faint, muffled squeal emerging from the wrappings as the silk covered her eyes, gluing them shut. A band of webbing pulled tight over her nose, smashing it flat and she panicked even further as her air was cut off. She squirmed in the wrapping and realized that the paralytic must be slowly wearing off.
The creature paused its wrapping, and she felt a stiff bristled leg pass under her nose. The web parted, cool air flowed and she inhaled frantically, breathing heavily as her airway returned. It resumed wrapping her head, applying more and more punishingly tight layers over, under and around her head but paying particular attention to keep her nose free.
Seemingly satisfied with her wrappings, she felt the creature move off of her. She flexed against her bonds experimentally, testing their strength and her own returning motor control. Her body still felt sluggish, as though she was moving underwater, but she could feel a returning sensation. She tried to flex her extremities but the webbing held her securely, not even able to wiggle a finger as they were glued securely to her body and to each other. Her toes were slightly better, and she flexed them repeatedly, hoping to speed her recovery from the toxin.
The spider pounced unexpectedly, layering more and more silk over her feet and legs. She felt a steady pressure pulling her legs towards her butt, and more webs followed, pulling her into a tight hogtie. She moaned into the gag and squirmed, trying to kick the spider away. Her struggles were useless against it and it completed its wrapping, leaving her securely hogtied on the kitchen floor.
April was no stranger to bondage, but this was undoubtedly the tightest she had ever been tied. The adhesive quality of the webs ensured that her bonds stuck to her skin and each other, and the webs moved with her, holding her tightly but allowing for some flexibility for her to breathe. The webs seemed to contract as they dried, cocooning her tightly. If it had been Mike instead of some freakish spider, she might even be turned on, but her terror eclipsed any arousal she might have otherwise felt.
Feeling the spider move away, she sobbed and rocked from side to side, attempting to roll into her side and alleviate the pressure on her chest. Managing only several inches of movement from side to side, she flexed her legs as hard as she could, trying to overbalance and fall to her side. After several attempts and a titanic effort, success, and she rolled over to her left side, breathing heavily through her nose. Her entire body was wrapped in a sticky, unyielding web, rendering her blind, mute and barely able to struggle, and she found herself wondering what exactly the next stage of her escape plan was.
She didn’t have long to wait, as she felt the spider crawl over her again, centering its efforts on her lower back. She writhed in her restraints, hoping to scare it away, and she felt a brief moment of satisfaction as its weight lifted off of her, the touches of its many legs tickling her skin underneath the webs.
She felt a slow pressure at her lower back and squealed as she was slowly dragged along the floor. With her eyes covered, she had no idea where exactly she was, and as she was slowly pulled, she wasn’t sure if she was even still in the kitchen. After what could have been minutes or hours, the spider finally stopped pulling her, and she laid still, breathing heavily through her nose but still mercifully on her side. Thunder crashed nearby, and she heard the skittering of the spider as it moved in response, fleeing rapidly away. Maybe it doesn’t like loud noises? That would explain why it gagged me, at least.
The roar of the thunder subsided, and April felt the spider’s return as its legs lightly played over the surface of her tightly restrained body. She managed a muffled scream, shaking her head in protest. The slow pressure at her back returned, and she felt herself being lifted off the floor and into the air. She squealed as her weight left the floor and she dangled precariously in the air. How the hell is this thing strong enough to lift a grown woman?
April found herself suspended, swaying back and forth as she was slowly lifted higher and higher into the air. She strained against her bonds, flexing her arm and leg muscles to try and break free. The silk held her tightly, rendering her struggles useless, and she found herself pressed against a hard surface. Blind, she felt the spider moving around her and felt the pressure of additional webs securing her in place. From the feel of it, the spider had lifted her to the junction of the wall and ceiling and was now fixing her in place with even more webs. April found herself wondering how all these webs could even fit inside this creature. She screamed again, struggling for all she was worth as another, darker thought crossed her mind. What does a spider this size even eat? Oh god, is it going to be me?
Her mind flashed back to a nature documentary, watching a spider cocoon a fly in webbing and setting it in a corner of its web to feast on later. She couldn’t help but think that’s what it was doing with her right now. Despite the intensity of her struggles, she achieved no meaningful movement, hanging helpless and hogtied under what must have been hundreds of yards of spider silk.
She sobbed under her wrappings, pleading with whichever deity would listen to not let this creature eat her. Suddenly, a crack of thunder sounded nearby and she heard the spider skitter away again. To April, this felt like a last minute reprieve from the governor while sitting on death row.
Choose your ending:
Ending A: April’s escape
Struggling frantically, the webs held her tightly and inescapably, and April’s terror only grew. After hanging limply in her wrappings for a small eternity, she suddenly smelled smoke. The lightning must have lit something on fire nearby. Fire meant firefighters, and if they came she might have a chance of escape. The odour of smoke continued to grow, and from beneath the wrappings April saw an orange glow flickering at the edges of her vision.
Shit, the fire is at my house!
Hoping that the nosy Mrs. Nelson across the street saw the blaze and called for emergency services, April prayed that the firefighters would arrive before either the spiders or the flames claimed her. Exhausted from her struggles, she hung limply in her bindings, waiting for whatever fate had in store for her. She began to cough as the smoke filled the house, the sound of crackling flames approaching ever closer. Suddenly, she was weightless, falling to the ground and landing heavily on her side, knocking the wind from her. Struggling for air, April kicked her legs and realized that the wrappings hogtying her had come loose, burned away by the approaching flames.
Of course, spider silk burns easily!
Full of sudden optimism, April rolled towards the flickering orange light, still tightly mummified but the promise of escape within reach. She inched towards the growing heat, feeling the webs around her beginning to melt and stretch with every movement. The flames licked at her, and she recoiled from the heat as the webs peeled away from her face. She managed to pull her arms free, ripping the silk from her mouth and coughing heavily. She swung her legs through the flames, the webs singeing and parting effortlessly.
Jumping to her feet, she dashed towards the front door and ran outside, ignoring the rain and panting heavily. She had never felt so free, and she looked back at her burning house with a sense of relief that was indescribable.
Good, I hope it burns down and takes those fucking spiders with it.
With webbing still stuck to her clothes and hair, April watched in glee as the flames consumed her home, oblivious to the rain pouring down her face and smiling as she watched the flames burn through the webs that had held her in the front hallway.
Distant sirens echoed in the distance, and she grinned as the flames filled the open doorway. She heard a hissing sound as the flames grew in size and intensity, and she imagined that it was the monstrous spider cooking in the heat within, not just the sound of rain sizzling as it met the growing flames.
Take your time boys, we should let this one burn for a while. You can never be too careful.
Ending B: Spider Food
Hanging limply in her bindings, April felt the spider’s return, only moments after the roar of thunder had rolled away into the distance. The bristly legs tickled her lightly, even through the layers of silk and clothing covering her. She squirmed helplessly in her wrappings, mmphing into her gag. She felt the piercing sting of the creature’s fangs in her shoulder and the spreading numbness as its venom again coursed through her body. Trying to fight against the effects, April felt her heart rate and breathing slow again, and time seemed to slow as the paralyzing effect of the poison ran through her.
Unable to even struggle at this point, the spider wrapped more and more webs around her, cocooning her into the junction of the wall and ceiling. Feeling numb all over, April couldn’t even feel the pressure of the silk squeezing her all over. She felt herself drifting away, her consciousness slipping away gradually. The last sound that she heard was the skittering of hundreds of legs moving towards her and she experienced one last moment of terror as she pictured dozens of the creatures converging on her, hungry and single-minded in their pursuit of an easy and helpless meal.
Blackness closed in on her vision, narrowing it down to a pinpoint before she slipped blissfully into unconsciousness, one last soft moan to mark her passing as the horde converged upon her.
The end