Page 69 of Widow

I stared at the ceiling, counting the small rocks that jutted out. I had started over several times, various sounds on the other side of the door distracting me.

Things went quiet after a while. The only sound in the room was the faint buzzing of the fireflies in the light and my breath.

There was a noise outside my door, and I sat up, straining to hear. There was a faint squeak, and then the lock tumbled. The door didn't open.

I stood and approached the door slowly. Another squeak. The Widow decided at that moment to wake up for her nap inside of me and start to claw her way back forward.

"No, you bitch," I muttered. I pushed her back and opened the door as slowly and quietly as possible.

Picard was sitting on the doorknob. His hands began glowing, and he hit me with a ball of light just as the Widow pushed forward.

I stumbled backward and landed on my butt. I bit my lip, the coppery taste of blood filling my mouth. I really needed to stop falling.

At least there was enough cushion there.

"Picard!" I whisper yelled at him. "What are you doing here? Are the guys outside?"

"I followed when they took you." My jaw nearly hit the floor at understanding his words. "I hit you with some of my magic so you could understand me."

I just stared at him. Give me a wolf. Give me the devil. Hell, I'd even be fine if Kai turned into a merman. But a talking monkey?

I rubbed my eyes.

"We need to go. I'm not sure how long until your spider friend tries to come out again." He jumped onto my shoulder, and I stood.

I grabbed my boots, not bothering to put them on, and took off out of the room in the direction Picard pointed. We exited into a tunnel that was humid and dark. He gave off a faint glow of light so I wouldn't trip over any rocks.

"Put your shoes on." I stopped at the mouth of the cave system we were exiting and slipped my feet into my boots.

"Where are they?" I walked out of the cave and darted into the trees that weren't far away. Picard didn't tell me not to head that way, so I continued at a brisk pace.

"They're on their way."

I could see figures coming towards us in the distance. My heart was beating wildly in my chest from running and from escaping. I was running now, the figures drawing closer and closer.

I could almost make out their faces, but then my knees gave way, and I fell to the forest floor. Leaves and sticks dug into the palms of my hands. Picard screeched from a few feet away. He had flown off my shoulder.

I tried to stand, but my legs weren't cooperating. I was so close, yet so far away from them. They were drawing closer.

The Widow was fighting her way forward, harder than I’d ever felt her push before. She’d been holding out on me.

I fought back. I tried to push her down, but she just kept coming forward harder and harder each time. A scream left my throat. I wasn’t sure if it was me who screamed or her.

It was a pained scream. A scream of two individuals fighting for control. I didn’t want to let her have it.

My body fell limp to the forest floor. It started to convulse and shake. I couldn’t really tell who was in control anymore, but it didn’t feel like I was.

Maybe this was how it always happened, she had just never let me see before.

Spiders poured out of me. Picard let out the loudest screech I had ever heard from such a small animal and took off running towards Kai and Ric. I could see their faces clearly now. They were panicked.

Scared.

There were so many spiders. I hadn’t even known that many existed inside of me. I watched in horror as Rick scooped up Picard, and they made an abrupt one-eighty run back the way they had come.

The spiders were faster than them. I didn’t think that this time the spiders would be so forgiving. Not with her in complete charge.

“It’s over, Camellia.” Her voice was deep and raspy, not at all like mine. “Let go and I’ll let them live.”

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