Warslave

Chapter 12: The Coven

He wondered why no one remained in the building. Something must have happened to drive people out, after all. Probably gang violence, but it could be for a number of reasons. He looked around, waiting for Iph to show up, digging through the rubble. It was strangely quiet, now that the bugs were dead. Places weren't usually this quiet.

He asked himself why Vincent would have him meet Iph here. It could have been simply to stay out of sight, but then it was never that easy with that man. Wolf simply didn't trust him, and he had earned that.

Wolf pushed aside a piece of rubble, too big for a normal human to move, coming upon a skeleton.

"Looks dead alright. Bones half dissolved. Some acid based weapon? Or a creature. GenTech or other monsters, could be."

He looked at the bones, took in the scent.

"Enzymes? Old and dead, but..."

He picked up a fresher kill a little to his left.

'Only a day old. Still around, very quiet. Afraid?"

It had a sharp survival instinct then. He looked at the fresh corpse. A teen, who had come to the abandoned building.

"Why? Party? Challenge? Just to hang out? Still dissolving, injected with digestive fluids... ah, fuck..."

It wasn't the only fresh corpse. He smelled the other one above him. The creature that held it made no noise, and it had no scent. It could even mask its heartbeat.

But it had thoughts. Simple thoughts.

Hunger.

Fear.

Anger, at an intruder in its nest. Was it working up the courage to attack him? He'd rather it didn't.

Wolf looked up, meeting the giant spider's gaze, noticing the venom dripping from its jaws.

"Chelicerae."

He corrected his own thoughts. Pedantic, he knew, but mandibles was the wrong words, and jaws was technically also incorrect.

It had obviously thrived on whatever animals and visitors had entered its lair. Wolf estimated it at four metres in height, with sleek, carapaced legs, ending in clawed feet.

Its eyes were staring right back at him.

Both hunters remained completely still, eyes locked, neither willing to move first, both out of fear.

But Wolf had been trained to deal with fear. Wolf was familiar with it, whereas the beast had never met anything that had induced such a feeling in it before. Wolf drew his sword, acting fully on instinct. Those instincts were all screaming at him to make sure that thing could not hurt him.

Other creatures would have fled from the great spider. Wolf attacked, jumping up towards the creature, slashing at it, cutting through the carapace and opening up a wound in its thorax. Green lifeblood gushed forth, and Wolf took care not to touch any of it.

A good thing he did, he had to note, as the thing's blood seemed to dissolve any plants or flesh it came into contact with.

Wolf dodged back as the thing struck with one of its front legs. He lost his footing, falling back down. The spider tried to take advantage, but instead found Wolf's sword flashing out. Pain coursed through it's leg, and it also lost its footing, falling with the Wolf. They landed hard, Wolf rolled back and knew he'd made a mistake.

A piercing pain in his side signified the beast's chelicerae pumping its digestive fluids into his body. It hurt like a bitch, but it was not going to kill him.