“... and she is not happy,” said Alara.
Kate stared at the giant spider in horror. Never in her twelve years had she seen a spider this big. It was unnatural. Eight furry legs stretched across the width of the tunnel. Four pairs of beady eyes glared at them from a small head, the large sack-like abdomen at the back almost touched the tunnel roof.
Yet it was the enormous fangs that terrified Kate the most. They were huge and easily as thick as Kate’s wrist.
Someone grabbed her dressing gown and dragged her backwards.
“Come on, Kate,” urged Siptah.
The urgency in his voice broke the spell. Kate turned and ran. She noticed that Alara and Emma were already a good distance ahead of them. They turned a corner and for a moment Kate could still see a dim light from their torch. Then it was gone.
A chilling hiss almost made Kate fall over. It came from the spider. Kate looked over her shoulder to find the spider’s body vibrating, and the black and orange bristles on its legs rubbing together. The hissing got louder and louder.
Kate’s heart raced.
Siptah shoved her forward. “Run, Kate. It is going to attack,” he shouted. “Run ... faster.” He struggled to breath and talk. “We ... have to ... reach ... the next ... cavern.” A pause. “Not her ... territory.”
Kate tried to run faster. Her breath came in short gasps. Her heartbeat went wild. The foot wraps allowed her feet to grip the surface, but her muscles strained under the effort. She battered her hands against the walls trying to keep her body upright. Yet her legs refused to go any faster.
The hissing stopped. There was an awful moment of silence, and then a loud scurrying sound filled Kate’s ears. Something scraped against the walls.
She could hear Siptah’s heavy breathing. She could feel his presence right behind her. It helped to spur her on. They ran along the tunnel.
The scurrying and scraping grew louder. Louder. It gained on them.
“Run!”
Tears sprang to her eyes. “I can’t.”
“You must.”
Her chest tightened. She needed air in her lungs. She gasped. A pain stabbed at her side. Siptah’s boots pounded on the ground behind her. The torch barely gave off enough light.
Siptah grunted.
Kate stopped and looked back, one hand resting on the cold stone beside her to keep herself steady. The huge spider was right behind Siptah. Its fangs dripped with venom. Clawed segments reached out to grab him, but he was too fast. He clambered to his feet, and pushed Kate into motion. They continued to run.
Suddenly the tunnel opened out into another cavern. She caught sight of the torch as it flew past her and landed amongst a cluster of rocks.
Kate stopped and spun around, gasping for breath.
With the light from yet another Fire Well, Siptah no longer needed the torch. But he did need a free hand for a more important object - his axe. He turned to face the spider.
“No!” Kate doubled over in pain. “No, Siptah. Don’t.”
The spider reared up, towering over Siptah. He thrust his spear and then raced forward. The spear fell short of its mark.
A grey mass of what looked like vomit spurted out of the fangs. Venom. Siptah jumped to one side, grabbed the spear from the ground and threw it again. This time, it penetrated a segment of leg. Siptah twisted around and ran at the spider again. He yanked the spear free and retreated.
The spider’s hiss vibrated around the walls of the cavern. It turned its back on Siptah.
Hope filled Kate. Maybe it was going to leave ...
Silver webbing shot out of the tip of the oversized abdomen, landing on top of Siptah. He fell to the ground with a loud groan.
Kate stood paralysed for only a second before looking over her shoulder. Siptah needed help. What was she supposed to do? Where was Alara?
Alara ran towards them, her face dark and angry, like thunder. The crease between those mysterious eyes showed determination.
Kate turned back to look at Siptah.
The spider’s abdomen flicked the silver substance to one side. It clung to the wall of the cave. Within seconds a small web began to form. As the web tightened, Siptah was drawn towards it and wrapped in a mesh of silver threads.
“Siptah!” both Kate and Alara shouted at the same time.
Alara raced passed Kate and pushed her dagger into the spider’s abdomen sack. The spider hissed, flicked its rear end again and knocked Alara off her feet.
Kate watched, then turned and ran to the discarded torch. Stabbing a giant creature like that wasn’t proving to be effective, they needed something more. They needed flames and smoke.
She grabbed the torch, swung around and ran towards the Fire Well. Once there, she bent over and ripped the end of her dressing gown away. She remembered Joe burning an old dressing gown once. The fumes stunk and that’s what she hoped for now.
Shielding her face, she held the torch into the Fire Well. The intense heat worried her, so she quickly pulled it out again. The flame raged with heat.
She ran back to the spider. Alara was busy trying to cut Siptah free. The thick, sticky threads would not separate. A silk cocoon almost completely covered Siptah.
Kate pushed her fear aside and quickly covered the end of the torch with the strip of dressing gown. At first, the flames died down. Kate’s heart sank, but before she could retreat, the material caught alight and the flame flared up again brighter than before and then changed colour. The hiss of the spider was met with another kind of hiss—the material sizzling.
Kate touched the torch to the silver thread on the cave wall. The web broke. Siptah and Alara tumbled to the ground. Kate ignored them and turned towards the spider instead. The flame, the heat and the smell drove the spider back. Then, when Kate thought her plan wasn’t going to work, the spider jumped into the tunnel and raced away.
Kate grinned. “It worked.”
As a deterrent, Kate placed the torch in the entrance of the tunnel before returning to Siptah and Alara. Surprised, Kate found the princess’s arm moulded into the cocoon.
“Good work, Kate. You will have to cut us both free.”
“What with?” asked Kate, looking around the ground for something to use.
“Unfortunately, my dagger is inside the web,” replied Alara. “You will have to use the axe.”
Kate picked up the axe. It was heavier than she expected. The sharp edge of the axe broke into the slimy, sticky web, but Kate had to pull the stuff off Alara with her hands.
Soon Alara was free, and she was able to help Kate disentangle Siptah. Once the last of the silver threads were pulled away, he blinked and looked up at them both.
“You took long enough.”
Despite everything, Kate laughed.
They helped Siptah to his feet. He looked a sorry sight with his clothing oozing with slime and a mass of tangled fur clumped together above large eyes.
“We must rest,” announced Alara.
“What? Here? Are you nuts? What if the spider comes back?” asked Kate.
“I doubt that it will. This is not within its territory. We will sleep for a few hours and, just to be sure, we will ensure the torch is alight in the entrance.”
Sleep here? It seems dangerous to me. Thoughts tumbled around Kate’s head. Is it night? Have we been gone all day? Are Mum and Joe looking for us?
“Emma?” called Kate, turning to look around the cavern. “Where are you? It’s safe to come out now.”
Silence.
“Emma?” Kate looked at Alara. “Where is she?”
“I told her to stay hidden over there.” Alara pointed towards the next exit, and then walked in that direction.
Kate followed her. Maybe Emma was too scared to come out. Maybe she’d fallen asleep.
“I left her here.” Alara stared into the gap between the rocks and the wall.
Kate stared into the gap also. A sense of dread overwhelmed her.
Emma was gone.