A Spider’s Trail
A lightning bolt followed by a heavy bang…
The rain gushed down, placing the forest underwater in no time.
Roe, deer, boar, and other wild animals ran out of the forest into the adjacent mountain area and sought a place to shelter there.
BANG!
Again a lightning bolt followed by an even more severe thundering than the previous one.
Cholvemus Norr, an Arachnid who was hiding in his burrow under the ground, felt the water trickling in and began anxiously looking for an exit.
He kept digging until he reached the surface, and then hurriedly fled from his den.
When he saw the other animals running away, he started to panic again.
These creatures had never seen Arachnia before, though strangely, they seemed to pay no attention to him; with the exception of the last herd, whose way he’d barred as they’d passed, before fleeing deeper into the forest.
Moments later, the very same herd of wild boars took up pursuit, and their numbers drove Cholvemus Norr to the other side of the backwoods. When he turned around the next time the herd was nowhere to be seen. Now, as he focused all of his eyes back in front of him, he found himself at the foot of a hollowed-out mountain, which had seemingly appeared from nowhere. What would he find within its walls?
The next morning…
The intercity train between Inverness and Fort William was running at high speeds over the track that traveled through the mountains. Rolf, who worked in Fort Augustus, arrived at his regular route in the busy morning train station.
Opposite Rolf was a man a bit younger as he was.
“Good morning,” Rolf said.
“Morning,” said James in turn, “Everything okay?”
“Glad it’s Friday,” Rolf said, “there seemed to be no end to this week!”
On the way, they talked about their jobs and about plans for the weekend.
They had known each other for a long time, taking the train together every day for the last ten years; riding in the same car, and sitting on the same seats.
Rolf was forty-two and worked as a technician in a company where he had been employed for nearly two decades. James had been working fifteen years as a security officer at
Fort William Customs.
The two men had become so familiar with this ride, that it wasn’t noticed when they had entered a tunnel. However, when the train slowed down, they both looked out of the window.
“We can’t be there yet. That would be offly fast.”
Then suddenly, the train seemed to be attempting an emergency stop, causing the wagon to shudder violently. For a brief moment, it was completely silent – when all were startled by the most unnatural, hellish-sounding cry. The light inside flickered and then went dark due to an apparent engine failure, and there was a tense atmosphere, which eventually took possession of those onboard.
Rolf and James stood up from their chairs at the same time.
“Hello!” Rolf called. CONTINUE