ARACHNOEXTINCTION

“I didn’t think it was possible to become sexually excited by guns, but I now know that it is quite possible,” I said unable to close my jaw.

“Oh, I’ve known that for a while,” said Karen as she started pulling weapons off the wall and passing them out. “Justin has never let me anywhere near guns most of our lives. I know how to clean them, load them, and get them ready. But I’ve never shot one. Older protective big brother is a role he loves to play.”

“How sweet,” I said with a dramatic sigh. “Well, since we’re all locked in here, time for me to poke around in the hole?” I asked.

“Sure,” said Karen with a smirk and stopped passing out the weapons.

“...the hole the spiders made...to clarify,” I said.

“Oh...yeah, whatever,” said Karen and went back to passing out weapons.

Darren and Justin pushed up behind me to get a look at the screen. My nose filled with the smell of their musk, old food and angry man body odor. I tried to take short breaths to limit my intake of the tainted air. The drone dropped into the hole, which continued down to the next floor. I did a quick scan with the camera; lots of their webs were on the floor, but no sign on any spiders.

“Should I look around or go straight down to the next floor?” I asked.

“Go through. It’s the bottom floor, and should be the electrical room,” Darren said. “This will give us an idea of what we’re going to be dealing with to get the electricity back on.”

I took Justin’s lack of argument as a sign he agreed, and lowered the drone through the hole once more. I almost dropped the controller when we got a visual on what was in the electrical room.

Hundreds of eggs were scattered all over the room. It must have been several hundred. The eggs were covered in webs and stuck to the ceiling, the walls, and all over the floor. There were more spider eggs than visible floor, wall, or ceiling. Several spiders were scurrying about, tending to the eggs and leading the newborns out of the room, to food, I presumed. Dr. Kale was probably being used as food for the newborn spiders. I couldn’t push that dark thought from my mind.

“So...we’re going to need more guns,” I whispered. “That is a whole lot of nope.”

“We’re going to need a lot more men, some big-ass guns, and a distraction,” Justin said.

“You do not need more guys. You have me,” Karen said and cocked her shotgun.

Justin said nothing; he took the controller from my hand and showed Karen what we were seeing.

“Y’all need a helluva lot more men,” she said.

“You said distraction. You have something in mind?” I asked Justin.

“We load up,” he pointed to everyone except Karen and me, “and make a lot of noise. Meanwhile, you two sneak in from that hole in the ground and get our power back.”

Justin handed the drone back to me.

“Why us?” I asked.

“Karen needs to get down there to fix the power and you need to watch her back. You are a good enough shot to defend her if a spider or two comes back, but not good enough to take the place of Justin or me for the distraction,” Darren said.

“So that’s the plan? Make a lot of noise and hope to live long enough for Karen to turn the power back on?” I said.

“Yes. That is what we are going to do,” Darren said in a commanding voice.

“We do not have the convenience of time to come up with something better. We need to act now,” Justin said.

“So we do that and hope for the rescue to come. Sounds brilliant,” I said and shook my head.

“If you have a better idea, please speak up. I’m very willing to try something that will get us out of here,” Darren said.

“Dr. Kale?” I said with a gasp.

“He’s long dead at this point. No need to waste lives trying to find him,” Darren said, leaning against the wall with his eyes shut just like he was outside the mammoth room.

“No, I can see him,” I said tapping on the screen.

Darren’s eyes sprung open and a darkness flashed across his face. It was gone in an instant and he hurried over to look at the screen. Maybe I had imagined the dark look. I still wasn’t sure if I could trust myself.

“Where is he?” he demanded.

I pointed on the screen so everyone could see. Up in the corner of the electrical room ceiling was Dr. Kale. He was wrapped up in so much spider web, that we could only see his head. There was blood dripping from the bottom of the web ball he was in, but I could see slight movement in the web that gave me the indication that he was breathing.

“He’s not dead yet,” Justin said, surprised.

“Why wouldn’t they kill him?” Karen asked.

“Trap for us? To lure us after him? Maybe feed their young? There are a ton of eggs in that room,” I said.

“They took him so fast, with no sign of where they were headed. I don’t think he’s alive for us,” Darren said. “They must have something planned for him.”

“Could they possibly know that he was the reason they hatched?” Karen asked.

“I don’t see how that is possible,” Darren said. “These monsters aren’t the compassionate kind anyways.”

“Whatever he is alive for, I think it’s safe to say it’s nothing pleasant,” I said.

Without a single word spoken, it was clear everyone agreed. A few people looked like they were going to be sick.

“So should we try and save him when we’re in the room?” I asked.

“Read the situation. If it’s too risky, don’t bother. Get in and out,” Darren said. “No risking injury or death on his behalf. It is his fault and his alone that he is in this mess. Without him experimenting with the eggs, then more than one hundred lives wouldn’t have been lost today, and he would be fine. This is his punishment for his actions.”

“Assess his injury,” Justin said. “We don’t have much for first aid around here, so any substantial injury just put him out of his misery instead of letting him bleed out.”

“I...don’t know if I can do that,” I said. “Shooting spiders in the heat of the moment is one thing, but killing Dr. Kale? While he’s webbed up and unconscious? I just don’t know, man. I can’t imagine being able to make myself pull the trigger.”

“Think of it this way; if you don’t kill him, then you’re the reason he is going to suffer through hours of agonizing pain just to die anyways. You’re doing him a favor, and he would thank you. Any of us would do the same for you,” Justin said.

“I’m so thrilled any of you would be willing to kill me,” I said in a not-so-ecstatic tone.

Darren and Justin shrugged in unison.

“It’s what we do,” they said together. Then they high-fived, because they were excited they spoke in unison. That was totally what cool government agents and trained killers do.

One of the other guys in the group raised his hand.

“This isn’t high school, what is it?” I asked.

“Don’t any of us get a say in what we do? I don’t think the distraction is--”

“We didn’t even bother giving you a name; do you really think you get a choice in any of this?” Justin said.

A sullen look fell over the man as he lowered his hand.

“Are we going to die?” he asked in a squeaky voice.

“This guy,” Justin said with a scoff.

“Wait. Guys, I have an idea. It’s perfect! We can use the drone to--” as I spoke a web shot into the camera and the drone was brought to the ground. I caught a glimpse of a spider as it crushed the drone with its pincers in an instant. “Cancel that.”

“Christ, that thing was bigger than a car. This is ludicrous; how the hell are we supposed to kill that?” Justin said and shook his head in disbelief.

“Lots of bullets,” Darren said.

“So, is there rope or anything in here that we can use to lower ourselves into the electrical room?” Karen asked.

“If by rope you mean...I got nothing, yeah there’s no rope.” Darren said.

“There are a lot of spider webs?” I offered.

“You expect me to cover myself in that crap and trust it to lower me down into the room? From two floors up? Are you freaking kidding me?” she said.

“Well, it’s that or we jump and hope we don’t break anything?” I said.

She let out an angry snort, like how I imagine a dragon would, and started loading ammunition into the guns.

“Your sister is so terrifying in every way,” I said to Justin.

“When I would get in trouble as a kid, my parents would threaten to tell my sister so I would behave,” Justin said. I could see the fear in his eyes as his mind took him back to those moments.

“No child should have to go through that,” Darren said and patted him on the shoulder.

“How long until we move out?” I asked them.

“Just be ready. Darren and I are working out the distraction, and then it’s go time,” Justin said, then he and Darren walked off on their own, talking in hushed voices.

I walked over to help Karen prepare the guns. Seconds after picking up a rifle, I remembered I knew nothing about them.

“Ugh, give me that,” she said, snatching a rifle from my hand. “Just sit there and look pretty, I’ll handle this.”

“I am very good at that. I’m as pretty as a princess,” I said.

She threw me a skeptical look, and then went back to silently loading and preparing the weapons.

“So where did you learn all this apparent knowledge of wires and whatever you’ll be fixing down there?” I asked Karen to fill the awkward silence that had fallen upon us.

“Well, princess, our father was an electrician. We used to spend all of our summer outside of school working with him. Mostly setting up the wiring in new houses, sometimes we would do a business or two. Once he passed, I kept working in that field while attending school. Meanwhile, Justin quit to focus on his creative writing degree,” she said.

“Um, what?” I asked her, unable to peel the stunned expression from my face. “Justin has a degree in creative writing?”

“A Ph.D. actually, with a focus on poetry,” she said and handed me the last loaded rifle. With a smile, she said, “He has a beautiful, gentle soul.”

“Aww, he’s just a big softy. That makes me want to cry and laugh until I ruin my pants,” I said, looking over at him. I think he heard me, because he looked back at me, murder sparkling in his eyes.

“So what do you know about Darren? Something seems kind of...off about him,” I muttered to Karen. I was hoping to calm my suspicious about him. Half of me was hoping that Karen was also suspicious of Darren, so I didn’t feel like my paranoia was controlling me.

“What do you mean?” she asked and glanced over at him.

“When I first got here, it seemed like Justin was definitely in charge, and Darren was hardly more than a bored security worker. But, ever since the spiders started attacking, Darren has seemed like he’s taken control, and Justin is following his orders,” I said.

Karen bit her lip a bit while watching Darren and Justin scheme, and flashed me a nervous gaze. I was onto something.

“Alright, I’m only telling you this because there’s a high probability that we die here,” she started.

“High probability, like over ninety-nine percent, yes,” I agreed and waited for her to continue.

“He was some kind of military special forces for a while, not sure how many years, but all his work is crazy classified. We were only told the bare minimum when he joined the team. Naturally, Dr. Kale tried to snoop, but even he couldn’t break past certain seals. Believe it or not, Dr. Kale was a genius, especially when it came to digging for information he should know nothing about. You think he was supposed to learn of the discovery of the eggs deep inside some glacier? Not a chance,” Karen said. She sucked in a deep breath and continued in a whisper. “Only after he found out was he able to convince some idiots to send them here for monitoring. Anyways, after Darren had finished serving in the military, he was recruited into the CIA. He worked for them until he joined us up here. He might still be working for them; it wouldn’t surprise me if they sent him here to keep an eye on something as important as the work that was being done in this facility. Dr. Kale was pretty sure the government sent him here to spy on us or something, which is just crazy. Right?”

“Why is it crazy to think the government would spy on this facility?” I asked.

“Because they have access to the entire camera system here; why would they need Darren here? If he was sent here I seriously doubt it is for the purpose of spying,” she said.

“Okay, good point,” I said. It seems like my concern of Darren’s intentions was not completely unmerited. That’s when a thought struck me. “How long after the eggs were delivered did Darren arrive?”

“Darren showed up about a month beforehand, why?”

“I think Darren was sent here to watch the spider eggs,” I said in a whisper.

“What are you saying?” she said in a hushed voice to match mine.

“My boss knew about the eggs. He wanted to see what Dr. Kale would do with them if he had free reign. I think Darren was sent here because the eggs. I bet there was a good chance that it was known before the eggs even get here they could still hatch. Dr. Kale claimed he was under the impression that whatever he did wouldn’t be enough to bring life to the spiders. If the government knew that they could become active again…they lied about them possibility of the eggs hatching so Dr. Kale wouldn’t hold back,” I said. “Dr. Kale thought he was the only one here who was aware of what the eggs were. With the thought that the eggs were basically dead and no one knew what he was doing, he was free to do literally anything at all. The only way for the eggs to be brought back, from what I can assume, is some very drastic experimentation. The kind of experimentation that would only be done if there were zero consequences.”

“You think the eggs hatching were intentional? That Dr. Kale was set up?” Karen asked. Uncertainty was sketched on her face. I had to admit it was a bit far-fetched, but it still made sense.

“Darren was stationed here either to make sure the eggs did hatch, or in case they did. His arrival was more than just a coincidence. He was serving as the government keeping an eye on this secret project,” I said. “I wish there was a way for us to access the cameras to see what Darren did when no one else was around.”

“You really think that’s why he’s here?” she asked. “Because that is more than borderline crazy. It’s insane! Life in a padded room insane! I think the stress is getting to you.”

“Think about it!” I said. “Really think about the timing of everything. The fact my boss knew about the eggs. Does it really seem all that crazy of a theory?”

“Darren has always been a bit of a mystery to everyone. He was always so nice that we all soon forget how strange his arrival here is. I suppose it’s possible he arrived here because of the eggs,” Karen said staring at Darren. I could see her mind trying to wrap the idea around what I was saying. It did sound crazy, and I would need proof before she believed me. I need to get back to the cameras in the mammoth room.

“Everything you told me about him just about confirms that. He only works in highly classified, secret operations, which is exactly what this is! No one outside of this facility was supposed to know about this, besides me, and that’s if I was even supposed to find out. He’s here for a specific reason, and the eggs have a huge part in whatever reason that is,” I said.

“You don’t think he’s here to make sure we don’t make it out? What if he is supposed to make sure we all die and the spiders live?” Karen said.

“I hope not! Jesus. That wouldn’t be too hard for him at this point,” I said.

“What if this entire facility was designed for the spiders to return from extinction and strengthen their numbers? Was the mammoth a lie or distraction while the real plan was in motion without any of us even aware of what it really is?” Karen said, fury now touching her eyes alongside the fear.

“Do we trust him? How do we know if he’s on our side or the spiders?” I asked.

“What about Justin?” Karen asked. “We have to warn him of the possibility that Darren is planning to betray us!”

“How can we be one hundred present sure he’s not in on it?” I asked her.

She slapped me across the face with so much force I fell over onto the ground. Everyone turned to look at us.

“Uh, no you cannot touch me there, just because we’re about to die!” she yelled while her eyes flashed to Darren to see if she was putting on a believable performance.

Darren hadn’t even looked up. He was too focused on planning the next step with Justin. Once everyone else went back to their scared whispering among themselves, Karen helped me back up. I was trying to not rub my cheek, but it hurt like Hell.

“Sorry,” she said and looked like she was apologetic. “I overreacted a little bit. I get a defensive of my brother.”

“No you’re fine, I think we’re both overreacting a little bit,” I said. “We shouldn’t accuse anyone, including Darren. Even if he was here for the spiders, I doubt he wants us all to die. He’s worked too hard to protect us. It would have been easier to put a bullet in each of us and let the spiders take care of the rest. Plus, he’s killed one, so I think we can trust him to help us escape.”

“You’re right. He’s had plenty of opportunities to let us die; let’s all get out of here alive. Then we can worry about our conspiracy theories,” she said. “I guess a whack on your head is all it took to get us to start thinking straight.”

“Happy to help, I guess,” I said. I didn’t believe what I was saying; just because he killed one didn’t mean anything. He knew there was several more, and probably had a good idea how quickly they would repopulate. If he was planning to be the only survivor, the opportunity for him is coming up fast. Once the power was up and going, he had no need for us. That’s when he would strike.

Karen’s eyes grew wide as she fixed her gaze right over my shoulder; before I could look a hand clamped down on my shoulder, making me jump and release a small girlish scream.

“Easy there, princess,” Darren growled after he barked a laugh. “Let’s get you strapped up so we can head out.”

“Does that mean you guys have a plan?” I asked him.

“Yes,” he said and took an assault rifle that Karen offered him.

“What is it?” I asked, hoping to get an idea of what his real plan was.

“Don’t worry about it. You do your part, and you’ll get home alive,” he said and looked me dead in the eyes. I didn’t believe that last part for a moment. There was something so chilling about his eyes. I had zero doubt he had killed much more than spiders in his life. He attached a shoulder strap to a rifle and threw it over me. “Don’t take this strap off, you lose this gun, you’re dead.”

“Was that a threat?” I asked in an attempt to sound braver than I felt.

Darren laughed again. “Dr. Gale, even if it were, if you lose this gun these spiders would kill you before you had time to scream my name.”

“I try not to make it a habit to scream the names of other men, but point taken. Strap on or lots of dead for me,” I said.

Karen bit her lip to try to keep from busting out laughing, her face turned a deep shade of red, and she turned away to try and hide it.

“Another question,” I said.

“If it’s about more strap-on’s then don’t bother,” Justin said.

“How will we know when it’s safe to leave the room? Where will the distraction lead the spiders?” I asked, ignoring Justin.

“Don’t worry about it,” Darren said.

“I feel like me worrying about it is an integral part to my survival,” I said.

“We’re ready,” Justin said.

“You two,” Darren said pointing at Karen and me, “follow me. The rest of you follow Justin. Let’s go.”

“Don’t get too crazy with that gun. There’s a reason I didn’t want you shooting those while we were growing up,” Justin said to Karen. She stuck her tongue out at him.

I swallowed hard. I had a giant sinking pit in my stomach, and it had less and less to do with the spiders with each passing moment. Darren was going to kill us all and escape on his own. There was nothing we were going to be able to do to stop him. Justin has the best chance, and that is why Darren separated us from Justin.

Karen and I loaded up. We flashed each other glances whenever Darren would look away. It would be nice if we mastered telepathic communication. This whole trying to plan through our looks was failing hard.

Each of the teams had assault rifles slung over their shoulder, and a handgun attached to their hip. If nothing else, we would die a very loud death. Justin grabbed my shoulder on my way out the door. He let everyone else pass through before us.

“What’s up?” I asked him.

He jabbed his pointer finger into my chest. “You get my sister in and out safely, okay? Not an ounce of hurt better come to her.”

“Alright, man, I got it. I’ll do my best,” I said. Tell that to Darren.

“Wrong,” he said and shoved me against the wall. “You will do it. Or else, I don’t care if the spiders kill you; I will bring you back to life and put so much hurt on you that you’ll be begging to be dumped into a pool of that green spider goop. Got it?”

“I will make sure of it,” I said in a steady voice, which stunned me because my entire body was almost shaking. The pressure was beginning to break me, between Darren and Justin, and the spiders I was ready to just make it end. I was just here to check the progress of the cloning projects. I was not a hero, or a solider, or even a fighter. I opposed violence in almost every situation. I avoided confrontation at all cost. Now I’d been thrown into a fight or die scenario. I was not doing too well with this mentally or emotionally.

I wanted to be at home, watching TV with my wife and son. Or doing anything with my family. Anything with them and not being here. They didn’t even know I was in danger and probably woouldn’t make it home. This wasn’t fair to them at all. I need to hold it together for them; I couldn’t lose control because I needed to make it home.

“There is a good chance most of us don’t make it back,” Justin said under his breath and flashed a look to Darren. It seemed I wasn’t the only one with my suspicions. “Make sure the two of you get out alive. Someone needs to tell the world what actually happened here.”

He removed his hands from me, held a threatening stare for a moment, and then left me there. I took a shuddering breath and tried to gather myself. I didn’t want to skydive into a room and be responsible for the life of another person. I couldn’t rely on myself to protect me! Much less anyone else. A man could go crazy down here in these conditions. I felt disgusted with myself to admit this, but I was envious of the people who died right away. Quick and over with, no struggling for each moment of life.

“Alright, Cinderella,” Justin said and cocked his shotgun. “Let’s go to the ball.”

“Lame,” Karen groaned.