Silk
A short horror story // Tw: Arachnophobia, blood, confinement
This was for an assignment, but I liked how the story turned out! Please let me know what you think!
The old, unpaved drive punished the suspension on Michael’s old truck, groaning and creaking with every dip of the dirt road. The property was lined with a beautiful natural fence of mature trees that completely obscured the world outside. The expansive farmland was surprisingly devoid of life. There were stocks and pens to suggest an animal presence, but none were seen; likewise, there were no humans in the vicinity, save for one a short distance away. He stood, waving, in front of a large commercial garage big enough to house an airplane. Michael waved back and took a final few drags from his cigarette before dropping it directly into a several-days-old cup of soda in the console. Michael parked and grabbed his phone.
“Oh shit.” He cursed quietly to himself as he realized he would be meeting this stranger in the middle of nowhere with 3% battery. He set the phone back down and picked up his multitool and lucky lighter instead, putting them in his pockets.
“Hello there! Are you Teddy?” Michael called as he made his way to the man.
“Sure am! And you must be Michael. Great to meet you. Glad you found the place alright.” The man enthusiastically shook Michael’s hand and locked eyes with him, smiling. Teddy had a ragged beard and dirty, unkempt hair. Beneath his eyes there were deep bags of purple that suggested he hadn’t slept in a very long time. He turned towards the door behind him and produced a house key from his pocket.
“Mowers in here. Needs a little oil but should work fine.” Teddy said as he unlocked the door. He stepped into the inky blackness of the garage and reached behind the door, propping it open with his foot. “Come on in, I’m just grabbing the light.”
Michael walked slowly through the frame and into the dark. The heavy, orange light of dusk trickled in from a few small windows across the room. Dust danced on the stale air. As his eyes adjusted, Michael noticed large, pale mounds of what looked like fabric across the floor and walls. He felt a sense of growing unease.
“Hey, did you find that li-”
“Sorry.” Teddy said in a harsh, hushed whisper as he pushed Michael with all his force further into the room. Micheal stumbled and fell flat on his stomach, landing on the surprisingly soft concrete of the garage.
“Hey!” Michael screamed out as the door slammed shut. Tumblers click-click-clicked as Michael was locked inside. “Teddy, what the fuck are you doing? Let me out.” He tried to lift himself, but the fibers of the strange cotton floor would not release him. The ground began to rumble, gently at first but quickly rising to a fever pitch. Once Michael’s eyes had adjusted fully, the mysterious fabric became clear: thick, ropey webs lined everything from the floors to the walls to the ceiling. Silhouettes of pigs and cows decorated the impossibly large web like paper dolls. Near the center, the webs were layered into opaque white walls set into the cement floor, which was cracked and excavated. Near the bottom of the white wall, an opening of pure darkness.
The rumbling had stopped. Long, thin limbs like spears, one after another, delicately pierced the pitch. Its smooth, black body faintly shined as it passed beneath the window, the spiny hairs of its abdomen reflecting traces of moonlight. Its thorax was spherical, taller than a small car and as big around. With unnatural grace, it crept silently across the garage. As it moved closer, Michael caught sight of its face. Fangs like jagged, cruel knives jutted from its gaping, salivating maw. Atop its head, a hundred glistening eyes stared intently as it made its way towards Michael. He screamed as its leg touched his chest and dragged down, gentle in motion but sharp enough to effortlessly cut fabric and leave a small gash in his skin. Without warning, Michael was suddenly airborne, effortlessly held by this creature. It’s slender, dangerous legs spun him rapidly as it wrapped its soft silk around his ankles, up his thighs, around his arms and chest. He screamed until his voice was raspy and he could taste blood from the strain, only ceasing once the spider, with surprising care, had finally finished its work. Exhausted from the strain of the encounter, he lost consciousness.
Sometime later, Michael began to stir. His eyes opened to a cold, glowing whiteness and nothing else. He felt like he was floating, gently bobbing with his smallest movement. For a moment, it crossed his mind that he could be dead, but that thought evaporated quickly. The small movements soon gave way to panicked thrashing. He wiggled with all his strength to no avail. The webs had pinned Michael’s arms and legs to his side.
He grunted and screamed in frustration before quickly thinking better of it. He certainly did not want to draw the creature back to him. He rocked for a few more minutes, puffing out his chest and maneuvering his limbs as best he could to stretch the rope-like bindings. When that didn’t work, he took a deep breath to calm himself and began to think.
During the struggle, his hand brushed a familiar rectangular shape at his side. Michael shifted his hips to lower the pocket far enough to reach. He slipped in his hand and felt the smooth metal contours of his multitool. His fingers probed to find purchase and slowly, he lifted it up. Once free, he quickly pressed it to his thigh, making sure to maintain pressure with his palm. He used his thumb to gradually work it open. After some minutes and a few near drops, he had managed to find the scissors. He positioned the tool and began cutting up.
Suddenly, Michael heard a loud roar echo far down the dark corridor followed by a sound like metal furiously tapping rock. Terror gripped his heart, freezing him in place for a moment before furiously returning to work.
“No no no no no, fuck, don’t come this way—” Michael said aloud, rapidly snipping at the fibers holding him.
With one arm free, Michael pulled the rest of his body from the web, shifting his weight until gravity brought him plummeting down to wet earth, back first. Groaning, he sat up but suddenly felt a sharp pain. He stifled a cry as he reached to check the cause, feeling the handle of his multitool jutting out from his body. He had hardly a moment to process before a hulking shadow eclipsed the few dim lights of the tunnel, some 30 yards away. He glanced around for something to defend himself with. The tunnel was barren save a few small construction lamps illuminating the space. With scant other options, his mind drifted to his lighter.
Michael reached down into his pocket and fished it out. He flipped the cap and tried to spin the wheel, struggling against exhaustion and his own blood-slicked fingers. The creature was closing in; its fangs aimed for a quick kill. Spark finally gave way to flame just as the beast had entered its web and prepared to strike.
“Fingers crossed.” Michael whispered in a quiet prayer as he set the web alight. It caught instantly. The fire spread, tracing the silken pattern in bright orange heat. The hanging husks formed dark shadows that danced against the brilliant light. The creature panicked, dodging the one flaming area but landing in another. Wreathed in flames, it recoiled, screaming in pain and fear.
The sound was so deafening Michael felt his eardrums would burst. Instinctively, he covered his ears, but the sound persisted as if the waves were vibrating his brain stem. He leaned, ears covered, against the wall and began to walk back up the tunnel to make his escape. At the same time, the now-scorched creature hastily exited through another tunnel to escape the flames.
Once a safe distance away, Michael slumped down the wall to rest and to treat his new wound. Blood trickled down steadily where the scissors had pierced his lower abdomen. After some quick bracing breaths, he wrapped his fingers around the handle. Little by little, he pulled the sharp metal from his flesh. He sucked air through tightly clenched teeth as the now-blooded scissors came loose. Michael cut a strip of fabric from his shirt, rolled it tightly, and shoved it into the wound to stanch the bleeding. He felt lightheaded and sick. He tried to brace against the wall, but his knees gave out immediately. He rested for a few minutes before trying again, now standing in a hunched, pained posture. Michael resumed course upwards until, in the distance, streaks of light poured in.
Michael clumsily lifted himself out of the pit where he first saw the creature and onto the garage floor. In the bright daylight, the thick webbed sheets were much clearer over the stored farm equipment. The web placement was more deliberate than he had initially thought, with clear walkways nestled between blanketed silk. As Michael made his way to the door, he saw a familiar face: Teddy, who met his gaze in shock. Teddy hurriedly but carefully navigated the walkway towards Michael.
“What are you doing up he-.” Teddy began. Michael cut him off with a sincere attempt at a punch, throwing too much of his weight into it to keep balance as Teddy dodged. He caught Michael in his arms.
“Why did you trap me…?” Michael demanded. Teddy held him there, speaking under his breath as Michael felt a familiar rumbling in his skull.
“Yes, my lady. I’ve got him.”
Michael heard the metallic tapping of the creature’s legs. His adrenaline spiked and he began thrashing hard; Teddy struggled to hold on. Michael’s eyes darted, seeking anything that could help him escape. Suddenly, Michael felt his stomach drop and his eyes grew wide.
“Oh my god.” he gasped in horror. Hundreds of egg sacks lined the corners of the room and ceiling. The hanging cotton orbs seemed to be moving, as if they would hatch at any moment. Teddy’s grip slackened for a moment, distracted by Michael. Then, as if a terrible secret had been discovered, he reestablished his grip, more ferociously than before.
“Please hurry, my lady.” Teddy said, again in that hushed tone. The metal sounds had grown louder, and the creature would soon be upon them. Michael wrapped his palms on Teddy’s face and pushed. Teddy attempted to adjust but Micheal had readjusted as well, fingers prodding Teddy’s mouth, nose, and eyes. The creature was nearly at the entrance now, long, speared limbs quickly rising from pit. It—she—soon was poised to leap at both.
“Please—Just let me go!” Michael pleaded one final time. Teddy spoke to him directly, his voice cracked with sadness.
“I can’t.”
With one last burst of strength, Michael drove his finger into Teddy’s eye, pressing as hard as he could. A warmth flooded over his hand as Teddy screamed and fully released his grip. Micheal threw himself behind Teddy at the same moment the creature leapt. She sunk her horrid fangs deep into his chest, feasting on him. Gore spilt as the creature messily ate, covering herself in Teddy’s blood. Micheal, keeping low to the ground, scampered towards the door. He looked back one last time and noticed a look of peaceful resignation on Teddy’s still face.
Turning back to the deadbolt, Michael felt that increasingly familiar vibration again in his skull.
Wait.
Michael froze. He was certain he didn’t hear anything this time. The voice, authoritative and ancient, seemed to speak directly to his mind.
Don’t go, little one. Hear what I can offer you.
Suddenly, his senses were overtaken with images from the tunnels, an area he hadn’t seen on his trek. A large cavern appeared in his mind. Shelves filled with cash, jewelry, and gemstones lined the walls. He wasn’t sure how, but Michael knew they were the spoils of past victims. He also knew that the creature was offering him a life of luxury in exchange for fealty, for servitude. Michael considered it for a single moment. He pulled his trusty lighter from his pocket.
“No thanks.” He said, defiantly lighting the flint and tossing the lighter far into the soft, webbed floor. He unlocked the door and stepped through as the web caught fire and began to spread. The creature, torn between rescuing her brood and raging at his denial, charged towards Michael but couldn’t reach him before he had escaped. The creature roared as the flames climbed the walls. By then, Michael was already hurriedly limping back to his truck.
He threw himself into the driver’s seat as fast as he could. It took two turns of the key, but the engine sputtered to life. He floored the gas, wheels spinning in anticipation before he peeled out back towards the road. In the rearview mirror, the garage burned to the ground—along with all its inhabitants.