27. A Sticky Tarzan #2
I jog over to Chester and Moni and find Chester using his staff to knock a spider’s legs out from under it while vines from the walls whip out and wrap around the torso.
Screams rip out of multiple spiders as they are lifted and yanked towards the wall.
They are slammed into the wall multiple times until they are squeezed into tiny fragments, leaving only blood and bones behind.
“What the hell?” I shriek in Moni’s direction.
“What?” she calls back innocently. “They were hungry.”
“How are they… uh.” I’m lost for freaking words.
“Alive?” Moni cocks an eyebrow.
“Yeah!”
“Me, silly,” she states while moving her hands through the air. Another vine whips through the air and grabs a spider around their throat that’s running toward Blessing. Let’s just say the vines were definitely getting enough food.
I turn and run straight into webbing dangling into my face. Ick, spider poop, exactly what I need. I push it away from my face and realize it may be sticky, but I’m not sticking to it like I did the one prior. Why is it different?
There’s a grunt and a crash, and I look up to find Knots fighting a spider.
His wings are up against the wall, and he’s holding back a pincher as he slams his sword through the chest of the spider, right as a water arrow pierces their side.
Within seconds, the spider’s body slides to the side and falls helplessly to the floor.
‘Another one bites the dust,’ Lynx sings in my head as he turns to take on another foe.
It’s all I can do not to roll my eyes. From what I can tell, it’s almost an endless flow of spiders as they continue to trickle in.
We have to close that gap, but I groan as I see Knots struggling to free himself of the webs his wings got caught on.
If they are anything like the ones I was previously in, he’s fucked.
Glancing at the web hanging next to me, I get an idea. I always loved that Tarzan movie growing up. Let’s see how realistic it can be. Hopefully, I’m not making a grave mistake.
‘Hope, you’re strong enough to catch me, Knots,’ I send him as I start climbing the webbing next to me.
‘What are you doing? I told you to be careful,’ he demands.
‘If I remember correctly, you told me to cause chaos, which I am.” I make it high enough to reach another web that leads to Knots, and I start pushing off with my feet to get swinging momentum.
‘You’re fucking crazy. Get back down where it’s safe,’ he growls.
‘Have you seen what’s down there? There are mini-fights everywhere. Where I’m at right now, I’m not fighting one spider. I’m just swinging like I’m back in school on the playground,” I tell him, trying to keep my eyes up and on the webbing in front of me.
‘Rez! Climb back dow—’
‘Knots! I’m scared of heights. We will not have this fight. Help swing that web, or so help me, you don’t want to know my next step,’ I growl out.
Without another peep, he uses his sword to swing the other web my way, and, timing it right, I grab on and pull myself in. With a little relief, I finish pulling myself up to him.
‘Coming up here is foolish,’ Knots berates me, but he gives me a small smile.
‘Getting your wings stuck in webbing makes you an insect and no better for my boot,’ I mock, hacking away at the webbing as he holds me close to his side.
‘Did someone say someone is beneath my fuzzy ass boots? Is Doorknob now a fly? Oh, this is purrfect!’ Lynx laughs.
I can’t comment, as I’m trying to move as fast as I can, but I’m careful not to get myself stuck in the process.
“Shit!” Knots spits out, and I look over my shoulder to see a spider swinging over to us. I have a split second to decide what to do, but it’s taken out of my hands as a black pad with spikes smacks its head with enough force that I can hear its neck crack.
Slayer hangs down before me and gives me a quick lick with his rough tongue, leaving drool on my cheek.
‘Always here for you, babygirl,’ he says with a wink, before slashing away at the last of Knots’ webbed wings and running off on the ceiling in the opposite direction.
With Knots free, I have nothing to steady me, so I cling to the web like my life depends on it. Which it kinda does. He flies over to the lever on the other side of the entrance and tries to pull it, but nothing happens.
“Is it still stuck?” I yell, but look up at the gear in the ceiling.
Knots has cleared all that I can see from here, but unless there’s something inside the gears holding it immobile, he wouldn’t be able to see it. Without waiting for an answer, I climb up a little bit higher, allowing my web to swing, and focus on the gear a few feet away from me.
I can do this. It’s just the floor underneath you. Right underneath you. Not empty air. You’re just stepping onto another platform, I remind myself.
‘Or stepping to your untimely death,’ Lynx murmurs.
‘You really know how to give me confidence, you know that?’ I let out a nervous breath.
‘That’s what I’m here for. To keep you grounded,’ Lynx chimes with a chuckle.
‘Not the type I was looking for,’ I grumble as I step onto the sticky webbing, trusting it will hold my weight as I let go of the web and lean against the gears.
“What are you doing?” Knots yells.
I ignore him and bite back what I know will be a mistake as I reach down to focus on JP.
‘JP!’ I call out and wait until his wide eyes meet mine. ‘Don’t catch the web on fire, but I need some HellFire, please,’ I admit.
“Whatever you’re thinking, Rez, it’s too dangerous,” Knots worries, but he stays put when I give him a quick warning look.
“Just focus on closing that damn door and then getting me down,” I tell him, not daring to take my eyes off the prince of Hell. JP nods and makes a small ball of water, and inside sits the telltale flame of Hellfire.
Now all I have to do is catch the damn thing, somehow control Hellfire still, and clear out the gears mechanism. Simple.
No problem.
JP sends the ball flying up to me, and catching it isn't a problem, as the water soaks me as soon as it comes into contact with me, like a water balloon. Controlling the fire is another thing. The hellfire is excruciating, yet it’s not burning me, so I take that as a win as heat crawls against my chest and I direct the fire down my left arm towards the wall where the stone gears are clear of the webbing.
I immediately hear something crackle and sizzle, and a loud crack rings out.
“Yes!” Blessing shouts. “It’s free.”
Knots yanks back on the lever as hard as he can, and the cover starts to close.
I let out a sigh of relief and smile at Knots as he starts to fly over to me.
A shadow blocks out the moonlight a split second before something careens into Knots while he’s a few feet away from me, knocking him unconscious, and sending him careening towards me. He’s not going to make it.
I reach out as far as the damn spiderweb will let me, and I’m able to grab his limp wrist.
“Gotcha.” I try to pull him closer or at least onto some of the web to hold his weight, but my shoulder gives out, and I cry out as my shoulder pops.
Before I can twist and grab him with my other hand, a screech rings out, and we’re hit hard enough to tumble out of the webbing.
Knots is knocked out of my grasp, and I lose sight of him as I tumble and fall onto the back of a spider.
Pain ricochets over my body, but it’s my shoulder that has fire rushing to it.
Fuck, my shoulder is trashed. Using my good arm, I quickly grab my glaive, activate it, and dig into the spider’s flesh beneath me to hold on so I don’t fall off.
The spider screams in pain, but we land upright, and I get jostled, but I stay on.
“Nixdice,” Blessing yells in horror.
“What’s a Nixdice?” Zeke asks.
“Their queen,” Blessing answers as I pull myself into a sitting position.
“Well, all hail the Queen,” Ryker says as he smiles up my way.