Does whatever a spider can
Molloy and Smithers sat on the ground, dazed. They had been walking and walking, yet they always ended up in the same spot. The forest had even brightened up a little, making it more obvious that they were stuck in a loop. But they kept on walking, speeding up only to go nowhere at all.
Now they sat. They sat on the ground facing each other. And they let it all out.
‘Seriously, this all your fault. You and your weird talking,’ Smithers began.
‘Oh, and it couldn’t be all about you being a lion’s mane,’ Molloy replied.
‘I seriously don’t even know what that means!’
‘It means I think you’re mellow.’
‘Isn’t that a good thing?’
‘Toe.’
‘SPEAK NORMALLY, YOU DOOFUS!’
Molloy jumped at the strength of Smithers’ voice. He recovered his composure though. If this was to be a name-calling exercise, he was up for it. He wasn’t too old for a bit of childishness. He smiled and pretended to be calm as he returned fire.‘Doofus? Not very creative, you rat-brained, chicken-lipped, alligator’s breath. No wonder Pete likes me better.’
Smithers glared at Molloy.
‘There it is. You think Pete likes you better when it isn’t even true. Okay. You want me to be creative? Oh, I’ll be creative you unchin-snouted, mouldy-eyed, ear-wax-eating slug-kisser.’
Molloy turned away, pretending he was offended, but really it was to hide the slight smile that had formed. Slug-kisser. That was a good one. He was going to have to work for this.
‘Yeah? Well, mummy’s boy, you are smellier than someone who was born on Planet Smelly, got named Lord Smells-a-lot, got hit with the smelly stick, and then took an overdose of smelly pills.’
Smithers glared at Molloy, again.
‘I was hoping that maybe we could both be friends with Pete, but there is no way that will happen, mainly because you are the stupidest person in the world who went to Stupid School, got an A+++ for stupidity, and then got put in a stupid-making machine turned up to full power.’
‘Well, I wouldn’t even want to be friends with you, you bucket full of maggot-eating maggots with maggots for dessert.’
‘Nor I with you, you snot-covered foot-licking nits-in-your-hair roll of toilet paper!’
They were raising their voices now, but the quality of insult wasn’t improving.
‘Stupid dumb-head bum-brain.’
‘Wee-head ear-wax-sniffer.’
‘Stinky-socks rub-it-on-your-face.’
And so it continued.
Ashlyn and Tahnee fought bravely, but the spiders were starting to take control. At first they had attacked the girls one by one in true martial arts movie fashion, but they had been easily repelled, many of them losing a leg or two or three in the process. Unfortunately for the girls, these spiders were smarter than the baddies in martial arts movies, and they started attacking in twos. Okay, so they weren’t much smarter, but it was an improvement!
Fending off the spiders as they attacked together was harder, but still Ashlyn and Tahnee did it. Tahnee was amazing; all her hard training came together as she instinctively knew what to do and where to go. Ashlyn held her own, but she wasn’t as fit or as strong as Tahnee, and she began to tire as the spiders got the genius idea to start attacking in threes.
Ashlyn swung her sword with as much power as she could, slicing through a spider’s front legs, making him fall on his face. Her breath was coming in gasps as she tired, her arms burning with the effort she was putting in.
‘Just keep fighting,’ Tahnee yelled, driving her sword into the spider Ashlyn had felled. ‘There may only be two of us, but we fight to see those we love again … I mean, you know, Molloy, not Pete because, well … KEEP FIGHTING! YEAH!’
With that, Tahnee attacked the spiders with renewed vigour, shaking her head at herself. That was twice she’d said something like that out loud. But maybe that was a sign. Maybe she really was falling in love with Pete. She smiled to herself. There was no maybe about it. She loved him. She always had.
Her thoughts distracted her; she was clipped from behind by a spider, knocking her to the ground. Ashlyn leapt to her defence, but the spiders roared, sensing an opportunity. They would strike now and soon they would have their prey in their webs.
Or so they thought.
A tiny light appeared at the outside of the clearing and then, with a flash of a magic, a dagger was drawn.
‘NO!’ cried Sir Pete McGee, the brave knight. ‘These two shall not suffer at the hands of such ugly … spidery … enormous … things.’
The spiders turned, sensing a new foe, sensing magic, although two continued to close in on Ashlyn and Tahnee. Pete McGee stood tall, recovering from the embarrassment of not being able to think of a good spidery insult.
‘That is correct, bugs. I am here to join my fair maidens in defeating thee.’
The spiders hissed and groaned at being called bugs. It hadn’t been intentional, but Pete had actually given the worst insult you could ever give a spider. Even the two spiders confronting Tahnee and Ashlyn turned towards Pete, and with a roar they charged.
‘Uh oh,’ Pete said before facing the onslaught. His dagger flashed left and right and up and down, finding his enemies, slashing the spiders as fast as they attacked. He was in a good position, so they could only attack from his front. Suddenly, a spider struck a blow to Pete’s side with its spiked leg. Pete’s shoulder started aching; his side burned. Tahnee leapt to her feet with a battle cry. It took all of Pete’s efforts to focus on the spiders.
When Ashlyn joined in, the spiders didn’t know where to turn or who to fight. The three friends worked as a team. The spiders were in trouble. They knew it too. In an instant, four of them charged at Pete McGee. He was knocked off his feet and sent flying between two trees, landing just outside the circular path. He sat there, dazed, as the spiders moved towards him. Tahnee, unable to help as she fended off blows from a spider, screamed out for Pete to run, but the blow had stunned him. The spiders closed in.
‘Idiot-head toe-fungus.’
‘Moo-cow pig-donkey!’
Smithers and Molloy continued on.
The nearest spider sped up and lunged at Pete. In its blood lust, it had forgotten that they were only able to stay within the circle of grass. There was a magical force field keeping the spiders in place, not unlike the one that kept the Mantrils on the Plains of Obon. The spider was knocked back into the circle, leaving Pete McGee unharmed.
‘Quick,’ he yelled to Tahnee and Ashlyn. ‘Get past the path! NOW!’
With that, he leapt back into the circle of grass, risking all to clear a path for Ashlyn and Tahnee. The spiders’ rage increased, and Pete was forced back even as Ashlyn and Tahnee reached the safety of the path. Pete tried to get away but he was trapped. The girls screamed at him to run, but he couldn’t do anything other than try and stay alive. A spider closed in, fangs bared. It struck, aiming for Pete’s neck, but Tahnee intercepted the bite. Her sword flashed, slicing into the spider. The other spiders squealed at the death of their companion, their eyes burning with rage. Tahnee pushed Pete across the path to safety as the spiders closed in on her. Terrified, she turned and jumped out of the circle but a spider’s fangs dug into her leg as she passed. She groaned and landed on the path with a thud.
The spiders continued to throw themselves against the force field, never seeming to tire. Pete didn’t realise Tahnee had been bitten, and having got both his breath and his sense of fun back, he began to taunt the spiders.
‘Ooooooh,’ he said, dancing on the outside of the path. ‘Ooooh, tough spiders, can’t quite reach me hey? Ooooh, buggy, buggy, bug, bugs! Come and get me, come and get me.’
He danced around some more, the spiders throwing themselves at the force field, desperate to break through. That made Pete dance even more, and he only stopped when Ashlyn slapped him on the arm. He turned and looked at her, wondering why she had done it. Ashlyn pointed to the ground where Tahnee was lying. The bottom part of her pants had been rolled up, revealing a nasty bite. She was writhing on the ground in pain, gritting her teeth and scrunching up her eyes. Pete’s heart tightened in his chest, and he only wanted to do one thing; he turned, hoping to gain revenge against the spiders. Ashlyn held him back. Still she didn’t speak, but stared straight into Pete’s eyes, and he knew it was more important to get out of the forest. He knelt down next to Tahnee and stroked her forehead, which was starting to sweat.
‘Tahnee,’ he said softly. ‘Tahnee.’
Her eyes slowly opened and she stared at Pete, blinking against the light of the stone Pete held. She was in a great deal of pain, but she managed a smile, breaking Pete’s heart.
‘Pete. You’re okay.’
‘Thanks to you,’ he said. ‘You saved my life.’
Tahnee smiled again, closing her eyes. They suddenly snapped open again, and she spoke with a great deal of effort.
‘Did you see us before you joined us? Did you hear what we said?’
Pete shook his head, covering up.
‘Nah, course not. Just leapt straight in.’
Tahnee sighed, relieved. She closed her eyes again, then her body tensed in pain, only relaxing as she fell unconscious. Pete and Ashlyn pulled Tahnee up, hooked themselves under an arm each, and dragged her out of the forest as best they could. Pete’s mind was all over the place. He couldn’t believe that Tahnee could be dying, and it was because of him. His journey, saving him, it was all because of him. At the same time, over and over, he heard her voice saying: see those we love again, see those we love again, see those we love again …