“Look, as long as you stay ahead of everyone else, this hardly changes anything.” Belial said, his casual attempt at reassurance somehow pissing me off even more.

  I stood in the center of the clearing, my face literally twitching in rage as I imagined myself strangling him, which was difficult, considering I had no idea what he even looked like.

  “Well, that’s rude, and I certainly don’t look like that.”

  “Can’t you just...tell her it isn’t true?”

  “I’d love to, but the little bitch blocked you…In case you’re wondering, that means I can’t send her anymore messages.”

  “Stop calling her names, that’s how we got in this mess to begin with. Just—show me the way to the stairs—DIRECTLY, to the stairs.” I said, remembering the hours I spent walking in random directions the day before.

  Belial said nothing as an arrow flicked into view, angling left. I stormed after it, finding a narrow path through the brush that looked like it’d been carved out by some kind of animal.

  Despite him insisting this changed nothing, I could feel his worry bubbling up inside of me. That, along with his guilt. I sighed. He did have a point. Bounty or not, any gladiators I met would probably try to kill me regardless. Still, I didn’t have it in me to forgive him just yet.

  I sucked in the deepest breath I could manage before plowing ahead, scanning for threats as I walked. I had to stay calm. If I’d learned anything so far, it was that the slightest distraction in here could get me killed.

  The path narrowed into something closer to a tunnel with dense foliage weaved tightly to form a canopy overhead. It choked out most of the sunlight, but I could see a bright gap about thirty paces ahead. Cautiously, I tapped the first low-hanging branch with my hammer, making sure it wasn’t carnivorous before ducking underneath. The branch had more give than expected, but it seemed normal otherwise—at least in the sense that it didn’t come alive and try to kill me.

  Waffle stirred as I threaded my way through the snarl of branches. I glanced at his pocket, chuckling at the tiny nose poking out. Somehow, he managed to wedge half his head through. He whined up at me blindly, his little nose twitching in frustration. I unzipped it enough for him to wriggle the rest of his head through, feeling something tighten in my chest as he peered up at me.

  “You can’t come out right now.” I chided, tickling the pink fuzz between his ears with my finger, “It’s not safe.”

  He chirped once then tilted his head forward, looking content to remain a passenger for the time being. Smiling, I wondered how much longer he’d fit in there. He already felt a little heavier. I narrowed my eyes on the pocket, trying to decide whether it was bulging a bit further from my side.

  Would he be safer without me? Better off on his own now that gladiators were hunting me down?

  Belial took it upon himself to answer the thought.

  “As much as I dislike the little fuzzball, we should keep him with us. Your fans love him, plus…she may have placed a bounty on his head too.”

  “That fucking bitch!” I said aloud, ignoring my earlier advice as the leather hilt of the hammer stretched audibly in my grip. “Don’t worry,” I said softly, as Waffle tilted his head towards my voice, his nose twitching with quiet concern. He gave a wavering whrrp that trailed off, making me wonder if he could sense my nerves. I reached down to pet him, my finger freezing just above his head as something caught his attention. He went rigid, exhaling a soft huff at the bright patch of light at the end of the tunnel.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, voice hushed as I slowed to a halt a few feet from the exit, the sunlight just barely touching my boots. He wriggled nervously, his snorts growing louder as he trembled against my side.

  “I’m going to go out on a limb here and say there’s a monster.”

  “Uh huh, but where?” I replied, narrowing my eyes as I crouched for a better view.

  The clearing ahead didn’t seem any different from the last, aside from the tall striped reeds jutting up from the ground on either side of the opening. Slowly, I held the hammer out in front of me, arm shaking from the weight as I prodded at the air. The reeds looked just like the ones that grew along the garden’s edge, only slightly thicker and more spread out. I remembered the elder ashand telling us they were called horsetails, only to get upset when I followed up by asking what a horse was, probably because she didn’t know. They always unsettled me the way they swayed along the shoreline, reminding me of—I froze, hammer still dangling out in front as I stared at the ground. It’s not swampy here—

  Nudging Waffle deeper in his pocket, I edged backwards, slowly inching the hammer away from the sunlight. The reeds moved in unison, prompting me to take another step back, just as a sickly-yellow bulb burst into the tunnel. Eight cold orbs glistened on its face as it lunged, sending me stumbling. I fell on my spine, clawing backwards on my elbows as it crammed its head deeper into the opening, wet mandibles flicking and snapping at my feet.

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  I dragged myself back, heart hammering as branches groaned overhead. Not branches—the thick canopy of green and brown flickered, revealing a twisted snarl of webs. The tower fooled me again; this time leading me right into a nest.

  The opening stretched as the creature forced its massive head inside. Around me webs creaked and strained, vibrating as more spiders skittered above. Dozens—No, hundreds of them, with far too many legs, barely visible through the weave of silk surrounding me. I sprinted back the way I came, heart pumping in my throat.

  “Do not get bit by one of those.” Belial said, just as a smaller spider burst into the tunnel from a nearby wall, this one only a few feet tall.

  Its mouth opened wide to display the fangs glittering behind its mandibles. Without slowing, I slammed the top of the hammer into its face like a spear, hearing its chitin crack under the pressure as I drove it into the ground. All eight legs wrapped around the hammer’s head as I crushed it. The strands around me vibrated violently, the larger spider was catching up. I surged ahead, hammer held out in front like a battering ram, poised to crush any more that burst in from the walls.

  A massive leg pierced the canopy, nearly skewering me from above as I ran straight into it. The impact sent me stumbling forward onto my side. I rolled over to back to see my momentum had snapped it, causing green ooze to bubble from the wound. The first spider was completely stuck. Even several feet away, the ground shook as its legs shucked into the dirt behind it, its horrible bulbous head inching forward with each stab.

  “Watch out!” Belial shouted as another leg speared down at me. I rolled to my side, just in time to hear it thunk into the dirt behind my head. The spider the leg belonged to gnashed at the webs above. One by one the strands snapped with a sharp ping as their mandibles sliced them apart.

  Panting, I scrambled to my feet, hooking its exposed leg with my hammer as I lurched forward down the tunnel. The spider cried out as I tugged the hammer behind me, snapping the leg cleanly in half. A series of pings rang out behind me, like wires being plucked, followed by something large thudding on the ground. I glanced over my shoulder, adrenaline surging through me as far too many eyes stared back. It hobbled after me, the disjointed movements somehow making it even more terrifying as it gained ground, despite its injured legs.

  My foot caught on something. A root. I lurched forward, half-stumbling.

  “Keep your eyes in front, I can use your ears to tell if it’s getting close.”

  Needle-thin limbs poked in from every side, scratching my arms and legs as I raced down the tunnel towards the exit. Just a few more strides—

  My stomach dropped as something moved outside, casting a shadow along the ground. Another spider. I guessed it was waiting right above the tunnel, poised to lunge at me the second I touched sunlight.

  “I have an idea.” I spun round to face the one chasing me. It was almost my height, its mouthparts already working in tiny, restless clicks, as if anticipating the act of gnawing on my flesh.

  “Unless it involves being eaten, I suggest you move—”

  I fell onto my back as it lunged, driving the pommel of my hammer into the dirt and steadying it with both hands as the spider hurtled forward. Its body slammed into the hammer’s head, legs scrabbling as I launched it behind me. It landed on its back outside the tunnel, all six remaining legs thrashing wildly to right itself as a much larger spider dove on it from above. The mass of spindly legs converged into a writhing, ball of horror. They tumbled over each other, rolling off to the side as I darted out of the tunnel. The smaller one seemed to realize its mistake, clawing frantically at the ground as the larger spider sank its fangs into its body. The sound it made was like rotten fruit being crushed and peeled apart. I streaked past unnoticed, making it to the treeline before risking a glance over my shoulder. It was still feeding.

  I didn’t stop running until I made it back to the clearing, heart threatening to burst from my chest. Heaving, I slumped against last night’s tree, bark pressed between my shoulder blades as my eyes swept the direction I came for movement.

  “You can relax; I don’t think any followed you.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked, still watching the treeline.

  “No, but most spiders don’t stray far from their webs—I don’t see why gigantic ones should be any different.”

  “I’ve never seen any centipedes fix a wall or spray acid out of their mouths, but the ones here do that. How do you know these ones weren’t created to be more—I don’t know—hunty?”

  “This is only a hunch, but I don’t think they’re like the centipedes. If they were being controlled by the tower, I doubt they’d be eating each other, plus they don’t have any of those strange mechanical looking parts.”

  “Then why are they so big?”

  “No clue, but if it makes you feel any better, they would’ve been on us by now had they followed.”

  I nodded, tension bleeding from my shoulders as I let myself slide down the trunk. The instant I sprawled out, something wriggled against my side. Looking down, I noticed little tents puffing out from my dress, rising and falling where Waffle poked and prodded from within. It reminded me of someone trying to find their way out from under a blanket. Despite the horror I’d just endured, I couldn’t help but laugh as I unzipped his pocket. He poked his head out, sheepishly checking his surroundings before giving a puzzled chirp that I imagined was his way of asking what had happened.

  “You saved me again,” I said, tickling his head. He tried to clamber out, squeaking in protest when I nudged him back inside. “It’s still not safe.” I raised the zipper enough so only his head could fit through. I needed to keep moving if I was going to stay ahead of the other gladiators, and the last thing I needed was him running off in the middle of a fight. That said, it couldn’t hurt to let him peek his head out. Somehow, he seemed able to sense danger, despite the tower’s illusions.

  “Is there any other way to the stairs?” I asked, using my hammer to push myself to my feet.

  “Possibly.” He replied. The map we’d stolen appeared in my vision, featuring a stick figure with orange hair, “This is where we are, and this…is the nest we just escaped from.” He drew a circle around an area, helpfully labeling it ‘nest’. I was still too shaken to feel any kind of excitement over learning to read a new word, “I suggest we try going around, the elevation seems to change here—maybe from that height, we’ll be able to find a way through.”

  Thanks for reading guys, please checkout my friend Bertt's story. It's about a shrimp, which personally, I think is hilarious.