Arachna

Lance wished he could ignore the pain. Even with the cane, every step elicited a surge of it from his leg. With every passing minute, it seemed to worsen.

He wouldn’t have minded a painkiller or two, if only he trusted himself with them.

But if he could be grateful for anything, it was that the pain kept him alert and rid him of the sleepiness tugging at his eyelids.

Derek stopped them before they stepped out of the alley, analyzing the street then the rooftops. “I don’t think anybody’s watching us,” Derek said. “Let’s go.”

Kaela made a sound like she was about to speak but sighed instead.

She was furious, that much was obvious from how she gritted her teeth. Lance remembered being told his parents were dead, overdosed in an alley—how mad he’d been.

Though that story had been false.

Kaela wasn’t the only one gritting her teeth anymore.

They stepped out into the street.

Lance racked his brain for any way Caleb could’ve found them. Had someone told Caleb about Lance’s store? But who? Rotoya was dead, and if she’d told him earlier, Caleb would’ve been waiting for them.

Unless Rotoya is alive… Lance shivered.

The beast was quiet, slumbering and regaining its strength, sensing no danger. That didn’t stop his heart from jumping at every shift in the darkness. Every sound from within the alleys.

With some trouble, Eric and Derek hoisted the sewer grate up, straining from the weight. Kaela slid down first, graceful even in the act of climbing down a ladder, while Lance bumbled his way down. He almost fell more than once.

Kaela looked at him with sympathy when he reached the bottom. Lance sat as the aching worsened. He leaned against the cement wall. Moss and slime pressed into his back, cold and wet. He didn’t care.

Kaela visibly shivered as the light of the streetlamp peeked through the still-open manhole.

“You okay?” Lance asked, and his own voice trembled. The air froze him to the bone. The smell of sewage didn’t help.

“I’ll be fine once we get to the Rose,” Kaela responded, rubbing her hands against herself for warmth. “But if you don’t mind…” She didn’t finish the sentence, instead sitting next to him and stealing warmth.

Lance said nothing as she did so, as she gave warmth of her own in return. A mutual exchange.

“Hey,” she said. “In case we end up dying, I just want you to know I’m sorry about that night we got attacked on the hill.”

“What are you apologizing for?”

“Just… freaking out on you afterward. What you did to that man scared me. It wasn’t you.” She paused. “But I guess you were just doing what you had to.”

Lance sighed. “I’m sorry too. I said some pretty nasty things.”

“Yeah… Let’s forget it ever happened.”

“Agreed.”

Eric started his climb down the ladder, but he braced a hand on the cover, and Derek slid through the open space and joined him. They struggled sharing the same space on the ladder, but together, they slid the manhole cover into place.

The sound of heavy iron sliding against asphalt echoed all the way down the tunnels. The only light remaining was a ray of streetlamp peeking through the small hole in the middle of the cover.

Eric favored one leg over the other as he clambered down the ladder.

How is he able to hide his sprained ankle so well?

“Alright,” Derek said as he hit the ground, followed closely by Eric. “Eric, if you will.”

Eric adjusted his coat. “Gotcha.”

The sound of shuffling followed. Then a lighter clicked, and a tiny flame erupted in the darkness.

Silence.

Eric’s smile was terrifying, his face lit up by nothing but a small flame, the shadows dancing along his features and his dark eyes.

“Eric,” Derek started, his voice a warning, “where’s the light?”

Eric smiled wider. “It’s right here, of course.”

“You said you had a light,” Kaela said.

“Yes,” Eric insisted, holding out the lighter.

“Like a flashlight.”

“Oh, of course not, who carries one of those around with them?”

Kaela groaned, then Derek. Lance shook his head.

“Well,” Eric said, his playful tone grating Lance’s ears, “I suppose if it’s that much of an annoyance, I’ll just put the flame out.”

“No,” Kaela said then sighed. “No, it’ll do. Derek? I’m putting a lot of faith in your sense of direction here.”

Derek said nothing. He took the lighter and held it in front of him. The flame served only to penetrate a few inches of darkness. “Shouldn’t there be lights in this place, anyway?”

Lance shook his head again. “In the slums? You’re lucky there aren’t mutated crocodiles in here.” He smiled at first then realized that, with all that’d happened, such a thing didn’t seem so impossible.

Derek turned back toward them, his mouth set in a straight line.

“What is it?” Kaela asked.

“I just…” Derek sighed. “I really don’t think this light is going to be enough. I need a little more.”

Eric hummed then looked at Lance. “Lance, buddy, I’m going to need you to take one for the team.”

Lance raised an eyebrow. “If you think I’m going to take the lead, you’re crazy.”

“Give me one of those wooden planks from your splint.”

Lance raised an eyebrow then looked at Kaela. She offered nothing but a shrug.

“Come on, we don’t have all night.” Eric held his hand out. Lance hesitated, then unwrapped the splint and gave Eric one of the pieces of wood.

In a few swift motions, Eric grabbed the wood then wrapped the bandages around the tip. He removed the top from his lighter and poured its fuel on the bandages, closed the lighter back up, then lit the impromptu torch.

Eric smiled proudly as he handed the torch to Derek.

Derek shared a confused look with Kaela and Lance, then slowly turned and started walking.

“What… just happened?” Kaela asked.

Eric dusted off his hands and placed them on his hips. “Ingenuity, Kaela.”

“Guys,” Derek called. “We need to get going. There’s no telling how long this torch will last.”

Lance stood with Kaela’s help, nothing left of his splint but a single piece of wood, which he held in his hand. The splint had helped with the pain more than he thought, and now his leg ached nearly twice as much as before. He breathed deeply, but the stench of sewage nauseated him. If he made even a single misstep, his leg would give out.

Even with Kaela on one side and the cane on the other, his feet and the cane slid on the slimy ground. One bad slip, and he would fall hard, maybe even into the dirty waters. Lance grimaced at the water and wondered what horrors lay within.

“At least I can kill a vampire if we run across one,” Lance said. Or a mutated crocodile. He gulped. The poor attempt at humor didn’t help his discomfort.

Eric shot him a smile. “There’s that sarcasm.”

They went quiet, save for the echo of their footsteps on the ground, the crackling of fire from the torch, and the tapping of Eric’s cane on the slimy floor.

“I know you’re skinny and all, but I really thought you’d be heavier,” Kaela whispered after a few more strides. Derek seemed confident in where he was going, deathly silent the entire time, completely focused on getting them to the Rose. Eric checked his nails.

Lance glared at the back of his greasy head. At the very least, he could’ve been on Lance’s other side, helping him walk.

Some father.

Lance allowed himself the quietest, breathiest laugh he could muster before responding. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

Derek was getting farther ahead of them, then Eric. Slowly, they fell behind, then they regained their normal speed. It was as if Kaela had gained a second wind.

Something was off.

They were just out of earshot if they whispered, and now it seemed intentional.

“What are you doing?” Lance finally asked, keeping his voice a whisper.

She glanced at him then kept an eye on the two ahead. “Keep your eyes forward.”

Lance did as he was told.

“Eric told me an interesting story about why he brought you into our group.”

Lance stopped himself from gulping. No way Eric told her… No, it didn’t make sense. “Oh?”

Kaela nodded slowly. “He did… and I just want to know your side of the story.”

Maybe tripping and falling into the murky waters wouldn’t be so bad, after all. “And why are you so curious about all of this?”

She shrugged. “Maybe I’m just trying to make conversation. Maybe some of Eric’s information obsession is rubbing off on me. Either way… I’d like to know.”

Lance’s heart pounded in the silence that followed.

“Eric said you work for the CIA.” She sounded unsure.

Now it made sense, Lance thought, mentally cursing the man ahead of them. He gripped the cane tighter; a reminder that he, even if only a little, relied on Eric. He almost scowled, but Kaela’s eyes were on him, gauging his reaction. A drop of something fell from the ceiling and landed on Lance’s shoulder, cold as ice. The smell was worse.

Do I go along with it? Lance thought. Or do I just deny it here and now? He didn’t know everything Eric had told her. One misstep in the lie, and it would be over. She would know that not just Eric, but he also was hiding something from her. He could tell her Eric was lying to her, but she would just press for more information. He had no chance of winning, and Kaela was obviously aware of that.

More and more like a cat. He was the mouse caught in her trap, and she’d taken her chance to pounce.

“Anything you’d like to say?” Her tone was predatory. She was going to get an answer no matter what he did.

“And what if I did?” Lance finally said. “What difference would it make?”

Another shrug. She leaned into him, just a bit, hanging on the edge of every word he said. She had a good poker face but was too eager. An advantage, Lance thought with a steadying breath. A foothold.

Kaela continued. “I suppose it wouldn’t make much of a difference at all, really.” She gave him a wicked smile. “But if you tell me, I won’t drop you into the nasty sewer water.”

A joke. At least, it probably was. Lance’s pulse spiked as Eric turned his head just slightly. He donned a smirk then faced forward again, an action so small that Lance barely noticed. Kaela was too focused on trying to get the info out of him.

Eric was listening. As quietly as they were whispering, he could still hear them.

But that smirk gave Lance nothing to go on, and he was still caught in the trap.

Eric, the spider he was, was watching from afar, relaxed in his little web.

Lance resisted rolling his eyes. Great, now I’m using the spider analogies. He shrugged. “You know, if I was a former CIA agent, I wouldn’t be allowed to tell you. Classified information, and all that.”

Kaela nodded. “I totally understand that. But can you look me in the eyes and tell me you’re not an agent?”

She looked at him, but he didn’t reciprocate. “I thought you said you wanted me to keep my eyes forward.”

She lightly sent an elbow into his side, which hurt more than it should have. “Fine, if you’re going to be literal about it.”

Silence hung between them for a moment, then another. Lance thought Kaela was done until she finally spoke again.

“Okay, let’s cut the games,” Kaela said. “I know you’re not some CIA agent, okay? Just be real with me, Lance. What’s going on?”

“Look,” Lance said. “I just… I just need you to trust me.”

Kaela stopped in her tracks. “I do trust you.”

Lance narrowed his eyes and saw no sign that she was lying. “Then why are you hounding me about this?”

Kaela kept walking. “Because I know Eric’s story was bullshit. I knew it from the beginning. And after how you reacted, now I know that you’re in on it too. I just… What’s so secretive that you can’t even tell Derek and me?”

“It’s complicated,” Lance said. “I just can’t tell you. At least… not right now.”

Kaela stared at him, her eyes brimming with disappointment. “Fine. I’ll leave it alone. But once this is all over, will you at least consider telling me?”

Lance nodded. “We’ll see.”

What does it even matter? Lance thought. Why should I care if anyone finds out I’m his son? There’s no reason to hide it. Yet even with that logic clicking firmly into place in his mind, the words couldn’t escape his lips. Then again, it would hurt Eric. Maybe that made it worth it.

A storm of conflicting thoughts brewed in his mind. He stared at Eric’s back. He’d eavesdropped on the entire conversation, or at least bits of it. Lance wondered what was going through his mind right now.

This time, the silence lingered. Kaela seemed satisfied enough, so Lance tended to the fire raging in his head.

Lance smiled. “You seriously trust me?”

Kaela rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I do. Maybe I hit my head harder than I thought.”

Lance chuckled, and Kaela smiled back.

They walked until Derek stopped and looked around. The torch was dying out. They had little time left.

“Just in time,” Derek said. He dipped the torch into the water, extinguishing the flame, then dropped the piece of wood on the ground. “Look. Light.”

The light ahead was dim at first, but as they kept walking, it became more prevalent.

“Thank God,” Lance breathed.

As they walked down a curve in the sewer, Lance saw them. Lights, jutting out from the walls. A new light every few feet. The group emerged from the darkness.

A railing was set at the edge of the concrete. Lance reached for it and leaned against it.

“You got it?” Kaela asked.

“Yeah,” Lance said, limping and putting his weight on the railing. “Thanks.”

Kaela stayed beside him as they continued walking through the now-lit sewer. Even the smell was more manageable, if still rotten. They had to be out of the slums.

They walked for what felt like an hour, stopping once for a break, before Derek paused. “I think this might be it.”

Lance was out of breath as he crouched against the railing. God, he really hoped they’d reached the Rose. He tensed as Derek climbed the ladder and opened the manhole with a strain. Finally, it slid out of place, and Derek poked his head out. Lance held his breath. Caleb had followed them at every turn. Everywhere they went, he always found them, and someone died as a result.

Derek looked back down and smiled, and Lance relaxed.

Kaela sighed. “About time we made it.” She turned to Lance. “You okay on your own for now?”

Lance nodded, and she walked to the ladder.

Derek climbed out, and Kaela followed soon after.

Lance caught his breath and limped to the ladder, where Eric was waiting. “Don’t worry,” he whispered. “I didn’t spill your precious secret.”

“That’s not why I’m waiting,” Eric said. “Let me help you up.”

“I don’t need your help.” Lance started to climb the ladder. He barely made a few rungs before stopping. “Dammit… Fine, maybe I need a little help.”

Eric helped Lance up, pushing his good leg up with every rung he climbed. When he crawled out into the alleyway, he breathed in the cool night air, and his eyes watered. He didn’t know why, and he repressed it quickly, but the simple act of finally breathing that air and not seeing Caleb waiting for them removed a weight from his chest.

When Lance looked at the rest of them, they seemed to share the sentiment. Everyone sat on the cold ground and breathed.

“Well,” Eric said after a few deep breaths. “I think I’ve done my part. Give my regards to the girls, will you?”

“What?” Kaela’s head snapped toward him, her teeth showing in a silent snarl. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Eric was already climbing down. Only his head poked out from the ground. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m going to find Daniel.”

Kaela groaned. “You can go after him later. We need to rest.”

“Be my guest, but I’m going.”

“He could be anywhere in those sewers.”

“Mm-hmm. Anywhere close by, according to our rotting friend.”

“Guys?” Kaela pleaded.

Derek looked from her to Eric, his mouth open like he wanted to say something. Lance wasn’t sure what she expected him to do. Eric had made up his mind. If he wanted to go crawling through a sewer, more power to him. Whatever happened to Eric would be a result of his own stupid decisions.

“I suppose you have your answer.” Eric smiled. “Adieu.” His head disappeared, and the cover remained open.

Derek moved to close it behind him, and Lance turned to enter the Rose, but something pulled him away. It almost physically tugged at him, telling him to follow his father.

Don’t. That was his only warning. The beast inside had awoken, and it begged him to stay away from the Rose. Follow him.

Why? Lance wanted to ask. Why should he follow Eric? His leg was already in enough pain, and he didn’t want to be trapped in a sewer with his father. George could look at his leg, and he could get a fresh shower.

Go! The beast hissed, and Lance’s body jerked in response. He fought his own body as it tried to follow Eric, and when he looked at Kaela, she sent him an odd look. Derek had the cover halfway closed. Decide.

“Are you constipated or something?” Kaela asked.

Lance looked down at his hands, wrapped around his stomach. He didn’t remember doing that.

“No,” Lance shot at her. Then he sighed. “No.” Softer this time.

Derek nearly closed the cover. There was just enough room for Lance to slide through.

“Stop,” Lance said. At first, he said it to the beast within. When Derek nearly kicked the cover closed, Lance repeated it.

Derek went still, his leg poised to kick, and Kaela cursed.

“So you’re going down there too?” Her hands were on her hips now. “You’re already injured. Eric is on a suicide mission down there, and the only thing you’re going to achieve is digging your own grave when you get lost.”

Lance walked to the cover, still open just enough for him to slide through. You’d better not be getting us killed, he thought, hoping the message was received. He got no response, but he knew it reached the beast.

Kaela put her hands on her head like she would pull her hair out. “You’re as dumb as he is. Don’t expect us to come after you if you don’t come back, because we won’t.”

Lance stopped and turned toward her, and he couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, you will.”

Kaela opened her mouth, looked at the ground, then flipped him off.

Lance slid down into the sewer once again, and the smell of rotten eggs and feces crinkled his nose. Without Kaela’s perfume to mask the smell, nausea punched him in the stomach. He descended anyway until he reached the bottom of the ladder. With a few more kicks, Derek closed the cover above them.

At least the place was well lit.

Lance’s chest clenched in a tight twist, then someone spoke.

“I knew you’d come around,” Eric said, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

“Yeah, well, call it a gut feeling.”

“I brought you a gift,” Eric said, holding up the partially burned piece of wood. “I took it after Derek dropped it.”

Lance glared at the piece of wood. Even from where Eric stood, he could smell it, but it was better than nothing.

“Just get it over with.”

“That’s my boy.”

“Don’t call me that.”

Eric laughed. “Okay, I’ll just stick with Lancelot, then.”

Lance opened his mouth to argue that as well, but the thought of what Eric might think to call him next shut him up.

Eric crouched in front of Lance, salvaging the splint. He wrapped it tightly with what little bandage remained, then stood. “How is it?”

Lance put a bit of weight on his leg. It still hurt, but it was better, at least. “Not bad.”

“Then let’s get going.”

Lance gripped the cane tighter and followed Eric along the sewer, the pain in his leg better now that the brace was intact. He leaned against the railing for extra support.

I don’t know why you brought me down here, Lance thought. But you’d better have a good reason for it.

The beast made a sound in response, almost like—a purr?

Lance scoffed and hobbled forward.