Monsters and Maidens

Rick looked upon the crowd near the bus and was reminded of one aspect of being a teacher that he loathed the most: angry parents. Except now it was worse. Fear and uncertainty were fueling things into a level he wasn’t sure could be contained.

Not that he had a choice anyway, he’d finished checking on everyone that had been outside the bus itself. Ignoring the problem wouldn’t make it go away either. Not that he wasn’t tempted to test the hypothesis.

The crowd that had gathered next to the totaled upside-down bus was becoming louder by the minute. The scratched worn-out blues and greens of the bus making the silhouettes of the people next to it sharper. Curses and yells were forcing their way out of the tumultuous babble of screaming panic and growing rage. Several faces were turning red. By the time Rick was close enough to confirm what was going on in detail, he had spotted a troublesome looking head full of fiery red hair, just in time to witness as the student lunged at one of the parents.

Someone was fast enough to stop Mark before anything of concern truly happened.

A hand had reached out to grasp the red-head’s shirt, jerking him back and away from the expected target. The sophomore lost his balance, getting thrown to the ground from the abrupt halt to his inertia. He scrambled to stand upright, a flurry of limbs followed by raised fists ready for a fight. Mark turned to face the potential new opponent and hesitated before his expression twisted in frustration.

This unfamiliar presence was one hard to ignore. He was a young man with shoulders that were closer to a brick-house than to flesh and bone. His biceps looked solid enough to bend steel, and his chest barreled outwards through a stiff grey shirt. He was a well-defined lump of muscle that had short black hair combed into tight symmetry, and half his face was practically hidden away behind a pair of thick glasses. Rick tried to recall his name, but it wasn’t until he remembered the moniker given by the other teachers that he realized who this was.

Tomas the Tank Engine.

The student had stepped towards Mark, frowning. “Violence is not the answer.”

Mark’s frustration was apparent, and he lowered his fists and scoffed. “Tell that to these shits for brains.” The gesture was aimed at Mr. Daniel, the only other teacher present besides Rick and Alice.

The older male scoffed, keeping the steady glare and obviously ready to push things further.

As good a moment as any to step in, Rick broke through the crowd and into the limelight of attention. “Tomas’ right, we’re in no condition to start a fight. We need to handle the situation,” he spoke loudly and clearly, turning his attention from Mark and towards the crowd. He eyed Daniel for a moment, the fellow teacher nodding his way, content on dropping things now that another teacher was participating. Rick continued. “Do any of you have an inkling of how many people here are heavily injured? Who’s giving first aid to them?” His question shifted to face the crowd. Many present showed hesitation, looking away as Rick had forced them to turn their focus elsewhere. “We are going to coordinate while we wait for help. We can’t waste time like this.”

“Who gave you the authority?” Someone spoke up from the crowd. The hissing voice was nails on chalkboard, a bucket of ice that splashed down Rick’s spine. It came from the person he had least wanted to interact with.

Thus, he ignored her rather than even acknowledge her existence.

The chemistry teacher explicitly turned away from the source, glancing at Daniel. “I need you to help anyone who has difficulty walking or moving on their own. You-” He turned to Mark. “-are going to help check the more critically injured people.”

“Why the fuck should I help?”

“Because your brother is among them.”

The words knocked the fight right out of the sophomore. Panic emerged for a fraction of a second before his jaw set and locked, his eyes narrowing and shoulders tensing. A sharp nod followed, and he left without so much as a question.

From behind Rick, the screeching voice rang louder. “Are you ignoring me!?”

Yes, he was, which was why Rick had turned to Alice and pointed at her and four others. “We need everything inside the bus taken out and accounted for, medicine especially. We don’t know how long help will take to show up, knowing what we have on hand will help. I sent Charlie to check how far the road is.”

A claw of a hand clutched at Rick’s shoulder, “Don’t you dare-“

“HELP!”

The shrill scream had cut through the air like a knife through paper. As one, everyone’s gaze swiveled towards the forest, towards the source. The towering trees loomed in a silent menace, and amongst their shadows, Rick saw someone running, running so fast it was clear they feared for their life.

It was Charlie.

The young man was lacking glasses and was pale as a ghost, his face twisted in an expression of pure terror as he sprinted, trying to avoid the roots of the trees. “HELP ME PLEASE! OH GOD!” His voice came in a desperate fight against precious breath.

He’d not made it to the clearing. He was getting closer. And Rick began to move to lend aid. But his steps froze as he caught movement amongst the treetops right above the running student.

The young teacher could not believe his eyes. At first it had appeared no more than a blur of shadows, a trick of the light. But as it approached, it became clearer it was anything but.

The visage was one straight out of a nightmare, a woman whose lower body was that of a massive black spider, both halves being as large as a draft-horse. The arachnid part was covered in a carapace colored with gleaming, deadly darkness. The young teacher felt as if every drop of blood within his body had frozen at the sight of the monster that jumped between treetops. With a speed it had no right to have at that size, the task looked no harder than jogging. Her silver eyes gleamed from underneath the bed of silky black hair as it whipped with the wind from her wild movements. The face was a ghostly visage, its rosy red lips curled into a wicked smile. Not a sound came from the creature as she approached.

And like a pinball with a target, the black creature bounced from one tree to another, getting ever closer with a ferocious speed.

“HELP!” Charlie ran, but he was no faster than the monster. Certainly not fast enough to outrun it.

The outcome was obvious. None spoke it, but none dared approach the edge of the clearing, all too aware of what was about to occur. Charlie looked over his shoulder just in time to see the monster dropping from above.

It all happened so quickly, yet every instant felt like it stretched on for eternity. Rick watched as the part-woman part-arachnid fell twenty meters and onto Charlie like a bird of prey falling on a hapless rabbit. The human crumpled and fell as the monster had caught him.

Rick’s voice caught in his throat, but everyone around him found the air to scream.

The impact from the monster as she landed caused a small cloud of dust to rise, disturbing visibility for only half a second. No one moved. Every single person in the startled crowd was left breathless. Not a sound was made.

And with the settling dust, they saw that the creature had caught the sophomore, holding him in a tight grip. The young man’s eyes locked with Rick’s as the creature wrapped delicate, black hands around the young man’s throat, leaving him only able to choke, but not for long. The monster abruptly shook her hand while holding his neck, a wet cracking sound followed.

Like a puppet that had its strings cut off, Charlie went limp in the monster’s grip. The young man’s eyes had remained open and empty, his arms hanging on either side. The dusky brown hair swayed in the breeze, blank eyes looked upon Rick’s, the light extinguishing from them.

And just like that, he was dead.

The silence was deafening.

It was a ringing quietness that turned all other sounds into a mute tone. A bell that had been struck and shook every spectator to their core. It clawed at their backs, reaching into their chests, and squeezing their hearts in a vice.

The spell of frozen time was broken when the arachnid monster leaned away, silver predatory eyes turning towards the crowd with a deep satisfaction and a wide smile. Her mouth had too many teeth.

Everyone present collectively felt the chill run through them, reality impacting against them at terminal velocity. “Oh God, no,” someone whispered with a wheezing whimper.

The creature took a step towards them.

As one, each individual in the crowd considered looked in the direction they might be able to take and escape the monster. Rick knew there was little escape. The only hope would be if the creature decided to go for someone else first. Nothing else would be able to stop it.

But the creature did not move any closer. Her focus shifted from the people present and towards the forest at the opposite side of the clearing. Silver eyes narrowed in hesitation. Her body took half a step backwards.

The monster must have sensed something. Her eyes widened and, without hesitation, she turned around. The monster’s hand held Charlie’s corpse as if it weighed nothing, not slowing her down any as her immense body jumped towards the trunk of the nearest tree with impossible grace. The next jump came faster still. The monster was rushing away with greater urgency than when she’d been chasing her victim.

She was entirely out of sight in mere seconds, vanishing so quickly one might have mistaken the whole thing for a bad dream.

No one dared move or make a sound for an entire minute.

“Did… something just spook that thing away?”

As if to answer the question, a thunderous roar rippled through the clearing and shook the surrounding air. And Rick felt they’d jumped out of the pan and into the fire.