Of Men and Spiders

Alice walked through the corridors, noting the steady "tap tap tap" her many legs made as she walked, creating a sort of tempo wherever she went. She let her upper torso sway to the beat as she walked, closing some of her eyes to focus on the music in her head, which she started humming to.

As she walked down the hallway, Charlotte seemed interested in what she was doing, sending a feeling of inquiry and the thought, "What is that sound you're imagining?"

That snapped Alice out of her thoughts long enough to respond, though she was slightly confused. "Sound? Do you mean the tapping of my feet?"

Charlotte sent a partial yes. "That is part of it, but there was more to it. There were longer, more structured sounds between tapping your feet. I've noticed you do it occasionally, usually accompanied by low vocalizations that don't seem to be words."

Alice giggled. "You mean humming? I'm humming to some music I thought of to go along with the beat of my feet!"

That seemed to perk Charlotte's interest more. "Yes, music. I've heard both you and Scott mention it before. What is the purpose of music?"

That stumped Alice. Charlotte asked some tough questions sometimes. "I dunno. Music is fun, I guess? You can move and sing with the music. It makes you feel good!"

Charlotte seemed satisfied by her answer, though Alice knew she'd probably ask Scott for more information about it later. That was fine. Scott was better at explaining things anyway. However, a moment later, she asked Alice something Alice hoped she wouldn't notice. "Where are you going? There's nothing down that hallway except Cleo's room."

Alice nodded and sent back, "Yup, I'm gonna go visit Cleo!"

Unexpectedly, Charlotte didn't just say "no," but there was a feeling of disapproval in her thoughts. "I'm not certain Scott would be pleased with you seeing Cleo face to face again..."

Alice stomped two of her feet to emphasize her thoughts. "Well, Scott's just being stupid! He didn't want Cleo to see me before because he didn't want her to know what I looked like, but she's already seen me and is still my friend!"

After a moment, Alice added, "And it's not like she can hurt me. I'm strong and fast now, and you'll be with us too!"

Charlotte paused for a moment. Alice guessed she was talking with Scott, but a few moments later, she answered. "Alright, but be careful. Like you said, I don't think she can hurt you, but that doesn't mean you can trust her completely."

Alice rolled her eyes, or she would have, but these eyes didn't really move. "We're going to play checkers, that's all. You and Scott worry too much sometimes!"

This time, Charlotte remained silent, though Alice could still feel some concern radiating from her.

-

Cleo was surprised when her door chime went off. This wasn't the usual hour Scott came by to drop off food or pick her up for her "yard time." However, that surprise was dwarfed when she answered the door, and Alice stood before her, holding a box. "Want to play some checkers?"

Cleo was shocked and silent for a moment, trying to process what was happening, during which she saw the girl's face slowly fall into doubt. After a moment's hesitation, she finally stuttered. "Um, yeah, sure! Come on in!"

As Alice entered the room, Cleo got a good look at the girl for the first time. The first impression this close was that she was considerably taller than she first seemed, easily as tall as Cleo, and depending on the angle her legs were at, she could be significantly taller. Also, it became apparent up close that even the upper half wasn't quite as human as she'd first thought. Her "skin" was pale and looked firm, almost like a shell, though it was still pliable enough to allow a range of expressions. Also, while she had two very prominent eyes set about where a person's should be, several smaller eyes framed them, making her seem a little more alien. Her hands looked almost human but ended in hardened tips that could probably double as claws in a pinch.

As the girl stepped into the room, she had to bunch her legs up around herself to fit through the door, extending the first few into the room to stabilize herself before following through with the middle and back portion. The act was done quickly and smoothly in a way that bespoke unthinking movement that only came with lots of practice. How could the girl even wrap her head around moving that many limbs? It made Cleo's head spin a little, trying to think of it. Maybe paying attention to that many small things is what made her much better at checkers than someone her age would typically be!

Cleo couldn't help but notice the larger spider that usually stayed out in the hallway following the girl in the room. Alice noticed her staring at the spider and explained. "Charlotte's just a little worried about me, that's all. I told her not to be, but I think she wants to keep an extra set of eyes on me just to be safe."

Looking at Alice, Cleo doubted she could hurt the girl even if she wanted to, not without some weapon, but even as weird-looking as the girl was, she couldn't imagine anyone who'd want to hurt her. Then, thinking back to some of the people she'd known, she realized she was giving people too much credit. That was weird. When was the last time she hadn't immediately assumed the worst in people?

Once inside, Alice looked around momentarily as if wondering where to set up the board. Cleo walked over to her table and started clearing off the mess of her last meal and the remnants of some of her alcohol experiments. As Alice approached the table, Cleo looked at her and then at her chairs. "I, uh, don't have any chairs that'll suit you, I'm afraid."

Alice smiled and started setting up the board. "That's okay. I don't really need chairs. This body's muscles aren't like my old one. If I'm sitting in one spot and not moving much, sitting still like that is easy."

As the girl was setting up the board, Cleo couldn't help but ask. "So what's with the in-person checkers now?"

Alice shrugged as she worked. "Well, like I told Charlotte, the only reason Scott didn't want you to see me was to hide my secret, but now that you already know that, there's no reason for me to hide from you anymore!"

That made sense, though something Alice had said casually many times before suddenly stuck out to Cleo. "Like I told Charlotte." Alice looked more than a little similar to that extra-large spider monster Scott had with him during his recent interrogation. The one that followed a complex command to cut Cleo free. Looking at the large spider that had followed Alice into the room, Cleo wondered if Alice's friend Charlotte wasn't entirely as imaginary as she'd first imagined.

Finishing setting up the board, Alice held her closed hands to Cleo. "Pick one!"

Without thinking, Cleo reached out and tapped Alice's left hand, which the girl turned upward, revealing a red piece. The echo of the touch still lingered on Cleo's fingertips. Alice's skin had been cool and very firm but not cold. It had given slightly but was still far firmer than a human's typically is, as if it had been layered over something more substantial than bone.

After that, their game proceeded normally for a bit. Cleo tried her best not to stare but couldn't help but notice things like how Alice's movements were just a little more precise than most people's or that her face still had a surprising range of expression despite its alienness.

Finally, after a bit of back and forth, Alice won. She hopped up and did a little cheer that was somehow unnerving yet still quite cute. Cleo decided to focus on the latter and smiled. "Good for you, kid! But you won't be so lucky next time!"

Alice smiled back at her. "Lucky schmucky! I'm just better than you!"

Cleo couldn't help but laugh at the girl's audacity. "Oh, ho! Do you think so? Maybe it's time I start playing for real!"

Alice flips her hair over her shoulder. "You wish you were pretending! After playing against Charlotte for a while, you're easy!"

Cleo knew she'd won almost half their games, so she wasn't that easy to beat. But something else Alice said caught her attention again. "So you really do it, talk to Charlotte, I mean. And she understands you? How'd you and Scott meet Charlotte?"

As she was setting up the board for another game, Alice shrugged. "Well, we were hiding from Scott's dad, and Charlotte helped us. It took a while for her and Scott to learn to talk to each other, but even before we could speak, Charlotte was my friend!"

So Charlotte wasn't some mad scientist creation of Scott's? That was interesting. "You found Charlotte. Where'd she come from?"

Alice scrunched her face for a moment before Answering. "Charlotte says I shouldn't tell you too much about her. Just that she's good friends with Scott and me, and she'll get really angry with anyone who tries to hurt us."

Cleo looked over at the spider a little nervously. That not-so-subtle warning was clearly not something Alice would come up with unless she was much better at acting than Cleo suspected. So if that really came from Charlotte, that was the spider's way of saying that was enough questions about her. If Cleo took Alice at her word, the spider was intelligent. If it was able to communicate silently, that explained a lot. Including the fact that her silent roommate was more than just a guard dog; it was a spy.

Not that the idea of a spy bothered Cleo all that much. In fact, it was a bit of a relief. If it was just the spider watching her, that meant Scott wasn't watching some videos of her in private like some weird creep... Probably. Still, if Charlotte was more than some advanced house pet and was actually intelligent, that might explain Alice's body. At the very least, it lent more credence to Scott's story.

As Alice set up the board again, Cleo considered everything Alice had told her and all the implications therein. It definitely complicated things more than a little, but maybe that just meant there were more opportunities as well...