Their footsteps echoed through the tunnel as they kept moving.
Somehow, without them knowing when, the air they breathed had changed.
Now, there was a thick scent of dried blood and damp stone hanging in the air.
The faint glow from the wall lit their path, but it still wasn't enough to banish the darkness lying ahead and behind them.
Arlo, walking beside Noah, broke the silence.
"You know," he said, voice low but casual, "Bullet Spiders are fascinating creatures. Vicious, yeah, but fascinating."
Noah gave him a sidelong glance. "That's one way to describe something that can shoot webs through bone."
Arlo shrugged. "They're more organized than you'd think. Most people don't know this, but they have a sort of hierarchy."
Leo glanced back, trying to act as if he wasn't listening in.
"Each nest has a Patriarch." Arlo continued. "Big, slow, bloated thing. He mates with the females and stays in the nest. Never leaves."
