The spider's first lunge came without warning—its white eyes flashing in the dim light, limbs unfolding like a sprung trap. Adam threw himself to the side, every muscle in his body coiling and releasing in an instant. The rush of air from the spider's passing was sharp against his antennae. He hit the ground rolling, mandibles snapping reflexively, and caught sight of the thing's limbs up close—lined with tiny, glistening hairs, each one bristling like a field of tiny spears.
The creature landed heavily, the impact thudding through the tunnel floor, Adam threw himself sideways, his body scraping against the tunnel wall. The rush of air from the spider's passing was sharp against his antennae, carrying the smell of dry chitin and something faintly acrid—venom. He hit the ground rolling, mandibles snapping reflexively, his senses blazing as adrenaline flooded through him.
Up close, the thing was worse than he imagined. Nearly twice his height, its body thick and heavy, yet it moved with the coiled precision of a predator honed for ambush. Its limbs, long and jointed in unnatural ways, ended in curved tips lined with tiny, glistening hairs that seemed to ripple when they caught the faint glow from behind him.
The creature landed heavily, the impact sending a tremor through the dirt beneath them. Dust trickled from the ceiling, pattering faintly on Adam's back. Yet its recovery was unsettlingly smooth—it pivoted on its central mass with a series of faint, wet pops as joints bent at grotesque angles, limbs curling inward before whipping forward in sudden bursts.
The next moment, those limbs became a blur—used not like spears, but like bludgeons in constant motion.
Adam ducked one as it sliced over his head with a whsshk that grazed the tips of his antennae. Another came from his right, forcing him to twist into it and parry with a foreleg, the impact ringing through his bones. The spider pressed its advantage, limbs cutting the air in a dizzying storm, switching angles faster than his eyes could fully track.
Each time one limb struck the floor or wall, tiny motes of dirt and rock chips burst into the air. The narrow space made every movement feel louder, harsher—the crack of limb against stone, the thud of heavy impacts, and the faint hiss of hairs brushing past his shell.
Adam tried to move forward to break the spider's range, but a glancing blow caught his foreleg. Pain flared, sharp and searing. The barbed hairs tore into his flesh like burning splinters, making his leg jerk involuntarily.
He stumbled for a fraction of a second.
The spider saw it instantly. Its mandibles spread, venom glistening, and it lunged for his neck. Adam's instincts roared—he jerked his head upward, mandibles flashing in a desperate slash. The edge caught the spider across the face, tearing a jagged line through its chitin. The creature reeled back, screeching—a horrible sound that seemed to make the tunnel walls vibrate.
Adam pressed forward, refusing to give it the space to build momentum again. His mandibles flashed, biting, snapping, forcing the creature to deflect awkwardly. He aimed for the joints—it was the one point in those long limbs that looked vulnerable. Each clash sent more dirt raining down from the ceiling.
But the spider wasn't without tricks. With a sudden shift, it slammed two limbs into the tunnel wall, anchoring itself. Then, using its body as a pivot, it swung upward, scuttling along the ceiling with blinding speed.
Adam's antennae tracked it, his mind racing. Too high. If it drops, it'll cover the whole tunnel.
It dropped.
The entire ceiling seemed to fall with it as it came crashing down, limbs flaring outward to block every route of escape. Adam hurled himself backward, the BOOM of its landing sending cracks through the dirt floor. Dust exploded outward in a choking cloud.
A single strand of web shot from the creature's abdomen, snapping straight to Adam's head. Before he could tear it away, the spider performed a sudden handspring, its massive body flipping with impossible grace. The momentum jerked Adam forward, his legs skidding against the dirt.
The spider's abdomen twisted to the side as one limb, sharp and heavy, came down like a hammer on his back. The impact drove him flat against the tunnel floor, the air leaving his body in a rush. Before he could recover, another limb hooked under his jaw and snapped upward with bone-jarring force, sending him sailing into the air.
The spider landed with its weight perfectly balanced, all four front limbs pulling back, coiled like drawn spears. Adam was still midair when they whipped forward in perfect unison, slamming into his abdomen.
The snap of the web came at the same time as his body was hurled away, tumbling through the air before slamming hard into the ground.
For the first time since the fight began, Adam lay Motionless.