The world thundered in her ears—her vision bathed in red.
She glanced right; corridors flew past her—shuttering by at a faster and faster rate. She felt woozy. Her legs quaked.
The siren shrieked, and she tightened her grip on Saphris' hand. She barreled around the corner, nearly taking the other woman down with her as her feet fought for purchase.
The vibrating chitter echoing down the halls simmered with anticipation. As if they could hear them despite the distance they've tried putting between them—could feel them.
She caught sight of the bulkhead—the escape pod! "Come on!" She tugged at Saphris' hand breathlessly. "It's right there!"
A thud sounded behind them, and Dylan's world ground to a halt. Her head cracked against the floor—her vision flashed.
She blinked, frozen, as she stared at Saphris. Her face twisted, and scalp straining as the hand ensnared in it held her friend up like a prize to be inspected.
Eight bloody eyes glittered, blinking abnormally as it took in its frantic prey. "Well… what do we have here?" The hissing filled the room, grating against their ears.
The walls seemed to shake as the pursuing stampede they'd previously escaped gained on them. Their mother chittering in glee at the prospect of finally capturing the last survivors in the ship.
"Really, I must thank you. You gave quite the chase—the little ones couldn't even keep up!" The words sounded so demeaning, and somehow her stomach plummeted further. She wanted to vomit, but her attention was glued on her best-friend. Oh god, oh god, oh god no. Please no. Why her. Why why why. The hand in her hair hadn't even budged, for all of Saphris' thrashing.
The stampede crashed against the wall as eight-legged bodies scrambled around the corner, coming to a skittering halt as they saw their monstrosity of a mother.
Dylan couldn't contain her shiver, and her skin broke out into hives as she took in the indistinguishable mass of them. How many… the hair on her arms raised as her eyes bounced around the room, landing back on Saphris.
The bulkhead was just behind her… "Go!" Saphris shrieked, a gong against the terror. "Fucking run!"
Adrenaline flooded her veins, and she didn't even register what was happening until her feet were already under her and the bulkhead had been thrown open with all her weight. Saphris' scream seemed to cut straight through the noise, as the creature tossed her back into the mass of spider children and dived for her.
Dylan slammed the bulkhead closed and wrenched it shut, punching the emergency launch button next to her. She fell to her knees as the escape pod rocketed away from the ship—her home.
She put her face in her hands and screamed.