Spiders get tired of getting treated like pests and decide to take action
We understood that humans were very reserved when it came to respecting us. We kept a wide berth around them, staying in our dark secluded corners, away from their everyday life. Yet, whenever they saw us or our homes, destruction always followed. This never bothered me. I understood my place in the food chain. Well, it never bothered me until what happened to Archie. We heard the mother of the family groaning in annoyance at two flies buzzing around her in the living room. She didn’t do anything about them, just kept waving them away, and they would come right back to her. Finally, out of frustration she slammed her fist down on her armchair and yelled,
“These flies are so annoying! Will someone please kill them for me?” Neither her husband or son volunteered. After three more minutes of her agonizing groaning, Archie crawled out from the fridge and called,
“I’ll get them for you!”
She ignored him, but we watched from our nooks intently, ready to see her grateful response to the work done for her sake. Archie worked quick, within five minutes he built a basic web, strong enough to catch both of them on top of the lamp on the table next to her. We cheered and applauded him as he gave us a bow.
After the flies’ buzzes of pain and contempt for Archie annoyed the mother enough, she finally turned to look at the present left by him. However, instead of thanking him for his generosity, she yelped, grabbed a magazine and crushed Archie. All in the matter of a moment.
We stared in horror as she didn’t even kill the flies. She left them to suffer a slow death in the heat of the light from the lamp.
It was in that moment that I declared war against this family. They had been far too ungrateful for the work we had carried out in this household. I climbed up to the attic to find Blay Kwiddo. The dust bunnies had been piling up near her web and sunlight was hard to see through the cracks in the roof. She was dining on a mosquito when I marched in and she gave me three eyes of attention. I got right to the point.
“I need you to bite Mother in her sleep tonight.”
Her five other eyes swiveled in my direction.
“Why would I risk that? We know she’s a light sleeper.”
“After the bite, she would sleep a lot deeper.”
She chuckled, “I meant, what do I get out of it?”
“Protection. How often does Father come up here to grab his camping equipment?”
She didn’t answer, so I continued,
“Enough to put you out of a web once a month, that’s how often! Do you think he would have the gall to go camping after having his wife die next to him while he slept?”
Blay chewed slowly, mulling over the idea.
“I’ll do it on the condition that someone else is there with me when I do the deed. No watching from the corners, someone is on her body at the same time I am.”
“Done. I’ll do it myself if I have to.”
And I did. That night, as we lowered on our webs to her, Kwiddo asked me,
“I never asked what you get out of this, Brown. What is it you’re after here? Just being vengeful after Archie’s murder?” she asked it playfully, trying to get a rise out of me.
“My whole life, I’ve been submissive to these creatures, but now they’ll know the truly dominant animal of this house. A Black Widow and Brown Recluse spider are enough to put ten of these things down. I’m only asking for one.”
She only nodded as we continued our descent. She landed on Mother’s hand and I on Mother’s stomach.
“Where are you going??” Blay cried, baring her fangs to bite.
“Don’t you know? Humans swallow eight spiders a year in their sleep!!” My fangs poised, I prepared to bite everything I could in her open mouth. I may have been entering the darkness, but I was going to exit it as well.
She wouldn’t be so lucky.