The World Below (ON BREAK)

Chapter 20

Warehouse, NY

Cynthia slumped to the floor, her wounds sizzling and smoking. Tanner grimaced at the sight, as did Stacy and Caspian. Ray seemed completely undisturbed. Black ichor began to seep from the burns, until she disintegrated completely into a puddle of oily blackness.

Ray interrupted their horror.

"Oh yeah, she's dead."

Tanner was utterly shocked by his calm.

"What do you mean?! Are you not going to do anything?!"

"Nah. She'll be back in an hour or so. In the meantime," he said, walking toward another beanbag in the corner, "How about we talk? I'm curious to know more about you three."

Tanner looked at Stacy, and she looked back.

"I don't see why not," he said.

"Same," was her response.

Tanner was still a little shaken from Cynthia's death, even though it was temporary. He'd never witnessed anyone or anything die before, and it surely wasn't something he'd forget anytime soon.

He slithered to an area near Cynthia's bean bag chair and curled into a comfortable position, resting his head on his arms. Caspian sat on another beanbag chair in a reclined position, looking incredibly comfortable. Stacy grabbed one of the wooden chairs from the table and dragged it over near Tanner.

Tanner began the conversation.

"Ray. Explain everything, please."

He rubbed his forehead. "Explain what? I know less than you do."

"Well, could you tell us about yourself, maybe?"

Ray put his head in his hands and nervously tugged on his mask. "I don't really know where to start. Honestly, I don't."

Tanner pulled out his Switch and pressed it, turning into human form. He sat down next to Ray and put his hand on Ray's back.

"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to, you know. We aren't pushing."

He sighed. "I'll tell you guys. It doesn't do me much good to keep it a secret from all my friends."

Caspian tilted his head, curious.

"What do you mean, you hide it from all your friends?"

"I go to a normal school, filled with normal people. I have friends, but I don't take my mask off when they're around. I'm..." He took a deep breath. "I'm scared of what they'll do if they find out."

Stacy spoke up. "Start at the beginning, Ray. Have you always looked the way you do?"

He was silent for a moment, his eyes aimed at the floor. "...No. It started when I turned thirteen."

Caspian interrupted from his beanbag.

"So you weren't always spiderboy?"

"Ugh. Two things, Caspian. One, don't call me that. Two, yes, I didn't always look the way I do."

"Sure thing, spiderboy."

Ray pinched his brow and sighed.

"I'll do my best to explain everything. I hardly know anything about it either." He looked away from Caspian and back at the floor."

"The night before my thirteenth birthday, I was completely normal. I looked like any normal person would. When I woke up the next morning, I yawned and when I closed my mouth, I accidentally bit my lip, and it started to bleed. I went into the bathroom to take a look at my lip, but when I opened my mouth, my teeth, specifically my canines and the one right behind them, were razor sharp. I almost got a concussion when I fell over."