A Spider-ific Story

Chapter 4

"Human, mutant, or vampire?" the vampire said. "Which one will you choose?"

Satoru was unsure, but the vampire's warning was clear: either he cut himself into the pieces of spider and man, or he face the flames.

He swallowed, his mind running back to Lacey. "I am the spider king."

The vampire smiled, sour and pleased, then turned and walked back into the camp. "Do not try to run," the vampire said. "Your life will be forfeit. If you try to save the your skin, my friends will kill you and feed the pieces to me."

Satoru looked down at the tips of his fingers. His hands had blackened slightly, the nails torn and cracked. It had to be the vampire's bite. "I will not run."

The spider king stood up and was led back into his tent, the spiders following him.

The next morning, he woke up alone. Lacey's skin was bright and smooth, her body relaxed, and her eyes bright. She smiled at him and offered a hand to help him up. "I didn't think we would ever be rid of you," she said.

The dream blurred his eyes, and he woke again.

To this day, Lacey is the only person he's ever met that he doesn't regret loving.

He wrapped a bandage around his head, the vampire's venom did not dissolve quickly enough to do much damage, the bleeding stopped in a few minutes, and he was cold enough to sleep in a short while.

He woke up with snow on his eyelashes, a warm gunky coffee in his mouth and a bloodied black glove on his left hand.

Before he could get up, the vampire guard had already bandaged his hand with a flap of black silk.

Satoru sat up slowly, wincing as the blood oozed from his swollen and busted lips.

"What happened?"

He looked around, looking for the vampires. "We let you sleep, your injuries will heal by the sun."

The vampire took a sip of the coffee, seemed to decide what he wanted and then chugged it down.

Satoru watched him curiously.

"I did not need the car," the vampire said, "but I needed to get away from the vampires that chased us, so we took off at night."

Satoru stared at him. "I guess you were right. The vampires are out to kill me."

He stared down at his white silk bandages, trying not to touch his wounds. He felt a blush creep up his face.

He looked back up at the vampire. "Will you help me?"

"Do you want my help?"

The Spider King nodded eagerly. "Yes!"

"Then drink my coffee, drink all of it."

He watched Satoru drink the cup full in one long drink.

"Thank you," the friendly vampire said. "I am glad that I met you."

Satoru watched the vampire as he walked away. The vampire stopped as he turned around, gave a quick salute, and walked back into the camp.

He stared after the vampire for a moment, then decided to let his legs move, stand up, and walk over to the campfire. The spiders were talking, the sounds of their conversation audible from the camp.

(*)

Lacey was pacing the length of her bedroom. Her muscles were tight, and her mind was pounding.

The vampires had decided that Satoru had been bitten, and had tracked them back to her. Satoru had fought, but there was no way to stop the vampires.