The Only Thing We Have To Fear

Not Really Titled Part

Roman turned on his heel and led the way out of the gymnasium. Frieda jogged to catch up to him. She didn't know exactly how to express that she didn't want to be just another pawn on the chessboard, she wanted to be a queen. Whatever his plan was, she wanted in. She couldn't express that through words. Not yet. Not in front of Mr. Fish, whom they were soon going to be made prey or predator by, or Bill, who was sweet but disposable in her mind.

She braced herself, then boldly wrapped her arm around his. He didn't flinch, but she looked at her strangely.

At the sudden show of affection, Roman's heart skipped a beat. Or maybe two. He understood that Frieda might be scared. She had held Bill's hand in the hall, but this was different. It was more sudden than that. Frieda was also the one initiating the interaction this time.

Roman wasn't sure how he felt about Frieda. He thought she was smart, and she was at least somewhat pretty, but he had always ignored those kinds of thoughts. He could get carried away with his own imagination. He never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever never allowed himself to think about what would happen if he ended up in a serious relationship with anyone because he knew he'd get attached to the idea of that person and forget about who they are truly. That's how he ended up caught up on the last person he had a crush on, and how he ended up dating his ex-girlfriend who seemed to have it out for him. His imagination ran away from him. He decided that now was not the time to think too hard about it.

Despite his inner turmoil, trying to decide on a whim if he liked Frieda romantically or not, Roman let her cling onto his arm. He let his hand slide gently into her hand as he walked dutifully at a pace just slightly faster than hers.

Frieda gingerly held his hand. A cut on it was still bleeding. Broken glass held the wound open, but Roman hardly seemed to notice. She held his sticky hand and tried not to think too much about what she was doing. However, the fact that her hands were sweating did not help much. The semi-dried blood on his palm mixed with her sweat and made her hand sticky too.

Bill watched as Roman held Frieda's hand and led the way down the hall. He lagged behind Mr. Fish so maybe no one would notice him sulking. He hadn't meant holding Frieda's hand to be a romantic gesture. He just thought that maybe it would make her feel braver to have someone's hand to held. He certainly felt braver. However, this was just creating a new wound that wasn't there before for no reason. He didn't like Frieda. He had his eyes set on Natalie. And Frieda was now going out of her way to show that she liked Roman more than him. 

Mr. Fish either didn't notice or didn't care as he cradled the fish close to his chest.

Roman paused at the crossroad. To the left was the cafeteria. To the right were the doors.

Roman glanced towards the cafeteria. The white tiled floors were hidden under bodies and blood. Nearly a dozen spider people were either feasting away on fresh teenager meat or wrapping them up with silk to store them for a later meal.

He tried not to breathe through his nose as he looked away. He gently pulled Frieda down the hallway away from the spiders.

Frieda glanced back and caught sight of a group of older teens huddled on the lower level of the cafeteria near the door.

"Roman," she cried, dropping his hand. "Look!"

The sound of her voice caught the attention of the other spiders. They all stopped and slowly turned to look at them.

The first thing Roman noticed when he turned around was the spiders. All of them glared at him like he was certainly going to be their next meal.

Frieda attempted to run towards them. She wanted to save her friends. Although she wasn't always sure she could trust them, she didn't want to watch them get eaten either. And she could see Pepper's distinct red hair as it shimmered in the sun. Of all her friends, she would hope that Pepper made it out alive. She was so close. She was so close to the door.

Frieda made one step before Roman caught her around the waist.

"We're Mr. Fish's prey! Stay back!" Roman called.

Mr. Fish came into view behind them. The spiders made various noises in disapproval. Although Roman hadn't been very affected by the sound Mrs. Romero made on her own, the chorus of spider growls, hisses, and other sounds he didn't have the words to describe made him shiver and freeze in fear.

Frieda attempted to back away, but Roman was completely still. All she managed to do was press herself up against his body. The warmth of his chest against her back calmed her down, but she was worried that now she was crossing a line. His arms were wrapped around her, and she was pressed into him.

It took Roman exactly three seconds to recover enough to move again. He let go of Frieda, registering that she was so unbelievably close to him. He stepped away and calmly led them down the hallway. He threw the doors open and looked up at the stairs leading up to the football field.

Roman grabbed a trashcan located near the door and used it to prop the door open. With the door propped open, he ran up the stairs as fast as he could and turned around to take a good look at the school. The building wasn't very big. He had seen schools much bigger than this one. It was in no way impressive. In fact, it barely had a football team. The marching band was bigger than the biggest sports team. Actually, half of the building wasn't even part of the school. It was completely blocked off from the rest of the building because it was the administrator building.

Roman knew all the ins and outs of the school. He spent a lot of time in his head. All that imagining lead to a lot of curiosity. The best way to quench that thirst for knowledge was to explore. There were exactly thirteen empty classrooms in the South wing and eight in the North wing. Forty-two of the two hundred four music lockers were used at all times, and there were eighteen consecutive lockers in the main hallway that were empty.

When Bill finally climbed up the steps behind everyone else, Roman forced himself out of his head and led the way to the auxiliary field just off the main field.

Once they reached the gate, they walked twenty paces due West and paused.

"Is here a good spot?" Roman asked, indicating a patch of soft dirt with his foot.

Mr. Fish nodded slowly.

Roman hesitated before getting down on his knees. These were his pink trousers. He tried so hard to keep them clean. However, they already had blood on them, and that would be much harder to get out than a little mud, if they made it out of this alive, so he got down on his knees and started to dig a small hole in the Earth.

Once he had created a hole about a foot deep, Mr. Fish got to his knees as well. Gently, he lay the fish down and began to sprinkle dirt over it.

Once the fish was completely buried, Roman stood up and declared, "I'd like to say a few words in honor of your fish!"

Mr. Fish nodded somberly, staying down on his knees.

"The fish that once lived on the desk of one Mr. Fish," he began, "was one of the best fish I have ever known. It was incredibly smart. We held some very deep, meaningful conversations in that office. He was a good listener and always listened to my troubles. That fish was a very important part of my life, and no that he's gone, my life will never be the same again."

Mr. Fish wiped a tear from his eye. He wasn't aware that what Roman was saying was mostly exaggerations of the truth. He thought all that Roman had to say was about him to make him feel better. Although he was a spider, he had grown attached to the little creature on his desk. He earned money to furnish its little tank. He appreciated that he shared the same name as the creature, though that caused him a lot of frustration later down the line. And what Roman said spoke to him. He felt like he accomplished something at his job. That maybe there was more to life than just eating things.

And then the moment passed.

"Let us all bow our heads and take a moment of silence for our fallen comrade," Roman said, closing his eyes and bowing his head.

The other two teenagers followed his example. None of them saw Mr. Fish revealing his true form. None of them saw as he lunged to strike Roman.