Chapter 19 - Respect

  The flames raced forward, eating away at the webs as they rushed up each strand and fiber. The webbing filled the entire stairway all the way to the ceiling, so for the most part the flames went up, lighting up the whole area as they blazed their way toward the ceiling area.

  They hit something big on the wall, something that crackled and spat as it burned. It took me a moment to figure out what it was through the fire, but I figured it out quick enough. That was an egg sack. The spider I’d killed was about to unleash an entire pile of additional horrors on the city.

  I’m not the kind of guy who burns down his house because he saw a spider in the bathroom. Usually, I like the little critters. They do their thing; I do mine. We co-exist just fine. I’m thrilled with anything that results in a few less mosquitos buzzing around, right?

  I draw the line at spiders the size of a cow.

  I mean, come on! If you’d had that thing trying to eat you, you’d have done the same thing, I bet. I’d been the one invading her lair, sure. But all of the little hatchlings she was preparing to unleash on the city would have wandered off to make their own lairs, and human beings were definitely on the menu.

  That was really when it hit me solidly for the first time, when I realized that everything had changed. This wasn’t just about the power going out or a few weird creatures. It was bigger than that, scarier than that. And with each passing hour I was more sure the cavalry wasn’t coming to save us. If we wanted to survive this mess, we needed to stand together and fight back.

  I didn’t have time to sit there philosophizing about it, because while some of the fire went straight up, a good chunk of it rushed toward where Alex stood, too. The webs parted and broke as they burned. Ever been in a basement where the whole ceiling was covered in webs and then set it on fire? The flames will race from strand to strand until the whole network of spider silk is torched away.

  That’s what I was seeing. The flames pushed in close to Alex within seconds. I watched him pulling hard against the fibers still holding him trapped there. I wanted to rush to his help, but if I went too soon, I’d end up stuck in the burning strands myself. Would my Natural Armor work against fire? Maybe, but I wasn’t sure.

  Then all but the final strands between Alex and I parted. I tossed aside the flare and rushed him, shoulder forward. I burst through the fire and split apart the final strands of web. My shoulder took him in the chest hard enough to rip him free from the last bits of web still holding him.

  “Oof!” Alex cried out as my football-style rush tore him free and sent us both to the stairs.

  The flames washed by behind us, spreading across the last of the webs before going out. I blinked and got back to my knees, then my feet, checking both of us. No fires, no burns.

  “Looks like it worked,” I said.

  “More or less,” Alex groaned, stretching his shoulder. “These stairs aren’t the best landing pad, you know. Not that I’m complaining, mind you! I appreciate the save, my friend. What can I call you?”

  “I’m Cameron Castle,” I told him. “You can call me Cam. Most of my friends do.”

  “Well, thanks, Cam. You just saved my life. I doubt very much that I’d have survived dealing with whatever spun that web,” Alex said. “I stumbled down here running from monsters on the street and ended up in worse shape than before. How big was the spider here, anyway?”

  I made a gesture with my hands, stretching them as far as I could, then shook my head. “The body was a little bigger than that.”

  He blanched. “I see. Thank you again, then.”

  “No worries. Glad to help.” I shook myself off. “You going to be okay now? I have to bring ‘proof of death’ back to some ratkin living in the station downstairs.”

  He blinked at me three times, like it was taking a little extra effort to process what I was saying. Heck, I couldn’t blame him. As I read back the words I’d just said I almost busted out laughing. If I’d heard someone else saying that to me yesterday, I’d have figured they were in the middle of a bad trip.

  “I think I’ll avoid the streets for a bit. Too many of those little green guys up there,” Alex replied.

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  “Goblins,” I told him.

  “Goblins, huh? I guess that name fits as well as any.” He picked up a baseball bat from the steps beside him where it had fallen. “I took down a few with this, but there’s a lot of them up there. Mind if I tag along for your trip?”

  “If you want, sure,” I replied. I started back down the steps.

  “What are ratkin?” Alex asked.

  “Sort of like the goblins you ran into, except the ratkin look like rats that evolved to become humanoid. Um—rat people, basically.”

  “I see. And why are you working for them, precisely?” Alex asked.

  I laughed, then filled him in on the short version of why I was fighting a giant spider. Alex was surprised I’d agreed to help them instead of just fighting them.

  “You’re clearly strong, if you took down the creature that was scaring them,” he said as we passed by the busted-up remnants of the spider. He gave the body a wide berth. “Why not just fight them for it?”

  “I dunno,” I replied. “Am I mad at them? Yes. Do I think every ratkin in the station needed to die? No. Plus, if I hadn’t taken the job, that spider would have eaten you and her egg sac would have hatched eventually, filling half the city with more giant spiders.”

  He shivered at that idea. “I can’t fault the outcome, let’s put it that way! But I do think you may need to consider your priorities in the future, Cameron. If it’s humans against monsters in this world now, which seems to be the case, then we may need to draw a hard line in the sand.”

  I let the comment about ‘us against them’ go, for now. It might well come to that, but… I wasn’t so sure. I’d spoken with the Rat King and we’d come to an accord quickly enough. I had a feeling that while some of these creatures might simply see all people as prey, others might be willing to deal with us, work with us, team up, even. Time would tell which of us were right, I supposed.

  I stopped by the dead spider’s body long enough to break off one of her fangs, the ‘proof of death’ that the Rat King had asked for. I snagged my spear from the floor, too. The weapon wasn’t amazing, but it was a lot better than nothing. I left the road flare where it had landed on the steps; I wasn’t sticking the disgusting spider fang in my backpack and didn’t have three hands.

  Alex reached down and scooped it up. “Got that for you.”

  “Thanks.”

  That settled, we continued our descent into the space below. It didn’t take me long at all to reach the Rat King’s lair. He was waiting at the bottom of the steps when we arrived, probably thanks to the flare. It gave off a lot of light, and a fair bit of noise, too. I was sorry to see my last one get used up, but it was for a good cause.

  “Two humans, now?” the Rat King asked.

  “Found him about to become spider supper,” I replied. Alex winced next to me. “But your problem is solved. The spider is dead.”

  “Proof?”

  I tossed him the fang. It rattled across the cement floor until it came to a stop at his feet. The Rat King grinned as he picked it up, then thrust it over his head like he’d been the one who killed it, hooting and hollering.

  All across the platform, more ratkin raised their arms. Some held weapons, others just bare fists, but they were all celebrating anyway. I realized with a start that the spider must have been a lot bigger threat to them than I’d realized.

  Two of the trashcans filled with flames were right by the entry to the stairs I’d just come down. Those weren’t there just for light; they’d been placed to deter the spider from attacking. Those ratkin bodies I’d found tangled in the webs upstairs… It had been hunting them, probably all day long. The more it killed, the bigger it got. Eventually it would have been big enough to storm down there and slaughter the whole tribe or village or whatever they were.

  I nodded to the Rat King. “I’ve done what you asked. Now it’s time for you to do what you promised.”

  “Is,” he replied, returning my nod. “You do great service for ratkin. We return favor.”

  He gestured and stepped sideways, and two other ratkin came forward, holding a wrapped bundle between the two of them. For a moment I wasn’t certain what they carried, but then I took in the shape and size and realized it had to be a human body, wrapped in a clean white sheet they’d grabbed from somewhere.

  The ratkin gently laid her down on the concrete in front of me and then backed away, bowing as they did. I leaned in close and shifted some of the fabric from her face, just enough to see for certain that it really was Amanda.

  I’d never forget her face. They’d washed the blood away. Her closed eyes stared up at me almost like she was sleeping.

  “You…washed her. You wrapped her. Why?” I asked.

  “You do service to ratkin. We repay.” The Rat King tucked the white sheet back over Amanda’s face, then reached out with a hand to touch my shoulder. “One’s mate is important. Ratkin do to show respect.”

  “Thank you for that,” I replied. I turned to Alex. “Mind carrying my spear for a bit?”

  “No problem,” he replied, taking the weapon from me.

  I knelt down and scooped Amanda into my arms, holding her cradled against my chest. She felt so light, now! I knew that was just my increased Strength, but it still felt strange.

  I turned back to the Rat King. “Thank you. I hope your people do well, now that the spider is gone.”

  To my surprise, I actually meant it, too. Amanda’s loss still burned in my chest, but this being hadn’t been the one who did it. If I found that one? All bets were off. I wasn’t sure what I’d do, but it wouldn’t be kind or gentle. For the time being, though, I’d found a way to reach a level of peace I hadn’t thought possible earlier. For the moment, that was enough for me.

  I leaped down onto the rail line, Alex following more cautiously behind me as he lowered himself down. Together, we set off back along the train tracks, toward the entrance I’d used to enter this dark lair in the first place. There were still the other bodies to collect, and then I needed to get them buried.

  After all of that, I could figure out what the heck came next for me in this madhouse world we were all living in.