I was hot on the trail of the latest missing person’s case this week. That made seven in the last three days. First was a hunter and his son up in the woods, then there was the jogger hiking a mile from there, then there was the four students who had snuck into the swimming pool of their school. I had managed to get a look around the crime scene for that one. They had left behind some clothes, wet footprints indicating at least one of them went for a swim, and then there was blood by the door and signs of a scuffle towards the entrance and fire escape. I searched the alleys and the streets for more of the trail, but it ran cold quickly. Luckily I picked up another one, on the rooftop leading along the buildings I was swinging along now.
I really hope this case doesn’t end with a pile of dead victims.
My dad had been investigating the string of odd occurrences ever since that explosion deep in the woods outside the city. FBI and Homeland security had been all over the place since, letting no one in. Not even my spider powers could get close enough to find out what happened. I left Miles a message through my multiversal watch, hoping his invisibility might get him in to see what the fuss was about. He promised to check it out when he could spare some time. That had been two days ago and he’d yet to call back. I wasn’t worried. (Okay, maybe I am.) Being a spider person was hard, especially when you have your personal life to contend with. If Miles can help, he will. If not, I’ll just have to handle it myself.
Meantime the police had been investigating strange calls across the city. Including the disappearances, there had been break ins, destruction of property, reports of a monster lurking in alleys or the rooftops. And then there were the deaths, twelve confirmed murders, more suspicious in circumstance. Many were criminals, leading to speculation about another vigilante. At first I prayed it wasn’t the Punisher again, but now I doubt it’s him. These kills were…visceral. Two had their heads blown off by a weapon none of us had seen before. Three had their chests caved in. One had fallen from a great height. Four had bloody puncture wounds that gave me the shivers. And the rest were found hanging from the ceiling and…skinned. (Those gave me nightmares.)
Many were already speculating a serial killer, but the patterns didn’t feel right. The MOs were off. There are no links to the victims, not even the criminals. I even found a dog mutilated at one of the homes where a whole family had been killed, torn apart by something that could not be from an animal. For a moment there was a panic that the youngest son would be another missing person, but thankfully he was found at a neighbors hiding in their shed, babbling about a monster. Dad had a haunted look on his face when he came out of the home. He saw me perched on a lamppost and I could feel the urge we both shared. If I wasn’t in costume, I’d probably be giving him a hug right now.
Something was going on in this city. There is something out there, killing and lurking, and kidnapping people? If only I could get into that crime scene in the woods. What are the feds hiding? They’ve been stonewalling us down here too, snatching up these homicides faster than Dad can assign them. They know something, but they’re not sharing. First I’ll follow this trail to its source and then I’ll check out the FBI. I might not be able to get to whatever it is in those woods, but sneaking into their offices to look at their case notes should be a simple task.
The trail ends at an office building. An abandoned office building. The business went bankrupt several weeks ago, so the place was boarded up. But judging by those broken windows on the fourth floor, something let themselves in. I could follow though the same way, but it’ll be safer to slip in through the ventilation. The shaft is cramped, but I can sneak up on whatever might be hiding in there.
The interior certainly smelt like nobody had been here for a while. I found a spot secluded to slip out onto the ceiling and crawl along the roof. The room was dark, pitch black thanks to the boarded up windows. It’ll be difficult to find my way around without a flashlight. Peter told me he added night vision to his lenses. Next time I’m in his dimension, I should ask him to lend me a pair. (Thinking about it, I should really start making upgrades to my costume.) I crawled from room to room, keeping to the shadows and the ceiling, but so far no signs of life. It didn’t look like any of the missing people were here. Nor was whatever I was tracking.
Wait! Is that blood?
On the railing next to some stairs, leading down. I have to drop to the wall to get close enough to see but…that can’t be blood? It’s green. Unless it’s green blood. That might have green blood. Nothing human, I realize.
I descend the stairs cautiously, leaping to the ground and flipping in and out of the shadows. My senses are hyper alert as I follow the blood trail lower, all the way to the basement. Not a place I want to be I thought as I crept carefully down the steps. The door at the base was open, but I’m hesitant to go inside. I should really call for backup. I could call the police. No, I need to be sure. If I find something, I’ll call them. Otherwise they should focus on leads that will lead to something. I step into the basement alone. I’m ready to bolt the moment I need to. I’ve seen plenty of horror movies to know this is not the smart decision I should be making. Yet I venture deeper anyway, like some stupid blonde protagonist.
I don’t stop moving until I see the body on the ground in front of me. I only see the outline in the darkness, but it’s enough to make me freeze and crouch, ready to strike. I jump to the wall and watch for movement, but nothing happens. I cock my head and creep closer. The shade isn’t moving. I don’t hear any other signs of life down here. I chose to risk the light and pull out my phone. I can barely see a thing down here.
I snapped the flashlight function on my phone on and get my first look at the alien, and I nearly throw up in my mask.
It was definitely an alien. Which in a weird way was a relief. It meant it wasn’t one of the missing people. Which meant there was still a chance for me to save them. But still, there was an alien in front of me. It was humanoid, large, and it was covered in green blood. There was gorges in its…I want to say armor. It looked like it had been impaled by something sharp. And there was a cannon on its shoulder. A big one.
I dropped back to the floor to get a closer look, holding my stomach as I examined the gruesome wounds. It was definitely dead. But what killed it? Thinking back to the murders we’ve been investigating, that gun and the blades in its arms…they could be responsible for some of the deaths. Some, but not all. But that would mean there was something else out here, killing and kidnapping people.
Could there be two aliens?
I reach down to remove the mask on it’s face, out of morbid curiosity if nothing else. This was my first alien after all. I managed to pry the mask off and got a look at the gnarly face of this creature. It had fangs that seemed to converge on its mouth from four direction, and its eyes were intense. “Wow, you are one ugly…”
I felt the tingle in my spider-sense before I could finish the thought. My eyes widened as it pointed behind me. I went with my instinct and leapt up, sticking to the ceiling as something lunged beneath me, missing by a hair. I dropped my phone in the process, the light shining up at me leaving the rest of the hall in darkness.
I spun my head around as something scuttled away into the shadows. I couldn’t see it, but I could hear it. Something growling, snarling, hissing. An animal, or something more. Something vicious. My spider-sense was tingling, but suddenly it wasn’t as sure of a direction. Where are you? I wonder. Usually this would be the time for quips, but the alien kinda freaked the jokes out of me.
The tingle pointed me to my left, so I fired my web-shooters at…something. There was a roar and a clatter. Got it!
Wait! Behind me?
I spun around not expecting a flanking attack. I thought it was in front of me. Unless there are two of them.
There must’ve been because something collided with me as I reacted too slow. Something huge and dark with big teeth and a horrifying snarl. I hit my head on a wall as it barreled into me and blacked out.
***
I was groggy when I woke up. Felt like I had been asleep for hours. I must’ve passed out. Where am I?
I forced my eyes open and had to blink through the black spots dancing in front of them. I wasn’t where I started. I was somewhere else. Somewhere that smelt. The smell was awful. But I can’t move my arms. Or my feet. I can barely lift my head. I flex my jaw, which feels like it’s been hanging open for ages. My throat is raw and and it’s hard to breathe.
It took a moment for me to get my bearings, and my sight. The first thing I see is this weird object sitting in front of me. It looks like an egg, if eggs were two feet tall and slimy. The top was peeled open, like an ugly flower. The next thing I see is the room, covered in this slimy, bark like stuff. It was everywhere, and on me. I finally looked down and realize why I can’t move. I was covered in it, the stuff pinning me to the wall. I tug at my arm. It’s stuck, but I think I can break out using my spider strength. I just need to get my strength back, wake up, take a breath. Focus. Figure out where you are.Why are you here?
I shake the cobwebs out of my head and look around. I blink as I see fabric, the material from my costume. My mask! I look around. There’s no reflective surface, but I know that’s part of my mask down there. I move my jaw, coughing from a lump in my throat. I don’t feel it. One of my eyes is seeing through a lens, so at least half of it is still on. I look down at my costume. Pieces are torn or ripped away, nothing revealing though. Thank god. It looked like I’d been mauled by a cat or something. I turn my attention to the room. It was big, like another floor of the office building. I think that’s a photocopier under that slime? And a desk over there where that…
“Oh my god!” I gasp as I see one of the missing people I’ve been looking for. A man was lying on the desk, unconscious. At least I hope he’s unconscious. “Hey! You awake!” I call out, tugging on the restraints again. I peer closer and notice the front of his shirt is stained red, and there’s something about his chest. Like something had burst out of it.
There’s a sound on my right and I turn my head to find another one of the missing. This woman is definitely alive because I can see her breathing, and she’s moaning. She’s wearing a bikini, or maybe it’s just her underwear. It looks wet. She must’ve been the one swimming in the pool. But that’s that on her face? Covering it. Something slimy and fleshy and…wait, did it just move!
I stared at the woman’s head as something covered it, its tail coiling around her throat as she moaned underneath. I scan the room and find another missing person, with the same thing on their head, trapped on the wall like me and the women. They hung limply, this thing hugging their face. More of these egg things are scattered around the room, and some of them seem to be open.
My head rings as I cough again. With my throat so raw the cough is uncomfortable. I can feel a lump in my throat but I can’t shift it. And I keep getting this weird sensation of fingers curled around my skull, a tightness around my neck and something being forced into my mouth…
What is this place?
It takes until now to realize my I’ve been so groggy. My spider-sense has been going haywire this whole time. I need to get out of here. I look at my restraints. My watch is still on. Good. If Miles is in my dimension, he can track me here. That’s if I can’t break out myself. As soon as my strength comes back I’ll break myself and these people out and figure out what is going on. “Everything’s going to be okay” I say aloud, to the captives and to myself. I just have to stay calm and stay alive until I can escape.
Also, why does my chest hurt..?
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