Chapter 5: Waldo
My blood is still boiling as Grant followed me. That woman told us to respect spiders. Please, spiders are Satan incarnate, I could hear mi madre saying in my head. These were not normal spiders; I’m sure they’re some sort of mutant, some kind of chemical imbalance. It felt good to lay into her a little. I know it’s a funeral, but our friend is dead. Worse, my friends—Emaj, Grant, and Paige—all blame themselves for her death. They had to know they weren’t being logical. Don’t get me wrong; I know there is cause and effect; hell, even in science, we had chaos theory and butterfly effects. That still doesn’t mean they’re at fault. Don’t they realize if any of them were there, they could be dead too? Was I the only one being sensible? I’m going to miss Teresa, but it’s not my fault she went on her own. It’s not theirs either. Her death and their reactions just make me so mad; I could hit something.
I could see Paige and Liam as they approached Emaj, Salem, and Gertrude. Paige looked upset like I did, her face red instead of her usual pale complexion. Liam looked defeated. I guess they had a disagreement. Much like Grant and I. I didn’t know Liam, Salem, or Gert too well; we all became friends over the last year. I only knew Emaj, Paige, and Greg mostly. Greg and I had a similar interest in chemistry, but opposite everywhere else.
“Look, there’s Emaj and the rest.” Grant panted as he caught up to me. He must have tried to apologize for my outburst to be panting like that.
“And Paige and Liam,” I said in a more calming voice. Without saying anything else, we caught up to the group.
“Well, if everyone is ready to go…” Emaj said, as silence filled the air when we all got together. That isn’t like us. I may be quiet, but even I would talk more than this. Teresa’s death is affecting everyone. I couldn’t imagine what this would feel like if Emaj wasn’t here. He knew us all, so seeing him handle everything and everyone is good. Even if he blamed himself, he managed to keep a cooler head. We’re going to need that. Very similar to Teresa. Her enthusiasm was like a catalyst in the reaction of our group, spreading joy and positivity faster than any chemical reaction. She was the vibrant catalyst that turned a mundane day into a lively and uplifting compound. Without her, Gertrude tried, but she could be too motherly. Salem, as joyful as she could be, could be too religious for me. Even though I came from a Catholic family. Science is my religion. Liam was weird, funny, but weird. Paige is more like me, quiet and explosive, but despite being in love with psychology. All she could do is be a comfort. Like I said, Emaj is the closest to matching Teresa’s energy. I hypothesize that he would be the one to get us back on our feet.
“Only if you are,” Paige said to Emaj. We all now knew that the two of them had something going on. Even though it was behind Shalin’s back, that asshole deserved it. He worked with Grant and thought he was so smart. I couldn’t stand him. He’s missing now, but isn’t a suspect because this is the fifth time it has happened at our school. A female of the couple ends up dead, and the boyfriend goes missing. It could be a pattern of a serial killer. I guess the authorities thought that it’s unlikely that they all could be in on it. It’s been longer than three days so if the boyfriends aren’t the murderers, they were also dead by now.
“Let’s go,” Emaj said, and everyone followed. We gathered around, and Paige ended up in the middle. I looked at her as her eyes widened, almost to all white. I looked to see why. Floating in the air was the woman in the green dress.
“Where is she?” she asked, looking down at us. I wanted to move, but my legs didn’t respond. She extended her arms, and visible webs started forming around everyone in attendance. “You foolish mortals don’t even realize when you’re trapped.”
These webs did more than extend; they were moving, as if they were alive. I could see strings ensuring everyone. The strings wrapped around like snakes around their prey. Bonding like atoms. Everyone fell to the ground, not being able to scream as the webs covered their mouths. Those who could screamed for their lives. Other strings of webs started to turn into the form of a spider. Looking as if they were going to start devouring the prey.
“I’m going to eat well,” the woman said, as more strings of webs shot from her fingertips. The web-like spiders started changing color, becoming large brown red spiders. I knew something was up with those spiders, but not this. This was illogical, a woman spinning living webs that could become spiders? That was fantasy.
I looked up at the woman, and she licked her lips. The webs looked as if they had captured almost everyone. I could see the strings covering the area in a dome. Surely someone would see it from the outside.
The area started to feel colder than earlier, matching her eyes. She was going to eat us through these web-constructed spiders.
“We got to get out of here,” I said, but no one heard me. The screams crowded out my own voice. My memory shot back to mi madre.
“Spiders are devils,” she held me on her lap as a kid. “They suck the soul of others and carry it back to Lucifer.”
“But why, mami?” I asked, like I always did. “I thought spiders only hunted insects and helped with the environment.”
“That’s what this new age science wants you to believe. Always remember that a serpent tricked Adam and Eve. Spiders. They are no different.”
“But mama—”
“Stop talking back and listen!” My mom was always religious, more than papa. She didn’t like that I was inquisitive and interested in science. Forced to go to all church events, forbidden to read too much of science books. Now, here I am with a woman acting as if she was Lucifer, as my mom described. If I lived, maybe I’ll go apologize.
The woman looked at me, and I immediately regret letting off on her. My anger gets the best of me at times. She licked her lips, “Breakfast is served.”
