She couldn’t sleep.
Whenever Sarah closed her eyes, her skin crawled with terror, as if something watched her. Something evil.
And then there were the noises. A tapping at the door, like something wanted to get in.
That fear, at least, she could calm. She got up and opened the door.
A hairy leg poked into her room, followed by seven more. She screamed. The spider reared back and lunged.
Sarah slammed the door against the spider and forced it back into the hall.
Claws grabbed her from behind, and inhuman laughter rang out. “Thank you. It almost stopped me.”
Author’s Note: I love stories that have a reversal—where a character that appears evil is actually good and vice versa. If a giant spider was trying to save my life, it would take a lot of work to get that point through my panic and terror.
A very deftly-handled reversal. And spiders get a bad rap, so it’s nice to see them cast in a kinder role.
I’m terrified of spiders, but somehow that makes me more interested in writing about benevolent or heroic ones.
I like this. It takes full advantage of its medium.
Thank you!