Chapter 7: Bump in the Night

“Up, get up, ELIZABETH GET UP” Trevor is standing over me, practically pulling me to my feet as he hands me a spear. I take it despite my blurry vision and half closed eyes.

“What’s going on!” I shout at him, but he’s already off to the next person.

Stepping outside under the blue moonlight, I see a small section of the clearing lit up like a neon sign. Past the blue light near the burning campfire, I see a few of the guys stabbing and slashing into the darkness.

I make my way over, only to freeze.

Fuck this, fuck this world. Why is it always giant fucking spiders!? Standing about the height of a large dog, spindly legs chatter against the ground like the pitter patter of a small army. My heart races and my gut turns at the sense of wrongness in these creatures' movements. I have to stop myself from running back to shelter. Forcing one leg in front of the other I join up with the guys. Big Mike, on the far side, has forgone his axe in favor of stomping them with his massive feet. Each smash shatters their silvery grey carapace, and leaves them twitching in the dirt. Cody and David stand side by side, spears out as they impale any that come near. Their scuttling legs help them avoid the occasional lunge, and their carapace prove strong enough to take a couple strikes.

Joining the fray, a knife-like sensation stabs into my gut as a blackish limb spears at Cody’s leg. Forcing my entire body into a swing, I smash into his attacker. Its legs flail in the air as I bring my spear to bear with a downward stab into its now exposed belly. A piercing twist. Legs curl. Then I’m onto the next. I stab at beady red eyes only to miss. The monster skitters aside and I follow up with a full body lunge. My spear falls. The impact reverberates through the wooden shaft. Only the agile creature isn't there. Glancing up I find the monster mid air. I let out an undignified yell. Instinct screams. The back of the spear smashes the spider aside and I finish it with two stabs for good measure.

I stab, and slash at the arachnids, my body on autopilot. Death, broken limbs and pierced shells fill my vision. Sound turns distant. I watch myself knock the spiders off balance, stab the spear into them, and move onto the next. The world slams into me as my body hits the dirt. My skin shivers as I feel a cutting pressure on my abdomen. My eyes glance down to find a grotesque creature standing over me. One limb, painted red. Bile turns in my throat but my limbs act without my will. I punch and knee but the legs hold me tight. Webbing creeps up my legs and panic fills my mind. I look to the dirt and find my spear, half broken lying just out of reach. I stretch my arm, grunting out a shallow breath as my fingers twinge just short of the spear. The webbing creeps passed my knees. My heart pounds. An orange glow flashes over my vision and the spider rears back. My reach extends and I sweep my half-spear, and force the creature from my body. With a slash I’m free from the webbing and look into the distance. Someone threw a burning log into the oncoming tide. Someone throws a log into the bunch, and even more horror pours over me. There are hundreds of them. Piled up and pouring into the clearing. They climb over others and make their way to the front, where they’re slowly encircling us. I fear what could have been without the roaring fire behind us.

Spiders swarm forward pressing between my feet. I stomp, and kick those that try to climb my unsteady legs. Then the world darkens. Sound disappears. I’m left with only the scent of sweat and rust. It's only in this stillness that I notice the blue glow is gone, along with the moonlit sky. My abdomen twinges and I glance down to see a still bleeding wound. A hand pulls me back as a burning branch is cast into the clearing, followed by another, and another. The orange glow fills the area but the spiders are gone. The only evidence they were ever there is the piles of corpses and my blood soaked companions. I try to stay vigilant as I peer into the darkness. For an eternal moment, no one makes a sound. Then I hear an exhausted Trevor speak.

“I think they’re finally gone….Is everyone okay?” his voice creaks out. His thin form fills my vision as he holds his body on a charred branch. I glance at my allies, noting their lack of major wounds. Big Mike stands out, with a plethora of blood and guts coating his legs and feet.

I fall onto my ass, resting on the ground, as a warmth spreads down my stomach. Voices grow distorted. Chris and Big Mike give me a worried look. I fall. Someone’s holding my shoulder down, as the fight flashes through my mind. I feel a tug along my stomach, and look down to see my top utterly destroyed, and Chris ripping something out of my body. I shiver as darkness overtakes me.

——

I feel like shit. Did I drink last night?

The night's memories pass through my mind, and I try to pull myself up. My aching hands scrape against the ground, and a sharp pain pierces through my body. I let myself relax, and open my eyes to the bright light of day. Someone has wrapped my torso in reeds and my sleeping mat is under me. I check my hands to see raw skin and blisters. Probably from the spear shaft. I try to check my torso, but other than brown-dried blood on the reeds, I can’t make anything out. My head's pounding. Looking around, I see Chris wrapping some reads around Mike's feet, the big man sits there, arms crossed like a child in timeout.

Chris finishes up with Mike and kneels next to me, my half-open eyes meet his.

“Elizabeth.” He says with a nod, while he rifles through the reeds.

“…Water?” I ask, and he obliges.

“Thanks, how bad is it?” I say to the stiff man.

“I think you’ll be fine, though you should really wash these out…” he touches the wounds, “Just rest for now, you’re a help to no one like this,” he says, nodding, then gets up.

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I let an hour or two pass by before I try getting up again. The ache in my hands has dulled, but that sharp pain is still there. It takes a couple attempts, but I push my way up. Trevor comes over to me, gives me some meat and a shoulder to lean on.

“This isn’t spider, is it?” I ask as I watch Cody, disassemble the corpses.

“Nope, we might have to eat spider someday, but not today. On the plus side, I think you’ll be pleased to know that all those bodies have spinnerets,” he says

“That’s webs right? Like webs used for silk?” I ask, kind of getting excited at the idea

“I’m not sure if they’re typically used for fabrics, but I’m hopeful,” he replies.

“Ah, here he comes. Let’s get you into the teepee,” he points out David returning with a spider carapace absolutely filled with water.

As we step into the shelter I watch as David drops several small stones into the shell.

“Do you want help washing the wounds? I can probably scrub your back and such while I’m at it,” he says to me.

At this point. I’m downright filthy. Days of cakes on detritus, plus the blood and guts. Although having Trevor give me this world's equivalent of a sponge bath sounds like a nightmare, I really want to get clean.

“Okay, if you can just handle my back, that’d be great,” I say. Trevor helps me undo the reeds, and takes the water shell from David. He soaks some unbloodied fibers into the water and scrubs my back. I take my own bundle and start working on the wounds.

The hot water, along with the scrubbing feels amazing against my sore muscles. Sooner than I’d like, he steps out of the shelter.

“I’ll be right here if you need me,” he calls out with his back to me.

Stretching out my legs, I scrub them down, before making sure to wash out every nick and scrape on my body. As I finish up, I run the last of the now lukewarm water through my filthy hair.

“Hey Trevor, can you throw me some dried reeds?” I ask, and he returns with a bushel's worth.

It takes some time, but I eventually get another top made. This one has a much tighter weave and extends down to cover my abdomen.

“Thanks Trevor, I really appreciate the help,” I say with an uncertain smile.

“Anytime Elizabeth, I’m just glad you're okay,” he replies with a relieved smile on his angular face.

“How long was I out?” I ask.

“Only through the night and some of the morning, maybe like 6 or so hours,” Trevor says.

“Is everyone else okay? I only saw Mike covered in blood,” I continue.

“Yup, a few nicks and scratches but you got the brunt of the beating. The most damage to Mike was his feet. I mean, the guy literally stomped the spiders to death,” he explains

We make our way to the fire and he hands me some more dried meat and a stone of water.

“So, any idea what happened last night? Where those spiders came from?” I ask in between bites of jerky.

“No clue if I’m being honest, they came from the northwest, from what we can tell, but we’re not sure from how far,” he says as he adds a branch to the flame.

“I’d really like to get some tools made for the camp, including new clothes, armor, and weapons for everyone. I tried asking Cody about the carapace, but he doesn’t seem to have any idea how to turn it into armor, other than just lacing it over ourselves with reed.” He lets out a tired sigh. As he speaks I notice the dark bags under his eyes and the way he’s hunched over.

“Well, Mike still has his axe, and he’s been sharpening it, so maybe we can finally get some decent pieces of wood. I made a bone chisel, which should be useful for some woodwork, but it’s not that durable, compared to say iron. I really need a grindstone if we’re going to make a lot of sharp tools though, grinding things against a rock takes a couple days, and that’s just for the small stuff.” I complain

“I’m not sure what all my camp building helps with, but I’d assume basic tools like that would probably fit in. I already helped Cody design a rack to hang some hides on, it’s functional at least.” He replies

“That would be awesome, I have one in my dream-space, but I don’t really know how to put one together. So any help would be great. Any other tools you're thinking about?” I ask the camper

“Some sort of blade for carpentry would help, but we’d need to forge that, in addition to mining metal. Maybe you can make a large chisel for Big Mike, and we can have him do that along with chopping trees? If we can go that far, we can make some workbenches for both you and Cody,” he adds in as his gaze unfocuses.

“Maybe if we can at least make a forge, somebody could pick up a blacksmith path? Assuming we get more paths eventually, of course,” I ask.

“That’s not a bad idea, it might take some trial and error but we can probably put something together,” he says

“Welp, I have a date with a chisel so I’ll be off now.” I say after finishing my food and I stumble toward Mike.

“You’re going to work in that condition?” Trevor asks

“Yup, I want to survive so,” I say with a grimace and wave him off.

I take a deep breath as I force my body over to Mike. He’s in the process of cutting the branches off a large trunk with his now sharpened axe, and I have to wait for a lull between swings before I get his attention.

“Hey Mike, I was wondering if you could do me a favor?” I ask while looking up into his eyes, his sweat-soaked hair plastered to his face.

After a moment he responds.

“Sure thing little miss, what can the Strongman do for you?” He asks with a wide grin.

“I was kinda hoping you would split that trunk for me, I want to make something, and I need a good even piece of wood for it. My height for the length would be perfect.” I ask, as I ignore the tightness in my wound.

“Certainly, just step back and watch these muscles do the work!” He booms, and I follow his lead.

I watch as he steps forward, anchors his body, and swings with every muscle into the trunk. After only a couple blows the tree is cleaved in two. A few more swings and he’s got a good sized trunk prepared.

“How’s this? Need it any thinner?” He asks, as the blood pumps through his nordic chest.

“Umm, yup actually. If you can chop off the rounded edges that’d be great.” I say, and he’s immediately back to it. A few more swings over the next ten minutes and he’s got the trunk ready.

“That was really impressive. Now if you could just drop it by my crafting area?” I compliment him.

“Of course, miss Elizabeth,” he gives a satisfied grin, and trudges over to my spot. I grab the barked edges and bring them over as well. I wonder if these will make better spear shafts. I question as I check them over.

After gathering the wood, grabbing my chisel, rock, and some of the broken up sinew, I set myself down in the clearing. I set aside the long block for now as it’s still got some moisture in it, and check over the barked edges.

I start by taking the chisel and stone to it and peeling off the bark. The trees are relatively straight so I think this is a good start. My hands still ache, and the flesh is raw, but I press on regardless. I start peeling away the edges layers until I have a thick wooden rod. I kept it at maximum thickness for now, and I’ll tailor it to the user later. Following the same procedures I make another three. Once done, I set them out in the afternoon sun.