Longlegs

Things were not as they should. There were no lamps to light their way, nor any signs to guide them. Both had disappeared about an hour ago, though it felt longer. There were only the trees, countless tall pines, thick and old and merging into the darkness above, the leaves only hinted by their shadowy outline. The van continued down the seemingly endless road, with no end or stop in sight.

“We should have been at the village half an hour ago, this doesn’t make any sense!” wailed Nina, her finger tracing lines on the crumpled roadmap. The last time they were certain of their location was a little more than 3 hours ago, when they crossed a river and stopped briefly for coffee at a roadside diner, which happened to also be marked on the map. After that they had gone through 2 more villages, but the road was increasingly different than what they expected, making turns where the map showed it was supposed to go straight and going straight where the map showed there had to be turns. As the main navigator of their week-long camping trip, Nina was feeling exasperated. She should have bought a more recent guide of the area. Stupid, stupid.

“It’s gonna be fine, Nina, just chill,” came Sarah’s sleepy voice from the back seats. The long-haired brunette had taken off her seatbelt to allow herself to lie down on all 3 of the seats, a bundle of clothes propped under her head as a makeshift pillow.

“Perhaps we should turn around?” Ignoring her air-headed friend she folded the map and turned to the driver. Leslie was silent. Her tired eyes fixated on the monotonous road, both hands gripping the wheel in case an animal ran out of the forest or some other unforeseen obstacle popped out of the darkness.Leslie was smart. She’d figure something out.

For a moment there was silence, interrupted only by the occasional bump on the disused concrete.

“Fifteen more minutes, Nina. If we don’t find anything in the next fifteen minutes, I’m turning around and driving back to the last village.”

“It will be over 2am before we get back there though. I doubt someone will let us in, Les.”

“If we continue and don’t find anything I’ll just fall asleep on the wheel! I’ve been driving all day, do you want us to crash?”

“I know, I know… perhaps we could stop at a clearing or something? We have sleeping bags and it’s not too cold...”

“What, in the middle of the woods? You gals are nuts.” Sarah was awake now, the situation finally getting to her. “I can switch with Leslie if she’s too tired.”

“You can’t drive!”

“Yes I can! I don’t have my licence is all. This road is straight as a pin, I just have to press the gas and that’s it.”

“You are so not driving at night! If a buck or some shit comes out you’ll go straight at it!”

“I see something!” The three of them paused, peering into the road ahead. There seemed to be some sort of sign on the side. When they approached, Leslie slowed down, allowing them to read the faded letters:

“Bed, breakfast, bath. Affordable prices. 2 miles”

There was an arrow pointing to the side towards a small dirt road that lead into the woods.

“This doesn’t look like it’s still in business.”

“We’ll give it a go. It’s only 2 miles, we can trace back if we have to. And if the place is closed, we might be lucky enough to find a way in anyhow, who knows. I’m dead tired gals, and we need to stop somewhere.”

Leslie shifted gear and went onto the dirt road.


***


Ten minutes later the trio was parked in front of an old motel at the center of a small clearing. The grass had started to invade the lot and the sign that said “Motel” was no longer working, but there was a single light on a window near the reception.

“Shall we?” Nina looked at her companions. Getting lost and sleeping in some god forsaken motel hadn’t been part of the plan, but she felt a thrill in her spine. The whole thing wasn’t dangerous, not really, but it got her blood pumping and her mind running.

“Are your phones still working?” asked Sarah.

“Mine is.”

“Mine too - barely, but somehow there’s still coverage.”

“I’ll get the pepper spray just in case.”

They headed to the entrance, leaving their bags in the car for now. The door was unlocked and the trio stepped into a beige room, lit by a single yellow light bulb hanging on a naked wire from the ceiling. A handful of pots with dried out flowers decorated the place. There was a carpet with an undefined color and an otherwise empty desk except for a ring bell and some papers.

“Hello?” They waited for a few moments, but nobody answered. Maybe the owner was asleep? Sarah rang the bell, which produced a meek and hollow sound. Just when they were about to shout again, a door behind the desk opened and a man emerged from within.

“Welcome to Longpines Motel,” he said with a quiet voice. “Looking to stay the night?”

The owner was a tall skinny man in his late thirties, or so it seemed. He had a dry, discoloured skin with unusually long, black hairs that covered not just the upper side of his arms, but crawled onto his hands and stretched all the way to his bonish fingers. From what they could see above the counter, he wore a black leather vest and a T-shirt that hung loosely around him. Nina’s imagination judged that he was exactly the type to bury a corpse in the woods. The man tapped lightly on the desk with his fingers, waiting for their reply.

“Do you have rooms for 3?” asked Nina, breaking the silence.

“We have couple rooms with a bonus child bed, or a sofa. Might not be big enough for you, I’m afraid.”

“Fuck it, let’s just take two rooms. My back is killing me enough as it is from the back seats.”

Nina looked at Sarah. The busty goth girl was a sweet and loyal friend, but could be really air-headed and disconnected from reality at times. Did she not realise that in their current situation it was better to stay together? They were still lost and alone. Asking the owner for help and directions was an option, but it implied telling him how vulnerable they were, that nobody knew exactly where they were....

“Two rooms it is then,” came Leslie’s tired voice, followed by a yawn. “How much?”

“Eighty dollars, please.” The owner gave a thin, forced smile. The exhausted redhead pulled a stack of crumpled notes and counted them on the counter. The owner tossed her the keys. “Room 26 and 28, right down the hall and up the stairs.”

Leslie dragged her by the elbow and Sarah went to pick up their bags from the van. She sighed - it was settled then.


The room was as unkempt as she had imagined, a thin layer of dust covering the decade-old furniture, with the bed sheets slowly turning into an unpleasant shade of yellow like the ones her grandmother still kept around at her place. There was a TV that didn’t work and a wardrobe with blankets and more dust. The only upside was the bathroom, and the bath.

“Hot water works!!” exclaimed Leslie, her voice followed by the sound of running water. Nina relaxed in one of the armchairs. All in all, it could have been worse. They had a roof and a bed, and a bath would be welcome after the day’s long journey. Maybe even tomorrow she could talk to the owner and ask about some trivia about the place that she could write down in her notebook.

Sarah passed by to wish her good night and retreated to her room across the hallway. Nina waited almost half an hour, dozing in an armchair, for her roommate to get out of the tub. She was almost ready to give up when the red head finally walked out, a blue towel barely covering her wet body.

“I’ve left you the bath, Nina, hurry while it’s still warm.”

“Oh, I’ll get to simmer in Leslie’s broth, what an honor!” chuckled Nina, half asleep. She forced herself up from the comfy chair and somehow made it all the way to the bathroom. The tub was filled as promised. She plunged a finger - it was lukewarm but it would have to do. She undressed, leaving her clothes on a nearby chair, and slipped inside the tub. There was an instant wave of relief and relaxation. The girl leaned her head back on a towel and closed her eyes.

The next thing she knew, the water was cold. A shiver ran through her naked body. It was time to get out. Her eyelids slowly opened, revealing the shape of something in front of her. Nina stiffened in icy horror. There was foot-long, monstrous spider crawling towards her on the water’s surface. It had a small, button-sized body from which spanned eight extremely long, thin legs.

She wanted to scream but she couldn’t - her tongue felt frozen solid in her mouth. The thing made a few more steps closer to her face. With an unimaginable force of her will, she broke the stasis and reached out to a piece of clothing which she swung in the creature’s direction. The hit contacted, sending the spider flying to the opposite side of the room.

Nina rose to her feet, water dripping down.

“Leslie!!!” she finally screamed.

By the time her friend rushed in, there was no sign of the abominable thing. Nina was panting heavily, butt naked in the center of the room, holding her jeans like a whip. Her friend looked her up and down with a perplexed expression.

“Are you all right?”

“No!! There was this impossibly big spider-”

“Oh, come on, Nina-”

“No, no, you don’t understand. I’m not talking about a big spider, Les. I’m talking about a GIGANTIC spider that should only exist in nightmares. This thing wasn’t normal.”

“Well, we are in the middle of the woods. Perhaps there is an unusually large local variety. We’ll keep an eye out. Do you want to, eeeh, get dressed?”

Nina looked at Leslie, then at herself, then she blushed and grabbed a nearby towel, wrapping it around her body. The waves of terror in her mind were somehow dulled. Perhaps she did imagine the creature impossibly large, as it was so uncomfortably near her face. Spiders could get pretty big…

Her breathing slowly returning to normal after the shock, she walked back into her room with Leslie. While she was taking her bath the redhead had had the time to dry herself and slip into a pair of pyjamas. There was a map laid out on her bed, a handful of lines and question marks scratched on it.

“See this?” Leslie pointed to a rather large red circle she had drawn. “We are somewhere here. We have to be. I started from our last confirmed location and calculated the maximum possible distance we could have travelled. The problem is that there isn’t anything in there that resembles this road or this motel.”

“That’s odd,” she nodded, examining her markings. “It’s not like the place is brand new, not to mention the road.” She scratched her head. “Perhaps it’s so small they forgot to mark it?”

Leslie paced around nervously. “Can I open the window? There isn’t enough air around here.” She couldn’t quite reach the high handle, so she decided to step on the bed. She pushed the frame with both hands, getting it closer. Just as she was retracting her hands, two massive, long-legged spiders crawled from underneath and onto her pillow.

With a shrill cry her friend leaped back from her bed. Nina was already on her feet, clutching the towel like armor around her body. Although their bodies were extremely tiny, the creature’s outstretching legs gave them an intimidating appearance, larger than a human hand.

“Okay NO! We are getting out of this place!” In a few seconds Leslie had overcome her initial terror and was more furious than anything. She chased the spiders with swings of her backpack, until eventually she smashed one and the other fled out through the crack under the door. “I am so talking to the manager! This is untolerable!”

Nina was silent. She wanted to jump in on the outrage, but there was a part of her mind that was running in a different direction. The spider in the bathtub had snuck up on her when she was dozing. The ones under the bed… it almost looked like they were waiting for them, deliberately. Slowly, she turned around and leaned to peek under her own bed. There was darkness and shadows, but also the undeniable sense that something was moving.

With icy apprehension, she stepped back. “Leslie, we have to get out of here.”

“Yes, right after I talk to that idiot who is supposed to maintain this place! Let me grab my stuff-”

For the next seconds, time went in slow motion. There was a bed stand with a lamp on top of it. Leslie had tossed her shirt underneath it, crumpled in a ball. Her hand was already reaching to get it. But there was something wrong with the lamp. It was one of those old ones with a yellow bulb and a dusty blue shade covering it. It was made of some cheap plastic, on which were projected the thin vertical shadows of the metal harps that supported it. Most lamps had 2 or 4. Nina could count at least 10.

“Don’t!” she yelled, reaching to grab Leslie’s shoulder and jerk her backwards. Here fingers retracted just in time to miss the gruesome spider that descended down. “It’s a trap! Someone put those here, it can’t be a coincidence. We have to run!”

Leslie glanced at the spider, then at her, and she nodded.


***


They barged into their friend’s room without knocking, thankful that the door wasn’t locked.


“Sarah, are you all right?”

The sleeping figure rolled in her bed, raising her hand to shield her eyes from the sudden light. “What’s the commotion?” she asked with a slow, sleepy voice.

“We don’t know what’s going on, but there are these massive spiders running around- this place is fucking infested with them, we need to get our asses out of here!”

Sarah rubbed her eyes and turned towards them. Leslie and Nina screamed. There were a handful of long, needle-thin legs sticking out of her earlobe. The furthest one was pushing onto her cheek, though she didn’t seem to notice.

“What’s wrong with you?” asked Sarah in the same vague, monotonous voice.

“Y-you have-” Leslie stuttered.

The legs moved, sinking inwards. They screamed again, gripping each other tightly. Nina’s towel fell and her mind spun with vertigo as the thin legs moved again, sinking completely into the busty goth’s ear.

“You guys are weird,” said Sarah. “I’m going to sleep.”

“Run!” Leslie darted back towards their room, leaving Nina on the door. Naked, terrified, heart pounding, she hesitated. It was dangerous to stay, but she couldn’t just leave Sarah behind! Surely there was something she could do, get her to a hospital…

She was still standing at the door when she heard a pair of footsteps approaching down the corridor. Having just a few seconds to react, she ran past Sarah’s bed and into the bathroom at the opposite side of the room, closing the door behind her. It was dark and she couldn’t see much inside, but there was a gap near the hinges that allowed her to peer out. She pressed her face against it, gaining a sliced view of the room.

The motel owner appeared in the doorframe and then slowly walked towards Sarah’s bed. He sat and placed a hand on her head, caressing her hair. For some inexplicable reason she didn’t seem to mind. Then he grabbed the edge of the covers and jerked them away.

Nina clasped her mouth with both hands, stifling a cry. Sarah was naked and there were a handful of tiny, long-legged spiders scampering across her body. The man didn’t even flinch. He gently caressed her full round breasts, his skeletal fingers toying with her nipples. The girl remained in a slumber-like state, gently turning and twisting under his touch. As his hands explored the brunette’s curves, Nina became all too aware of her own body, naked in the darkness of the bathroom. There was the uncomfortable thought that there could be more of those creatures, creeping in the darkness around her, crawling on the ceiling, descending upon her uncovered skin…

Something deep and primal awakened inside of her and took over her conscious mind. She was mesmerized watching the motel owner’s fingers slowly descend from Sarah’s breasts down to her hips, pushing her thighs apart and sliding towards her mound.

“Fuck…” whispered Nina, feeling a perverted arousal from the scene. It was the worst time possible, but she couldn’t help herself. She had lost control. The fingers pressed further and Sarah moaned in a delirious fever. Nina’s body responded in kind, her imagination transporting her in Sarah’s place.

As the ordeal continued the curvy girl seemed to somewhat return to her senses. She opened an eye and Nina saw her turn her head towards the man above her. She could only imagine the silent exchange between the two, only guess the degree to which Sarah was able to comprehend what was happening to her. She seemed to be at least partially aware, as one of her hands moved and meekly tried to push the fingers away from her groin.

The man in the leather jacket dug a hand in her hair and forced her head to the side, away from him. Sarah was facing the bathroom door now, and although Nina was sure she couldn’t actually see her through the crack of the door, it felt like she was staring right at her. Her eyes were hazey and inert, her full lips half open and moving as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t.

The hand that held her pulled her long black hair backwards, uncovering her cheek and ear. A number of long slender legs crawled underneath the leather sleeve of the vest, descending down the man’s arm and onto the side of Sarah’s head. Then the spider lowered it’s tiny body inside her ear, legs sticking outwards, and slowly began to sink. For a moment Sarah’s eyes opened wide, her gaze a silent scream, then they relaxed again, regaining an inert and oblivious look.

It was as if a flare erupted in Nina and she could barely keep her hands from wandering on her own body. A need underneath her stomach was craving attention and silencing all reason coming from her head. She watched the man turn Sarah back towards him and lean down to kiss her. The half-conscious girl gave into it naturally, her full lips parting without hesitation for his. There were more tiny, long-legged creatures running over her body, clustering around any entrance they could find. It was grotesquely fascinating. The man’s hand moved down again and this time she didn’t push him away, instead simply spreading her legs and lifting them in the air, leaving her sex open and inviting.

Just when the owner was undoing his belt, there was the sound of running in the hallway. Nina pulled out of her trance. t had to be Leslie. She had probably realized what was going on and was running towards the van. Her heart started pounding. She had to do something, now. Would the redhead be selfish enough to abandon her along with Sarah? It was certainly possible...

The man seemed to have similar thoughts since got up and left the room, no doubt following the redhead. It was Nina’s moment to move.

After several minutes of waiting patiently to make sure he had really left, she carefully opened the door of the bathroom and got out, crawling on all fours to keep low. Sarah turned towards her and gave her a lunatic smile, though she didn’t say anything. Her legs were still open and Nina stared for a moment, transfixed. Then she realized she was still naked - she needed clothes. Going back to her room was an option, but could she afford to lose the time? Any second wasted meant Leslie could be gone for good. And then… she glanced at Sarah again, then looked away. It was better not to dwell on the alternative.

Carefully listening for steps, Nina snuck out of the room and into the hallway. Walking naked made her feel vulnerable and open, but there was no choice. She considered going back to her room for clothes, but judged the risk too great. There could be other spiders waiting there, and every second was crucial. She had to meet up with Leslie before the redhead drove off.

She reached the reception without incident and looked around. There was nobody at the desk, no sound coming from anywhere, nothing to betray the sinister nature of this place. Nina crawled forward on all fours, staying below the window line. The front door was left half open and she cautiously peeked outside. The yard was dark, but there was the distinct shadow of the van still in the parking lot. There wasn’t anyone around. Where had Leslie gone?

The naked girl darted through yard as fast as she could, pebbles and roots scratching her bare feet. She ignored the pain and the pressing angst of being out in the open. The van was right there.

Nina finally reached it and took cover, behind it, hidden from the motel’s windows. She took a moment to catch her breath and reached out to the front door. Her fingers felt something cold and slippery on the handle. There was a familiar, metallic smell in the air. Her heart sank in her belly. Looking around in the dim light scattered from the motel sign, she started to notice a trail of dark liquid on the ground.

“No, no, please don’t be…”

On reflex she smelled her hand and touched the liquid with the tip of her tongue. The taste of blood filled her mouth. With a shaking hand she opened the door of the van. There was no one inside. She got in - and was more blood, dripping on the steering wheel and the van’s panel, but the keys were still in the ignition.

Nauseous, she turned them. There was a short, choking sound from the engine, then nothing. Apprehension downed on her.

She was trapped, there was nowhere to go. She tried again, and again, then once more, each time producing only rough choking and wobbly shaking. The van was dead. Her hands èstarted trembling and she grasped her head, tears rolling down the edge of her eyes. She was lost. She was going to die. She was going to die. The words filled her head, drowned her thoughts, asphyxiated her reason. Naked and afraid, Nina held her knees to her chest and wept, rocking back and forth like a child. She was going to die.


Time passed. At the front seat of the van there was a small figure whose movements slowly winded down until there was only a meek trembling, then stillness. More time passed and the crescent moon lazily made its way through the cloudless sky. There were things that crawled and looked and waited.


Nina realized she could no longer just stand there. It was a subconscious thought, and one she only became aware of after she had opened the door and got out of the van. There was something that compelled her to move, drew her to action.

Action was a good thing, Nina thought. She could not always be frozen and afraid. She let herself be compelled and continued her way through the yard and around the motel emerging on the other side facing the forest. There were more blood stains here and there and the girl noticed she had been following the trail all along, like a moth drawn to the flame. Was it not natural to want to know?

Her fear had somehow evaporated and she pressed forward, going without knowing where or why, but only that she had to go.

She came upon a metal door at the base of the wall. It gave away after a hard push, revealing a flight of stairs submerging into the darkness. Nina descended in silence.


The basement was dry and made of rough concrete that felt like sandpaper under her feet. It was not unpleasant. There were a few electric bulbs that gave off a sickly, yellow light that didn’t as much illuminate as it highlighted the darkness and the countless tiny creatures crawling on the walls and ceiling. Before, she would have ran right out of there the moment she saw them. But that was before. Nina walked forward.

The trail of blood was visible again, though there were mere drops here and there. The naked figure reached the end of the hallway and entered into some sort of storage room. Her attention was immediately drawn to an iron cage with a familiar silhouette curled inside.

“Leslie?” She moved closer, crouching on the other end of the bars. The redhead lifted her head, giving Nina a scared, wide-eyed look. Why did she do that? Nina was not sure.

The trail of blood ended there, tracing back to a long cut on Leslie’s right arm which had imbued her dress.

“Nina, why are you still naked…?” she mumbled.

Why was she still naked? The thought had not occurred to her in the past minutes, and she brushed it off. It seemed somehow transitory, unimportant. She shrugged.

Leslie sighed. “Nevermind that. We have to get out of here. The bastard got me when I was trying to start the engine… the van is dead, but we can run through the woods. Quickly, I need you to get the key before he comes back!”

That sounded important. It had to be. Nina tried to concentrate.

“Key?”

“He left a key in the room. It’s over there…” she paused, “-behind Sarah.”

Nina turned around and observed the other end of the basement. A dozen feet further there was a heavy metal desk with a handful of of jars and papers on it. Right in front of the desk there was a dirty rug on which Sarah was laying, propped on a handful of rags. She wasn’t looking at them, eyes wandering somewhere towards the ceiling. She was naked save for a rope that was loosely tied around her right ankle, connecting it to the foot of the desk.

Sarah was beautiful. Nina had not really thought about it so far, but there was something about the roundness of her breasts, the fullness of her lips, the curviness of her hips that made her stomach react with a warm shiver.

She took a few steps towards her, until the dozed girl finally reacted, slowly spinning her head towards Nina. There were no more creatures crawling on her body, no long, thin legs sticking out of her ear, nothing to show that she had become their slave.

Sarah’s vacant expression focused in the newcomer’s general direction and blossomed into a wide grin. She spread her legs and began rubbing herself, her half-open mouth salivating and drooling over her breasts and tummy. Nina reached out and squeezed them. They were so round, so full. Their softness filled her hand like a sweet nectar pouring into a glass. She moved her hands transfixed, smearing the saliva all over her chest and erect nipples.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” came a shout behind her. “Get the fucking keys right now!!”

The screaming voice was really annoying, and Sarah was really beautiful. Nina continued squeezing those perfect breasts, which made the screaming progressively worse until it became unbearable. Reluctantly she pulled away from her occupation and moved closer to the desk.

There was a metal keyring left on top of the papers, and the annoying voice told her to get it. She picked up the keychain and turned around. It was a long way back to the other side of the room. She was probably going to get tired. Did she really have to go? It was pretty nice over here, near the desk and that beautiful girl. Why should she get away from here anyway?

There was more screaming which was abruptly interrupted by the scraping sound of rusty metal hinges. There were footsteps, coming closer, then more panicked screaming from the person the end of the room, then a man emerged from the hallway.

She locked eyes with him. She had done something bad, she knew. It was like getting caught playing with another kid’s toys.Nina stepped back, looking down with guilt.

“I see that you’ve made your way here on your own. Good.” said the stranger in a low voice. There was something that gave him authority, some invisible force that drew her attention to him to the point where the rest of the world faded away. He flexed his fingers. “Now give back that key.”

She looked up again. Had she seen the man before? It was difficult to remember. There was something odd going on in her mind. No. She shouldn’t think about that.

“Run, Nina!” cried the girl in the cage, hand reaching through the bars and grabbing desperately the man by his ankle. She pulled hard enough to make him stumble and fall on the ground. Nina observed the scene from a distance.

Still down, the man erupted into a loud, maniacal laughter that boomed through the concrete basement. He got up and dusted his clothes, giving the caged girl an amused look.

“She’s gone, sweetheart, it’s too late for that.” He walked forward and reached a hand in front of Nina, palm open and demanding. She did the natural thing and gave him the keys.

“There’s a good girl,” he praised her. “Now let me tell you exactly what’s going on.” He stepped closer, placing a hand on her shoulder. He was much taller than her and had an edge to his look, a sense of danger and rough masculinity that made her bite her lip and look away.

“Listen here, doll,” his hoarse voice began. “I want you to understand what’s going on here, so I’ll talk real slow. See my little friends here?”

A creature crawled out of his vest, long legs like needles and body the size of a button. It climbed up to his shoulder and gave her a look. She could feel it.

“These are just one type of the species, like any advanced hive species they have workers, fighters, other specialized members, as well as a queen - but you’ll have time to meet her later.”

The man gave a dry chuckle.

“But these fellas” - he pointed to the creature on his shoulder - “oh, they’re a real work of art. Their long, thin legs can painlessly and effortlessly pierce through flesh, most victims never feel a thing. Like surgical needles they get into your brain” - he tapped the side of her head, creating a tingling sensation - “and from there they create a connection with the hive.”

There was a growing sense of apprehension, a sudden clarity that washed over her a brought her back into a reality. She looked at him, a question forming on her lips.

“Do I…?”

“Yes,” he said, smiling. “You don’t even know when it happened, but you can feel it, can’t you? The thoughts of the hive, the queen’s orders, the desire to submit to her…”

His hand moved down from her head to hear breasts, palm sliding along her hot glistening skin. Hers were small and tender, almost the same shape today as when she had been sixteen. But what they lacked in volume they made up in sensitivity. She could feel the texture of his rough skin, the coldness of her own beads of sweat.

Nina swallowed hard. There was a creature in her brain. She imagined the long black legs wrapping around it, hugging the delicate grey matter and enveloping it with an almost caring embrace. And they were going to make her do things. Like Sarah.

She turned back, looking at the busty brunette. She seemed completely blissful, her full lips curved into a vacant smile. Sarah was beautiful. If only she could be like her.

“I see that you have the right idea,” spoke the man. “Your friend is farther gone though - there are now two spiders inside her head.” He made a pause, letting the words fully reach her conscious mind. “The first softens up the subject, makes her susceptible to hear and carry out orders from the hive; but the second one, oh, the second one!” His hand ran down along her tummy and into the space between her legs, which she willingly opened.

“The second one turns her into a mindless slave, an obedient thing that lives for the will of the hive.” His fingers touched her opening, rubbing the growing wetness. Nina moaned softly.

“Two is not the limit of course,” the man continued, pushing deeper. “In theory you can get a bunch of them in there, if you really want to erase all of the mind, to leave not a shred of independent thought. Do you know why the queen would do that? Do you?”

She was listening with mouth open, body lifted on the tip of her toes and leaning forward towards the pleasure.

“I’ll let you figure it out. I’ll let you think about why the queen would want someone completely docile, immobile, complacent.” He grinned ominously, letting the fire in her belly grow further until her body was rocking on its own, the pleasure washing over her in waves. Then drew his hand away. “But we’ll have time for that. Right now there are more pressing matters.”

He took the spider from his shoulder and gently moved it towards her arm. It crawled over, looking at him, then at her, then it stood to attention. The touch of its needle-thin legs was barely noticeable, like a gentle tickling. It could easily be missed if she wasn’t paying attention.

“What I want you to do is-”

There a metal click and the cage behind the man burst open, the padlock falling to the ground with a hair pin stuck in its keyhole. A bloody female figure sprung from within, shoving the man away with the force of adrenaline and desperation. He fell forward into a bundle of boxes that crashed around him.

“Nina, snap out of it!” a voice cried beside her. Her hand was snatched and she was violently pulled towards the exit. Before Nina could register what was happening they had ran down the hallway and out the metal door, emerging back into the garden behind the motel. The other girl stopped to catch her breath, clutching her bleeding arm.

“Come on, we have to hurry!” the other girl said, panting.

Nina was not really listening. Instead, her eyes followed the slender, long-legged creature that had graciously maneuvered behind her neck and onto her other shoulder and was now descending down the right arm towards the hand that was held by this other person. She held her breath as it crossed the threshold, moving from her fingers onto the other fingers, then slowly making its way up to the elbow..

“What the FUCK?!” screamed the girl, releasing her arm and violently flailing around. Somehow she managed to fling the creature off onto the ground and, hesitant to stomp it with her bare feet, pulled a knife and struck at it repeatedly, cutting off feet until it was moving slow enough to target its body. With a final blow the girl pinned it down with the blade, piercing its body through the center.

“There, that should do it.”

A wave of pain moved through Nina’s mind, as if her own body had been struck. Then it went away, leaving sadness and anger. That was wrong, it had to be. She knelt down, leaning over the splattered spider.

“Nina, we have to go, NOW!” came the annoying voice again, a hand on her shoulder pulling her away. She pulled the knife from the ground and turned around.

“What are you doing?”

This person was bad. Rage filled her mind. This person had killed one of her family. There was only one thing to do. She drove the knife forward and through Leslie’s naked tummy, pushing until the hilt of the blade reached her belly button. The redhead’s eyes widened with horror and surprise as she stumbled a few steps backwards, then fell to ground. Blood started leaking from the wound and onto the black soil.

For a brief moment Nina experienced a flash of ice-cold clarity, seeing her friend bleeding out in front of her. Nausea began to rise in her stomach, but then something twitched in her brain, the moment passed and she was thinking straight again. This person had killed her family.

Nina walked over and did what had to be done.


***


When she returned to the basement the man was sitting on a chair, waiting for her. Sarah was at his feet, absentmindedly playing with herself. Nina walked over and placed the bloody knife on the desk, then turned towards him.

“You did well,” he praised her. “But there is one more thing. Come with me.”

He rose up, pulling the other girl to her feet as well. There was a door at the other end of the basement that Nina hadn’t noticed before. They walked through it, the man leading the way and Nina at his side, with the other girl pulled on a leash behind them. There were corridors and more stairs, always down into the darkness, deeper and deeper until the concrete floor turned into a rough tunnel carved into the rock and cobwebs began covering the walls with white.

After a time the ceiling disappeared, the walls dissolving into a large cave opening. There was a sort of room there, a mattress and a chair and a short table, though they were just arranged on the floor, with nothing to separate them from the rest of the cave. A lone light bulb gave off a week yellow light, quickly stifled by the endless darkness. Nina could sense countless silent voices in it, legs working tirelessly and many eyes and minds, though there was one presence larger than them all, one big and powerful and hidden somewhere deep beneath.

“We lost quite a few good friends today,” said the man. “We will need to do something to make up for that loss. Do you understand?”

She understood. It was hard to explain it in words, but somehow it was self-evident. She looked back at the other girl. She was really beautiful. Such plump, seductive lips, such round breasts, such curvy hips. It was a shame, but it was necessary. She understood that now, felt the needs of the Queen.

With the corner of her eye Nina saw a handful of long-legged spiders emerge from the darkness and crawl up on the man, slipping under his vest. Her sons, she realized. The most beloved ones, the most special ones. Those who truly augmented the strength of reach of the Hive. But they required particular conditions to grow. Conditions she would have to provide for the future generation.

She pulled the busty goth to the stained mattress and made her lie down. The girl gave her an almost playful look and spread her legs, rubbing herself again. For a moment Nina couldn’t resist and leaned in and kissed her, indulging in the softness of her lips. When she pulled away she held her head, fingers lovingly digging in her hair. There were two more longlegs that approached the lying girl’s head from either side, lowering their bodies gently into her ears, then retracting their slender legs one by one, until nothing was visible from the outside.

After a few seconds they would tenderly dig into her brain, suppressing all thought and erasing everything that was Sarah.

Nina felt the growing heat in her stomach again, a need and an ache that made her juices flow down her thighs. Right on cue, the goth’s eyes widened again, two giant innocent eyes staring into nothingness, her breathing increased, chest rising up and down and sweat glistening on her breasts. She gave off a few last moans, her body stiffened, then it relaxed.

Nina clenched her hot pussy, feeling as aroused as she’d ever been. Sarah was smiling, still, immobile, inert. Later they would come to cocoon and take her, Nina knew. But there was still time.

“Excellent,” said the man behind her. “You have done very well. And now for the final. Come here.”

She obeyed, trotting over to him.

“The Queen got her due. But now I need a new toy. Do you understand?”

She understood.

Nina knelt down, her eye level falling to his belt. She slowly undid it, then pulled out his cock, her lips gently taking it in her mouth. The man grabbed her head with a hand, holding it tightly. She saw the spider crawling out of his sleeve. It had long, needle-thin legs. It was going to go into her ear, then dig deep into her brain and make her a mindless sex-toy for his pleasure. She brushed her hair back, uncovering her ear. As the critter crawled in, her hand darted down and she began slowly rubbing herself, waiting for the inevitable.

Soon enough the world shifted and everything was new. A naked girl began sucking. Everything was as it should.