Arachnid

Words 1798

It was the sound of a mosquito’s shrill whine in his ear which woke Simon from a deep sleep. Carol still slept; her body covered with a sheen of perspiration.
After carefully extricating his arm from under her, he slapped his bicep and seeing a smear of blood from the mosquito, gave a quiet grunt of satisfaction.

It had been Carol’s idea to honeymoon in the Australian rainforest, a place as far removed from their life in England as was possible.

Simon lay on his back. His eyes tried to follow the blades of the plantation ceiling fan, but eventually he simply relaxed, closed his eyes and listened. The sounds of the rainforest were like nothing he’d heard before. The only sound he was used to hearing on awakening was the morning rush hour traffic. He listened intently and heard a symphony, a cacophony of birds. The raucous laugh of kookaburras made him smile and the constant hum of thousands of insects lulled him back to sleep.

Because it was the wet season there were few other guests at the Bloomfield Rainforest Resort. Before they flew halfway across the world, the honeymooners had no concept of the massive amount of rain that could fall in just a few hours, closing roads, often for days at a time. From England this had sounded romantic.

“How wonderful to spend a fortnight in the tropics. At least it will be warm,” Carol had said, looking out at the grey sky from their third floor flat.

“Two whole weeks. Just the two of us,” Simon had kissed his new wife. “Who cares about a little rain?”

🕷️

Carol opened her eyes and gave a languid stretch. “Has it stopped raining?”
“Yes, at last. it’s a gorgeous morning, I’ve ordered breakfast. We can sit out on the balcony.”
As they ate fresh tropical fruit, such as they’d never even seen, they peered down from their balcony perched high amongst towering trees to the forest floor below. Carpeted with mosses and ferns, the dank smell of damp earth and decaying vegetation drifted up to meet them.

“It’s a different world out here. We could be the only two people alive, just like Adam and Eve,” Carol whispered. Then a mocking laugh from a Kookaburra broke the spell.

🕷️

The owners of the resort, Ben and Courtenay, were marvellous hosts, nothing was too much trouble for their honeymooners.

“How are you enjoying your time here, guys?” Ben asked, serving them dinner on the deck overlooking the sparkling pool.

“It’s been a trip to remember, hasn’t it darling?” Simon took his wife’s hand over the table.

“Yes, really fantastic, Ben. You certainly live in paradise here. Oh, and please tell your lovely wife what an amazing cook she is. The food has been delicious.”

“I’ll tell her, and if there’s anything we can do to make your stay better, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Well, we were both saying that we’d love to see more of the rainforest. But we’d be too scared to go by ourselves.” They’d heard stories of venomous snakes, spiders and the deadly cassowary; a huge bird who with one swipe of his claw could disembowel a man. “Is there anyone who’d take us? Just for half a day?”

“I’ll take you,” Ben offered. I can take you to the real rainforest, not where the tour operators go.

Carol smiled up at the young man. He reminded her a little of Crocodile Dundee, someone who instilled confidence. “That’d be wonderful, Ben.”

🕷️

The following morning after breakfast, Ben pulled up outside his guest’s accommodation and gave a toot on the horn. Carol and Simon came down the wooden staircase hand in hand, dressed as instructed in long sleeve shirts and pants and wearing walking shoes.

“Morning, Ben,” Simon greeted their guide for the day. “Do you think we’ll see any wildlife today?”

“Sure to, mate, the Daintree’s abundant with life.”


They drove for about thirty minutes until they reached a parking area. Theirs was the only vehicle.

“In the tourist season there’d be tour buses parked here. As you can see, we don’t get many tourists in the wet.” Ben handed each a backpack. “You’ll need to drink lots of water; the humidity is draining. There’s fruit, as well as first aid kits. You need to be prepared for anything in the rainforest.”

Leaving the bright sunshine of the car park, it was as if they were stepping into a completely different world. It seemed quieter, muted, steamier and darker.

“It’s so weird, but I feel we should whisper,” Carol said, looking up she could barely see any sky such was the thickness of the tree canopy.

Simon gripped her hand tightly as they followed their guide. They soon left the marked path and were finding the going more difficult. Ben turned around when he heard Carol call out. She was attempting to free herself from a climbing vine caught on her shirt.

“I see you’ve met the Wait a While vine.” Ben called out.


Further down the track, Ben came to a sudden stop. He began waving his arms around as if brushing something from his body and his face.the others couldn’t see.

“Damn spiders,” Ben muttered and swore to himself.

Carol watched Ben’s antics and shuddered.

He disentangled himself from the sticky web and muttered, “Christ, that web was strong!”


They continued on their walk, Ben giving a running commentary on the different plants and the names of the mighty trees, all the while attempting to rid himself of the sticky substance which remained on his hands, face and hair. He stopped suddenly, pointing to a Cassowary, a few metres in front of them. Its bright blue face was distinct in the gloom. “
“See those long, powerful legs? They’re equipped with dagger-like claws capable of inflicting serious injury” he whispered.

Ben was an excellent and knowledgeable guide; he knew which plants had fruits and berries which were safe to eat, and which were poisonous.
After a couple of hours, they began to retrace their steps, Carol and Simon careful to keep Ben in their sights.

“We’d be in a load of trouble if we lost Ben, wouldn’t we?” Even the thought of being alone in the forest made Carol feel sick.

“God, yes! We'd be goners in no time, done in by some bizarre Australian forest critter!" Simon exclaimed, his hands waving animatedly as he burst into laughter.

"Cut it out, Simon! You're giving me the creeps!" Carol said, her voice tinged with a hint of nervousness.

Suddenly, Ben stopped walking. Carol and Simon caught up with him and saw the puzzled expression on his face.

“What’s up, Ben?” Simon asked before laying his eyes on what Ben had seen. They all gazed into the depths of the forest, their view obscured by thick sheets of spiderweb cascading over shrubs and dangling from the branches of trees, preventing them from going forward.

“What the hell?” Ben whispered.

“Christ, Ben! What on earth made those?” Simon’s voice was strangled.

Then Carol gave a blood curdling scream, the men turned around and saw what looked like a thin black rope snaking down her face, followed by another and another. She fell to the ground, curled into a fetal position with her hands covering her face from whatever it was that was now crawling over her. But the guys saw what it was. Carol was lying underneath the hairy body of a black spider as large as a car. It raised itself up and crawled over the now unconscious body, its two front legs reaching out towards Ben. A grotesque arachnid, its eight legs covered the distance to its intended prey in seconds. Ben had no chance to escape its clutches. Within a minute, the poor man was entwined in silk-like fibre, it was as if he was nothing more than a fly. No matter how he struggled, Ben’s arms and legs were encased and then his head; muffling his screams of agony, until there was just a horrifying silence.
The creature moved on into the forest with his victim until it was gone from sight.

Simon dropped to the forest floor uncaring of the swarm of ants which ran over him, until they began to nip and bite. He jumped up and brushed them off before going over to where Carol was getting to her feet on legs that were visibly trembling. Her face was white with shock.
“Was that real?” Her voice was little more than a whisper.

🕷️

Several hours passed and too scared to move from their location for fear of walking in circles and getting even more disorientated than they already were, the frantic couple hadn’t yet come up with a plan of what they should do next. Somehow, they knew they were praying for a miracle, that Ben had freed himself from the creature, however unlikely it was.

“Courtenay will be missing us; we should have been back by now,” Carol said.

“Yes, but would she know where to send help?”

“She might. We should stay put and wait for a search party.”

🕷️

They sat and waited for several hours, thankful Ben had supplied them with food and water.

“What was that?” Carol jumped to her feet.

They both stood, frozen, listening to the sounds of the forest. But there it was no mistaking that sound, the scuttling of unseen legs.

🕷️

Darkness falls rapidly in the rainforest and the terrified couple gripped each others hands, fearful to let go. No light penetrated the tree canopy, no moon or stars to give at least a little comfort. Mosquitoes swarmed around them, their bites easily penetrating their cotton clothing. Straining their ears for any sign of approaching rescue, their hopes momentarily soared as the forest seemed to come alive with the faint rustle of leaves. Yet, instead of the reassuring sounds of salvation, they were met with an ominous hiss, unmistakably close.

It was then they saw the glow of eight, red eyes and they knew the spider had returned for his next victim. In a frenzy of terror, Carol let out a piercing scream, her heart racing she sought to escape the looming horror and dashed blindly into the enveloping darkness.

Simon called out, “Stop! I’ll never find you.”

But before he could pursue her, his feet and legs became ensnared in what seemed like coils of rope. He stumbled, crashing to the ground, enveloped in the darkness, his senses were assaulted by the piercing gaze of crimson eyes looming above him. A putrid stench filled the air. Fumbling in the darkness, he reached out to shield himself, only to recoil in revulsion as his hands met the velvety, hairy form of his assailant. In an instant, he found himself engulfed in the creature's silk and sensed he was being carried deeper into the depths of the forest.