tickle (part four)

If you remember a spider had just been snorted to catch the wasp. So here's Harry The Spider's story in part four of tickle.

Read tickle from the start here.

Harry was minding his own business and wondering what he was gonna get for lunch when the giant creature scooped him up. This was their first interaction together as he mostly tried to keep out of their way. The reason for this was that the majority of the time they appeared the sound of running water followed. These steaming hot jets of water began erupting out of the wall near his home and made his web all slick and damp. As a spider, he was not a fan of the wet stuff.

Now he was flying. The sensation of travelling so fast made his mind go all funny. His body shuddered as the air current rolled over him. Then all of a sudden it was over and everything was still. It was dark inside the creature’s hands, and he feared she was about to crush him. Instead, the heaven’s opened, and he could see his surroundings again. He was by the sink now. A fear rippled that this monster was going to wash him down the plughole. He tensed himself for a moment then made a break for it. Scarpering time!

He could really run when he had to.

Above him the creature loomed. Its giant head came close, too close, far too close for comfort. He tried to pick up speed to get away but no, too late, he felt a rush of air, just like when it had carried him, then everything went dark, and he was flying again.

Then he was tumbling and tumbling. Soaring through the air. He threw out his legs to try and gain purchase on something, but the air current was too strong. He somersaulted through the air for what felt like forever, each rotation scrambling up his thoughts even more. Finally, he slowed and collapsed into a heap of green stuff. He dragged himself to his feet and as he did so each of his legs became coated in the slime. It stuck to the furs on his legs and made him nervous and feel quite unpleasant. He worried this was another creature’s trap, like his own web was for others, and his many eyes darted around for a way out.

In the dark cave he could hear a whistling breath that rippled across his body as it came and went. In between those gusts his mind went back to his hunger. He wondered what sort of food would be in this cave. He considered the green slime but thought better of it. He did not like the way it had hardened to a crust in some places.

Then, ahead of him, he heard a frail buzz. Like something in distress. A perfect meal, Harry thought and set off to find out what it was.

It wasn’t far till he got his answer. A pale wasp tangled up in the green goo. Its wings slathered in the gunge and unable to fly. It tried to flap them, but they were stuck fast. They gave a short buzz then fell silent. As Harry approached the wasp’s eyes lit up in fear.

‘Well now,’ Harry whispered inwardly, and reached down with his lower legs to begin threading out some of his webbing. He took his time because everything tasted better when they died in fear. That tang of adrenaline that flooded their body was his favourite flavour.

The wasp tried to reason but Harry was hungry so what could have been a battle for the ages was over in seconds. The web coiled neat around his trapped foe. He left a small gap where its head was so it could watch as he injected its body with his acidic saliva that began to break down its exoskeleton.

Soon he’d have a delicious soup for lunch.

Photo by Matthieu Joannon on Unsplash