Charlotte the Spider

Short Story

I woke up in the evening, the sun hurting my eight eyes. I descended from from my spot on one of the banners of the barns to the haystack. There I walked to the side of paneling of the barn. I had to be sneaky, most of the animals would fear me and become agitated.

I climbed the side of the barn slowly, trying not to attract attention. This plan had failed as soon as I started to climb. I was too big and noticeable against the white barn.

"GET THE SPIDER AWAY FROM ME!" one of the cows shouted. I started climbing faster.

Tails hitting the side of the barn as well, I was loosing grip. I slid a little lower. I was at the tails level. It landed only an inch away from me. I was in a battle ground

"GET IT! IT MIGHT BE POISONOUS!" the cow screamed.

I climbed faster, my life at risk. Why was I prone to danger?

With another swift movement of the tail, I fell. I couldn't hold on. The stickiness in my eight legs had failed me.

I ran as fast as I could, huddling my big body behind me.

"WHERE DID IT GO CARL!?" the cow asked.

"I don't know Betsy!" the bull replied.

That's when I walked into one of the cows legs. I looked up, terrified.

She caught sight of my eight eyes. She looked frightened.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" she yelled as she stomped her feet everywhere but where I was.

I fled. Never had I been so terrified in my life.

That's when I saw the farmer come.

"Wow Betsy...calm down girl!" he said nicely calming the cow. He took a step back, almost stepping on me.

I moved away, but then turned back and started climbing the farmer's leg as slowly and un-noticeable as I could.

 

All I saw was the cow breathe in and out frantically.

"It's all right girl, go back in your stall." The farmer said patting her neck gently. I however continued to walk up the farmer's back and rest on his shoulder.

As he turned, Betsy's eyes grew larger as she saw me. She simply ran into the stable with her lover Carl.

My body swayed back and forth as the human kept on walking. I had no idea where I was going right now. He entered a door, I heard it slam behind us.

"Margret where's supper? I'm starving!" he said sitting down at a table.

"Coming Bob, just hold your horses!" a lady yelled from another room.

"Marge, you know I don't need to hold my horses...they're in the stable." The farmer said trying to be funny.

"Sweet nibblets! Bob, come in here." She yelled.

"What's wrong darling?" Bob asked sound frantic.

"I just cut my finger...go get the medical kit from the drawer!" she said hurriedly.

"Yes babe." He answered. I was just confused. I could start climbing down but he might see me or worse sense.

I felt him bend down slowly. My body was lifting slightly. I decided to use some of my web. I was stuck to it.

Then he raised again. I saw his oversized arm extend and give something to the lady.

"Bob! There's a spider on your shoulder!" she screamed pointing in my direction.

He looked down at me and I looked up at him.

He shuddered slightly as he brushed me off harshly. I felt myself twist and fly off into the white oblivion of a room.

I fell on to the table. My limbs hurting vigorously. That's when I noticed the spatula in the air, it was going to hit me.

"KILL IT ROBERT! I DON'T WANT IT CONTAMINATING OUR FOOD!"  the lady cried hiding behind her husband.

The spatula hit the counter right beside me. A streak of luck. I crawled away, fearing my life would be over in just mere seconds.

"JESUS MARGRET STOP FUSSING!" the man cried. I crawled away, turning a slight corner. BOOM! I hit something hard. I look up, it's a dog. He snarled and started barking, I couldn't resist, I took my fangs and bit him. He ran away weeping, tail tucked in behind him. I ran, freeing myself was the only option right now. I got to a wall, I hid in a corner. I could see the dust molecules forming in the tight enclosed space. I had no-where to go. No-where to hide. I was trapped. I was noticeable and there was no other species like me who could help in my dire need. I was panicking. If I could sweat like mammals could I would but I can't. I look beside me, up the wall, I can see a lonely spider.

"Need help?" it asked.

I nodded, it came down by it's web and came to see me.

"Well, lady in distress come on with me." He said.

I nodded. I started climbing up the wall with him.

"I see you aren't an indoor type of gall, you should be more careful, a shoulder is never the most unobvious spot to hide." He said sounding smart.

 

I nodded again, very shy of myself.

"So what's your name?" He asked as we reached his cob-web.

"Charlotte" I responded. It was the first time I had told someone of my own specie my name.

"I'm Connor. Want some food?" He asked looking at two flies that where trapped in his web.

Once more, I nodded.

"Well, don't be a stranger, go and eat which ever one you want." Connor said nicely

I came up to one, it started squirming it's wings making that awful annoying buzzing sound.

I bit into it's body. Injecting a small venom in it. It would kill it off quickly. It stopped squirming moments later.

I wrapped into my fin line of silky web. It was going to be food soon enough. I started eating the fly in a fast motion. I hadn't eaten anything in over a week.

It's thick, sticky blood claiming my throat. It tasted very good. I looked to my side, Connor was looking at me with eight huge black eyes.

"What?" I asked, a bit of blood dripping from my mouth.

"N-Nothing, I was just amazed by your way of hunt." He said nicely finishing his fly as well.

"Thanks?" I said awkwardly finishing the rest. Once we were done, we talked. Then I noticed Connor move into a little hole in the wall.

"Come in...the humans." He whispered. I quickly scrambled in the hole with him. It was an awkward moment but still.

I noticed the lady come up with a look of disgust on her face.

"Where do all these bloody cob-webs come from? I haven't seen a damn spider here in ages!" She said sadly

"That's not true what about the one of tonight?" Her husband said brushing Connor's web away from the wall. I felt him flinch beside me, that was his home.

 

The lady looked at the man with a look of annoyance on her face, obviously she was the one wearing the pants in that household.

"Robert, just get upstairs...I'm getting tired." she sleepily

"Okay dear." the man said encircling his wife with his arm.

They walked up the stairs and turned off the lights, my eyes adjusted to the darkness and saw everything to perfection.

Connor, moved past me and sighed.

"I'm sorry about your home." I said sympathetically.

"Nah-it's okay, I'll just have to re-do it tonight." he said sadly.

"I can help, to spiders are better than one." I said referring to the sentence my great-great-grandma Elma use to say.

"If you want to I won't object." He said smiling. I saw his beautiful white fangs then. They were so sleek and pretty I wondered what it was like for the suspecting victim to have them pierce there bodies.

I helped him re-do a cob-web. We finished it in only two hours.

 

After we were done, Connor came beside me.

"Thank you" He said.

"What for?" I asked...I was being stupid.

"For helping me with my web." Connor said with a chuckle.

"Well, I better get going. My web's in the barn." I said nicely.

"Are you serious? You can get trampled by one of those mad-cows! No, your staying with me tonight." Connor said protectively.

"If you insist I said.

The night was young, I and Connor where wide awake.

I couldn't wait much longer...I was dying for some action.

The barn at night was fun, I had a friend pig there. His name was Alfred. A lone piglet of the mere age of two. He would be food soon, thanksgiving was coming up and people would want some ham.

But now, the only thing I had to do was talk to Connor. He wasn't bad, just repeated the same story over and over again.

 

"Charlotte..." He trailed off.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Can I ask you a question?" He asked in a different tone.

"I guess..." I said wearily.

"I was thinking...maybe you and I should you know..." he trailed off once more.

"Continue..." I said.

"Come with me..." He said moving towards the hole in the wall.

I followed him, then the un-expected happen.

 

*****

 

I woke up the next morning, Connor gone. Vanished into thin oblivion. I was suddenly weary. Where could he have gone?

I got out of the little whole. I stepped onto the web, a few dead insects on it. I looked to my side where some of the web was gone to see a silhouette of a spider crushed, spread against a white wall.

Connor...

He couldn't have died.

But then as I came closer, it was clearly him.

I was crushed.

 

*****

 

Many weeks have past. Reproduction had settled in. I was fatter and bigger now a days. I knew I was going to give birth to millions of tiny baby spiders soon.

I also knew that I would die and fade away. Not knowing where my babies would go. I just knew I had to get out of this house or else they would never survive with those humans. After all, there hatred for Connor was what killed him in the first place.

I decided it was time to return to the barn,. obviously I would go at night.

It was a long day, waiting for the moon to rise and every creature to fall asleep. Once that was done, I descended from the web with the slight strand of silk.

I hit the floor softly and elegantly. My inst instincts in tact. I crawled around the house, trying to find an opening. An open window!

I scrambled quickly over the ledge and out the window. I was free!

I ran all the way to the barn, back to my web (which was untouched).

Alfred wasn't there anymore, poor thing never got a chance at life.

I settled into my web, my body hurting even more. I was 100 % sure that I was going to give birth to these babies tonight.

My back hurting now, I started laying the eggs one by one. After two hours of labor. I finally encircled my eggs in a tight cocoon. It was my time to die. The circle of life had ended. My last breath would be soon. That's when my legs bolted, I started falling to the ground. At the impact of my sudden fall. I struggled to fight. I saw the light fade...

and I knew I was dead.

 

The End

Reviews

[Jaclyn]

There is a great deal of imagination in this story. I thought it was a lot of fun. I loved the little romance in there between Connor and Charlotte, and I was amused that the main spider's name WAS Charlotte.

A few things to work on: Watch your grammar. I'm somewhat of a grammar nazi, and I warn everyone about this when I first critique their work. "Their" is the possessive form, like "their eggs", "their stories", etc. "There" is a location. Like, "Put the plates over there". To, two, and too...to is like go TO the store, two is the number, and too is like ME TOO or I had too much coffee last night and couldn't sleep. These are just little things, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who will notice them. Also, throughout a lot of the story, you were short in your sentences. I'd like more description to really make this story POP. Give me description about how scared Charlotte is when she is running away from things, what she sees, what she smells, etc. You got a little into it when you said about how lovely and white Connor's fangs were, but you need more.

Still, again, I really enjoyed this. I can't wait to see more.