There is a Difference

66.

"And as the poison works through your veins..."

"Poison I ate something?" Gilbert was suspended from the top of the mine, the little girl creature in front of him, he felt kind of sick to his stomach.

"It will hurt you in ways you haven't been hurt, the poison so acute."

"I swear I would have remembered eating something, unless you mean venom, venom is what you get from bites."

"WILL YOU SHUT UP!" He could see the huge mother spider lurking in the back her fangs dripped with what he assumed was the venom he was being taunted with.

"It's a common mistake, I just assumed a creature as old as you are would know the difference."

"I hope your death is very painful Mr. Dunkley."

"Keep talking you're getting there for me." The creature screamed in frustration which brought a smile to Gilbert's face. Sure he was about to probably be eaten or whatever, but at least he'd go out having pissed off a creature from the some horrible place that shouldn't be alive.

"YOU WILL DIE SOON!"

"No I won't, you don't understand my assistant is still out there, she's the bravest person I've ever trained. She's already killed one of you creatures, she's a master tracker and probably already waiting to save me."


****

"God damn it I'm back at the elevator." Clarissa didn't know how she could get lost in a mine shaft that seemingly only had two ways to walk, but she had managed twice now to wind up back at the elevator. She almost worried it was the work of the creature disguising the path, but knew it was just her poor sense of direction in those dark  burnt spider filled tunnels. She was very thankful that other than the size of the Jade Naginata it was scarily light. Otherwise she probably would have been pretty tired dragging it around tunnels in the dark.

Clarissa stepped once more into the darkness. She could vaguely hear voices ahead of her, but couldn't tell if that was real voices or whatever was behind the spiders screwing with her. She was also terrified of all the burnt remains of the spiders, hoping against hope they didn't suddenly spring up like the fried nightmare creatures they appeared. Clarissa was so afraid of the corpses she didn't notice the large hole in front of her path. Down into the depths of the mine she plunged.

"... waiting to save me." She could see Gilbert strung up by his legs by some kind of spider webs talking to what looked like some half flesh glad child. Clarissa could see behind the child was the spider mother her fangs dripping with some kind of venom. Clarissa snatched up the jade naginata from her back and threw it in the general direction of the spider mother, which pierced the child creature and pinned it to the screeching spider mother in the dark. Clarissa didn't move at first waiting to see what would come, but the mine was silent, whatever feeling that had been up above was gone.

"Can you uhh cut me down now?"

"Oh shit, yeah Gilbert I'm sorry." Clarissa climbed up and with a couple jumping swipes that Gilbert felt a little too un-directed, managed to get him free from the spider webs.

"Coal mines are not soft places." Gilbert walked toward where the corpse and the child creature had gone, Clarissa sucked in her breath when he disappeared for a bit and then he reemerged with his weapon.

"Man and here I was just bullshitting about your ability good job Clarissa."

"Can we go home now?"

"Sure, though I am slightly worried about those cops outside."

"Shit you're right should we just like wait down here or?"

"In the nest of a dead dark creature with its spiders? No I'll face some southern cops versus whatever will come for all this bullshit thank you very much."