"Ahn~ Ahn~ Why is it so... hard?" Neha said, moaning again. "Stop making it thicker! I’m having enough trouble as it is."
"Don’t blame me now," Blaze replied, acting nonchalant. "You wanted the thick one, I gave you what I had. It ain’t my fault you’re having trouble handling it."
The sounds of feminine moans were heard through the woods, followed by quick gasps.
"Yes! Yes! Yes! I’m almost there! Push it harder!"
"You can’t take all of my strength."
"Don’t blame me later," Blaze said, putting all his strength into his waist as he did.
"Almost... Yes! Get back, let me blow on it!"
"It’s all yours to do as you please."
Neha brought the thing closer to her mouth, gently blowing on it. She had to be precise. If it was slow, then they’d have to do it all over again, and if she blew too fast, the fire would get put out.
They were using Blaze’s tendrils and Neha’s itty-bitty strength to make fire the good old way.
"Seriously, using wet wood to make fire," Blaze said, shaking his head at the absurd situation. "Only superhumans can do that."
Neha shot him a glare but kept blowing on the ember to keep it alive. As soon as the fire grew stronger, she placed it in a dry husk, courtesy of Cyclops.
Within seconds, she had a couple of torches ready. The high-oxygen environment of the swamp ensured the rain couldn’t put it out.
"Remember," she said, handing a torch to Blaze. "Only burn the webs you absolutely have to. We can’t risk burning the swamp down."
"You don’t need to tell me that. I have invested in it too much to burn it down."
"Time for you to act as bait—"
"Yeah, I don’t think the spiders like rotten flesh," Blaze said, pointing ahead and then above.
Neha looked up and clicked her tongue.
"I was hoping you wouldn’t notice."
The stalkers were on the ground, paralyzed, but untouched by the web.
But the same couldn’t be said about the creatures hanging above.
Through the faint light of the torches, the duo saw countless humans hanging from the trees. The sight was even more gruesome than what Cyclops had shown Blaze before.
What was even more disturbing was the fact that those humans were alive. Blaze noticed it as he got closer to the one human who was plastered in spider web.
The man moved his eyes as if trying to say something. However, Blaze was too busy looking at the holes in his face. It wasn’t just the face, but most of the man’s body was riddled with small finger-sized holes.
Something white was sticking out of each hole, which had been sealed with some kind of gelatinous substance, probably mucus or saliva.
"Don’t tell me those are eggs?" he said.
"They are," Neha said, confirming his suspicion. "The eggs will hatch soon and consume what’s left of him."
It looked even more disgusting than the weirdest zombies he had ever made. Still, he understood the practicality behind keeping them alive for as long as possible.
The spiders often laid their eggs in a live host to ensure their offspring grew healthy and had plenty to eat. By keeping them alive, they could be used over and over as incubators.
However, if they were to die, the evolved bacteria would turn them into rot within hours. In all probability, the eggs would die with them. That’s why keeping them alive was crucial, though very painful.
"We should kill him, get rid of his misery—" Neha said, reaching for her knife, only to be stopped by Blaze.
"No need," he said. "We’re not here to be merciful. Especially when merely touching the web can alert the spiders."
Neha glared at Blaze, but then nodded and put her knife away. She knew very well how important it was to make such sacrifices. Moreso when an entire planet’s existence depended on it.
The deeper they went, the more varied the creatures had turned into incubators. Insects, mutants, and more humans. The only ones left untouched were the zombies.
"That’s enough evidence," Blaze said, rolling up his sleeves. "How far up?"
"What do you think I—?"
"Spiders like living things, like yourself. So, how far up do you want me to toss you to bait them?"
"Wait, I have an idea. Why don’t we use one of your slaves then?!"
"Not so benevolent now, are you?" Blaze scoffed. "As for the answer to your question, it’ll take time to bring them here, while you’re already here, capisce?"
Blaze didn’t wait for her approval and wrapped his tendrils around her waist, ready to toss her. Discover more novels at noᴠelfire.net
"Wait. Wait. Le-let me tell you something. Let me tell you something! All right! Let me tell you something! Let me tell you somethinggg!"
Blaze had no interest in what she had to say.
"Stop with the weird thoughts, Fester."
"Let her die? Who is teaching you all this?"
"Since you won’t tell, it’s Marrow, isn’t it?"
Fester didn’t reply and hid in Blaze’s pocket. It seemed the little guy was more scared of Marrow than of him.
"Abusing your pet privileges, are we?" Blaze said, patting his pocket.
Meanwhile, Neha was hanging around with the trees covered in webs. One leg of hers was firmly planted in the sticky spider silk, while the other just dangled around.
"Don’t just sit there, move!" Blaze’s voice echoed from the dark. "You need to attract them."
"That’s easier for you to say, you piece of shit..." she grumbled, reaching out for her knife. "Next time, I won’t kill you. Just make your life so miserable that you’ll kill yourself."
The weapon might not do anything to the silk threads, but it could hurt the spiders. She hoped it would.
Neha kept swinging, following Blaze’s advice. It didn’t take long for the hosts to arrive. She felt something crawling up her leg.
A spider the size of her forearm was staring at her with its countless eyes.
"What are you looking at?"