Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #20 November 2015 | Page 63
noise, and that’s when I became aware of the faint
rustling sound. It was coming from the roof. If was
like someone treading lightly on dry leaves, but it was
coming from above. It was strange rather than scary.
A familiar sound, but in the wrong place. I switched
on my bedside light, but my eyes were not ready for it,
and I was forced to close them. I put my hands to my
eyes and rubbed, then moved them away as I slowly
became accustomed to the light.
I looked up and was confronted with a
shimmering black mass that covered the ceiling. I
gasped as I realised that it was the source of the noise
and was inside the room. It had a peculiar texture,
which I couldn’t identify as it was constantly moving
like water. Then it became clear what it was, what it
had to be, and what was impossible yet true. Spiders.
Thousands of them. They had spread throughout the
room, covering everything, and the sound was caused
by them crawling all over each other. It was beyond
comprehension. How had Anansi done this? Oh, I
had no doubts over the cause of this now. Anansi had
proven he was real and was now seeking revenge as I
paid the price for my arrogance.
I didn’t think to scream. I just uttered, “No,
no, no, no,” as shock took hold. I was pleading with
Anansi to stop, but it must have sounded like further
rejection. The spiders descended on their webs and
landed on my body. I wanted to scream then, but I
couldn’t as terror had paralysed me. I just lay in bed,
helpless and shaking, as the spiders thronged over
me, fangs sinking into my flesh and thin hairy legs
swarming into my silently shrieking mouth.
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