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. 63