Midnight Snack, Page 2
Mari Miniatt
the dusty webs. The old machinery laid under blankets of more webbing. Theron touched one as he walked by it. He felt the vibrations of the party. He carried Linda across the large floor and down a set of metal steps.
In the basement, he laid Linda on the floor. Her eyes held wide open. He placed his hand on her head. Her muscles were stiff, but he could still turn her head. Theron stood up and looked down at her.
“The music woke me. I'm hungry,” he said.
He removed his shirt. The brown hairs on his arms and chest were short and thick. Across his chest, the some of the hairs were white. The white hairs formed a strange pattern.
“It has been a long time since I ate.”
He jerked his back. Theron unfolded two other sets of legs from his back. He twisted and stretched. His skin cracked and snapped. His torso elongated so the rest of his arms could be used with more ease. As his body changed, he lost any resemblance to the prey he hunted.
Linda made a strange noise. Her breath sounded like air being sucked through a hose. The color drained from her face. Theron's back expanded. He bent backwards, stretching out all four sets of his arms as he did.
He stood in front of her in his true shape. The eight appendages, that could be arms or legs, depending on what he needed to do. Theron opened the rest of his eyes. They appeared on his cheeks and forehead. The mandibles dropped from the inside of his mouth.
He scuttled over to Linda and picked up her stiff body in his top two arms. From his chest, in the middle of the white pattern, he pulled out silk. Using another set of arms to spin her and another to guide the silk around her. Theron rolled her around, covering her whole body with the silk.
He attached another strand of webbing to her cocoon. He backed away from her. He crawled backward into the next room. The damp, dark, crumbling bricks had fallen in some places, exposing a maze like floor through the walls. In the middle of the room sat a large cistern.
Theron backed himself into it. He lengthened out the webbing and lowered himself into the deep hole. The cistern opened into a natural cave. The cavern spread out underneath the old factory. Across the opening, laid his web.
The web laid horizontal, like a large hammock. There were other human-sized cocoons dotted around the web. Some of the cocoons were smaller. In one, a red leather collar jutted out of the webbing. One part of the web thickened and stretched back to the ceiling. That section of web had a large round opening. Theron backed his way down into the webbing.
He pulled on the silk, like a fisherman pulling in a catch. The white cocoon that held Linda teetered on the edge of the cistern for a moment, then fell. Theron watched it fall. It landed on the web and bounced as if it was on a trampoline.
He scuttled down to the cocoon and attached it to the web. Then he climbed back up the webbing to the find more victims. He paused in the cistern room to make his body look like they prey. Forcing it into a human shape. He picked up his clothing and dressed to cover any signs of his real shape.
Outside, he went back to the rave. This time he trapped a young man. He dropped that cocoon closer to the thicker part of his web. He hurried back to find more. As the dawn approached, he found three more meals. His larder had been filled.
After he secured the last one, he scuttled around the web. He tested the lines and the other cocoons. Some of the strands he had to reweave. He cut a few empty cocoons off. He stopped in the middle of his web, satisfied that his larder was safe.
He climbed into the round opening at the thick part of the web. After turning around, he sat still. His hands rested on the main webs. He could feel the city above through them. When he concentrated he could hear it as well. Sometimes when he slept, he thought he could touch the minds of some of the humans up there.
His mandibles clicked together in frustration as he remembered how the humans made him. It had been their fault they woke him the first time. In their greed to make cheap things, they had dumped the chemicals down the cistern. The chemicals had choked him. He climbed out of the filth and changed. The meals of insects were no longer enough. The creatures that had forced him to be a monster, were what he needed to survive.
He had picked off his meals at his leisure at first. It became harder to find his meals after the humans above had left their buildings. But that did not matter to him. He had been alive for decades now. He needed only a little to survive. Food was close and he was protected.
Theron closed his eyes, and let the vibrations of the city above rock him to sleep, sharing the dreams of his prey.
###
About the author:
Mari Miniatt was born. Went to school. Got married. Went to college. Worked. Then wrote. Vampires, Minstrels, and Trolls are her imaginary friends.
Fledgling: Coiree Guardians – Book One
Killer: Coiree Guardians – Book Two
Connect with Me Online:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/leapetra
Facebook: https://facebook.com/MariMiniatt
My blog: https://www.mariminiatt.com
Thank you for reading books on Archive.BookFrom.Net
Share this book with friends
In the basement, he laid Linda on the floor. Her eyes held wide open. He placed his hand on her head. Her muscles were stiff, but he could still turn her head. Theron stood up and looked down at her.
“The music woke me. I'm hungry,” he said.
He removed his shirt. The brown hairs on his arms and chest were short and thick. Across his chest, the some of the hairs were white. The white hairs formed a strange pattern.
“It has been a long time since I ate.”
He jerked his back. Theron unfolded two other sets of legs from his back. He twisted and stretched. His skin cracked and snapped. His torso elongated so the rest of his arms could be used with more ease. As his body changed, he lost any resemblance to the prey he hunted.
Linda made a strange noise. Her breath sounded like air being sucked through a hose. The color drained from her face. Theron's back expanded. He bent backwards, stretching out all four sets of his arms as he did.
He stood in front of her in his true shape. The eight appendages, that could be arms or legs, depending on what he needed to do. Theron opened the rest of his eyes. They appeared on his cheeks and forehead. The mandibles dropped from the inside of his mouth.
He scuttled over to Linda and picked up her stiff body in his top two arms. From his chest, in the middle of the white pattern, he pulled out silk. Using another set of arms to spin her and another to guide the silk around her. Theron rolled her around, covering her whole body with the silk.
He attached another strand of webbing to her cocoon. He backed away from her. He crawled backward into the next room. The damp, dark, crumbling bricks had fallen in some places, exposing a maze like floor through the walls. In the middle of the room sat a large cistern.
Theron backed himself into it. He lengthened out the webbing and lowered himself into the deep hole. The cistern opened into a natural cave. The cavern spread out underneath the old factory. Across the opening, laid his web.
The web laid horizontal, like a large hammock. There were other human-sized cocoons dotted around the web. Some of the cocoons were smaller. In one, a red leather collar jutted out of the webbing. One part of the web thickened and stretched back to the ceiling. That section of web had a large round opening. Theron backed his way down into the webbing.
He pulled on the silk, like a fisherman pulling in a catch. The white cocoon that held Linda teetered on the edge of the cistern for a moment, then fell. Theron watched it fall. It landed on the web and bounced as if it was on a trampoline.
He scuttled down to the cocoon and attached it to the web. Then he climbed back up the webbing to the find more victims. He paused in the cistern room to make his body look like they prey. Forcing it into a human shape. He picked up his clothing and dressed to cover any signs of his real shape.
Outside, he went back to the rave. This time he trapped a young man. He dropped that cocoon closer to the thicker part of his web. He hurried back to find more. As the dawn approached, he found three more meals. His larder had been filled.
After he secured the last one, he scuttled around the web. He tested the lines and the other cocoons. Some of the strands he had to reweave. He cut a few empty cocoons off. He stopped in the middle of his web, satisfied that his larder was safe.
He climbed into the round opening at the thick part of the web. After turning around, he sat still. His hands rested on the main webs. He could feel the city above through them. When he concentrated he could hear it as well. Sometimes when he slept, he thought he could touch the minds of some of the humans up there.
His mandibles clicked together in frustration as he remembered how the humans made him. It had been their fault they woke him the first time. In their greed to make cheap things, they had dumped the chemicals down the cistern. The chemicals had choked him. He climbed out of the filth and changed. The meals of insects were no longer enough. The creatures that had forced him to be a monster, were what he needed to survive.
He had picked off his meals at his leisure at first. It became harder to find his meals after the humans above had left their buildings. But that did not matter to him. He had been alive for decades now. He needed only a little to survive. Food was close and he was protected.
Theron closed his eyes, and let the vibrations of the city above rock him to sleep, sharing the dreams of his prey.
###
About the author:
Mari Miniatt was born. Went to school. Got married. Went to college. Worked. Then wrote. Vampires, Minstrels, and Trolls are her imaginary friends.
Fledgling: Coiree Guardians – Book One
Killer: Coiree Guardians – Book Two
Connect with Me Online:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/leapetra
Facebook: https://facebook.com/MariMiniatt
My blog: https://www.mariminiatt.com
Thank you for reading books on Archive.BookFrom.Net
Share this book with friends
