Make a run for it
You're fairly certain that following disembodied voices in the forest is a bad idea, and decide to run- even if you don't know where you're going, as long as you go downhill you figure you'll eventually run into the park again and be safe. The voices chase you for a bit, giggling and telling you not to go that way, but you ignore them and keep running. Eventually, you come to a clearing with a small pond, with a very obvious gravel path leading behind a waterfall and into a cave. You sigh in relief, as the voices have ceased, and the new path—while not as meticulously kept as the main one earlier—is well-maintained enough that you feel you can trust it. At the mouth of the cave, hanging from the top on old-looking chains, is a cobweb-covered sign saying “Beware the Jorogumo!”. You smile in spite of it; obviously, this is an attraction of some sort, and the voices earlier were just designed to enhance the creepy experience on the path to this place. Loving a good fun creepfest, you stride into the cave, seeing more and more webs lining the walls and ceilings, with the webs becoming ever larger and more expansive—as if for a much larger creature than your average spider. You also see a number of white leathery orbs lining the walls and scattered around the floor, and web cocoons hanging from the ceiling. The ambiance is chilling, and though it gives you goosebumps you continue onward until you are startled by a feminine voice from deeper within the tunnel.
“Well well well, a visitor! I haven't had one in ages. Would you perhaps like a tour guide to get you safely through this dark cave?”
Emerging from the darkness is a woman in traditional Japanese dress, smiling demurely reaching out her hand; strangely, the shadows behind her are black enough that you can't see anything any further into the tunnel than her. Figuring she's a cast member, you smile and play along, nodding in assent and taking her hand. As soon as you do, though, her smile turns into an evil, fanged grin, and she grips your hand with surprising strength.
“How gullible of you, human,” she says, her voice filled with mischief and an odd sense of power and authority; “I'll be sure to teach you not to be so naive—but I'm afraid the cost is never leaving this cave!”
The woman emerges fully from the shadows, revealing a massive spider-like body behind her—no, it IS part of her body! She's some odd combination of half-spider, half-human! You struggle to escape, but eight spindly legs quickly trap you as thick webbing emerges from her mouth, quickly encasing you completely in a cocoon. Unable to move or see—but somehow still able to breath perfectly fine—you feel yourself being carried effortlessly and hung on the wall. You try to squirm and protest and beg and plead, but all you hear is a chuckle from your captor as the webbing seems to thicken. “Aw, are you afraid? Well, not to worry; soon, you'll feel right at home!” Something about her voice seems softer, the dominating authority of her tone becoming slightly maternal, though the air of danger still permeates it. The webbing continues to thicken into a leathery shell, which begins to shrink a bit, forcing you into a fetal position. You continue to cry out, but suddenly the woman begins to sing a lilting melody:
“Hush, little spider, your egg is your bed,
Your shelter and comfort and keep;
There's no need to fear, you're perfectly safe
And your eyes are so heavy with sleep...”
Your protests slowly die down, the song bringing a heavy fog over your mind; it's actually not an unpleasant feeling. You don't feel trapped by the shell you are encased in; instead, it now feels like you've been tucked in, warm and safe. You yawn, but some part of you fights back as the song continues...
“Hush, little spider, and listen to me
And let my song whisk you away;
You'll dream of my voice and my motherly face
Until you wake to a new day!
A new day filled with wonder
A new life, changed for the best;
A new world, ready to be explored
But first it is time
For you to rest...”
The fight is draining out of you—and why not? The song is so pretty, and your mo—the woman sounds so nice now; you're so very sleepy and your egg is so comfortable. You yawn again, a calm smile coming over your face. An odd feeling of growth in your hips and abdomen begins, along with tingling in your arms and legs and strange pressure coming from your sides, as if something is growing there and pressing against the inside of your shirt, and your mouth feels funny... but the gentle song seems to assure you that this is all normal, that there's nothing to worry about. Your eyes flutter a bit, and that feels strange too for some reason, but you're too tired and too happy to wonder why. For now, you just want to listen to the pretty song, and let it carry you away to a deep slumber...
“Hush, little spider, and drift off to sleep
Forget all your worry and fear;
Forget your old name and your old memories
You don't need them, for mother is here.
Hush, little spider...
Your mother is here!”
Before you know it, your eyes finally shut, and you drift away into pleasant dreams. Dreams filled with webs, mother's face, the comfort and darkness of the cave that is your home, the delicious smell of humans and small animals that foolishly wander in, ready to be devoured. Eventually, you wake up, still in your egg, but you feel odd. Different. You open your eyes, and your vision seems strange, almost... expanded, somehow. You stretch your arms and legs a bit, feeling the egg start to give way a little bit. Further stretching causes a thin slit to form, which eventually causes the egg to split open completely. Yawning and rubbing the sleep out of your eyes, you crawl out of your egg, up the webbing on the wall and onto the ceiling, your eight eyes adjusting to the darkness as your new massive spidery abdomen and the eight spindly legs protruding from it help to anchor you securely in place. From a hole in the ceiling, you see your mother descend on a web line, carrying a web cocoon that clearly contains some form of small animal; you open your mouth wide, your fangs dripping with drool and hunger.
“Ah, you've awakened, my child. Are you ready for breakfast?”
Written by CoggerD on 28 October 2023
The end (for now)