"Where am I?" Gwen ran, her breath coming in short bursts as her feet pounded against the ground. The darkness around her felt endless, like there was no way out.
"Go, go away!" she shouted, her voice shaking.
Spiders were everywhere.
They dropped from above in waves — different sizes, different shapes — hundreds of them. Their legs scraped and clicked against the ground, a sharp, crawling sound that filled the air. Some skittered past her feet, others landed too close, forcing her to stumble and change direction.
The air felt thick, heavy, like it was pressing against her chest. She tried to breathe, but it wouldn't come properly. Panic tightened around her throat.
"Stop — please —"
One brushed against her ankle.
She jerked forward, almost falling, her heart slamming hard against her ribs. The ground didn't feel steady anymore. Everything felt wrong.
Then —
A large spider dropped right in front of her.
It hit the ground with a dull, heavy sound, its legs spreading wide. It didn't move at first. It just stayed there, blocking her path.
Gwen froze.
Slowly, it lifted its body and opened its mouth — wide and dark, wider than it had any right to be. Before she could move, the darkness inside it seemed to stretch, pulling at her, swallowing everything.
"No —!"
"Ahh!"
She shot upright in bed, gasping hard, her body slick with sweat. Her hands clutched the sheets tightly, knuckles turning pale as her chest rose and fell in uneven breaths. For a moment, her eyes darted around the room, wild and unfocused, as if the spiders might still be there.
Hearing the noise, Jack woke up too.
"Gwen, what happened? Are you in pain?"
"A spider—there was a huge spider" Gwen was in fear, her eyes still darting around the room like it wasn't over yet.
"Don't worry, that must be a nightmare. You are safe here." He hugged her and tried to calm her.
Seeing she was in no danger, after a few minutes she calmed down. Her breathing slowly came back to normal.
"Gwen, how are you feeling now?" Jack asked softly.
"I'm okay — it's just that the nightmare felt very real," Gwen said, still a little shaken.
Seeing Jack in the room, she tried to piece together her last memory — she had been in a taxi, and then everything went blank. Why was she here?
"What happened? Why am I here?" Gwen asked with a puzzled look.
"In the taxi, due to high fever, you went unconscious near the house, so I took you to my home — sending you back in that condition would have made Mr. Stacy and Mrs. Stacy afraid."
Hearing this, and seeing the ice pack and Jack nearby on the bed, she realized what had happened.
"Thank you, Jack, for taking care of me."
"Didn't you take care of me when I was sick? It was nothing."
"Are you okay? You seem afraid."
"Yeah… just a bad dream. It shook me a bit, that's all," Gwen said.
"That's good then." Seeing Gwen was okay, he felt relieved.
Seeing him very close, and her sweat from fear making her feel like she smelled bad, she shifted uncomfortably.
"Where's your bathroom? I feel sticky from the sweat," Gwen said, her clothes damp and clinging to her.
"That room — I have some unused towels in there," Jack said, showing her the way and opening the door for her.
"Thanks." Gwen went inside.
Gwen POV:
After she changed, seeing her naked body in the mirror, she was shocked.
"Is this my body? It's well-toned like an athlete's." She tilted slightly, studying herself. She had never looked like this before. When did this happen?
As she was still checking her body, something shifted. Her body suddenly tensed — not from her own doing, but on its own, like an instinct she didn't know she had. Her heartbeat grew faster. Her hair felt straight. Her eyes snapped to the corner of the bathroom where a small spider sat completely still on the wall.
Her skin crawled. Every part of her locked onto it.
"What's happening to me?"
She forced herself to look away and turned on the shower. But the moment the water started falling, something changed — the world slowed down around her, each drop stretching out like it was moving through thick air, and a sudden wave of terror hit her from nowhere. Her body reacted before her mind could catch up, moving on its own like a reflex she had never been taught.
She jumped — full body, sideways — clear to the other wall of the bathroom. Her feet hit the floor and the impact cracked the tiles clean under her, the sound sharp and loud in the small space.
She stood there frozen, staring down at the cracked floor.
"Oh no."
She hadn't meant to do that. She hadn't even decided to move. Her heart was hammering now for a completely different reason.
"I'm... strong?"
She slowly looked at her own hands like she was seeing them for the first time.
"Gwen, are you okay?" Jack called out from outside.
"Yes, I'm okay," Gwen replied quickly, voice steady even though her thoughts were anything but.
This time she tried again.
She turned the tap slowly, watching the water like she expected something to happen. But it didn't. The stream fell normally, steady and harmless. No slow motion. No sudden reaction.
She frowned slightly.
"Is this because of that nightmare?" she muttered, more confused than before.
Nothing about this made sense.
Pushing the thought aside, she quickly started to freshen up, wanting to get it over with. The lingering unease sat at the back of her mind, but she ignored it.
Then she reached for the showerhead.
The moment her fingers wrapped around it —
Snap.
It broke clean off in her hand like it was nothing.
For half a second, she just stared at it.
Then water burst out of the pipe in a strong spray, hitting her face and shoulders, splashing across the walls and floor.
"No — no no no —!"
She stumbled back, then lunged forward again, grabbing the pipe with both hands, trying to force it back into place. But the water kept rushing out, cold and relentless, soaking her completely within seconds.
Her breathing picked up.
"Stop, just — stop —"
Her grip tightened.
Without thinking, her fingers pressed harder around the metal.
It bent.
Not slowly — not with effort.
It gave.
The pipe folded under her hands with a dull, strained creak until the opening closed in on itself. The water sputtered, then cut off completely.
Silence.
Only the faint drip of leftover water hitting the floor.
She stayed there for a moment, still holding the pipe, her hands unmoving.
Then slowly, she loosened her grip.
The metal stayed bent.
Gwen stared at it, water dripping from her hair, her shoulders rising and falling with each breath.
"Wow."
A small, shaky laugh escaped her, somewhere between disbelief and nerves.
"I actually did it."
For a brief second, a strange spark of excitement flickered through her chest —
For one second she felt like she could fight an elephant. The next second she felt completely terrified of herself.
"Gwen, are you okay in there?" Jack's voice came again, closer this time.
"No problem — it was just a spider."
"Okay." She heard his footsteps move away and let out a slow breath.
She didn't know why she didn't want to tell him what was happening to her.
She looked at her soaked clothes in the basket and realized they were in no condition to wear, so she grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself. But the moment she tried to tuck it in, the fabric stuck to her hand, as if it had caught on something.
When she moved, the whole towel came with it.
She frowned and tried to pull her hand free—
Rrrip.
With a sharp tear, the towel ripped apart.
"Oh no."
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