"I have no idea who or what you are babbling about," the spiderwoman spoke. "Why do you not step over that line, so we can begin the Opening?" The spiderwoman noticed the embroidered name on the woman's brown uniform, and she said, "Draw near, Terry. Let us begin."
"Umm... My name's not Terry. I just borrowed this uniform, and I'm not one of these contestants you keep talking about. I'm actually a delivery girl... er... woman. I have a package for you."
"A package for me?" the spiderwoman repeated. "I thought no one knew I was trapped here... unless... it is the person who put me in this prison or one of the other Residents. Who is the package from?"
The delivery woman glanced at the invoice and said, "It says it's from Noone."
"I know no Noone," the spiderwoman replied.
"Wait..." the delivery woman spoke in a laugh. "I think I get it. The package's not from Noone, but from no one."
"I do not see how that is funny," the spiderwoman spoke. "Give me the package."
The delivery woman walked up to the white borderline, but she didn't cross it as she said, "I need for you to sign for it first."
She lifted a clipboard, the old kind that had a wooden base and a metal clip that held the paper in place, and an ink pen was attached to it by a string. The spiderwoman started to walk over to her, but she stopped, wary this was still a trick.
"What is this place?" the delivery woman questioned as she continued to look around the area. "You said you're trapped here and that you're a prisoner."
"We are on the Basement Level," the spiderwoman replied. "And I might have misspoken before. I am not really a prisoner though I do feel like one." She peered at the human curiously, and then she said, "You act as if you have seen my kind before. Are you sure you are not a contestant or perhaps a being I know nothing of?"
"I'm human, but I'm not a contestant. I have encountered your kind before," the delivery woman replied. "I met her a long long time ago."
"I am surprised you survived your encounter and was not devoured or was this other who was like me dead?"
"No, she wasn't dead, but she was injured," the delivery woman replied, and then she mumbled, "The lady didn't devour me because I wasn't big enough." The delivery woman questioned, "What sort of contests go on here, and who are the other Residents you mentioned?"
Controller's voice came over the intercom, and he said, "Residents of Basement Level, a new contest will begin in five minutes."
"It would seem that you have told me the truth about not being one of the contestants," the spiderwoman said. "Contestants are not allowed on Basement Level until the Opening has begone, and if you are not a contestant, you need to leave. Quickly draw over here to this rock, so that you can climb up and hand me the clipboard."
The delivery woman started to go to her, but then she stopped before crossing the white borderline, and said, "Give me permission to come into your lair, and I'll come to you, otherwise, you'll have to come to me."
"It would seem that someone taught you about Kumo'sakai."
"She did," the delivery woman said. "We were good friends, so she taught me many things, including that a Kumo'sakai is a white borderline made of very sensitive webbing, and the one who created it knows when something crosses the Kumo'sakai even though it's not physically attached. Sakai means boundary. Your kind developed the Kumo'sakai because..."
"Friends," the spiderwoman scoffed, ignoring the rest of what the human had told her. "If she was your friend, tell me her name."
The delivery woman frowned as she bowed her head as the painful memories of her childhood still afflicted her.
"I thought so, our kind would never be friends with your kind. We only take pleasure in eating your kind," the spiderwoman stated as she walked over to the human, the spider body bowed low to the ground, then the spiderwoman held out her hand, and said, "Let me have that clipboard."
The delivery woman held up the clipboard, then lifted on her tip toes, and the spiderwoman took the clipboard. The spiderwoman read over the delivery slip but found no other clues as to who sent the package. She glanced at the human a couple times while she read, wary she might attack her while she was searching for clues.
"You have been smiling at me with this stupid grin since we met. I prefer when humans scream."
"Sorry, it's just that you remind me so much of her, even the way you want to eat me."
"Now I do know that something is wrong with you," the spiderwoman told her as she handed back the clipboard after she signed it, and the human took it.
The delivery woman glanced back at the door as she questioned, "What is going on here? What is this place?" She faced the spiderwoman as she continued questioning, "Why are you down here, and why do you keep talking about a contest? It sounds to me like you're being forced to do something that you don't want to."
"I still cannot figure you out," the spiderwoman said. "Are you part of the contest? You seem all innocent, but for some reason, I get this feeling that your... your... I almost laugh when I think about it, but I do believe you are dangerous."
"I'm only here to deliver packages," she replied. "But I do find it weird that..."
"Why are you still here?" the spiderwoman demanded as the sensation of fear intensified within her being. The other part of her, the giant spider, didn't seem to mind that this human was there, but she was becoming very wary of the human, and so she declared, "You should be running away by now, but here you are speaking to me as if we are equals. I prefer when humans run, and you could also do me the favor of screaming as you do so, if you are not going to cross the Kumo'sakai."
"I would like to talk to you a little longer. I'm just so excited to meet one of your kind again. I still can't believe I found another like her. What are the odds? Maybe you know her."
"If you cannot tell me her name, I cannot help you," the spiderwoman told her as the sensation of danger intensified.
"I forgot about that," the delivery woman spoke. "I guess I'll never find her," she stated with a deep seeded sadness that seemed to resonate throughout her entire body, but then the despair quickly turned into joy again as she said, "At least I now know that I didn't dream about her."
"If you are so keen in knowing names, why not tell me yours?" the spiderwoman said as she needed to know the reason why she felt this way towards a seemingly normal human.
"I have a designation, but it's not really a name. It's more of... How should I put it? It's more of what I am."
"Spit it out human, there is not much time left before the Opening begins."
"I am Kein."
The spiderwoman laughed a little bit, and then she started laughing harder as she said, "You did not lie. If that is your name, I might as well call you baka."
"Baka? That word means fool. Kein means more of... Kein is..."
"No... No..." the spiderwoman interrupted as she continued to laugh. "From this time forth and until the day you die, to me, you will be baka."
Kein sighed as she received another name that belittled her, and then she asked, "What should I call you? And before you say anything, I'm not asking what your name is, I'm only asking what I should call you when I address you. I could call you Kumovon, but I don't think you want me to refer to you just by your people's name. It would be like you calling me human all the time."
"For you, you can call me Shukujo, not that you will have much of an occasion to use it. If you are not a contestant, you will not be here long."
"Shukujo... I like it. It suits you," Kein said.
"Do you know what it means?" Shukujo questioned.
"I do. It means lady of refinement, and you are definitely a lady," Kein replied. "I can tell these things, and you're so pretty. You must be a Kumo'kozoku."
"You are definitely an odd human," Shukujo spoke. "But I am amused that you think of me as royalty."
"I would like to ask you a few more questions if I might," Kein said, and then she asked, "Can you leave?"
"What are you asking me?"
"All the Residents are, but most of us are volunteer prisoners," Shukujo replied, and then for the first time she spoke with concern for the human as if a memory forced her worry to the surface from a place she long ago buried it away, and she said, "You really should be leaving now. The Opening is about to begin, and I do not believe you will want to see what comes next. You appear to be a kind soul, not that I am sold on the mask you are wearing, but there is something about you that is somewhat familiar, so for the sake of that familiarity I will tell you that you should leave before you see something that you cannot unsee."
"I would like to speak to you just a little longer," Kein told her, not sure what the Kumovon was implying. "I haven't seen one of you in such a long time, and it feels nice to be able to talk to one of your race again."
Before Shukujo could reply, Controller came back on the intercom and stated, "Opening will begin in five, four, three, two, one..."
Soon groups of people could be heard shouting to one another outside in the hallway as they ran in all different directions across the wooden floor. About ten seconds later, Kein turned as the door burst open, and eight people rushed in. They were armed with either a sword, spear, or battle ax, and they rushed at the Kumovon, crossing the white borderline and attacking the twenty foot creature. Kein started to go after the people to stop them from hurting her, but she paused before crossing the white borderline. She watched as the eight people attacked the Kumovon and then blood splattered her own face. It wasn't the Kumovon's blood, it was the eight people's. The humans never stood a chance against a creature such as she, and Kein stood there in shock as she watched the Kumovon tear apart the people as if they were paper dolls. The battle was over in less than a minute.
She stared up at the one who was like her teacher as the humans' blood ran down Shukujo's entire body. Kein never imagined the terror and the horror she visited day after day the seven months she knew the other Kumovon, the one she knew as the lady. Fear awoke in her and stirred, wanting to be released. The fear started at the middle of her spine and slowly burned up her back.
"Don't be afraid..." Kein spoke softly to herself. "Don't be afraid. Everything will be fine. Everything will be..."
Shukujo turned to her and saw a different expression on the human's face than what had been there minutes earlier. They had talked as if they had known each other for years, and the experience brought back pleasant memories, but now Kein stared at her as if she didn't recognize her as if she was terrified of her, and that sight brought back terrible unpleasant memories.
"That is the look I was waiting on," Shukujo told her. "I will score quite a few points for that very expression. Now draw to me. Draw to me and cross the Kumo'sakai. Allow me to rip you apart as I ripped apart the others of your treacherous kind."
"Don't be afraid," Kein spoke louder as she edged her way towards the door behind her as flight or fight kicked in. "There is nothing to fear. Everything will be fine. Don't be afraid."
"Do you not see me standing here?" Shukujo questioned her. "There is a lot to be afraid of. I can deliver a wide range of deaths upon you, so do draw near and let me indulge in the pain I can deliver."
Fear swelled in her and grew so rapidly that she couldn't control it, so Kein turned, bolted out of the room, and entered the hallway as she heard more people screaming. She ran to the door with the beaker on it and flung it open, hoping to find a way out, but instead, she came across a haze of purple smoke that made her a little dizzy. She saw a man in a white lab coat wearing a gas mask, and he was dragging one of his eight victims across the floor to the back of the room. Kein realized if she stayed in that room any longer either the gas or fear would be the end of her, so she fled the room and went to the next. She ran to the door with the fish on it, flung it open, ran in, and found she was standing at the edge of a dock. The dock was up high and looked over other docks of different levels that were mostly hidden from view by a thick white fog. Kein saw who she thought was a human man, so she climbed down a ladder to the next dock which wasn't covered in fog and approached him.
"Are you all right?" she called out to the man with his back to her.
"Stay back!" he screamed as he turned around and faced her. He was armed with a sword, and he shook it at her as if it was only a walking stick as he yelled again, "Stay back!"
"I won't hurt you," Kein told him. "And I'll stay right in this spot. Are you all right?"
"The others.... They're all gone," he spoke. "The water," he started as he turned and faced the swamp. "The water took them, and now they're all gone."
Kein glanced at the murky waters as a different type of fear afflicted her, and she edged back a few steps as she said, "Why don't we leave? Come with me, and we'll leave."
They both could hear people screaming in the distance, and the man turned to her and asked, "What kind of contest is this? What kind of contest kills off its contestants?"
"I don't know," Kein replied. "I think we should leave." She waved him over to her as she said, "Please, come with me."
He took a step to go to her when a hand reached up out of the fog, snatched his leg, and pulled him over. The man managed to grab the edge of the dock as he screamed for her help, so Kein ran for him across the dock and dove for his outstretched hand, but she missed him, and he was dragged into the fog. She thought about climbing down to the next dock, but the sound of something large splashing into the water incited fear to return, and the burning fear residing on her back intensified, so she forsook the man and fled the room.
"Don't be afraid... Don't be afraid..." she kept repeating to herself as she ran into the hallway. "I'll find a way out. There has to be a way out!"
All the screams had died down by the time she reached the room with the bat. Kein opened its door, rushed in and found a man lounging on a scarlet velvet couch in what appeared to be a parlor of an old Victorian mansion. There seemed to be a mist about the room, not like the purple smoke or the white fog of the other two room, but a red mist for hiding things. Kein wasn't frightened by the alluring man who had very attractive shoulder length black wavy hair that fell over his face and over the face of a woman he was embracing. Kein slowly drew to him as if she needed to be with him... as if she needed to stay by his side forever. She noticed he was kissing the woman on the couch with him as if she was seeing the woman for the first time, and she felt herself flush. Kein realized what she had walked in on and started for the door to give them some privacy at a time she should be worried about her own safety, but then the man lifted his head, and his hair fell back into place. He turned to her and saw her, but Kein was no longer embarrassed to have disturbed them, she was afraid, very afraid. His eyes... they were all red as if they were full of blood, and she realized he wasn't kissing the woman, but drinking of her. The shock reset her senses, the mist of the room lifted, and Kein saw that seven bodies laid scattered about the room and that they were all dead, drained of their blood. She turned her attention back to the vampire who once more took of the blood of his female victim, and the victim... she was still alive. The woman stretched out her hand for Kein to help her, but the burning fear that had been with her since Opening, warned her... it warned Kein she needed to run, so she ran. She abandoned the woman to her horrible fate, and she ran to the door with the pyramid on it, and then she opened it to find a desert land and some sort of Egyptian tomb. She didn't go in this time but stood at the threshold to see if this door would lead to an exit or only lead to more horrors that would be seared into her memory like some brand of terror. A small sand storm encompassed the large room or maybe desert plain would be a better word for it, but Kein could still make out a tall mummy about seven feet tall covered in aged linen wrappings, but he was also donned in gold and other precious stones and gems as if he was once a great Egyptian Pharaoh. The mummy held a man by his throat as blue scarab beetles by the dozens came out of a hole in the mummy's other ou
tstretched hand, and the scarab beetles attacked the man. The man screamed as the carnivorous beetles started to eat him alive, and all Kein could do because of her fear was shut the door. She couldn't save anyone. Everyone was dead or dying. She wanted so badly to help all those people, but her fear wouldn't let her, her fear still pushed her to escape, so she started for the elevator. Kein wanted to run, but she was barely able to walk towards the elevator as all the horrible images of carnage, torture, and death bombarded her mind. She passed the last door with the black arrow symbol on it and didn't bother to open it. Kein turned the corner and walked about ten feet from the last door, paused, and started to cry when she heard this howl. She turned and faced the way she had come and heard what sounded like something running on all fours towards her across the wooden floor. Her heart thundered in her chest as she turned and sprinted for the elevator that was three hundred feet away as the unknown creature drew close to the corner. She sprinted as fear made her run all the faster, then she entered the cab, and quickly pressed the lobby button, but nothing happened. The creature howled again before he turned the corner and ran towards her. Kein punched the Lobby button with her finger several more times, then she hit the Door Close button as the hairy creature with sharp teeth neared. The fear seemed to split her back open along her spine as death on all fours approached, and Kein stepped back from the buttons to the very back of the cab. The brown hairy creature leapt just as the doors slowly closed, and the elevator shook as the creature hit. Kein collapsed to the floor as she heard the creature claw at the doors on the outside. She wrapped her arms around herself and sobbed. She was safe for now, so all she had to do was control her fear. Kein rocked back and forth, trying to console herself as she pushed back her fear.
"Don't be afraid," she whispered. "Don't be afraid... Everything's fine. There's nothing to be afraid of here. Don't be afraid."
Kein knew she didn't have time to cry, so she crawled forward a few feet, then leaned and put her ear to one of the doors, and she heard the creature on the outside trying to claw its way in, but eventually, he gave up and walked away across the wooden floor. Kein grabbed one of the railings and managed to stand and move back to the buttons. The fear that burned down her spine lessened and seemed to seal itself back up inside her, so she stared at the elevator control panel, and with her mind at a calmer state, Kein realized why the elevator refused to obey her command to go up. She removed her ID badge and started to swipe it across the scanner when...
Monster Of Monsters #1 Part One: Mortem's Opening Page 5