~ The bite under Jaden's eye burned and itched and he could already feel it beginning to swell. He found that concentrating on that one bite removed his mind somewhat from the hundreds of spiders swarming over the rest him. Where the hell did they all come from? Not that that mattered all that much, what was important was that they kept coming.
The tunnel turned a sharp corner and just around it Jaden bumped into a panel blocking the path. A door. Blessed saints above, it was a door. Jaden grabbed the handle with both hands and and gave it a hard twist. And nothing happened. He jerked at it again with one hand, using the other to beat at the wood, in the illogical hope that that would jar it open.
"It's locked!" he cried desperately.
"Takyle, the key. Give it to me," ordered Andrew. He sounded so friggin' firm and calm and in charge. How the hell did he do that? Jaden, on the other hand, sat in the tiny tunnel, waiting for the key, his heart hammering away like it was trying to break out of his chest, reminding himself to breathe in as well as out. Turns out it is exponentially harder to sit still with hundreds of spiders on and around you, than to crawl over them. At least then you're doing something to get away from them.
"Hurry up, please!" he begged Takyle, shocked, first by the panicked sound of his voice, and second by the fact that he'd added "please". Takyle continued to fumble around in her pockets, looking for the key she had found back in the desert.
"Ugh! There's spiders in my pockets!" she cried. At the moment Jaden couldn't imagine a place on his person where they weren't. "I got it!" she shouted. A moment later Andrew passed the unassuming silver key up to Jaden. Now it looked like sparkling salvation. He jammed it into the lock on the door and in that split second before he tried it a thought entered his mind.
"Maybe it won't work."
It did. The key turned to left with a smooth click and the catch disengaged. Jaden threw his pack out of the tunnel and scrambled after it, never in his life so glad that a door had unlocked for him. He jumped up and began beating at the things crawling over him before he realized that they were now all streaming off, running back to the tunnel. That knowledge did not stop him from helping them on their way.
Jaden shivered all over, began to raise his hands to itch his scalp, and stopped when he realized what was crushed all over them. His pant legs from the knees down were also coated with the sticky, leggy remains of the more unfortunate of his arachnid attackers. He shuddered again, trying to wipe his hands off on his pants, the only thing available.
Andrew and Takyle were standing next to Jaden, Andrew attempting to rub one hand clean on his hip, while hugging Takyle with the other arm. Jaden was a little shocked to see tears running down her face. Never, ever had he seen Takyle actually, seriously cry. A tear now and again sure, but not like this, and he had seen her hurt pretty bad. He didn't really know what to do, so he just stood there... Feeling awkward.
"Wow, this is familiar," said his mind.
"Shut up," he told his mind.
After a minute more Takyle stopped crying (apparently by force of will) and pulled away from Andrew. She started to wipe her face off with her hands, but stopped just in time. She grimaced and looked a little ill for a moment. Jaden pulled something from his pocket and shook it to make sure there were no hangers-on, then handed it to Takyle. She looked at him for a moment with an unreadable expression, then she started giggling. Jaden glanced at Andrew to find out what he'd done wrong, but Andrew was busy still trying to get spider guts off himself.
"Jay, you packed a handkerchief? I... I'm not sure what to say."
"I, thought I might get a cold or something," he told her, still not sure if he should be laughing with her or defending himself. He shot for a middle ground and smiled a little.
"Jaden, I love you. Thank you. Thank you for thinking you might get a cold and being prepared and giving me your handkerchief." Takyle gratefully wiped her eyes, being careful not to soil more of the white cloth than was necessary.
"I'm prepared too," Andrew inserted, peevishly. "I brought... Granola bars." Takyle stood on her toes to give him a quick kiss.
"I appreciate you too, hun." She suddenly shivered all over. "Ugh, that was awful. I never want to see another spider again as long as I live." Andrew shook his head.
"The chances of that happening are slim, seeing as how they're smashed all over us. First order of business, I say we find some water."
"Great idea!" agreed Takyle. "So where exactly are we?" The first response that sprang to Jaden's lips was: "Not in the tunnel!", but he kept that to himself and looked around the room that they had exited into. It was green and not too big, with modern furniture, including a vanity with a big mirror framed by lights on the wall in front of it. To another side was a couch and a small table with some fruit and other snacks laid out on its surface. It looked like a dressing room. ~
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