The InBetween

Eighteen Hundred Creepy Crawlies (Jacob's POV)

The boys stared down at the spiders blanketing the lower floor. Their bodies froze like ice from fear. Jacob never considered himself terrified of spiders. Whenever there was one in his bedroom or the bathroom he always had to be the brave one to scoop it up while his family waited outside the house nervously. Yes, outside the house. They have SEVERE arachnophobia. Luckily, all those years of being forced to do the dirty work, Jacob had built up a kind of immunity to spiders and their haunting features.

From the looks of it, Tyrone had severe arachnophobia. His knees looked like they were going to buckle. Jacob placed a hand on his friend's shoulder "You okay?"

Tyrone didn't even look at him. Jacob asked again "Ty, you okay?"

"This isn't the only way down, is it?" Tyrone asked.

"I think it might be. The whole floor is covered with them..."

"No. To be honest I'd rather jump out of a window."

"Tyrone, I am not jumping out of a window."

"Well I am not jumping into a pit of poisonous spiders!"

A random web sling shot up into the air followed by a few of the creepies crawling up the walls and shooting their fabric at the ceiling. A few dozen managed to pull themselves up and one was lucky to land on the railing Tyrone and Jacob were standing at. Tyrone jumped back with a yelp as more and more of these arachnids made their way toward them.

"We've got to go!" Jacob pulled his friend along the halls with the swarm of vermin close behind. 

"How are they so fast?!" Tyrone yelled

"It's because of the eight legs they carry! Plus eight eyes! It makes them over-powered."

"Ugh, don't talk to me about the eyes!"

As the two ran down the corridor they stopped at the last sight they left. Skimply, Timpy, and the Habillabarblab were still duking it out.

"Let me live in my trash heap!" The blab bellowed

"No! Lilith will return and destroy you for contaminating her household!" The shadow-imps retorted.

The pair turned heel before any of those mutants noticed them standing there. Now they were running back towards the spiders. "Why are we turning back? Just let the hullabaloo thing take us, I don't care!" Tyrone stopped but Jacob pulled him forward again. The bugs got closer and closer, shooting random webs and Jacob could swear he heard hissing.

"Jacob, I can't-" He started.

"Yes, you can! We're already dead, what's a few spider bites gonna do?" Jacob shook his friend, trying to get him together. "C'mon! You slapped and mocked a demon multiple times, tricked two shadow-imps and pinned them against a trash glob! You can handle a few creepy crawlies."

Tyrone stared at his friend in surprise. Jacob was surprised too. He'd had to tell Tyrone and Miguel to get it together whenever they fought, but this was the first real time Jacob had had to play straight man to Tyrone's fears.

Without saying anymore, he pulled his skinny friend toward the throng of aphids. Jacob had to do this for his friend. Tyrone had had his back the whole time. Since they got kidn*pped to this very moment Tyrone stood up for him, protected him and got him out of troubling binds. This was the least he could do for his friend after everything they've been through.

Tyrone screamed as the spiders nipped at his ankles. Jacob felt the sting of their bites and the squishing of their bodies as they marched down this tunnel of webs and mites. The bites were painful, and Jacob could already feel his ankles began to swell. Still, he pursued, dragging Tyrone along behind him. The walls and ceiling were encased with spiders, it looked like 'spider hallway' at an old haunted house for toddlers the two visited when they were five.

When they reached the railing, Jacob picked up Tyrone bridal-style and threw him over the rails towards the bottom floor. He jumped over soon after, landing in a pool of webs and nibbles from the angry mites. He stood up and grabbed Tyrone off the floor. The spiders covered his pained face, his cheek was swelling and he couldn't see out of his right eye from the bruise.

"See that wasn't so bad?" Jacob said, patting Tyrone's shoulders

"Did you just throw me into a pit of spiders?"

"I owed you one for Chaos, the imps and Habillabarblab."

"I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!"

"Already dead, remember?"

They ran down the hall, plucking off any remaining spiders from his face and racing to the door at the end. Once opened, they were hit with the hot air of hell and met with the landscaped and mutated civilians. They found the exit to the castle. "Freedom..." Jacob murmured and stepped outside, pulling a half-blind Tyrone with him. That's when they were ambushed by two dark wisps and pinned to the ground.

"What now?!" Jacob asked.

"You really thought you could escape that easily?" A familiar, ragged voice said. The boys looked at her and scowled. They weren't afraid, just annoyed.

Chaos stood with her new battle-axe by her side. "It was a cute attempt really, but there is a whole community of people outside the castle. So unfortunately, you didn't think it through.

The shadow-imps picked up the pair and pushed them outside towards a wagon. 

"What is this?" Jacob asked.

"We figured it was dumb to wait for the other two sacrifices. They weren't happening. So we thought 'enough waiting, let's resurrect Lilith now!' And here I am, as promised I would be front row to watch you burn!"

Jacob and Tyrone were violently thrown into the wagon, much to Chaos' chagrin. Scaram helped Chaos pulled the wagon as she flirted relentlessly with him.

All Jacob could think as he and Tyrone were pulled away from the castle, on the way to their second, more painful death, was:

So close, yet so far away.