Chapter 11.

Part 50. A few days later.

It was early evening when Helt Fangstien found a note had been slipped under his door. Last time this happened it had been a challenge to a duel, he wondered what it would be now. “Your American friend has wandered into the cave of giant spiders. Go quickly if you hope to save her.” it read. There was no signature.

How mysterious. I will just rush out, with out telling anyone and go save her on my own, that would be the heroic thing to do. He laughed. No, it is most likely a trap, better not be foolish.

“Hay Yue.” he said to his roommate, who was in a martial arts stance, meditation. “Know anything about giant spiders?”

The Chinese student shook his head, “No, so sorry, I do not.”

“Want to help me rescue Emma from some?” the tall German asked.

“That would be a noble quest. So yes I do.” Yue replied.

Helt passed him the note, “This is all we have to go on. Im going to see Serena, then over to the library to look up giant spiders. You see if you can get the French guy from the HPB to come with us. Bring along whatever you need for a search and rescue mission. Meet me at the library in half an hour.” he quickly rolled off the important points.

Yue gave a nod, “I will prepare myself now.”

Helt swiftly walked over to the woman’s dorm, to Serena’s window. Luckily it was on the first floor so he did not have to climb the wall. He tapped a few times. His paranoia told him, she may have already been taken, if this was some sort of trap. But no. She opened the window, safe and sound. Helt smiled in relief.

“To what do I own the pleasure of your visit?” she asked.

“When did you last see Emma?” he opened with a quick question.

“Just before dinner she said she was going for a walk, to check out the artists at the gallery.” the small Filipino answered.

Helt handed her the note.

“I think it is a trap. There will be more to deal with than just big spiders.” he said carefully.

“Why do you think that?” she asked.

“A normal person would not have anomalously slipped a note under my door, for something important like this. Also, I find it better to expect trouble and be wrong, than to be unprepared for it.” he explained calmly.

She gave a nod, “Sounds reasonable. What is our next move?”

(( should include a bit about her suggesting they bring the matter to the guards ))

“You know it will be dangerous?” he asked as a formality.

Serena looked serious, “I always help my friends.” she said.

Helt smiled. No need for a long conversation about it. “Get ready for a night of adventure, and maybe some cave crawling.” he said “Our first stop will be the library, we need to know more about these spiders are.”

Part 51. Ready, Set, Go.

“We should stop for a moment.” Serena said as they passed the Hospital.

“Why is that?” Helt asked, without any real objection.

“Spiders are usually poisonous, best get some antidote before we go into a cave full.” she answered.

“Ok, good idea.”

Just outside the door, Serena stopped to write something on her note pad. She always carried the official looking 3x5 pad in her shoulder gab. Helt simply stood beside her silently. Then she walked in and went strait up to the desk. “Good evening. Im sure you will see this request form is in order.” she said to the nurse as she handed over the page. “We are happy to wait while you call the lab, to have some anti venom sent down. But please hurry this is urgent.” the small Filipino used a voice that was so polite and professional, one could not help but to agree to the request. It was rather hypnotic.

“This should not take long.” the nurse replied and then reached for the phone.

A short while later they arrived at the library building, 4 vials of general purpose anti venom carefully tucked into Serena’s bag. Helt went to the old style card catalogue ignoring the computer index system next to it. She went to talk with the old librarian, who always seemed to be working no matter what time it was. “Excuse me sir. Are there any books or student reports here about giant cave spiders living on this island?” she asked.

About 20 minutes later, they met up with Yue and Erik near the library entrance. Yue was dressed all in tight fitting black, with no obvious weapons. He carried a backpack full of essentials for night time camping. Erik was dressed in armor, sword and dagger on his belt, spear in hand. He had a small military style pack slung crosswise over his shoulder.

A quick comparison of info produced the following essential facts. Giant cave spiders were one of many nasty creatures that lived in the Frightfully Dark Forest. They had several nests in the southern most part of that woodland. They were big but not truly gigantic, their main body was about the size of a cat, but each leg was about 4ft long. Their poison caused paralysis and might cause death if bitten multiple times. They could spit web globs as well as spin webs in the normal way. The tips of their legs were incredibly sharp and could pierce most armor. They usually hunted alone, then once their pray was immobile, took it back to the nest, where they lived in a group of several dozen. They were great at detecting vibrations, so sneaking up on them was almost impossible.

Erik was enthusiastic about the quest to save Emma, until he realized that Serena intended to come along. “No no. It is much to dangerous. Best if you stay here.” he said with genuine concern, not simply macho arrogance.

The small Filipino smiled but said firmly “I will let you do all the fighting. But I will go with you to help my friend.” She did not use any special voice ability to get her way. She just stood with that look ‘Dont argue we me on this.’

Helt smiled.

Part 52. Into the woods.

Standing near the entry to the library, the group of would be rescuers looked at the map of the island that was posted on the wall. Helt pointed, “The giant spiders live in caves right around there. It would be about an hours walk, out the south gate and along the main road to reach them.”

Erik in his classy French accent added “We could take the trail through the hills, is a lot shorter, but is very rough, so maybe we dont save any time.”

“We should get a car.” Serena stated the obvious.

Erik looked skeptical “No time for the paperwork. It always takes forever.”

“Dont worry, Iv got a talent for dealing with bureaucracy.” the small Filipino assured him.

“Lets get a vehicle.” Helt said firmly.

After a short walk across campus they found the motor-pool closed for the night. So they walked around back and borrowed a pick up truck. Tomorrow there might be some explaining to do. For now, this seemed the best means to an end. Helt had no problem opening the lock and starting the ignition. They were simple mechanical devices, not like the newest electronic systems, which he could not master.

On the way Helt explained his suspicions to his team. “Emma did not wander into any caves, she was kidnapped. She may or may not actually be there. The caves may just be an ambush point. If any enemy are encountered they must be taken alive, and questioned. If the enemy is real smart they will keep their distance and use creatures or traps, so they cant be directly tied into all this. Vellenzo is likely behind it. But I do admit this is all guess work.”

Serena spoke up almost as if it had been planned, “The point is, we must follow the clues we have to save Emma, and watch each other's backs. Agreed?”

Everyone agreed.

It was around 11pm when they reached the end of the road. From there they would have to go on foot, into the Frightfully Dark Forest. Yes that was its name, also a good description of it. Serena took the electric lantern. Everyone had a small flashlight but would only use them is necessary. Erik walked in front of her, Yue behind. Helt took point a few dozen yards ahead. He moved easily and silently in the darkness.

The problem would be finding the right cave. The report said there were many caves in the lower woodland hills, some connecting others dead ending. It would be a matter of luck. Unless the kidnappers had left some clues. If their goal was to get him into a trap, Helt reasoned they would not want the spot to be hard to find. So he was not at all surprised to see one of Emma’s sneakers outside a cave entrance.

How dangerous were the enemy? He wondered. Stepping behind a tree, he gave the sneaker a push with his ability. It moved. No land mine went off. That is good to know.

Part 53. Spitting Spider Sports

A glob of web goo dropped silently from the upper branches onto Helt. He almost avoided it. “Above us.” he yelled as the sticky glop splattered his left side. The next web ball was easier to dodge, but in doing so his left side was now caught in a half dozen small branches.

Erik with spear in hand asked “Where is it?”

Helt saw some movement in the branches above him. “There.” he pointed with his free hand.

But there was actually more than one giant spider hiding in the tall trees. As the Frenchman looked, a glob of web from behind him splattered all over his legs, gluing him to the ground. He nearly fell over as he tried to take a step forward.

Helt pulled hard, ripping free of the branches, but a few were still stuck to him. “Try to draw their attention.” he said to the trapped Frenchman.

“Bastard!” Erik said, referring both to Helt and the spider.

“Serena, if you see them, do the thing.” the tall German said, as he drew his pistol. It was not the small gun he had borrowed from Emma for the duel. It was a custom made 12 gauge – four cylinder revolver shot gun pistol, made to look like an old flint lock. He searched for a target, hopping a spider would go after the immobile, but heavily armoured knight.

Serena searched for the enemy also, but she did it with eyes closed, listening carefully, wishing her friends would be more quiet. The spiders were very stealthy, but after a few seconds she located one, moving above Erik. She gave an untra-sonic shriek up into the trees. The branches vibrated and waved. Stunned, the spider fell.

Helt saw it falling, aimed, and fired. Boom! The gun’s blast echoed far and wide.

Serena cringed in pain, the noise really hurt.

Erik cheered “merveilleux”

But a half second later a giant spider splattered Helt with more web goo, then dropped right down at him. The German simply could not bring his gun up before the creature landed. The webbing and branches he was stuck to ripped, but not fast enough.

Without hesitation the Frenchman threw his spear, hard as he could. Kuthunk, it sank into the creature, narrowly missing German’s head. “Bastard.” Erik said with a vicious smile. Helt replied by finishing off the spider with a shot.

Serena also smiled, but weakly. It was good to see the guys getting along instead of directly trying to kill each other. But damn that gun was loud it hurt and distracted her. She had completely missed the spider that dropped onto Helt.

Part 54. Into the cave.

The first part of the underground was a big cave, littered with the ones of long dead animals, well most seemed to be animals. A small tunnel with a slight downward angle ran off from the centre of the cavern. A larger shaft at the back, dropped off into the darkness.

“If spiders take her, must be down big hole.” Yue said.

Going down either tunnel was not a welcome idea. A person could crawl down the small one, but would have no real room to fight. A person could climb down the large one, but would have trouble fighting if the spiders attacked mid way down. This was unlike the movies where caves have nice rooms and hallways you can easily walk in.

“Yue and I will go down. Knight and Princess, you can stay to protect our retreat.” Helt said with casual confidence.

No one argued, which surprised him a bit.

As Yue got ready, the tall German grabbed lit a match and tossed it down the shaft. It stuck in mid air about 20 ft down. There was webbing, no doubt it was going to be a sticky situation. The match burned for a few more seconds, but did not catch the web on fire. Maybe if they had some alcohol or gasoline.

“Dont go yet.” Serena said, “Iv got an idea. We can get a few dry branches, set them on fire and drop them down.”

Helt smiled “Fine plan.”

A few minutes later the spider webbing in the shaft was smoking. It did not burst into flames but it did burn.

“Now we go?” Yue asked. Helt gave a nod.

The climb was easy enough, but there were still the occasional sticky strands of thread clinging to the walls. The Chinese martial artist was repelling down in professional fashion. He had not been joking about his rock climbing skill. In fact he never seemed to joke about anything. The tall German, having left his long coat with Serena, was free climbing, knowing he could simply drop the entire distance if he needed to.

The spiders attacked when they were about half way down. They were big, but not as gigantic as the ones outside had been. Three of them came up fast from below, while another darted out of a small crack in the wall. The fighting was nasty, brutish and short. Yue used a pair of sai mostly for defence, while Helt used a wide blade knife to go for attacks only.

By the time Serena had called down for the third time “Are you ok?” the battle was done. Yue had been stabbed several times by the sharp legs of the spiders and bitten once. He could already feel the poison numbing his leg. Helt had taken many more wounds, but he simply pushed some reserve strength into his healing ability.

“We are fine. Continuing down.” the German yelled back up to his companions. Yue gave a confident nod.

At the bottom of the shaft it was time for some first aid and the administering of the anti venom. It was something of a pity that his powers could not be used to help others. A few of his kind could heal, but it was an enormous drain on their own strength. Helt had never learned how. “You guard the exit. I will look around.” he said, after the patching up of his roommate was done. The martial artist gave another nod. He was focused on his own sort of internal healing.

After about 20 minutes of searching, and killing several more spiders, the German returned. He found Yue on his feet, leaning against the wall, two dead spiders near by. “Well done. Can you climb out?” he asked not wanting to offer more help than was needed. A good warrior had just the right mix of pride and brains to judge his own condition.

“You did not find Emma?” the martial artist asked.

“Im sure she is not here, never was I think.” Helt replied.

“Ok we go now.” Yue said then started slowly to climb.

Part 55. Dance ye Damn Bastard

“How are things up there?” Helt called as he started to climb the shaft. No answer. “Hello?” he said louder.

That was odd. Serena or the annoying Frenchman should answer. He stopped climbing for a moment and concentrated on listening. No sounds of movement or murmured conversation from above. What was going on? He started to climb faster.

The tall German was not one to worry. But in this situation it seemed a reasonable thing to do. They should answer, unless something was very very wrong. Damn, was this the trap? Had the enemy been planning this from the start? What would he find when he reached the top?

Helt climbed faster, pushing the remainder of his energy to bring him back up to combat strength. Would a gang of them be there ready to attack as he came up from the chasm? Or worse, no one at all.

He burst upwards, out of the shaft in a leap that sent him rolling to the side of the cave. He hopped to get a view of the situation before any gunmen opened fire on him. The place was empty, except for one body laying on the floor dressed in armour, sword in hand.

Helt stayed very still for a moment, carefully observing the cave. That is when he smelled the lingering traces of the knockout gas. He had fallen for the trap. Serena was gone. The enemy had won another round. Damn.

“What is happened up there ?” Yue asked as he slowly climbed. He was not yet out of the shaft.

“I was a fool.” Helt snapped “They have taken the princess and left us the knight.” he said more calmly, as he walked over to check the body, first for booby traps, then to see if the Frenchman was still alive. He was.

A note lay next to him. It read; “If you want to save them, get to Skull Rock before 5:15, high tide.”

Helt looked at his watch, 4:50am. Skull Rock was at the Eastern most point of the island, if he remembered the map correctly. No road went directly to it. Maybe a 15 minute run from here, through the Frightfully Dark Forest, which was full of nasty creatures. If he pushed his remaining strength he could do it. But he also had the injured companions to consider. He could let them take care of themselves and hope no more giant spiders came along. Or he could get them back to the relative safety of the truck, costing him valuable time. Damn.

The enemy was smart, they had Helt dancing to their tune. He was not even sure that the girls were being held at Skull rock. But he knew there would be some sort of trap there. If nothing more, it would aim to wear down his strength. His reserves of energy would be near empty by the time he got there, unless... he had a drink now. He could bite one of his companions, the unconscious Frenchman who would be very upset about it later or the recently poisoned martial artist who may be willing? The choice seemed obvious. But had the enemy anticipated this? If they had then, they would have done more than just put Erik to sleep. Damn.

Helt needed an edge that the enemy could not predict.

(( yes I know it feels like something is missing here ))

Part 56. Under Skull Rock

Serena woke up in a cage. It was dark and wet, the smell of salt water was all around her, the sound of waves braking on near by rocks. “Hello?” she called. There was no answer but the echo of her voice. A sea side cave from the sound of things. “Is anyone there?” she called louder.

The cage was old and rusty, but made of very thick iron. It was solid with no obvious way out. She listened to the waves for a moment and felt the water rising around her feet. The cave would fill as the tide came in. The cage maybe totally submerged. That was not a problem for her, she would not drown but would still be trapped.

“When in doubt sing.” her mom had often said. So she did. An ancient and powerful tune, the sirens song. It was an irresistible call for human men to come to her. They would fall into a dream like trance, forgetting whatever they had been doing feeling that they must answer the call. If the enemy was near, they would come and she would have them under her spell. If not, then maybe her voice would help Helt to find her.

Soon she could hear footsteps descending a stone stairway. The water rising fast, she found it comforting a source of strength not fear. Yet she filled her voice with pleading desperation “Help me, you must rescue me.” she wove the words into the song. “You desire to, you need to, rescue me.” It would take a man with a lot of will power to resist her voice.

“Of course, that is why Im here.” a man said from the darkness.

Serena gasped in joyful surprise as she recognized the tone of the voice. Her vampire had come to save her. “Can you please get this cage open?” she asked with genuine sweetness.

“As you wish my princess.” he answered.

“What about the men who put me down here?” she asked.

“No place to be seen. But I will catch up with them eventually.” he answered.

“Now dont do anything hasty.” she cautioned him.

The door swung open as the tall German gave it a mighty tug. “Im going to do something very hasty, right now.” he said then took the small Filipino woman in his arms and kissed her. They stood there for a long moment in that embrace as the water kept rising. Bodies pressed close together.

“Lets go find someplace nicer to continue your hasty actions.” she suggested.

“As you wish my princess.” he answered.