Trapped by the Spider

**Warning: Contains depiction of kidnapping and torture.**

I knocked on the door three times. Knock. Knock. Knock.

My presence was greeted by a dog barking, and within a minute, the sound of locks fumbling. The door swung open and I was greeted by the acrid smell of Marlboro red’s–what Grandpa used to smoke. A man stood in the doorway with a mess of curly grey and smoke-dyed hair. A slop of a beard decorated his face with his high cheekbones that pushed on narrow, beady brown eyes. He stood taller than me, but was short for a man. His red and black flannel fit poorly over his round belly.

“Oh! A pizza,” he said with pleasant surprise in his gravelly voice.

I gave an awkward smile, but didn't say anything.

“How much was it again?” he asked.

“Uh, you already paid for it,” I said, double-checking the slip my boss Joey gave me.

32 Bowers Street.

“In that case, lemme grab a tip for you,” he said, pulling the pizza from my hand and turning into his house.

I caught a glimpse of the interior. It was one of those houses that hadn't been modernized. Wood paneling lined the base of the walls. Faded wallpaper lined the top, which was full of decorations with a layer of dust on them. There was a huge brown dog sitting on an equally dusty rug watching me. I had the impression it was ready to bound after me with a single word.

He came back around the door with a twenty dollar bill in hand. My eyes widened there. Joey promised delivery drivers make bigger tips, but I wasn't expecting it to be this big.

“Th-thank you,” I said and turned to leave.

I felt something hard on the back of my head and it went black.

***

When I awoke, it was dark and I was tied up. Panic quickly set in as I struggled to get out. I heard footsteps above me. I stopped, and let out a slow breath. It smelled of mildew and cigarette smoke. Then I took in my surroundings. I was in a basement. A dank one at that. The floor felt like it was bedrock and I heard dripping nearby. Any specifics, I couldn't notice because it was too dark.

I thought for a moment to try and remember what brought me here. The delivery driver had called off and Joey desperately needed a replacement. He thought I was the perfect choice: I ran the front counter and could drive. I already had experience with customers. He probably didn't account for me being kidnapped–which I have no experience in.

The light came on, nearly blinding me. As my eyes readjusted to the light, I heard the basement stairs creak. My heart started thrumming. I struggled in my bindings and tears welled up in my eyes. I wanted to be calm, but that was out of the question.

“So you're finally awake,” he said, a greedy smile creeping across his face.

I stared at him wide-eyed.

“I'm sorry I couldn't accommodate you,” he said, “I didn't expect the pizza delivery girl to show up at the wrong address.”

My expression must have changed because he chuckled, “I live on 32 Bowers Lane; not ‘32 Bowers Street.’ Opposite side of town. I mean I appreciated the meat lovers pizza. Not so much the mushroom, though.”

“What do you want with me?” I managed to ask.

“You're really gonna ask a sadist what he wants with you?” He paused as if looking for an answer and continued. “I am like a spider, you see. I enjoy trapping my flies so I can eat them. Metaphorically, of course, I'm not that crazy. Anyway, what most people don't realize about spiders is they keep their prey alive. They feast on them slowly, leaving them alive with a false hope that perhaps they can escape. Of course, the struggle is what excites the spider.”

At this point, he looked like a dog salivating for the choice cut of steak. I shrank back in the chair I was tied to, which ignited a certain passion in his eyes. He went over to this table nearby, which had various tools and surgical implements on it.

“I want to show you what I mean,” he said. He grabbed a pair of pliers and held it over my hand.

“Now which nail should I take?” he asked, head cocked.

My eyes widened.

“Don’t worry,” he said, chuckling, “It’ll just be really painful and you’ll scream a lot.”

“Please let me go,” I said, “I promise I won’t say anything.”

“Now you are making this really fun,” he said in an appreciative tone, “How about I take this one?”

He held down my hand and ripped out my pinky fingernail. I hollered in pain, tears immediately forming in my eyes. My natural reaction was to rush to my injured finger, but my restraints prevented that. He tossed my fingernail onto his table. The man stared down at me as I cried and hollered in pain, a satisfied smile fixed on his face.

“I’m not done,” he said.

The pliers went to my ring finger now and again he tugged. With another quick yank, that fingernail went off as well. Again, I screamed in pain. He tossed it onto the table and rolled it away. The man came back and watched me cry and try in vain to cradle my finger. He said nothing, just shook in excitement, which was worse than when he talked. Eventually, he did speak.

“I will be back later for more fun,” he said.

He walked back upstairs and shut off the light, bathing me in darkness. The hours went by. Hunger crept in and there was nothing I could do about it. Exhaustion came as well, but I was in too much pain and discomfort to fall asleep. I tried tugging at my bindings, but they wouldn’t give way. I was almost resigned to my fate, but I wasn’t. I resolved to find out how the get this spider off his guard.

A few hours later, I was bathed in light again and I heard his footsteps coming into the basement. He looked at me and smiled.

“Boy,” he said, “Don’t you look exhausted, my sweet little fly?”

He pulled over his table of implements and said, “How about I wake you back up? Maybe by snapping your leg!”

“Wait!” I said. He looked at me as if he were a cat eyeing a mouse.

“What if I don’t want to be a fly?” I asked, “What if I want to be another spider?”

He looked at me suspiciously.

“Aren’t you tired of enjoying this fun by yourself?” I asked, “I can help. I can bring pain. I want to bring pain. Just untie me and I will help.”

He gave a devious grin. It worked. First, he untied my arms and went down to my legs. That was enough for me. Once he untied my first leg, I reached over to his table and grabbed a hammer. I slammed it into his head. He splayed across the floor. I wondered if he was dead, but there was no time to find out. I needed to get out. I untied my other leg and ran. I bolted up the stairs. Just as I reached the top step, I heard him stirring.

I got out of the basement into the kitchen and immediately heard scratching from the backdoor. His dog was outside, thankfully. I searched the room and found my phone, but not my keys. With my phone in hand, I set the hammer down and continued on. From the kitchen, I went into a hallway that led to the front door, and the other rooms of the house. From behind, he screamed, “Get back here!” I shriek. However, in that second, I found my keys hanging off a key ring by the door. I sprinted for them, snatched them and ran outside.

I sprinted toward my car, when I saw him appear at the front door and yelled, “Get her!” His dog bounded after me because of course he got his dog. I reached my car, fumbled with my keys, and shoved them into the lock. It clicked unlocked. I swung it open, and went to get in when the dog clamped its jaw onto my leg. I let out a howl of pain as it thrashed me back and forth. It was nothing compared to losing my nails, and I was determined to get out. I punched it once, twice, and gave it a kick with my good leg. It let go and I jumped into my car. I closed the door and slammed my keys into the ignition as the man came running after me. First try, and my car didn’t start. Second try, and the engine roared. The dog was scratching at my door and he smashed my window with his hammer. I slammed on the gas as he tried to open the door.

I flew down his gravelly driveway and he tumbled behind my car. I drove until I couldn’t see his house anymore and until I got onto Bower’s Lane. From there, I sped down the road, unsure of what to do next. I drove, letting my thoughts take me over, regretting the moment I knocked on his door.