Adgnar’s Web

Prologue:

Silence..

Red skinned finger tips turn the page, long black fingernails glide over the words, golden eyes scan each letter meticulously as a hauntingly seductive voice begins to echo through the tower. “Find and seek, a home to sleep. Drink from life, and grow from weak. Let my eyes, guide toward your peak. I grant thee knowledge, from the peach. All I want’s, within your reach. Do my bidding, heed my speech.” The Daemon recites as the book begins to shake and glow. The book slams shut and begins to levitate. Energy stirs around the item. The book begins to spin rapidly before vanishing into thin air.

Chapter 1: My Brother’s Keeper

On October 15, 1952 I woke up thanking it was as normal’a day as any. It’s my responsibility to get Wilbur dressed and ready for school. Wilbur’s my kid brother by the way, just turned 13 not a week ago. Me, myself? I’m a humble young lady coming into her own. Father says at 17 I’m much too old to have a head filled with magic, science and other nonsense of the such. Now, what he knows about my becoming a woman is beyond me, I’ll tell you that. Tell you something else too, Wilbur’s a bit of a handful. He’s a quiet boy, a little pudgy round the edges. His soft blue eyes hide behind a thick head of light brown hair. The little piggy’s always eatin’, and getting himself into trouble too. Now he ain’t slow.. he’s book smart.. just not too many of the other smarts. He was able to skip a few grades but can’t seem to make any friends outside of the animals on the dang farm.

Father owns one of the biggest livestock farms in Texas, by far the biggest in Guthrie. He calls it’s 250,000 some odd acres, and he’s proud of it. My father doesn’t like to talk about his age. The grey strands of stress peppered throughout his thin black hair do more than enough of the storytellin’ and the bags underneath his eyes make him look like a raccoon, especially when he’s surprised.

Wilbur don’t talk too much, but he sho’ do listen. Every morning we walk to school. I talk, he listens. Today, the only thing on my mind is magic. “Thank about it Wilbur. What if we could just leave, open a door and step into another world? We could live a different life. Wouldn’t that be nice?” I ask.

“Look.” Wilbur says pointing at the Sunrise.

After walkin’ a quarter mile backwards to watch the sun come up me and Wilbur arrive at Harper B. Williams High School. Wilbur’s a freshman and I’m a senior so we don’t have no classes together.

Wilbur knows to wait for me underneath the flagpole.

He knows I’d never leave ‘em.

“Charolette!… Charolette Cole!” Mrs. Dallencrach yells, startling me at my desk. “I’m awake!” I yell back. “Liar! See me after school young lady.” “But!” “No buts!” She says, turning her nose up and doing that thing where she looks down on you with disgust and resentment. I moved my sandy blonde hair out of my face and stare her down with my, as mother calls em, “emerald green” eyes.

40 minutes later class is dismissed and I stay behind. I already know the drill.

While being berated by my teacher, I see Wilbur gettin’ picked on through the window. Naturally I run my fist out of the class room, down the stairs and straight into the bully’s face! “Did someone order a knuckle sandwich!?” Is what I would have said if I had thought of it that day.

Chapter 2: The Softest Silk

We get home “late.” Mother tells us to hurry and wash up, father’s in one of his “moods.”

Wilbur sheepishly thanks me for stickin’ up for him earlier. I do my best to cover up the shiner that punk gave my brother. I tell him I’ll always be here to protect him. Father yells for us to stop foolin’ around and come eat dinner. Wilbur winces as he rolls his eyes. “Come on buddy.”

Mother has… severe narcolepsy so she’s always tired, tonight, something’s different. Her condition causes her to hyperventilate herself to sleep whenever she gets too worried. Right now she seems… drowsy. Barely holding her head up. It’s hard to take my eyes off of her. Meanwhile Father has his eyes on Wilbur, specifically his black eye. Father gives Wilbur shit for not being man enough to fight his own battles. Mother commends Charolette for takin’ care of her family.

Father asks about Mrs. Dallenrach again and Mother rolls her eyes. “Since you wanna find out so bad, take your damn kids to school. You drive past it every day.” Mother says under her breath knowing we all heard her. Father acts as if he didn’t. We all sit in silence after that. I hate this. I never know what to say, not when he gets like this. My father never hit my mother but his daddy definitely beats his. I’m afraid if I say the wrong thing it’ll just set him off, mother says all men have a violent streak inside…

All of em but little Wilbur.

He’s NEVER hurt a fly.

Chapter 3: Fatalis

I found this creepy book a few weeks ago. Creepy because I can’t seem to put it down for a full day. It’s gorgeous. “The Red Book”. I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of magic and this book’s got it all! Spells, recipes, schematics, stories and prayers.. from what I could tell. Ooh look, a fire breathin’ spell.. cool..

“To use this book one must be pure of heart, sound of mind and clear of conscious. This book is only to be used by a true believer. A drop of blood and the recitement of our order’s sacred oath is required to unlock the secrets hidden within this text.”

“I, (insert name), I, Charolette Cole, do solemnly swear to abide by the rules and consequences of the Magics bound to this book. I promise my Alma to the High Queen. I give my Vida to the Order. I am yours, this book is mine. I open the path from the mortal to the divine.”

Without me noticing, a small white spider with bright red eyes crawls up from the pages and out of the barn.

The spider enters the house and crawls up the stairs, the 7th step creeks ever so slightly.

The Spider goes into Wilbur’s room as he’s sleepin’ and begins whisperin’.

The Spider gets Wilbur to feed her “Life”. “Either the fresh milk or blood of a living creature will do.” It’s voice echoes.

In the dead of night Wilbur sneaks downstairs with the bottles of cow’s milk he was hidin’ under his bed, careful to avoid the 7th step.

The Spider gets bigger and bigger. The Spider starts eatin’ the chickens, then the cows, then the pigs (which are twice the size of the cows)

Chapter 4: Twilight

Strange phenomena are happenin’ all around the farm. Mother is sleepin’ for longer periods of time. Half of the animals have been eaten. Father thinks they’ve been stolen. Meanwhile Wilbur’s upstairs whisperin’ sweet nothings to his “special friend.” I hear him from the hallway. He sounds… happy.

The next mornin’ I wake Wilbur up and tell him we’re taking Winter Break a day early and going to the lake. I get us dressed and then we take extra care not to let the stairs creek as we sneak out of the house.

I take Wilbur to play on the rope swing, his favorite….

Today he seems distant.

Wilbur spent ten minutes chasin’ a fly.

I thought nothin’ of it.

Until he caught it.

He killed it.

Wilbur is still sneakin’ out at night, tonight however an unfamiliar snifflin

caught Wilbur’s attention.. The sound of his older sister crying herself to sleep. Somethin’ Wilbur had never heard before.

I feel his presence lingering behind my door. He never knocks, nor does he peek inside, but I know it’s him.. almost every time, I’m sure of it.

I’ve been stayin’ in my room more and more, reading the Red Book. A particular spell has caught my eye. I’ve been attemptin’ it for weeks but haven’t able to manifest enough power to cause a dang spark.

Father goes off on another one of his “business” trips, meanin’ he’s really goin’ to see my English teacher, Mrs. Dallenrach. Even on a night like tonight.. I’m the middle of a thunder storm.. he leaves.

“Where’s Wilbur?” Mother asks

While I’m outside looking for Wilbur I notice Father and Mrs. Dallencrach half sneaking, half kissing their way into the barn. The one place I’d yet to check.

Wilbur witnesses our father’s sin first hand. Right as he’s about to step out and say somethin’ in our mother’s defense the spider swoops down and attacks. Before Wilbur can scream I cover his mouth to silence him. We’re both terrified. Wilbur is tremblin’s. He pees. I struggle to keep him still and quiet. I almost want to let him go. But I can’t do that. I’d never do that. But I’ve never been this scared in my life.

Father on the other hand is quick to let Mrs. Dallencrach go, he pushes her to the spider and makes a run for it. He reaches for the door with tears in his eyes. Father swears and grunts, doing his best to tear through the webs. In this moment I learned something, something I’d never wanted to know for sure… My Father loved no one but himself.

Chapter 5: Hunter Killer

Me and Wilbur run from the barn to the house. We go upstairs to my room. I sit down with Wilbur and tell him my side of the story then show him the Red Book. Together we start searching through the mysterious book to find out what’s happenin’

Then it all makes sense.

Wilbur…

Wilbur please tell me you haven’t been… feedin’ the dang spider…

“Her name is Epeira!” Wilbur yells with tears in his eyes.

“Wilbur… no…”

The storm stops…

Silence…

There’s a creek on the stairs… then another… then a few more. Faster and faster. Dozens of dog sized spiders race through the house. They crawl along the walls and overtop the furniture. There’s a low buzz comin’ from their breathin’. Like a swarm of killer bees they have us surrounded.

Why are there giant spiders in the house!?

THEY’RE EVERYWHERE!

I have to choose between protectin’ my mother or my brother… If I choose one, I lose one. Possibly both. I could die. We all WILL die… Unless I run….

That’s the only way I survive.

If I run…

So I ran…

Out of the house

Down the street

Through the field

Then I stop.

Once I stopped runnin’ I realized what I’d done.

Horrified. I couldn’t hold it back. Anythang.

I scream

I vomit

I cry

I start runnin’ again.

This time I run in the right direction, toward my family.

The House… covered in webs

The barn… glowin’..

I find Mother, Father, 2 pigs, 6 cows, the Milk Man and Mrs Dallencrach webbed up in cocoons within the barn… can’t stop. I’m already here.

I don’t think. I just move. I use the spell from the book. “Azathoth! Anazaer! Alacard!” I shout and flame spews from my tongue.

Didnt know I could breathe fire.

Didn’t know I wasn’t fire proof.

Didn’t think this through.

Didn’t think at all.

I just did it.

I saved them… us.

The nightmare’s… over..

I burnt the barn down around us.

I burnt the farm.

I didn’t mean to…

I couldn’t stop..

The pain… was agonizin’. But only for a moment. I…

I could see myself.. burnin’.

Like everything else.

The flames die down eventually.

Silence…