He stands still, observing the person moving closer. It's soon apparent the figure is a woman, with gentle curves and hips swaying slightly with each step. Even though she looks taller than himself, it was clear this woman has a much lighter and thinner body.
Her outfit catches the young man's eyes. She seems to be wearing a long sleeved white coat, similar to medical or science personnel. It's unbuttoned, showing a white shirt that meets dark blue Capri-style pants that go above her knees. He sees what appear to be brown knee high boots and brown gloves on her hands. It's an odd clothing combination he thought.
The young man raises his left hand to wave, making sure the rifle safely faces downward with the other hand. “Excuse me miss. Can you tell me where I am?” he says loudly, adding a big smile with his words.
The woman doesn't respond to his greeting and keeps walking forward.
“I'd really appreciate any help. Is there a town or anything nearby?” he says a little softer, but she still doesn't respond. The young man begins to think something might be wrong.
She finally stops just a few yards away from the young man, crossing her arms as if to take her time studying him.
“Listen miss, you're not going to believe what I....” the young man's voice suddenly trails off. His waiving stops, and the hand now begins to close, slowly drifting downwards. His smile remains, but his eyes betray the amazement of what he's seeing. The woman before him is not completely human.
She is indeed a few inches taller than the young man, with a thin build and petite bust reminding him of runway models seen on television. Her facial features are sharp looking; pale skin, pointed chin, small nose, and natural red lips. The woman's brown eyes stand out because of her intense stare. Her black hair is styled in a short, ruffled bob above her neck, partially covering her eyes and the large bat-like ears extending from the sides of her head.
As soon as the word “bat” pops into the young man's head, his eyes dart to the lower parts of her body. He realizes now her hands are covered in brown fur, with bony fingers and sharp nails painted blue. The knee high boots he thought he saw earlier are also brown fur, with her elongated feet covered in special sandals.
“Quis es?” Suddenly, the bat-woman speaks out in a firm tone.
Her voice snaps the young man's eyes back to her face. It's so sudden that he didn't catch her words. She speaks again before he can muster any response.
“Quis es? Quid tu hic agis?” Her words have more force than before and she unfurls her arms. Her right hand slides to her waist, the coat moving to reveal a dagger and numerous pouches attached to a belt.
“Wait. Hold on.” The young man says as he raises his left hand to make a stopping gesture. “This is a mistake! I'm not here to hurt you.” She's speaking a language he's never heard before. It's now obvious they're not understanding each other.
“Non intelligitis. Nonne ex Terra venis?” She speaks softer this time. Her hand now resting on the dagger handle, out of caution for her own safety.
Nervousness begins to show on the young man's face. He truly doesn't know where he is anymore and now has to deal with a monstrous bat-woman that doesn't speak his language.
“Listen lady... I'm not looking for trouble.” He tries saying the words with as calm of an expression he can muster. “I came here through some sort of portal in the-” His words stop as a terrifying screech is heard from the corridor he previously exited.
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The young man's head turns away from the bat-woman and looks toward the opening behind him. “What the hell was that!?” His nervousness finally shows in the words. He now grabs the rifle firmly with both hands and turns his body to face whatever made the sound.
The bat-woman walks forward until she is beside the young man. He looks over and notices that her face is showing confusion at the situation. It seems she didn't know what made the sound either.
They both stand quietly in the middle of the cavern as they face the corridor opening. Both wait for some sign from the corridor or the other person. A minute seems to pass without further incident, but finally, something begins to emerge. From inside the corridor a shadow is being cast onto walls as a large creature crawls its way forward. The shadow grows until finally, its true body reveals itself.
An enormous gray spider is making its way through the tunnel. Its body the size of a truck, and thick, hairy legs scrapping along the hallway as it moves into the cavern. As it reaches the corridor exit, its legs begin to wrap around the edges of the opening to pull its body through. The creature's head reveals itself slowly as eight pitch-black eyes and over-sized fangs are now clearly visible.
“Holy shit!” The young man says as he begins to sidestep left as the spider makes its entrance. Fear begins to take hold at the sight of the creature. His body is unconsciously heading toward the cavern exit, but he catches himself after a few steps. Survival instincts kick in, and the young man raises his Kalashnikov rifle high, digging his boots into the dirt. He takes aim at the spider and quickly squeezes the trigger five times.
Klak. Klak. Klak. Klak. Klak. The fifth shot creates a massive muzzle flash from the rifle. The incredibly loud gunshots ring throughout the cavern walls. The bat-woman screams in surprise as she drops to her knees while holding her ears. The 7.62x39mm bullets tear into the head of the creature, with one of the them hitting a lucky strike into an eye. The young man sees the immediate effect of the barrage. The spider shrieks in pain and smashes its body upwards against the corridor ceiling. The spider quickly retreats into the hallway beyond their vision.
Suddenly, the spider propels itself out of the opening. Its acceleration is incredible and it reaches the middle of the cavern in seconds. The young man maneuvers so the spider sits between himself and the monument now. The bat-woman has already run for cover. Four more gunshots ring out, with the bullets striking the body of the creature. It turns to face the young man and charges him with another burst of speed.
The young man already has the rifle raised to meet the spiders charge. “Get the hell away from me!!!” He screams as he rapidly squeezes the trigger five more times. Once again the rifle is aimed at the head of the creature. Bullets rip into the spiders face and another eye is blown apart. The charge halts immediately, the spider reversing itself all the way to the back wall of the cavern.
The spider's head is now covered in blood and fluids from the damage caused by the rifle. The young man opens fire with another five rounds in quick succession, with bright muzzle flashes escaping the rifle. However, the spider now recognizes the sound of gunshots and dashes to its left side. The bullets strike only stone and ricochet off the cavern walls.
“Fuck! You've gotta be kidding me!” The young man yells in surprise as he witnesses the agility of the spider. He levels his Kalashnikov rifle again to prepare for another charge. All of a sudden, a flaming container smashes into the topside of the spider. A circle of fire erupts across its back causing black smoke to rise into the air. The spider lets loose shrill sounds as it begins to roll over into the dirt in an attempt to extinguish the flames.
The young man sees the bat-woman perched on a rock ledge just behind the spider. She is a few yards higher than the spider, but the young man can see she is visibly distraught. Her right hand is firmly gripping the stone wall as she leans against it, but her other hand is desperately trying to cover her ear. He realizes what the gunshots are doing to her and focuses to finish the fight quickly for both their sake.
Rushing to close the distance gap, the young man runs to within several yards of the disabled spider. He reaches his intended spot and aims his rifle purposely at the creature's head. Gunshots ring out across the cavern again as the young man systematically destroys the remaining eyes of the spider. He keeps pressing the trigger until the rifle releases its last bullet. A clicking sound is heard and the young man realizes the entire thirty round magazine is now empty.
The young man doesn't move from his position, or lower the empty rifle away from the creature. He just stands in silence, observing the corpse of the spider to make sure it is truly dead. His heart beat starts to calm down, finally noticing how sweaty his palms are through the gloves.
“Ha... hahaha! Son of a bitch! How'd you like that?” Triumphant words come from the young man. Sweat beads have formed across his face, but a faint smile shows. The spider has no life left, Its head a bloody mess and small columns of smoke still rising from the body.
Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the bat-woman is already back to ground level. She seems relieved, but collapses onto the dirt after a few steps. She sits silently, observing both him and dead spider. He lowers his rifle and starts walking toward her. As he approaches, she quickly pulls out her dagger and points it straight at him. Although he can barely see her eyes through the ruffled hair, he has the feeling they would show nothing except fear.
“Are you okay? I promise I'm not going to hurt you. I just wanna say thanks for the help back there.” He calmly says the words, but gets no reaction from the bat-woman. She looks exhausted, and grimaces in pain occasionally. He stands only a few feet away from where she sits. Racking his brain to think of something to say, the young man gives a bright smile to her and says “Look... I know you don't understand me. Maybe we can try our meeting again.”
The young man isn't getting any positive signs from the bat-woman. He lets his rifle drop downward against the side of his body. He then takes his left hand and starts pointing against his chest. Smiling again, he says to her “My name is Markus Winters. Nice to meet you miss.”