The Mother
A short horror story by Trevor Mendham
Note: This is a horror story with disturbing, graphic imagery. Reader discretion advised. Especially if you’re an arachnophobe.
This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives).
The Mother
By Trevor Mendham
Music swelled and the titles of the old movie began to roll up the TV screen. As they did so, Stephanie sipped the last of the red wine and put the now-empty glass back down on the coffee table beside her.
She reached down and stroked Misty, her slightly off-white cat, who was curled up on her lap.
“That was good, wasn’t it Misty?”, she asked. “But then, it always is. One of our favourites. Who needs a boyfriend on a Friday night when you’ve got old movies and wine for the evening?”
As she moved to stand, Misty jumped off her lap. Stephanie got to her feet, staggering slightly, and the cat rubbed against her leg.
“Work tomorrow, Misty. So it’s bedtime now.”
She used the remote to switch off the television, then carried her glass out to the kitchen. Misty followed along with her.
At the kitchen door, she reached out with her left hand and flicked the switch on the wall. As the light came on, she saw a small black shape scurrying across the tiled floor.
“A spider! Where do the fuckers keep coming from? Get out of my kitchen, you eight legged bastard!”
Without stopping to think, she hurled her wine glass towards it. The glass hit the floor where the spider had been and smashed loudly, broken shards spreading across the tiles. The spider, meanwhile, had reached the wall and climbed up a couple of feet to a position of relative safety.
Misty had stiffened at the sight of the creature, now she slowly advanced towards it. With skill forged from a combination of instinct and experience, she avoided the sharp pieces of glass.
“That’s it, Misty,” said Stephanie. “You get it!”
Reaching the wall, Misty paused for a few seconds. Then, like a cork from a champagne bottle, she leapt up into the air towards the spider... which simply scuttled up the wall a little further. Out of her reach.
“Nice try, Misty,” said Stephanie. “Looks like it’s down to me again.”
She grabbed the empty wine bottle from the counter then strode over to where Misty still had her eyes locked on the unmoving spider.
She raised the bottle and muttered to herself: “How many of you do I have to kill before you get the message? I don’t like spiders!”
As Stephanie’s arm began to swing down, the spider started to move. Despite the wine she’d drunk, she still managed to compensate for the creature’s movement and the wine bottle squashed it onto the surface of the wall.
“Got you!” she shouted. Then she used the end of the wine bottle to brush what remained of the spider off the wall and onto the floor.
“There you go, Misty. Supper. I’ll have to clean the stain off the wall tomorrow, but it’s worth it to get rid of one of those horrid things.”
Misty looked up at Stephanie with an expression that seemed to combine gratitude at the snack with annoyance at having had her sport taken away. Then she lowered her head and swallowed the spider in a single gulp.
Stephanie turned away from the wall and started back to the counter from which she’d taken the bottle. As she did so, something caught her eye. Had that been a movement? Down there, in the dark, narrow space between one of the kitchen units and the wall.
She looked more carefully. In the shadows there did seem to be something, some even darker shadow, that was moving. She was about to dismiss it as a trick of the light when she heard a hissing at her feet. Looking down, she saw Misty standing with her back arched, staring at the same place she was.
She returned her gaze to the darkness. Yes, something was definitely moving In fact... as she watched, a lump of the darkness moved out of the gap and into the light. Stephanie gasped.
“That,” she whispered, “Is the mother of all house spiders.”
The creature’s black body was around the size of a tennis ball. The eight legs were fairly short but thick and strong looking, covered with short, spiky hair. Two large, red eyes glowed on the top of the body and Stephanie could see other, smaller eyes around their sides. In some countries such a monster might not have been unusual, but here...
Misty cowered back behind her legs. Stephanie remembered she was still holding the wine bottle. She raised an arm to throw it at the spider, then hesitated. Even if she hit the creature, it wouldn’t do a lot of harm to something that size, it would likely just annoy it. And somehow, Stephanie had the distinct impression that it was already angry. It was ridiculous, but she felt as if it was staring her in the eyes. The malevolence of its accusing gaze froze her in place, preventing her from taking action.
As she stood there motionless, the spider slowly returned back to the dark crevasse from which it had emerged.
Stephanie let out the breath she hadn’t realised she was holding. She waited for a few seconds, but there was no further sign of the creature. Still gripping the bottle, she slowly walked backwards to the kitchen door. Misty bounded ahead of her and hurtled away. A few seconds later, Stephanie dropped the bottle then turned and dashed out of the room, not stopping close the door or turn out the light. Misty had headed for the lounge but Stephanie went straight to her bedroom and slammed the door behind her.
It took longer than usual for her to get to sleep that night. Even once she did, it was far from the pleasant experience she had been hoping for.
Spiders invaded her dreams. Little black bodies scuttled in and out of every crack, every dark space. They crawled across the floor, up the walls, on the ceiling. They hang from webs. Tens, hundreds, thousands of them. Staring at her with those multiple eyes. Just waiting, waiting for their moment. Occasionally one would drop from the ceiling and land on her face. In her dreams, she could feel the tickling sensation of its legs as it ran across on her skin.
Misty was also in the dreams. Brave Misty, her protector. The cat would hiss and spit at the spiders. She trampled on them, throwing them into the air and swallowing them. But for every one she killed, another ten appeared. And in the distance, she could see glowing red eyes. The giant spider, even larger in the dream, was standing over the body of the small spiders Stephanie had crushed that and previous nights. The monster radiated anger and hatred as it directed the onslaught.
The numbers became too much for Misty and she went down beneath the eight legged horde, wailing pitifully as the black tide swept over her.
Stephanie’s eyes snapped open and she was instantly awake. Misty! That scared, pitiful feline scream. She’d heard it. Or had she? Of course not, she’d dreamt it. So where was Misty? The cat usually slept on her bed, but there was no sign of her tonight. Where was she? What if... Stephanie sat bolt upright and reached out to the bedside lamp. Switched it on. Looked around.
Nothing. No spiders, no red eyes. That was good. But there was also no Misty.
Then she remembered: she’d closed the bedroom door behind her. That had been a spur of the moment reaction. Thinking about it, the action had been worse than useless. It was only Misty that she’d shut out. Spiders - even giant ones - would always be able to find a crack to get into any room.
She shuddered at the thought of the huge spider in the kitchen and the vengeful look it had given her. Then she turned off the lamp and lay back down, slipping in and out of sleep for what remained of the night.
When the morning finally arrived, Stephanie awoke still feeling tired and with a hangover. She pulled herself out of bed and went straight to the bathroom. Once showered, she headed towards the kitchen. She paused, took a deep breath, then walked through the doorway and flicked on the light switch.
Everything was normal. No spiders, ordinary size or giant. No blood, either feline or human. No signs of the night before except for the shattered glass on the floor and a tiny, black stain on the wall above it.
She set the coffee maker going, then picked up the wine bottle from the floor and swept up the broken glass. In the light of day, it all seemed rather ridiculous. Giant spiders with glowing red eyes? In this country? She walked over to where she thought she’d seen the monster, but the dark gap contained only dust and dirt. Of course.
Turning round, she glanced at the empty wine bottle. Yes, that was the real monster: a whole bottle of red wine in the space of a single movie. Her head was throbbing this morning. No wonder she’d been imagining things.
No sign of Misty. Well, she often went out hunting in the mornings, she’d probably come back later with a gift in the form of a dead bird or mouse. Not a giant spider!
The coffee smelt good, so she turned her attention to breakfast to settle her delicate head and stomach.
Saturday passed uneventfully. No spider invasion, no nightmares. And no red wine.
What ruined the day was that Misty still hadn’t returned. Staying away for so long wasn’t like her. Stephanie hoped she hadn’t had an accident.
So instead of enjoying a relaxing day, Stephanie spent it tense and worried. That seemed to prevent her hangover from clearing up. In fact, by the time she went to bed she was feeling worse than when she had got up.
As soon as she woke on Sunday morning, she knew immediately that something was wrong. Her head was pounding and her stomach churning, badly. She felt much worse than she had yesterday morning, and she hadn’t drunk any alcohol last night.
Forcing herself out of bed, she went to the bathroom and emptied her stomach. There was no way she could face breakfast, not even just coffee, so she returned to bed.
She wasn’t sure how long she slept, but it was dark when she woke. Instead of feeling better, she felt even worse. Moving at all made her stomach churn. As she groaned, her throat was
dry and itched on the inside. Her pulse was a pounding, throbbing sensation in her ears and temples.
All she wanted to do was go to sleep again, but thirst drove her to force herself off the bed. As she stood up, she felt a wave of dizziness and more extreme nausea. Putting thoughts of water on hold, she raced to the bathroom.
Once there, she steadied herself. Her stomach felt dreadful - so did her whole body - but she didn’t actually throw up. She looked at her face in the bathroom mirror.
What she saw made her groan again. This was more than a simple hangover or even food poisoning. Her whole face was covered with many large lumps, spots of about half an inch diameter. She reached out a finger to touch one gently. As she did so, she felt it wobble. At first she assumed it was just puss shifting, but as she held her finger on the enlarged spot she was sure it was moving on its own. Wriggling under her touch.
Puzzled and more than a little worried, she pressed her finger harder on the pustule. A small split appeared on its surface. Thick, yellow puss oozed out and a stench like rancid milk wafted across her nose. Then the sac burst.
A small, black spider climbed out from under her skin and scuttled onto her cheek.
Stephanie let out a scream and slapped at her face, squashing the newborn spider. In doing so, she burst a couple of the other lumps. In the mirror, she saw more small, black legs wriggling, tickling her face as more spiders emerged.
Disgusted by the sight, she leant over the sink and retched. From her mouth tumbled first one, then another and another of the baby spiders. The more she choked, the more emerged. She could even feel them crawling out through her nostrils.
Raising her head, she caught sight of herself again in the mirror. Her face and hair were swarming with spiders. As she watched, a sharp pain ran through her left ear and she saw a spider emerge from there.
Murmuring “No...”, she stepped back from the mirror. Dizziness overcame her and she slipped to the floor.
As she lay there, she was aware of a multitude of tiny, black bodies emerging from under her skin, from her mouth, her nose, every orifice. Some scurried away into the recesses of the bathroom, others remained and nibbled away at her flesh. Small trickles of blood from all over her body pooled together beneath her. The pain was extreme, but she was too weak to fight or even to cry out.
She felt a pressure behind her eyeballs and her vision blurred. Despite that, she was still able to make out the shape of the large spider with glowing red eyes that walked slowly up towards her face on eight short, spiky legs. In between its fangs it held a what looked like a feline ear. It waved triumphantly, then threw it aside.
One of Stephanie’s eyeballs burst open, the other following a few seconds later. The last thing she saw before she died was the giant spider staring directly into her eyes.
It almost seemed to be smiling.
The End
Author’s Notes:
Personally, I don;t have a problem with spiders. I think they’re fascinating creatures. However I know I’m in the minority. For this story I asked myself what would be an arachnophobe’s worst nightmare? I settled on having spiders actually growing inside you - becoming, in a way, their mother. Then it was a case of working backwards to decide out how that happened.