Chapter 329
Lila felt trapped. The ugly, pitch-black spiders continued to cling to the hood and windows of the SUV, staring at her through the glass. There still hadn’t been any reply from Ethan. She decided to make one more attempt to reach him.
“Ethan, if you hear me, please respond,” she begged. “I’m trapped and can’t get out on my own. I know what you must be thinking. Yes, I left you behind. I should’ve stayed by your side, but I completely freaked and lost control. I just ran without thinking. You need to understand me. I’m really sorry. Please, come back to the car and help me. I really need you now.”
She waited a full minute, but there was no reply from Ethan. Lila took a deep breath. At this point, she had to assume the leader of the team was dead. He most likely was. Which meant she was the only survivor. Only she wasn’t out of the woods yet. Far from it.
No help was coming. She was on her own now. Whether she liked it or not, she had to get out of the car. She had to fight her way through the spiders. There was no other way to escape her predicament.
Lila checked the status of her main ability. It still hadn’t recharged, which was unfortunate. Her active ability allowed her to teleport three times, but after that, it cooled down for a little while.
For a moment, she wondered what she should do: get out of the car right away, or wait inside while her ability recharged so she could use it to escape.
In the end, she decided that waiting wasn’t a smart choice. She didn’t know how long ago the morphus had killed Ethan. The terrifying mutant might already be rushing to her position. She definitely didn’t have any time to lose. She needed to act now.
Besides, she knew the distance she could create between herself and the spiders with her main ability wouldn’t be very helpful. Those spiders could run surprisingly fast and close the gap quickly. And they obviously wouldn’t stop chasing her, no matter how far she ran.
So waiting for the ability to recharge and then trying to escape wasn’t an option. She had to fight instead.
Taking one more deep breath, she pressed the button to disengage the locks and swung the driver’s door open. As soon as she did, the spiders sprang into action, jumping down from the car as if they had been waiting for her to get out.
She leaped out of the SUV and immediately found herself surrounded by the spiders. That was fine, though. She had been ready for the fact that she would have to kill those disgusting creatures before she could escape.
She drew both her shortswords and quickly glanced around. The spiders stood all around her, but none made any aggressive move. Their mouths were closed, not preparing to eject their acid projectiles either.
Why weren’t they attacking? Were they waiting for her to strike first? No, that was stupid. Why would they wait for her to make the first move? So there had to be another reason for their passive behavior.
Suddenly, it dawned on her. She realized the morphus must have instructed them to keep her alive. The mutant probably had the ability to control them through mental commands. It likely planned to drag her into its lair.
The thought sent a chill through her. While she feared encountering the morphus in battle, the idea of being dragged into its lair filled her with absolute horror. She would rather be killed than taken there. Who knew what went on inside and what the morphus might need her for?
She stood completely still, and so did the spiders. She had a feeling that if she tried to escape, they would try to stop her.
Another thought hit her. Where did the spiders come from? The morphus couldn’t just make them appear out of thin air. It obviously needed some resources to create them.
That’s when she realized what the morphus needed her for. The obnoxious mutant likely wanted to turn her into some kind of resource to spawn more spiders, restoring the ranks lost in battle with her teammates.
No siree, she thought. She would definitely not let the morphus turn her into a source for more of those repulsive spiders. She would much prefer to battle these creatures and die by their fangs than endure such a fate!
Furious at the thought of what the morphus planned for her, Lila swung one of her shortswords at one of the spiders with such force that it easily went all the way through its body. The tip of the blade emerged from its underside, digging into the asphalt below.
She swung her other blade at another spider, severing some of its disgusting legs. Losing its balance, the arachnid tumbled over. Surprisingly, the first one, which she had pinned down with her sword, was still alive. She yanked her sword out of its body and thrust it into one of its blue eyes.
Suddenly, one of the other arachnids leaped right at her face, wrapping its long, multijointed legs around her head. She lost her balance and dropped onto her back. She couldn’t see anything now, and panic surged through her. Letting go of her shortswords, she grabbed the spider clinging to her face, desperately trying to pull it away.
It was no use. Now that the spider had a hold of her head, it obviously wouldn’t let go. Heart racing, she scrambled for her shortswords, but they were nowhere to be found. Her hands only grazed the tall blades of grass erupting from the cracked asphalt beneath her.
Suddenly, she remembered her pistol. She pulled it from its holster on her hip and pressed the muzzle against the side of the spider on her face. Hoping desperately that it didn’t have acid instead of blood, she squeezed the trigger. The arachnid continued to cling to her face as she fired shot after shot.
Then she realized the spider’s grip had loosened somewhat. She immediately put her sidearm away and took hold of the spider. This time, she successfully pulled it off. Dropping the dead spider, she snatched her pistol and sprang back to her feet.
The remaining arachnids surrounded her. She pointed her pistol at the nearest one and opened fire. After being wounded, the creature darted away, scrambling for its life.
Lila pointed her pistol at another arachnid, but this one immediately dashed to the side, moving so quickly that all her shots missed their target.
The spiders obviously refrained from hurting her, which was reassuring. However, they were determined to dodge her bullets, making her task of killing them nearly impossible.
Suddenly, she spotted something out of the corner of her eye. As she spun in that direction, her heart sank. The morphus had finally shown up.