Flux

tiny steps; hundreds of them rising straight up the sheer face, the size of which he’d grossly underestimated. Sensing his foe snapping at his heels, he heard a scuttling sound from behind and had no choice but turn to face his enemy. What he saw made his blood run cold.

    These were no ordinary arachnids; they had similar form and moved like spiders but the sight of them turned Iain’s stomach. Thousands of eyes, black, emotionless and reflective now stared at him, their intent quite obvious, positively brimming with malevolence.
    Each creature had many eyes, maybe eight like a spider but Iain gave no thought to counting them. These black jewels were arranged randomly around slick red skulls. Snapping mandibles protruded from the front, eager to tear and shed.
    In turn, the heads were supported by eight legs, each taking the form of a human arm, skin absent so they were red and oozing like the skull. Muscle fibres and sinew stood out white against crimson, fingers coated thick with dust which stuck to them as the creatures scuttled across the floor.
    A complete fear prevented Iain from moving. His back was pressed against the wall and his brain incapable of figuring out the next move. The creatures had slowed, sizing him up and steadily advancing for the kill. This wasn’t how his life was supposed to end, in a cave by the many hands of ghastly oversized spiders.
    Iain was also fully aware of the other creature he’d sensed, the leviathan rising from the abyss. Although yet to raise itself above the rim of the chasm, he knew it soon would. Even though he was still to glimpse its form, he already feared it more than the spiders for he knew it represented pure, naked evil.
    Sheer terror gave Iain’s mind the jump start it needed. Taking a deep breath, and as quickly as he could, he spun around and launched himself at the steps, scrambling for his life and using hands to scuttle up the rocks. He wasn’t quick enough as the first of the spiders also leapt into action and grabbed at his leg, leaving a bloody red smear which soaked through Iain’s trousers and onto skin.

    There came a pain in his chest, a searing burning. Invisible hooks sank themselves into flesh, pulling him upwards, up towards the small opening and the light, the spiders snapping at his heels. He screamed in pain as he was dragged like a fish towards whatever fate awaited him above. Now spinning, dangling in mid-air, he caught sight of the creature rising from the depths below and cried.
    Iain fell unconscious just before reaching the light.

Chapter Three
    Out of the Woods

    In the sterility of the hospital emergency room the doctors breathed a sigh of relief as they packed the paddles away, congratulating themselves on a job well done. Iain’s heart had started to beat once more and life slowly came back into him. After four minutes of being to all intents and purposes dead they had been on the verge of giving up, but through sheer determination and a small amount of luck, he was saved.
    The doctors set about their work with vigour. With imminent danger of death now passed, Iain was still not out of the woods. They could though, for the time being, allow themselves a small congratulatory pat on the back for a job well done. It was too early to tell whether his oxygen-starved brain had been damaged, they would have to wait until he regained consciousness before making a full assessment. The staff in the emergency department weren’t concerned about that, their part had now been played.
    While Iain lay on the operating table it made perfect sense to try and fix as much as they could. The doctors had their work cut out to successfully repair and rebuild his broken body; resetting bones, reconstructing his face and fastening together his skull with titanium plates. He was fortunate; the CT scan showed that although the brain was swollen and battered, there was no sign of bleeding. Likewise, Iain’s spine was still intact so with time and a lot of luck he’d be able to walk again.
    Iain was under the knife for nine hours in total. There would be further operations to come but for now, the surgeons were finished with him. All went smoothly and he remained stable throughout. Iain was then moved the short distance down the corridor to the intensive care unit, where he was hooked up to all manner of machines and monitors. All they could do now was to watch and wait in the hope that eventually, he would wake.

    While he lay at peace, deep in the