In the Web of the Spider Queen by Chance Fortune

Author:Chance Fortune [Fortune, Chance]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-04-30T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

Jason was the first through the door. He still hadn’t grown used to his new crutches, and his arm shook as he fought to bear his body weight. Karen followed behind, holding Wayne in her arms, and Jack followed close behind her. Jack never took his eyes off his crippled son. There’d still been no exchanging of words between Karen and Jack since she’d picked him up from the hospital. Karen observed him from the corner of her eye. There was a moment of hesitation as he reached the doorway. She held out her hand. Jack studied it for a moment. He eyed her, then he accepted.

“Jason, honey, do you need help up the stairs?” Karen asked.

Jason shook his head as he slung the crutches behind him and crawled up the stairs with his hands. Jack watched him climb, and his chin trembled.

“Jack,” Karen said.

There was no response or even acknowledgment that he had heard her. She repeated herself more loudly.

“Jack!”

His attention snapped, and he met her eyes.

“Come, sit down, we need to talk about what happened.”

Slowly, Jack crossed the edge of the room and sat on the couch opposite Karen. His elbows dug into his knees, and he leaned forward lazily, allowing his face to rest in his hands. Karen took a moment to frame her thoughts and then she spoke, slowly and clearly.

“Jack, I don’t want to believe that you hurt our son. I don’t think you’re that kind of man. But for me to be sure I need you to tell me everything that happened, and everything that has been happening.”

Jack nodded as she spoke. There was a long silence between them and Karen wondered if an answer was coming, if Jack could even remember.

Just before she was about to repeat herself, Jack said, “I—I thought it was you.”

“You thought what was me?”

“My eyes were closed. I heard your voice. You wanted me to give him over to you. I—I almost did, but then, but then I felt something. A chill, like a warning. I opened my eyes. It wasn’t you, not really. It was something else. I—I—I almost gave our son to her. She wanted him, and I almost handed him over like a piece of meat.”

“Who, Jack? Who are you talking about?”

“She was like…like a spider,”

His head hung low, and he grabbed the edges of his hair like he was going to rip it out. Karen froze. Her mind trailed back to what Madison had said, what her friend Alison had confirmed. Karen’s mind reeled as she tried to find an explanation. Mass hysteria. The entire family was becoming infected with it.

All the more reason, Karen realized, she needed to get her kids away from Jack, and that house.

“Jack, you’re not making any sense. I need you to be more specific.”

“We need to burn the barn.”

Karen cocked her head. “What?”

“She lives in the barn, so we need to burn it down;. We need to kill her. Kill it!”

Karen shot up and knelt in front of Jack, who’d begun to weep.

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