The Year's Top Hard Science Fiction Stories 4 (2019) by Allan Kaster

Author:Allan Kaster [Kaster, Allan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-06-19T04:00:00+00:00

Sofia flashed her head light back and forth, searching for me.

The male turned and watched her descend on her double line. I struggled against the confines of my own body, but I couldn’t reach the web to play a song to warn her. I tried to use my voice to sing, but it was hoarse and raspy from molting. I doubted I sang loud enough for even the male to hear it. This was going to be just like Clavira and Mama. Another sister would die and there was nothing I could do about it.

The male twanged a few notes, his eyes riveted on Sofia. “My tender pet, I’ll surely bet, I’ll catch you yet, in my net. Juicy, juicy, yummy, yummy.”

Surely his insipid song would give him away. Would I ever say such a thing to her? She acted completely oblivious.

Sofia swung her light down the web, still not seeing us. She descended in her basket. The male retreated away from me and toward her.

“No!” I cried. “Go away, Sofia.” But my voice was a hoarse whisper. I still couldn’t reach the web to communicate like I usually would have. I screeched and wiggled. Another spasm caught my body and made me curl into myself.

Sofia’s light fell on me then. She noticed the male creeping toward her. She dropped her miniature web. It fell through my web and crunched into the bodies of previous meals.

The male crawled faster.

“Juicy, juicy, juicy,” he sang.

The way she flinched told me she understood now. Her internal beat sped up. She lifted her upper limb. Blue light shot from something she held in her claw. The male jerked back and screamed. The air smelled of burned hair. The male writhed and tumbled down the web, almost to the bottom, until he managed to grab onto a rope to right himself.

Sofia lifted herself higher on her web, but she must have forgot to watch for the sticky strands strung across along the way. She got caught and struggled to free herself.

I ripped my second set of legs from the molting shell, the pain so severe I went blind for a few seconds. The bright colors behind my eyes didn’t stop me from stretching toward the nearest strands of web. I shook the web with my front legs, wanting to draw attention away from her.

“My love, my love, my love,” I played.

The male ignored the entreaty and scuttled toward her. Sofia raised her arm again. He leapt at her. More bright venom shot out from her claw. The male quivered and danced in the air before dropping right before her. His claws missed their hold on the web and his legs fell through the gaps. He landed on his abdomen and stuck to the web.

He was close enough to Sofia to bat at her legs with his. One of his claws found purchase on her and clamped down. A shrill scream came out her mouth, the highest note I’d ever heard. He yanked on her, bringing her leg toward his fangs.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.