Of Men and Spiders

As Scott made his way back to the camp, he quickly realized one major issue with his request to Charlotte. She evidently did not realize what was important information and what wasn't and was repeating everything she overheard in that same monotonous voice. She didn't even differentiate between who was speaking, turning it into tedious, borderline incoherent, non-stop rambling rather than beneficial information. "Who didn't pack up the food properly last night? Now we have those lizard things everywhere." "Who's on KP today? I think it's Johnson. No, I did it just yesterday. It's Smith's turn." However, the occasional one stood out. "Where's my underwear? I swear to god, if you idiots hung it up on the antenna again, I will start shooting people!" The worst part was that Scott couldn't even ask her to stop without one of her listening spiders around!

Listening to the ramblings going on around the camp, it didn't seem like they were rescuers. To be fair, maybe they were just blowing off steam while they thought no one was listening, so it was still possible, but he figured it was less and less likely as time went on. That left the option that they were either some random visitors who stumbled across their camp or that they were looking to cause trouble. Trouble that Scott wanted to avoid finding out about the hard way.

The trouble was that none of their conversations dealt with why they were here at all. "Hey, anyone want to play cards? No way, Johnson, you already cheated me out of more than I can afford. Go find some other mark." "Oh god, who let Smith cook? This stuff could peel the leather off your shoes." "Erick, for the last time, if you don't replace the tp after you use it up, you'll be cleaning the toilets for the next month."

The pointless ramblings went on so long that Scott started to think they really were just some random campers who were here more by coincidence than intent, but just as he was bedding down for the night, something in the endless background dribble of noise caught his attention. "Have all you idiots just been lying around all day? What about the two brats? Any news on them?"

Scott was suddenly very awake and listening intently. "Boss, they've been missing in the forest for over two weeks. They're probably dead by now. Can't we just call it quits and leave?" They were definitely talking about Alice and himself, but why were they looking for them? "No, you idiot, you can't. Apparently, the older one was studying to become a frontier scout, meaning he probably had some wilderness survival training, so at least he might still be alive out there. If you ever want to walk on the surface of another planet again, you'll find them and bring them back. If they're not alive, I want to see bodies, and if those bodies show any signs of you lot being responsible for their deaths, you'll answer to me, got it?"

Scott furrowed his brow as he thought. It sounded like whoever this was really wanted to find the two of them, which he could understand if they were looking for survivors. But then why would that last part be necessary? And why would they care about Scott and Alice if they were pirates or something similar? It didn't make sense! But evidently, they weren't done talking. "But boss. They don't seem to have any tech on them, so we can't pick them up on any scans. How else are we supposed to find them in this never-ending forest? They could be anywhere." Well, that would explain how they stayed off their radar, so to speak. Mud and rocks on a planet covered in mud and rocks don't exactly draw much in the way of attention... "Then get out there and start scouring the forest. They're kids. They couldn't have gone that far. Just find them, or I'll help you clear the forest by dropping an orbital bombardment on your camp. Got it?"

Well, that cinched it. Whoever those guys were, they definitely didn't have Alice and Scott's best interests in mind. The two of them needed to disappear and fast. His little hut might have worked to keep giant spiders out, but it would barely slow down a half dozen armed men.

Scott suddenly didn't feel very sleepy. He walked over to Charlotte's spider and tapped its leg to get its attention, then started walking in the direction they had been going and looked back at the spider to motion for it to come as well. It took a few more attempts, but eventually, Charlotte must have realized what he was indicating because it got up and started leading him to camp again.

-

Charlotte only had a few vibration-sensitive appendages. True, most of her appendages could sense some vibrations and even their general direction, but to be able to differentiate between so many sounds, let alone the subtle variations in things like "inflection" and "tone," required a much more sensitive mechanism than most of her appendages were equipped to handle. In the depths of space, surrounded only by herself and the occasional other She, it hadn't been a necessary adaptation at any point in her life. However, having to choose between hearing Scott and listening to these other humans made clear the fact that She may want to consider making this a more common trait in her appendages going forward.

There were many words the new humans used that Charlotte would love to ask Scott about. God, antenna, cards, tp, cheating, and orbital were just some of the many examples that She lacked knowledge or context for, given what She'd learned so far. Perhaps Charlotte still had more to learn than She'd realized.

But even given her lack of understanding of many of the words used, there were still some subjects she could piece together given the context. For instance, it became clear to her that these humans were talking about Scott and Alice at one point, and the casual way they spoke of the possibility of their possible deaths did not amuse Charlotte at all.

While She was listening to the new humans and relaying all the information to Scott, She also turned her attention to Alice. The younger sibling had tired out and was lying by the fire pit. She seemed almost incapable of falling asleep inside the hut without Scott telling her to go to bed. Of course, no fire was lit, as only Scott was proficient in fire techniques. While Charlotte could probably imitate his process to start a fire by now, maintaining it was another problem. She did not understand enough of the behavior of fire to be confident about trying to contain it the way Scott seemed to.

If Charlotte had been looking for a small She facing danger that could possibly result in that She's destruction, Charlotte would be much more determined and resolute, much like She'd seen Scott be from time to time. But these new humans laughed at the possibility, and while it had taken Charlotte a bit to understand the concept of amusement, She felt it did not at all apply to Alice being in danger. Perhaps She should reconsider her idea of going to war with the humans and only protecting these two in her care...

Then again, Scott had explained to Charlotte that there was a possibility this was an outlier group among humans. It was a concept She was at least somewhat familiar with within the She. When your primary objective is to find ways to evolve and strengthen the She, sometimes a path is taken that leads to conflict with other She. Small-scale skirmishes are commonplace, but once in a while, a rogue decides on all-out war, and more committed action is required.

As She gently picked Alice up to place into the hut, again, Charlotte couldn't help but wonder if this was a similar situation. Were these other humans about to go to war with Scott and Alice, seeking to gain resources or other advantages by force? If so, they may find these two humans are not so easily preyed upon as that...

-

As he arrived back at camp, Scott felt the effects of traveling all day and night. Just trying to keep his limbs moving was a monumental chore, and he knew the moment he sat down, he wouldn't be able to get back up for some time.

It was with relief that he noticed Charlotte waiting in the clearing for him. Even if one of those strange men managed to track him home, the mere sight of her should be enough to make anyone rethink their plans. He nodded to her and then looked toward the hut. "Thank you for watching Alice while I was gone."

Charlotte nodded. "Of course. I enjoy spending time with Alice."

Scott walked over to the hut to check on his sister, who was apparently sleeping on the floor again, obviously placed inside by Charlotte. Then, something next to her caught his eye. Their mom's computer. The men at their old campsite had mentioned scanning for technology, but why hadn't they picked up on the computer? Then he realized it was because it was in Charlotte's tunnels. Suddenly, Scott had a new plan in mind.

Grabbing the computer, Scott turned around. He was about to walk over to Charlotte, but thankfully, his goal seemed content to approach him, saving him some much-needed effort. Charlotte and Scott both spoke at the same time. "About the other humans..." "About the men at the campsite..."

Scott grinned. and nodded to the spider woman. "Sorry, go ahead."

Charlotte tilted her head as she spoke. "The other humans seem to pose an unacceptable risk to Alice and yourself. We need to mitigate that risk."

Scott nodded, trying not to get too dizzy while doing so. "I agree. That's why I think we needed to move again and fast this time. "

Charlotte shuffled in place slightly as if impatient to do something. "Where will you move?"

Scott sighed. "Well, we really only have two options. We can continuously move away from our old camp, only staying in one spot long enough to gather whatever resources we need until we've put enough distance between us and them that they'll never find us. That would mitigate the risk they pose but would drastically increase our risk of starvation or death by exposure..."

Now Charlotte was standing very still. Scott was still getting used to some of her mannerisms, but he suspected she did not like this plan very much. So he offered his other solution. "Or, we could move closer to your tunnels, maybe even connect our hut to your tunnel so we have our own entrance... If you were okay with the idea, that is..."

Charlotte nodded. Even though her movements were a little too jerky for a human, the apparent emphatic approval made Scott grin a little as she answered. "Yes. I can help! We can move right now!"

Scott chuckled but shook his head no. "Not just yet, I'm afraid. I don't think I can make the walk until I've gotten a little rest." He held out the computer. "But if you could take this for me and store it back in your tunnel until we get there, I'd appreciate it."

Charlotte nodded, and one of her "hands" came over, to which he handed the computer.

Scott couldn't help but interject. "But be careful with it! It's very delicate and...important."

Charlotte turned back to Scott. "Then I shall be careful with it until it is in your hands again."

Looking up, Scott could see the light of dawn starting to poke through the trees. He turned back at Charlotte. "Listen, if anyone comes within four or five miles of us, wake me up, and we'll get out of here in a hurry. Otherwise, we'll pack up and leave after I wake up, alright?"

Charlotte looked up as well, then nodded. "I will keep watch."

Scott grinned. "Then I'll sleep much easier." Then, he walked inside the hut, found his bed, and laid down, passing out almost instantly.