Of Men and Spiders

It was a wet and miserable night on the forest planet. Of course, Lucy was already aware of the constant rain as she'd been camping here for a while, but there was a world of difference between sitting in a tent with warm bedding versus huddling under a tree and flinching at every raindrop that made it past the canopy. If her children were out here and hadn't been eaten by those spider monsters, they'd have had to endure this miserable experience every day for several weeks. What kind of a mother put her children in a situation where their only options were pirates, spiders, or exposure? Cooper might be a miserable father, but she wasn't exactly coming up mother of the year...

Then there was the problem of finding them. If Scott and Alice had hidden well enough that Cooper's men couldn't find them, what chance did she have? It's not like she could just wander through the forest for days, shouting out their names. Setting aside hunger and thirst issues, that was far more likely to attract unwanted attention rather than help her find her kids.

Still, she was here now and needed to do something. Just sitting under a tree wasn't going to save anyone, not even herself. With a grunt of effort, Lucy got up and started walking again. She had a rough idea of where their campsite had been, maybe she could find more clues there...

-

Alice was nestled in bed after playing with Charlotte for most of the afternoon. She missed being able to pull covers up around herself, but it was dry in their hut, and the fireplace kept it very warm and cozy. Still, maybe she could talk Scott into coming up with some blankets next. He was clever enough that he could probably come up with something. If he had the time, that is.

It was obvious that Scott and Charlotte were hiding something from Alice. All afternoon, Scott had that serious expression he'd had for a long time after their mom disappeared, and even though Charlotte hung out with Alice and spoke with her about what kind of cool bugs she could create, she was also talking with Scott while he just stared off into the distance, his garden all but forgotten.

This wasn't the first time, either. Every time Scott got like this, he'd leave shortly after. It kind of scared Alice, but the only thing she could do was put on a brave face, just like Scott did. If she couldn't help him, the least she could do was not make things any harder for him...

-

Once again, Scott was following Charlotte through the night while Alice was back in her care. With all the rain and cloud cover, he had to ask her to stop and let him catch up a few times, but at least he knew they were headed in the right direction.

As he watched the spider crawl through the forest in front of him, Scott was at a loss. He wasn't certain how he felt about Charlotte. She was a friend, sure, and he trusted her with his and Alice's lives, but so much of what she said and did was a mystery. It's not like he could trust her mannerisms. As displayed by the difference between "their" Charlotte and the Charlotte in the cave, she had no inherent mannerisms. They were explicitly crafted for dealing with humans.

Not that Scott felt like Charlotte was deceiving them. Maybe he was just gullible, but he got the feeling that Charlotte had never been anything other than honest with him and Alice. However, that still left the question: What was her motivation in helping them? Initially, he'd thought it was because they were more advanced than her. After all, at first, she didn't understand even basic tool usage. Eventually, he'd accepted that she was realitivly on par with the creations he was muddling through, but it was still something she could integrate and learn from. But now he knew she was a space-faring species.

In her own weird way, Charlotte was more comparable with modern human technology rather than the simple mud huts and camp tools he'd been making. Admittedly, he had a hard time understanding how she could grow a spaceship. It probably had to do with how she could adapt and grow more bodies for herself, but growing a spaceship seemed far-fetched. However, if all that was true, it all led back to his first questions. What was her interest in taking in Alice and himself? Why was she willing to expose herself to save their mom? Why did she put her own survival at risk for their sake? It's not like she had any biological or instinctive reason to do so...

Scott shook his head. Right now, it didn't matter. They needed Charlotte's help, and she was willing to offer it. They could talk about details like this another time.

-

Lucy was sure now. It wasn't just her mind playing tricks on her. There was definitely something scuttling through the underbrush behind her.

Ducking behind a large tree, Lucy waited. A moment later, one of those spiders from before scuttled into view, though this one was a bit smaller than the others and covered in eyes. At the pace she'd been keeping, it could have easily caught up with her at any time, so what was it doing? Following her? Was it a scout of some kind leading more of those spiders to help take her down? Well, the only thing to do was to ensure it didn't get any further.

As it scuttled away, Lucy clicked off the safety and took careful aim...

-

Charlotte stopped, causing Scott to also come to a halt. Her mouth spider spoke in that same emotionless voice as always. "I've lost track of my eye. I believe your mother shot it with one of those 'guns' you spoke of. Are you certain you wish to continue this pursuit?

Scott took a deep breath and let it out. "Yes, if you're still willing to guide me. I'm sorry about the loss of your eye, but I don't want to give up on her just yet."

Charlotte resumed walking as her mouth answered. "Alright, I shall lead you to the last known location. Perhaps we will cross her path before then. But be careful. Make sure it is your mother before revealing yourself. My eyes and hands can be replaced. You can't."

Remembering his thoughts a moment ago, Scott felt the same complex feelings as before. Why was Charlotte willing to sacrifice so much of herself for their sake?"

-

Lucy wasn't sure what she was expecting, but she was tired of being the mouse in a game of cat and mouse. She climbed up a tree, keeping an eye out for any further trouble while doing her best to ignore the rain drizzling down the back of her shirt. Between pirates, spiders, and rain, this planet wasn't the relaxing vacation spot she'd first thought...

Enough time passed, and Lucy was starting to feel foolish. Of course, the spider had been on its own. It wasn't a person. They didn't have scouts or organization. They just fed and reproduced. Kind of like Cooper...

She was just about to climb down when she heard more scuttling from the underbrush. Sure enough, another spider crawled out of the underbrush. This one was more similar to the ones that had attacked the pirate in his battle suit.

Not wanting to give it a chance to get away, she took aim and squeezed the trigger. This one didn't go down as easily as the first, so she shot it a second and third time. Eventually, the thing finally collapsed onto the ground and stopped moving.

Was that it, or were there still more? It was hard to be sure in the gloom of night, but it seemed like there was movement just beyond the bushes the spider had crawled through. Lucy took aim again, preparing to fire, when suddenly a voice called out of the dark. "Mom...is that you?"