Descent (non-definitive title)

Long-legs

Opening his eyes once again, the first thing that he could notice was that he was no longer in the cave. He laid once again on his bed.

The reek was unbearable.

His sweaty forehead ached with each heartbeat and the burning sensation he felt on the side of his belly was driving him mad.

Gods. He thought that he was finally going, but it seems that his suffering would not end that soon.

Then he remembered.

The cavern. It all must have been a dream, for he was too weak to lift his arms not alone walk.

He groaned as a wave of pain shook his entire frame.

Such a sad way of dying for someone so young.

He closed his eyes while drooling over his own shoulder. Waiting for another wave of unimaginable pain to crash against him.

Yet it never came.

What came, instead, was a rumbling sensation. The rumbling of his guts demanding food.

But how was it possible? He hadn't felt hunger in days, anything he ate he would throw up between shaky breaths and stains of blood. Why was he feeling this sudden drive to eat? He was supposed to die.

"Wake up," the whisper came out of nowhere. But if with his weakened sense he had to tell the direction of the voice... it sounded awfully close.

"W-who... are y-you?" he could not recognize his very own voice, rusty after not being used for weeks.

"An... emissary," the whisper came along a series of chirps and cracks.

"Of w-whom?" He made the effort to roll his eyes around the dark room in an attempt of gazing upon the origin of the sound.

"That I cannot tell. Now open wide."

The fog that had been encapsulating his brain suddenly dissipated as he felt some really tiny legs walking over his skin. Then the creature entered his field of view. A small spider ogled him up.

"Open wide," the small insect repeated its order.

And he complied.

He opened his mouth and almost closed it when, panicking, he felt thousands of small feet crawling up his body. Many trails of insects that advanced towards his parted lips, ready to dump tiny crumbs of moldy bread into it.

"It will all be clear soon," the spider walked away.

He chewed and swallowed, steadily, but surely regaining some strength.