Arachna

Chapter 10: Hell's Not Ready for You Yet

Eric stirred, unsure if he'd crossed over to death's domain or if death had been too scared to allow him in. Heat stung his cheeks, and sweat beaded on his brow. The crackling sound of smoldering embers surrounded him. Surely, he was in hell.

But then he opened his eyes.

He was in the remains of the chopper, and unless the chopper had committed sins of its own, he was still alive.

Laughing hurt, but he did it anyway. Moving hurt worse. His head pounded, and as he straightened himself against his seat, his back popped and crackled. The smell of smoke and burnt metal filled his nose and tainted his lungs. The pilot sat in the seat beside him.

Dead.

His shocked expression was visible behind the broken visor, his empty eyes cast at the thick branch piercing his chest. Behind Eric was nothing but broken trees and embers. The other half of the chopper was missing. The rain had stopped, but not before putting out whatever fire had ignited while Eric was unconscious.

"Thank God for rain."

He drew his attention once more to Jeremy.

"Not a bad landing." Eric chuckled, elbowing the corpse. "Well, for me, at least." Everything hurt as he shifted in the seat and kicked the broken door open enough to crawl out. He slid from his seat onto the cold ground. Sparks shot out from inside the chopper.

Eric inspected himself, and despite the soreness of his body, nothing felt broken. He stood and stretched his back, groaning as it cracked again in several places. He took a step away from the chopper.

A snap sounded from his foot, followed by a wave of pain.

Eric dropped to the ground with a groan.

Okay, maybe one thing's broken, he thought to himself. Good thing I didn't kick the door with this foot.

Eric picked himself up and swore with every step on his bad foot, grateful for his cane to lean on. "Thanks for the ride, Jeremy. Hope you wanted to be cremated, my friend." He sent a wave back at the corpse.

Eric limped away from the chopper, his body screaming at him to stop moving, to lie down somewhere and rest. But he needed to get back to Arachna and set a plan. First, he would figure out what had happened to Caleb. Those glowing purple veins and that sweet smell—he wondered if that was the result of their new drug, some sort of super serum, maybe?

He shuffled painfully through the forest, searching his mind for any clue as to how a drug could turn a man into a beast. Caleb's men had the same glow, the same purple veins. He'd seen his fair share of crazy things in his life, but that was at the top of the list.

But Eric couldn't think about that, not now, not when he had to figure out a way to get back to Arachna. Taking a train wouldn't be safe. Caleb's men could be waiting for him.

A disguise? Eric thought. No, too risky. I could always steal a car. Not very classy or creative, but it should do. Eric's leg screamed in pain. He would've kissed his cane for its assistance if it weren't covered with purple blood.

He soldiered on until he reached the outskirts of the city, his eyes scanning his surroundings as he found the nearest alley to hide and rest. The warmth of the burning chopper was preferable to the cold dampness of the alley. No screams or panicked sounds polluted the air. In the distance, though, the sirens of fire trucks and police cars sang. He couldn't have been out for very long if they still hadn't arrived at the site. Eric leaned his head against the brick wall. The pain worsened as the adrenaline faded, and he winced and hissed through his teeth at every movement.