Try Me Bitch (Vigilante Deku)

Freedom... FREEEDOME 🎶

The cramped, dark vent was a nightmare. Every inch I crawled made my skin crawl with the thought of spiders lurking in the shadows. 

Me: Why did it have to be spiders? Of all the things, why spiders?

I forced myself to keep moving, the dim light from the occasional grate offering me just enough visibility to see the next stretch of the vent. My thoughts were a jumbled mess, half-focused on the mission, half-focused on the eight-legged horrors that could be anywhere. Yeah that is a lie, I was only focusing on the spiders right now. I hated them, arlight! ME and THEM could never be friends at all.

Me: Come on, just keep going. It's just a vent, just a dark, cramped vent... with spiders.

I gritted my teeth and inched forward, my body tense as I was thinking about how they could be everywhere. It was a dark place after all and perfect for them. Gosh how I hated my mind sometimes. Every time my hand brushed against a web or felt the faintest hint of movement, I had to bite back a scream. 

Then, up ahead, I saw it: 

a fat, 

hairy 

spider 

sitting right in the middle of my path.

Me: Oh, you biscuit eater. Why me? What did I ever do to deserve this, God?

I froze, staring at the spider as if it were some monstrous beast. It just sat there, unmoving, almost taunting me. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, and for a moment, I couldn't move.

Me: Okay, okay. You can do this. Just... just move around it. Yeah, just go around it.

I tried to shuffle past it, my body pressed against the side of the vent. But the space was too narrow, and the spider seemed to grow larger the closer I got. My mind conjured images of it crawling onto me. Just grab my mind at this point and throw it in a dumpster, burn it, flush it down the toilet. I don't care but leave me alone from this nightmare... please spare me but nope... not today apparently.

Me: Nope, nope, nope! Not happening!

I jerked back, my body hitting the side of the vent with a loud clang. The spider remained unmoved, but the noise echoed around me, making my already frayed nerves even worse.

Me: Oh, come on! Move, you eight-legged freak!

It didn't move. Of course, it didn't. Because why would anything go my way right now? I took a deep breath, trying to muster the courage to just push past it. But my body refused to obey, locked in a battle between my fear and my willpower.

Me: God, seriously, what did I do? Did I steal someone's candy as a kid? Did I step on a crack and break my mother's back? Why this?"

I looked around, hoping for some miraculous solution. There was none. 

It was just me, ......the vent, ........and the spider. I had to do this. For the kids. For the evidence. For my sanity, which was hanging by a thread.

Me: Okay. Here goes nothing. Just... just do it. Like ripping off a band-aid. A big, hairy, disgusting band-aid.

I took another deep breath and lunged forward, my body squeezing past the spider. I could feel the web brushing against my arm, and I fought the urge to scream. I kept moving, not daring to look back.

Me: I did it...... I actually fresking  did it...... Take that, you little monster!

But the victory was short-lived. As I crawled further, I encountered more webs, more spiders. Each one seemed worse than the last, and each encounter pushed me closer to the edge of freaking out and just let the villains find me and get me out of here. Who knows maybe that option wouldn't be as bad as these monsters.

Me: Oh, come on! How many of you are there? This is a ventilation system, not a haunted house!

I kept going, my body shaking with fear and adrenaline from everything before this vent. I had plenty to spare after this day after all. Perhapse a bit too much for one day. 

The spiders seemed endless, each one a new test of my resolve. But I couldn't stop. The kids were counting on me, and I had to get out of this hellhole.

Me: I swear, if I make it out of here alive, I'm never going near a vent again. Or a spider. Or anything with more than four legs.

Finally, I saw another grate up ahead. The moment I saw it, the moment I crawled faster, desperate to escape the nightmare. When I reached the grate, I pried it open and tumbled out, landing in a heap on the floor.

Me: Freedom! Sweet, spider-free freedom!

Don't ask.... I didn't even care if anyone would hear me right now. I could freaking kiss the floor! I was this happy to be out of the vent.

I layed there for a moment, catching my breath and savoring the absence of webs and creepy crawlies. My body ached, and my mind was still reeling, but I was out. I was free.

Me: Okay, kids. I'm coming back for you. Just... give me a minute.

I stood up, brushing myself off and taking a deep breath. Now, it was time to finish this job and get those kids to safety. Now that I was out of that goddamn building, thanks to this vent system, I could finally start running and get help for them.