Araña: Heart of the Spider

#2 - Arachnophobia Part 2

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK - EAST RIVER

Where could there be a better place for a villain group to hideout then an abandoned warehouse along the East River? The Cult of the Tarantula has made this warehouse their home for the time being.

"Centuries locked away in the tarantula realm..." sighed the group's leader Marcos. "And we finally return to our home to live in this filth... by a river of filth."

"I apologize my lord, but this is the best we could do," said one of three henchmen kneeling lined in front of him. "The other locations we scouted were already overtaken by what modern day people call superhumans."

"Save it," Marcos said. "We'll make due with this shelter for now. It won't be long before we'll be on to the next one."

A portal opened behind him. The body of Lucas Garcia was thrown through. Nina Tanner, a former Spider Society member, stepped out of the portal.

"There," she said. "There is your Wasp Hunter, brother."

Marcos looked down to the unconscious Lucas. The young man was bleeding severely from his midsection. This was due to being on the receiving end of an attack from the Nina's hunter armor while trying to protect his new neighbor Anya Corazon.

"You wanted him and you got him," replied Nina. "Now do what you will and let's get after the Spider Hunter."

Marcos walked over to his sister and slapped her.

"You went out without my approval, attacked the city without my approval. May I remind you sister that I am the one running things here? We maybe siblings but I will not hesitate to kill you if you don't do as I say! Do you understand me?"

"Yes, brother."

Marcos looked down again to Lucas. "Put your hatred for this girl aside for the moment. Heal this boy. We will not be able to attain his hunter powers if he's dead."

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

Anya was in a similar situation to Lucas, although she wasn't being held captive by an evil organization. She was laid out in a dark room. Jessica popped out of the darkness. She checked Anya's pulse.

"No, she's not breathing," Jessica stated.

Jessica proceeded to apply CPR, pressing her hands on Anya's chest hoping to pump some air into her lungs. Tears ran down her cheeks as thoughts of her brother being kidnapped ran through her head, and it didn't help that her new friend could be dying on her.

"Damn it, Anya! Breathe!"

The passing seconds were nerve racking but finally Anya started breathing again. Jessica took a sigh of relief. Taking a second to catch her own breath she rubbed the back of her head. She felt extremely exhausted. The battle with the tarantula drone had taken a lot out of her, a result from casting spells she just recently learned.

She pulled a glass vial from her robes and popped the lid off. She lifted Anya's shoulders off the ground and used her fingers to open Anya's mouth. She poured the contents of the vial down her throat. She held her new friend in her arms as she once again thought about her brother and how she was unable to help him.

"Jess..." Anya muttered.

She could barely make out the image of her friend. Her surroundings were blurred.

"What... happened...?"

"The school was under attack by tarantulas," Jessica simply answered. "Things didn't work out too well for us."

"Where's Lucas?"

Jessica didn't respond to the question. All she could do was see the image of her brother being impaled by the Tarantula Hunter.