Spider-Bots Rising

Chapter Seventeen: Chuck Everlasting

They were soaked to the bone and the rain didn't show any signs of stopping. The constant roar of thunder shook through the Dreamseeker's skull.

Somehow they had beaten Ararack. But they were tired, and they were scared. The storm raged all around them in the now empty canyon.

Queen Arachni must already know what's happened to Ararack, the Dreamseeker thought. She looked towards the pulsing green orb. We're so much closer to her now. How long until she sends a swarm of bots to find us? What if she comes to find us herself?

"We've got to get out of here!" the Dreamseeker called to Nigel and Abby. She had to yell to make herself heard over the howling wind. "At least for now! We need to find some cover!"

Abby nodded and tried to steady her wobbling leg. Nigel bobbed over to Chuck's motionless form again. In a few clumsy moves he wrapped Chuck up in his wide soft fins. Chuck, his ears drooping towards the ground, looked like some strange side-car against Nigel's body.

How badly is he hurt? What if something is really wrong with him? What if we can't help him? The Dreamseeker pushed those thoughts away.

She looked down the canyon, away from the orb. The jagged cliffs twisted and turned away into darkness. Through the sheets of rain and without the light of the orb, it was impossible to see where that path led. But far from the orb was exactly where they needed to be right now.

"Let's head that way," she called, pointing. "But stay close together. And stay close to the wall– we don't know what else is waiting out there."

Nigel floated ahead in the direction the Dreamseeker had shown. Weighed down by Chuck, he leaned heavily to one side. He looked like a ship about to sink. If it wasn't so sad, she thought, it would be funny.

The Dreamseeker made to follow them but turned around to check on Abby.

"Abby come on, we need to get going...Abby?"

"NO!"

Abby was standing up very straight now. Her leg was no longer shaking. In fact, she was standing perfectly still, even as the rain and wind whipped across her. Her head was turned away from the Dreamseeker. She faced the glowing orb.

"Abby?"

Suddenly Abby's head snapped back to face the Dreamseeker. Her eyes were glowing a dull, flat red. They didn't seem to recognize her. An icy chill swept through the Dreamseeker's stomach.

But then Abby's sensors winked on and off for a moment. When they came back on they were bright and curious again. She looked at the Dreamseeker.

"Where are N-Nigel and Chuck?" she asked. There was worry in her voice. She tried to take a step towards the Dreamseeker but her leg gave out from under her.

Any hesitation the Dreamseeker had disappeared. She rushed over to support Abby. She hunched down and draped Abby's damaged leg over her shoulder. Then, together, they set off walking.

The Dreamseeker could see the small lumpy form of Nigel and Chuck bobbing along ahead of them. Nigel was gliding up and down the cliff face, looking for a cave or inlet.

The rain drove down on them, step after step. The dark, moody sky grumbled above.

"Dreamseeker?" Abby said.

"Mhmm?"

"Thank you f-f-for the things you said to Ararack. About. Me. About my. Glitches. It was very kind." She ended with a quiet beep.

The Dreamseeker suddenly felt shy. But she wanted Abby to understand. "I didn't say it to be kind. Or even just to stick it to Ararack. I said it because it's true, Abby. The things that make you stand out are the things that make you special. Anyone with half an un-brainwashed-brain can see that!" And despite her fear, and the rain, and the cold, she laughed.

"Well," Abby continued, "I think that is the s-special thing about you, Dreamseeker. Your. Strength. You see things your own way. You s-s-see what is good in people. You decide for yourself."

The Dreamseeker didn't know what to say. She didn't feel very strong right now.

Luckily, just then Nigel called to them from up ahead. "Over here!"

Abby and the Dreamseeker hobbled the rest of the distance as fast as they could. Finally, they reached a small cave in the side of the cliff face. It wasn't very deep and had a fairly low ceiling. Nigel's brilliant neon colors glowed out of the dark.

He had already unwrapped Chuck and laid him out on the stone floor. Chuck lay on his back, very still. A single water drop clung to the tip of his ear.

The rest of them gathered quietly around him. Nobody said anything. The rain dripped endlessly from the mouth of the cave. They waited.

Then, Chuck's moustache twitched.

Nigel gasped and they all leaned forward. Chuck was muttering something but it was too faint to hear. They leaned in even closer.

"Abby," he said in a voice barely above a whisper. "Remind me again why I'm supposed to like spider-bots?"