Spider-Bots Rising

Chapter Twenty: Remembering

The Dreamseeker looked down at the compass. She held it out on her palm in front of her. It shone so brightly that the four symbols on its face looked like they were carved in blue light. The red arrow whizzed around and around. Then it slowed and pointed loosely away from the Dreamseeker. It swung back and forth but did not stop.

Was it pointing at Chuck? Was it pointing at Nigel? Was it pointing at the cave wall? The Dreamseeker began tilting the compass in her hand, trying to get it to settle. Then she tilted it downwards into the pit, and it stopped dead.

There was no question about it now. The arrow was pointing right at Abby.

The Dreamseeker focused on it, thinking hard, wondering what it could mean. But even as she watched it silently, the compass' light began to fade.

Then the Dreamseeker acted without thinking. She knew somehow that she needed the compass to help Abby. So she kept doing the only thing that felt right.

"Remember, Abby!" she called down to her friend. "Remember when we first met you? When you came crashing through that ice cream waterfall in The Center? Remember when you found the very first strand of the Web– the one that led us here?"

The compass was beginning to glow again. The others saw this and joined in.

"Hey Abby!" Chuck called, from against the cave wall. "Remember dat first wrestlin' match we had dat first day? Remember how you called me 'Fluffy Bunny Man'? I mean, I hated dat but–"

"Remember when you taught Chuck what a canyon was?" Nigel said. He was smiling now.

"Well, dat's not really–"

"And remember," Nigel cut him off, "when you offered to walk with the spider-bots, all on your own? Remember how dangerous it was?"

The compass was glowing brighter and brighter. The Dreamseeker pointed it at Abby, her arm outstretched.

"And remember," the Dreamseeker cried, "what you said to me after we fought Ararack? You told me that my strength was seeing the good in people! Well I've seen the good in you, Abby. And I know that it's stronger than the Dark Web."

At that the compass glowed the brightest it had ever been. The light surrounding it turned pure white. Then the high, clear sound of a bell rang through the cave and the compass shot a beam of light at Abby.

The light wrapped around her, cradling her it in its glow. Abby was no more than a dark outline at its center. At first she struggled against it, but then her body sagged. The light around her slowly faded and she lay still at the bottom of the pit.

The Dreamseeker rushed to the edge and kneeled down. The compass had gone cool and dark in her hand once more. Nigel floated down beside the Dreamseeker's shoulder. Even Chuck crawled slowly over to peer over the edge at Abby.

Her sensors were dark. She did not move. The other three looked at each other, fear in their faces.

But then there was a buzz and a whir from below. Looking down they saw Abby twitch and stir. Suddenly her eyes blinked on once again. They twinkled like ruby red gems. She rotated her head around one way, then the other. Then she looked up out of the pit.

"Hey F-F-Fluffy Bunny Man," she said. "Got any rope?"