Spider-Bots Rising

Chapter Twenty-Two: Light And Light

At last, the storm was beginning to clear.

The four of them stepped out of the cave. It felt like they had been in there for a very long time. It felt like they were starting again, somehow brand new.

The clouds were retreating to the unseen edges of the wide open sky. The rain had dried up and blown away. The only reminders that it had ever been there were the puddles left on the ground. And the puddles shined bright and clear like mirrors among the rock.

The Dreamseeker looked down the length of the vast canyon. The tall reddish cliffs rose high above her on either side. The path of the old river that had flowed through here long ago twisted and turned a little. But mostly their way was straight. In the distance, the Dreamseeker saw the pulsing green light of the orb. The Net. The Dark Web.

She turned around to face the others. "It's time," she said. "Ready?"

Chuck adjusted his eyepatch and nodded once, gravely. His ears bobbed up and down.

"You. Bet," said Abby. She added a bleep and a blip for good measure.

Nigel did a funny little spin in the air, then dipped into a low bow. "Tis my greatest honor to follow thee into battle!" Chuck rolled his eyes. The Dreamseeker smiled.

"Let's go."

They set out along the wide canyon floor towards the orb. They didn't speak much and they kept their eyes open. The canyon looked to be empty, but they couldn't be sure. Ararack seemed to have come out of nowhere. There may be other surprises waiting for them.

The Dreamseeker walked with the compass in her fist at her side. It was giving off a steady, gentle warmth. It felt different from the other times when it had burned and sizzled against her body. Now it felt almost like it was a part of her body itself. The smooth weight of it cradled in her hand had a calming effect.

The glowing orb grew larger and larger on the horizon before them. They passed under the jutting rock on the cliff where they had hidden. It already felt like so long ago, the Dreamseeker thought, as they passed underneath. Then, finally, they stepped right up to the orb's edge.

A furious, dry crackling sound surrounded it. And along with this crackling, there was a low, droning, electric hum.

All four of them had to squint their eyes against its brightness. The size of it was breathtaking. Patterns of light rippled constantly across its gigantic domed surface. The word "OBEY" flashed high above their heads in letters 10 feet tall.

"Come on!" the Dreamseeker called to the others.

She held the compass out in front of her in her open palm. It lay still, as though waiting for something. Nigel floated over and touched the compass with the tip of his fin. Chuck came up on the Dreamseeker's other side and put a matted brown finger on it. Abby crawled around the other side and lifted one spindly leg up until its tip rested against the compass.

"Okay," the Dreamseeker said. "Now we all just have to focus. And believe."

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, slowly but surely, the compass began to glow. A soft blue light was seeping out of it. The light then stretched out beyond the compass until it flowed over the Dreamseeker's arm. It climbed up Nigel's fin. It wrapped around Chuck's finger. It spread itself over Abby's leg. Eventually each one of them was completely cloaked in blue light like a second skin.

They looked at each other in amazement. As the four of them stood in that ring, the light from the orb seemed to dim a little. They didn't have to squint at it anymore. The light they were giving off burned brighter than the Web. For a moment, the blue outshone the green.

Then with a nod from the Dreamseeker, they stepped forward, together, into the orb.