Easy | The Thirteenth Doctor

✯ T w e n t y ✯

Arachnids in the UK (Part Two)
2018
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UNEDITED

"The place where Anna worked with me, it's just over the way," Jade informed everyone as they walked across a bridge with cars whizzing past them. "I'm a research fellow in zoology, specialising in arachnids and arthropods, but spiders are our main focus, and we're seeing something very wrong in their behaviour right now."
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Charlotte walked around Jade's lab curiously, looking at the spiders in glass tanks. There were all different kinds but what fascinated her the most was the Huntsman spider. She'd never seen one up close and to be completely honest, the legs of the spider made a shiver run down her spine.

"We reckon there could be around 21 quadrillion spiders on the planet in total," Jade explained.

"So, what sort of research are you doing in here?" the Doctor asked Jade.

"We're interested in utilising the genetic strengths of arachnids. Ordinary spider silk is as strong as steel, or as tough as Kevlar."

"Still don't make me like 'em," Graham spoke and Charlotte snorted with amusement, agreeing with him entirely. Sure, they were creepy yet fascinating to look at, but she still didn't like them.

"Ooh, fun fact," the Doctor said excitedly. "If you weave dragline spider silk as thick as a pencil, it's strong enough to stop a plane in flight."

"You're kidding!" Graham said and she turned to look at him.

"I'm not. I've had to deal with it. Well, me and Amelia Earheart. You'd like her. She's a right laugh," she said and Charlotte gave her a look that told her she said a little too much. "So, what else are you doing in here?"

"I've been working on an enzyme to increase their lifespan," Jade explained. "Spiders can keep growing as long as they live."

"That spider in Anna's flat was way bigger than a normal household spider," Ryan pointed out.

"Did Anna have access to your experiments?" the Doctor asked Jade.

"No! She was on the admin team. Everything we do here is secure. We discard all carcasses responsibly through a specialist company. Unless she was taking things without us knowing, but she's not that kind of person. I should notify police," Jade answered.

"What is it you wanted to show us?"

"Reports of unusual spider activity in Sheffield over the last three months. From the police, pest controllers and to us, here," Jade said, walking to a map with the Doctor. "Rare sightings, an increase in numbers, spiders you don't normally see at this time of year."

"Something's wring with the spider ecosystem in South Yorkshire," said the Doctor. Charlotte walked over to the map as well, not understanding the pattern on the board.

"Exactly, but we don't know what," Jade sighed. "They have nothing in common. Some are large massing, some have been a profusion of web-building. I can't work out if they're confused, angry, or scared."

"Or trying to send a message," the Doctor said with realisation. She grabbed a marker and began connecting the pins. When she was done, the black lines created a circle with the center being a location where a hotel was being built. Charlotte's mother's workplace.
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