Cynetic Wolf
THE SPIDER

I was in the middle of a strange dream with a cyborg, Calter Fury, and my invisible father when something in my subconscious pulled me awake. A spike of adrenaline shot through me.

Alert at once, I checked the clearing, listening to hundreds of wild critters welcoming me to their wonderful home.

Some instinct—I’m not sure what—told me to turn. I did, eyes shifting to infrared like the lenses had. I blinked twice. Nothing happened.

A small boy came into view, walking alone with a large walking stick, a small brown knife at his hip. He smelled strange, an odd mixture of woody moss and spicy curry, and seemed relaxed, immersed in the world around him.

A squirrel in the trees behind me startled the boy and his eyes flicked to me, expression equal parts interest and terror. He was young, no more than nine or ten, with light brown hair covering his arms and face. A dark ponytail protruded from his orange cap.

I blinked and this time, my vision returned to normal.

“Hey, what’s your name?” I asked. “Mine’s Ra—” I stopped myself. “Raj.”

“I’m Kelep.” A big smile plastered his carefree face. “Want to play swords?” He lifted his stick with a grin, in case I didn’t know what he meant.

I didn’t and was tired. “Want to sit with us?” What was this kid doing here?

He shrugged. “Sure, why not? We can spar later.”

I kicked Fitz. “Hey, man,” I said, careful not to use his name. “Look who I found. This is Kelep.”

Fitz cracked his eyes and noticed Kelep. Yawning, he said, “Nice to meet you, Kelep. My name’s Brol. Are you from around here? Live in town?”

Kelep nodded. “My father’s a trader. Brings goods and devices from the cities to towns and villages in the area. He wants me to take over the business when I’m older,” he added proudly, standing straighter. “He got back yesterday. Restocking for a big trip this weekend. Headed to the city, to Itany, I think. He proceeded to tell us all about it.

Fitz and I looked at each other as Kelep looked away. I could tell we were both thinking the same thing. The question was, would it work?

After chatting a while, hearing about school, the town, and what his father did for a living, I thought my plan could work. When the kid had to pee, Fitz and I stood to stretch.

“Think it’ll work?” I whispered.

“It is not that simple,” he said. “He could be a spy for the government, many traders are. In exchange for rumors and information, they’re granted special trading rights, something all traders want. That could—” His voice changed. “Hey, Kelep, replace anything interesting? You were gone a while.”

“Just a funny looking spider.” Reaching into his pocket he pulled something out. “See.”

It was jet black with a glossy gleam, small, distinct red markings on its back. I froze. Shit. “Kelep, hold still. That’s a Northern Black Widow, they’re extremely dangerous. Don’t move.”

His eyes flared. “A what?”

“Shhh. Don’t talk, don’t even breathe.” I inched toward him, looking around as I did. Fitz caught my eye and handed me a stick, as if reading my mind.

By now I was less than a meter away, focused, not moving a muscle. A deep breath, another. I knew what I had to do, the question was, could I do it before the spider struck.

Northern Black Widows were one of the most poisonous animals alive, its venom fifteen times deadlier than a rattlesnake. I’d never seen one in the wild, only nature docs. The boy wouldn’t stand a chance, even a two hundred kilogram man wouldn’t.

I’d only have one chance.

My muscles surged, tension building as my pupils dilated on the boy’s hand.

Lunging forward, I swung. Time slowed as I saw the arc of the stick before it happened. A last second correction and the branch blasted the spider’s torso, sending it flying into the woods.

Shocked relief slowly flooded Kelep’s and Fitz’s faces. Kelep blinked several times, quivering.

“Oooohhhhh, wwwooowwww!” he sputtered at last, “Ttthhaannnkk yyoouu, Raajj. II tthink you saved my life.”

“Are you okay, Kelep? Why are you talking like that?” Did it bite him? I grabbed his hand to check. “Why are you talking so slow, stuttering?”

“What, no!” He pulled back, his eyes wide. “It didn’t bite me. I’m fine.”

“What are you talking about, Raj?” Fitz big eyes were worried. “I heard him fine.” You did?

Wait, the stick, the swing, the slow down… was that my SmartCore? It had to be. Had my reaction time increased? Weird. I’d ask Fitz later. “So, you’re okay?”

“Yeah, thanks to you.” Kelep looked at his band with a start. Must have gotten a buzz or something. “Guys, I have to go! I’m supposed to be home by 17:00 for dinner.”

“It was nice meeting you, Kelep,” Fitz said. “We’ll be here a few days if you ever want to come and play again. Oh, and Kelep,” Fitz added. “Your dad will be super proud when he hears about the Black Widow and how brave you were. We’ll be here in case he doesn’t believe you.”

He thanked us and left. I turned to Fitz. He had a grin on his face.

“What was that about?” I asked.

“The boy’s father’s headed to Itany this weekend. You saved his boy’s life. If he has any sense of honor, he’ll want to return the favor. We’ll help him unload his wares and be on our way. I figure we have pretty good odds.”

Fitz was one sly cat. Why didn’t I think of that?

“Great thinking on the fly, Raj,” he added as an afterthought.

I don’t know why, but him saying that made me feel better than anything we’d done so far. Escaping the DNS, killing the cynetics, saving the boy… something about the way Fitz said it made him feel like the father I’d never had. Almost...

Mom never talked about my dad. He must have traveled a lot. Maybe only visited Mom when he was in town, maybe he had women everywhere he went. I didn’t know, and I didn’t care. He was dead to me.

Fitz yawned. “I’m going to grab some shuteye while the sun’s up. You should too, or try your SmartCore again. See what you replace.” He rolled over and was out within seconds.

How could that guy do it? Wait, ‘that guy?’ Not three days ago, he was Professor Fitz, my Science History teacher. And now he was ‘that guy,’ a friend, and like a father to me. I choked up and closed my eyes.

Darkness.