The Spider

Calvin headed out to the backyard to draw some water from his well, and turning the corner at the back of his shed almost ran straight into the biggest spider web he had ever seen. His heart raced forward as he backpedaled, and he whispered in an awed voice; "Hot damn, would you look at that thing!"

From the safety of a few yards away, he examined the web in closer detail. It was huge, with the furthermost strands extending from the edge of the well where it wrapped around one of the rusty handles on the top to the side of the shed that was six feet away. There were other strands holding the web in place that disappeared into the rosebushes directly below it, and below the main web was a smaller network that blocked the airspace right above the dirt. The entire web looked like an almost impenetrable wall that only the most skillful of bugs would be able to navigate should they be unlucky enough to fly near it.

With morbid curiosity, he noticed several lumps in the main section of the web and a few more caught in the smaller strands below. Bending forward a bit, Calvin looked closely at the lumps and saw the dried-out husks of several gnats, flies, bees and a large one that looked to be the remains of a slug. He also saw what looked to be a few spiders, their legs curling inwards into their crumpled bodies, resembling tiny black balls that a child had deflated and left in the yard to whither.

"Removing the competition are we?" Calvin said with slight apprehension in his voice, hoping the monstrosity that created this death trap would not decide to pop up and answer him.

This thought made him a bit antsy, and he looked around for any movement, looking at the web, the shed, and around the rosebushes, but nothing moved. He peered all along the rim of the well, paying close attention to the mossy parts that would serve as great camouflage for a spider, but didn’t see any signs of it. But he did see what it had been up to besides killing. Attached to the side of the well was a whitish, bumpy growth, and Calvin had seen enough spider eggs to know what he was looking at. From the size of the lump, he didn’t think it would be long before they hatched. Going to have to take care of that, he thought.

Satisfied it was safe to continue, Calvin reached down for his bucket and saw something gray half hidden at the bottom of the rosebushes. He cautiously took a few steps forward, and his eyes widened in surprise as he realized what it was. A dead rat. A big dead rat. Its eyes and mouth were open in what looked to be an expression of incredible agony, and there was a thin sliver of saliva drying on its mouth, which meant it had not been there long. It lay stiff as a board, the bottom half of it covered by a few twigs and leaves. He picked up a sizable stick, cleared off its lower body for a better look…and saw more strands of webbing enclosing the rat's legs and hindquarters.

Calvin stood hunched over for a few seconds, unsure if he was willing to accept what was beginning to form in his mind.