The fall was a quick one, however, and the landing soft. Spence dropped onto a springy surface that at first felt like a trampoline. He bounced up and down each time one of the others landed nearby—except his body didn’t leave the surface. He was stuck to it from head to toe. The only body part free was his right arm, which was folded across his chest, grasping the staff in his right hand. It only took a moment to recognize the surface.

“It’s a spiderweb!” Morgan shouted the obvious.

A giant spiderweb was terrifying enough—but not even being able to look around made it worse. Spence also realized his staff was useless here even if he had full range of motion. “Can any of you move or get to your weapons?”

Spence heard some grunting and felt a slight shaking of the web. “My hands and arms are stuck to the web. I can’t get any leverage to pull them free,” Trey said.

“Same here,” Caleb added.

“Stuck fast,” Morgan said.

Spence was the only one who could move at all. He also suspected the spider that had spun the giant web would be there at any moment. He said a silent prayer, fought to control his panic, and forced his mind to think. He had been in similar situations in Warcraft, which usually resulted in his party wiping a time or two. This was real, though, and the party couldn’t wipe. He had to be brave. He had to be the hero without using his staff.

Spence carefully released the staff with his right hand, still clinging to it with his left, and slowly slid his hand toward his side. He knew he couldn’t let any part of his arm touch the web, or it would be stuck. He moved his hand gingerly along his robe and down to his belt. Finally, he felt the cool metal of his dagger hilt. He carefully removed it from its sheath as he debated where to cut first. He needed to be able to see. He raised his arm and lowered his hand until the blade was beside his face, and he began sawing around his head with the dagger. He was relieved the blade could cut the web and not get stuck too.

In a moment, his head was free. He raised it and surveyed the scene. They had just fallen twenty feet onto the web, which appeared almost like a white fiberglass floor. It formed a circle, matching the opening above, and funneled down to a huge hole in the middle. Morgan lay the closest to him, only a few feet away; Caleb and Trey were on the other side of her. Movement caught his eye in the darkness beneath the hole at the web's bottom.

He sawed at the web around what he could reach of his right shoulder and side. Then he rolled hard to the left, breaking the remaining strands on that side of his torso. He then cut around his left shoulder, arm, and side. His torso fell back beyond where the web had been, hanging in the space, but his lower body was still held fast. He managed to cling to his staff with his left hand. He strained and finally rose, like doing a sit-up. He paused to sneak a peek at the hole. He saw a massive, dark shape just beneath it with two large red orbs visible.

“What’s going on?” Caleb asked. “Are you free, Spence?”

“Working on it.” Spence debated on how to proceed. If he just cut his legs free, he would fall through the web. He couldn’t determine what lay beneath or how far the fall might be. Then he had an idea. He reached behind him, jerked the pack from his back, and laid it on his legs. The web coated the outside of it, and he had to use his dagger to cut the strands so he could reach inside. He pulled out the tarp and flung it out behind him, holding one edge and letting it spread out onto the web. It covered the hole where his torso had fallen through and stretched over to Morgan on one side. He tossed his staff onto it.

He peered into his pack and spotted one of the vials of white liquid. He had no idea what the liquid did, but now was the time to use it if it was magic. He pulled the cork out and turned the vial up. He managed to swallow the thick, bitter liquid without gagging. He tossed his pack on the tarp behind him and began cutting the web around his hips and legs. He slid back on the tarp as he freed sections of his legs until his entire body was entirely clear of the web and safely on the tarp.

The monster that emerged through the hole was even more terrifying than just a giant spider. The lower half of the body was that of an arachnid. The upper portion was the torso of a praying mantis. Six spider legs touched the web, and the upper two, those of a praying mantis, extended out in front of its body. The monster was the size of a grizzly bear, and its legs were twice the length of the body. The creature moved slowly, turning its triangular head, with its two huge red eyes, to survey its prey.

A spider mantis! Spence hated spiders, but praying mantises had always terrified him. He remembered growing up when Andrew had captured one and fed it grasshoppers. The praying mantis would grasp their bodies with spiked front legs and then rip their heads off. It then quickly devoured the head and then the remainder of the body. His brother’s friend caught one too, and they placed the two together in a cage. The two fought to the death, with the winner brutally dismembering and eating the other. Spence had always thought how terrifying a praying mantis would be if it were giant. And now, he faced a giant one combined with a spider.

Spence froze for a moment, and his heart beat wildly. But then he began feeling something else. The fear quickly melted away, and he suddenly experienced a rush of energy and strength course through his body. He crawled over to Morgan and cut her left arm free.

“Grab your dagger and cut yourself loose. Move onto the tarp so you don’t fall through the web.” Spence felt alive in a way he never had before. He stood on the tarp. The spider mantis’s entire body was on the web, and it moved steadily toward Trey, the closest to it. It tentatively touched Trey’s feet with its two long, barbed front legs.

“Get off me!” Trey roared.

The creature withdrew its legs momentarily and then moved its entire body closer. Spence could imagine it quickly ripping Trey’s head off and devouring it. He waved his arms and jumped up and down. “Hey, Shelob!” Despite it being a grotesque mutation of a spider, he still couldn’t help but think of the giant spider from The Lord of the Rings, “I’m free of your little web! Come get some.” He realized his newfound energy and courage must have come from the potion.

The spider mantis sensed the vibrations on the web and skirted around Trey and Caleb. It moved purposely toward Spence in case he sought to escape. Spence glanced down and saw Morgan was mostly onto the tarp and finishing freeing her legs. She was skilled with a dagger.

The potion also made Spence’s mind razor-sharp. He had no doubt or hesitation. He slipped off his cloak and tossed it on the tarp beside Morgan. “Place this on the web as a walkway to Trey and Caleb. Free their hands so they can start cutting themselves loose. Then you can shoot some arrows into the monster.”

Spence didn’t wait to see if Morgan followed his instructions. The spider mantis was ten feet away, or a front leg’s length. He flipped his dagger around and grasped it by the blade. Somehow, he now knew how to throw a dagger. His mind communicated to his arm and hand exactly how hard to throw it and how to spin it so it would strike and stick into the beast’s face. He let the dagger fly. It rotated several times and struck the spider mantis in the middle of its large head. The monster hesitated a moment and then continued toward Spence.

Spence bent over, grabbed his staff, and stood just in time to jab the orb toward the spider mantis. It reached its long front legs out and tried to knock the staff away. The barbs on the underside of the legs resembled curved daggers. The tips were sharp and long enough to stab through him. If the monster grasped him firmly with those legs, it was over. Spence used his newly gained strength and swung the staff side to side, striking each leg. After a moment, the beast retreated out of the range of the staff. It paused and stared at its prey with its unblinking eyes.

Spence realized its plan just in time. He crouched and pointed his staff straight above him. Then the spider mantis leaped. Its massive girth flew high into the air and then descended onto Spence. Its two front legs stuck him, nearly knocking him down. Somehow, he avoided impalement. He held his ground, though, and jabbed his staff up to meet the creature's underside right before it landed on him. The orb and top of the staff penetrated its abdomen, just below the praying mantis portion of the body. Still, the mass of the beast bore down on Spence, knocking him to his back on the tarp. The spider mantis pushed itself up on its long rear legs, extending Spence’s arms that still clung to the staff. Then it managed to lower its head toward Spence’s face while keeping its torso elevated so Spence couldn’t drive the staff any deeper.

The compound eyes glowed evilly, and the two antennae on top of its head twitched. The mandibles surrounding its mouth eagerly worked back and forth, and its mouth opened and closed. Its pointed front legs reached out toward the sides of Spence’s head, and its mouth emitted a steady hissing sound. Spence had to release his staff and move his hands in front of his face. He would have to try to defend himself with his bare hands.

Spence’s mind was still perfectly clear and unclouded by fear or panic. His brain calmly analyzed the situation and searched for possible solutions. Time seemed to flow slower, and he was in control, not the spider mantis. A flash of silver caught his eye. He noticed his dagger handle protruding from between the eyes. The legs grasped the sides of his head now, and its mandibles were only a foot away. The hissing blocked out any other sounds around him. He extended his hand with blinding speed, grasped the dagger hilt, and jerked it free, barely avoiding the mandibles in the process.

He deftly slashed both legs, deeply cutting one and nearly severing the other. The hissing stopped, and the spider mantis pulled its head away. It raised its injured legs and poised them to impale Spence with the sharp tips. Then he heard a dull thunk followed by another. Two arrows protruded from the side of the monster’s head. The spider mantis lifted its weight off Spence and twisted its head to face the new source of pain.

Instead of sliding out from beneath the spider mantis, Spence slid further beneath it. Surprise! He plunged his dagger into the top of the creature’s abdomen, below his staff, and sliced halfway down it. The spider mantis recoiled, and Spence just managed to grab his staff with his left hand as it leaped back, sending blood and entrails spraying onto Spence and the tarp. It landed ten feet away, swaying weakly on the web. Two more arrows struck its eyes. The spider mantis collapsed, drawing its legs close to its body. It didn’t move again.