The Void Read Free Page B

tap
    The jar felt cold in his hands, and even though the night air was warm, the breeze on his skin had a chill which raised goose bumps. Morgan shuffled, adjusting his position. He was ready now, and as much as he hated to do it, it was time. He relaxed his body and was about to release his grip when he heard the voices coming towards him. He opened his eyes and ran back towards the house. He went inside and walked to the window in the sitting room, watching from the edge of the curtain.
    Eddie strode towards the hole, Candy behind him and begging him not to go ahead. He dropped the rope at the lip of the hole and stood with his hands on his hips.
    “See, nothing to worry about. It’s just a hole in the ground.”
    Although the words sounded confident, his expression was anything but, as his eyes darted around.
    “This is a bad idea,” Candy said, hugging herself against the chill in the air.
    “Nah, this is a great idea,” he said, taking off his jacket and putting it around her shoulders.
    “This won’t take long; I just wanna take a look.”
    “Why? So you can brag to Mike and the rest of those asshole buddies of yours?”
    “No, because I want to do it!” he spat, glaring at her.
    “Fine, then do it. But I’m not going to stand here and watch. I’ll wait for you in the car.”
    She turned on her heel and stormed back down the hill. He watched her go, and his gut told him to follow her, that she was a good one and probably the best thing he would ever have in his life, but if there was one thing about Eddie, he was stubborn. He snorted to himself and picked up the rope. He tied one end securely around a nearby lamppost and made a basic rappel loop around his legs.
    Morgan watched from his window, and although he knew something bad was about to happen, he knew he couldn’t interfere. Instead, he watched, and tapped.
    Tap tap. Tap tap.
    Eddie tested the rope, making sure it would hold his weight, and then leaned back over the edge of the hole. Now that he was hanging over its edge, and with his girlfriend out of sight, the confidence melted from his face, and his fear took over. His heart raced, and the blood pounded thickly in his temples. He prepared to lower himself when he thought he saw a flash of movement below. He held his breath and stared into the darkness. He could see nothing, but was aware of how small and vulnerable he was, balancing ass first over a hole that looked from his vantage point to be bottomless. He wrinkled his nose at the awful stench that billowed out of the gaping maw and finally decided that Candy was right. There was nothing to prove, and even though people in movies did stupid things like this all the time, he wasn’t so dumb.
    “Fuck this,” he muttered to himself, as he pulled himself back towards safety.
    It happened quickly, but Morgan Brewster saw it because he knew it was coming. A flash of color, a lighter shade of dark against the opaque depths, and Eddie was snatched from his rope into the hole. There was no scream, no sound at all. As quickly as it had arrived, the shape had gone.
    Eddie’s rope hung over the lip of the hole, swaying gently before coming to a halt. Morgan watched and tapped his jar, then held it up in front of his eyes, looking at this small black occupant. He took the jar, walked back to the kitchen, into the cellar, and put it back on the shelf where he got it. It would be safe tonight, and his spider would keep for another day. He smiled, caressing the jar lovingly, then headed back upstairs, turned out the light and went back to bed.
     
    VI
     
    Meredith Brewster woke up in the middle of the night. Her son, Morgan, was tucked in bed. Earlier, she thought she heard rapping noises in the foyer and something skittering overhead, but when she went to investigate, her son was fast asleep. As she dozed in between the waking world and the dream state, she wondered why her son was transferring the jars from his bedroom into the cellar.
    Why was he