The scream ended almost as soon as it started; Will clenched his fists and bit into his lip to try and keep calm. He recognized the voice and now, he was the last one left. He hid in a tree trying to see who their attacker was; but the only thing he saw was a dark forest.
"I'll get 'im for you, Mick," he grumbled to himself as he climbed down the tree to reposition himself. Mick was the fourth victim from their five-man group. Carter, the first one that got killed, was new to the group and he didn't have the military background the rest of them did.
It was concerning when they found his body a few feet from his head; but, they soldiered on. They regrouped, and decided that revenge was the best course of action instead of returning to town with their friend's corpse. An hour later after searching the forest, Ben's scream summoned them to his corpse. Then, Lance, another hour later and now Mick.
Will zoned out of his emotions and focused. Mick, Ben and Lance were his best friends in the world, and he knew it'd be difficult to move on without them. But, he knew he would survive. He'd survived countless missions both in the military and out of it. He and his men continued to put their training to good, well-paid use. This camping trip wasn't supposed to be work. It was a celebration of how well they were doing, and to welcome Carter to their team. But now, he knew he was going to celebrate the death of whoever took his friends away.
Will did not notice the large black spider on the tree as he climbed down, but he did feel the pinching, burning sensation of being bitten by it. The aching got worse; but, he managed to keep himself quiet. He only had to ride out the pain. He squashed the spider as soon as it bit him and he had no idea what kind of spider it was; but, he wasn't worried.
Will was almost 70, but looked as young as he did in his early 40s. The only reason he survived to be an old mercenary was his own secret. He never shared it with his friends, they didn't know how old he actually was. Will didn't understand it; but, he knew his body would reject whatever venom the spider filled him with. It'd healed more severe injuries over the years.
He leaned against the tree quietly to let the pain dissipate. When it did, he felt ready. And, he silently thanked the dead spider for reminding him how easy revenge would be. Will had grown used to keeping his ability under wraps when with his friends. When they started dying, he was still stuck in low profile mode. But, the pain reminded him that he didn't have anything to hide anymore. It was time to get the killer's attention.
"COME OUT AND FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN YOU COWARD!" He yelled into the darkness at the top of his lungs. In the back of his mind, he expected some sort of mocking. But, he wasn't prepared for the sudden giggle that came out of the darkness. It was even more unsettling because it sounded like a kid.
"But, I'm not a man," a girl replied. She stepped out of the darkness, but she wasn't much easier to see. She was pale but she wore black clothes and a black visor over her eyes.
"Who are you? Why'd you kill my friends?" Will asked. He wasn't an idiot. He knew he could regenerate and this girl probably wasn't all that normal either. She had a sinister air about her. He reached behind himself for his knife while he considered how committed he was to killing a teenage girl.
"Spider. Call me, Spider," she said. As she answered, golden stars glowed on her black visor. "I killed them to get to you, Soldier," she grinned and took a step towards him. His heart began to race and he felt the first flash of panic he'd experienced in over a decade. He backed up but hit the tree kept him from retreating too far.
"What?? Wh-Why me??" Will asked. He felt himself sweating heavily and his head began to ache. The girl giggled and shook her head.
"I'm just messing with ya," she laughed. "I don't know who you are," she shrugged. "I just felt like doing some killin' ya know?" She took another step towards Will and he tried pushing himself through the tree; but, he didn't budge. His headache became a migraine and his vision began to blur.
"On the plus side..," Spider knelt in front of Will and held her hand out. She was holding a large black spider with a golden hourglass-shaped mark on the top of its abdomen. "I found a toxin that you're not immune to," she said. "That'll be handy going forward," was the last thing Will heard before he blacked out.