THE MOMENT
"What the hell?" Ralph noticed two teenage girls through the window. A dark-haired girl and one with bright orange hair walked along the sidewalk of his neighborhood, seemingly without a care in the world. He risked opening the door and peeked outside. It was early morning and the neighborhood was as quiet as it had been all week. Before the previous week, this was around the time everyone was headed to work. He regularly saw and greeted his neighbors every day, until the incident.
When he saw that it was safe to go out, he dashed down the walkway and yelled at them in a whisper.
"Hey! What are you doing out here??" he asked them with a note of panic in his voice.
"Hi," the dark-haired one said. The girls stopped and turned to face them. "I'm Dara, this is my friend, Riot," she said. Ralph was almost annoyed that they weren't concerned until she answered his question. "What's wrong with being out here?" she asked.
Ralph was surprised at first. But, they were teenage girls after all. He was sure that world news wasn't as interesting to them as their own problems.
"Haven't you heard of the spiders?" he asked. He glanced up and down the street just to make sure there weren't any approaching.
"Yeah, we have," Dara nodded. "That's what I was showing Riot," she added. "Have you seen any really big ones?"
"You.. want to see them?" he asked. He shook his head subconsciously, it was unbelievable. "Spiders are the only thing being born.... no matter the parent. The world is freaking out... and you're just taking a stroll??" He looked both ways again.
"Really?" Riot asked. She followed his lead and looked around the neighborhood. It looked more peaceful than Ralph suggested. "I don't see anyone freaking out."
"I'm the only one crazy enough to still live here," he said. "Everyone panicked and left; the houses are all empty. I've checked most of them anyway."
"Why only most of them?" Dara asked as she looked around the quiet neighborhood too. "It's been about a week, that seems like it's enough time." Ralph shook his head.
"You asked if I'd seen a big one...," he said. "I've seen one as big as that house," he nodded across the street at a large two-story house. "It comes by here sometimes. It scared everyone else off, but I don't have anywhere else to go..," he shrugged. "I try not to stay out too long. I was getting ready to check a few more today when I saw you walking by," he glanced behind him again. "You girls should get to safety, I don't know when it'll be back."
"What color was it?" Dara asked.
"Huh?" Ralph had just told them a giant spider was likely to walk by any minute. Why did the color matter?
"White!" he said. He was growing more annoyed. Every second he talked to them put him in more danger. He'd already decided to skip exploring and return to the safety of his house once he got out of this conversation.
"A giant white spider?" Dara asked. "Did it have a red logo on it?" As she asked, she pointed to a pair of red scissors on her white t-shirt.
"Yes....," Ralph took a step back from the pair. It couldn't have been a coincidence. He noted the red mark on the spider's abdomen looked like a pair of scissors the first time he saw it. Her logo matched it perfectly. It also helped explain their casual attitude. "...Who are you? Why does that giant spider have the same mark?" he asked.
"I already introduced us," Dara smirked. "But, I'm Dara Sharp. My mother owns a corporation named Sharp Development, and that spider belongs to the company. Ralph's mouth fell agape. He never would have imagined that a corporation was responsible for the spidery state of the world; but, it made sense in hindsight.
"You... you did this to the world?" he asked while taking another step back. He decided it would be best to lock himself inside his house until they left; but, he didn't want to turn his back on them.
'Yep," she nodded. "Well, my mom did," she clarified with an almost proud smile. "She promised to help someone, and she always keeps her word." Not only did a faceless corporation do this to the world, but it was also intentional.
"Why...?" Ralph asked. He checked both ends of the street again, then took a step back. "...who would want th-" His question was interrupted as he ran into someone behind him. "AAAHHH!" he spun around and saw a tall, lean, wrinkled man with a bushy silver beard. He had a black widow spider tattooed on his left arm with a '33' branded underneath it.
"Sebastian!" Dara called the name before Ralph entirely had his wits about him. Normally he would have told her to keep quiet, but there was too much going on. She ran past him and shook the tall man's hand. Then, she turned. "This is my friend, Riot," she introduced the orange-haired girl again.
In all his confusion, Ralph noticed that Sebastian's face softened when he shook the girl's hand, and he smiled at Riot.
"Nice to meet you, Riot," he said. She walked past Ralph and shook Sebastian's hand too.
"So, how do you like it so far?" Dara asked. Sebastian began to answer, but Ralph couldn't handle any more surprises. The trio was between him and the house; but, he realized he could slip away and hide in another house. Ralph took a couple of discreet steps to the left, that neighbor's house was closer. He kept his eyes on the group.
"I like it, but I'm not the one this Earth is for," Sebastian chuckled. "Riot, meet my friend...," he said. He turned and gestured at Ralph as the scared man took another step to the side. It was at that moment he realized he was stepping into a shadow that normally wasn't there. He turned slowly, terrified. He was confident in what he would find. The giant white spider stood over him. He only heard one last word before he fainted.
"...Spider."