The Abberant Arrives

[Guest]

"Will you walk into my parlor?" said the Spider to the Fly,
"'Tis the prettiest little parlor that ever you did spy;
The way into my parlor is up a winding stair,
And I have many curious things to show you when you are there."

“The fuck is that thing? Private Braun was an enlisted man from the South. Although he never audibly complained, he never was quite able to get used to the cold here in the North. It was perhaps his unwillingness to complain that kept him good with the higher ups, Briggs respected strength above all else and weaknesses were not tolerated. It was his strength of eye that took him here to Briggs, his ability to hold a target in sight even through a sandstorm down South was invaluable here in a place vision was limited to nearly zero for most of the winter… However he felt that all this cold was starting to affect his brain…

"I'm sure you must be weary, dear, with soaring up so high;
Will you rest upon my little bed?" said the Spider to the Fly.
"There are pretty curtains drawn around, the sheets are fine and thin;
And if you like to rest awhile, I'll snugly tuck you in!"

It couldn’t be human; it was too big and moved in such strange strides. It couldn’t be a bear, even those massive beasts that roamed the forest had to walk on all four paws sometimes, and anyways they should have all been hibernating by now. “Jennings, go report this to command, I’ll try to dissuade whatever this is with a warning shot.” Private Braun aimed well, his eye easily finding a mark and he fired a short slightly to the left of the oncoming creature.

"Sweet creature," said the Spider, "you're witty and you're wise;
How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes!
I have a little looking-glass upon my parlor shelf;
If you step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself."

It didn’t react the way it was supposed to, the shot landed in the snow right at the things feet and it decided to start sprinting towards Briggs. Its long and awkward steps became leaping strides, carrying it meters across the snow with every step. What had looked like black fur revealed it to be a great black robe of some sort and those hideous legs that showed with every step looked like a mesh of mutilated flesh and iron. Orders had not come back down from above, but Private Braun knew the correct action to take. Not an ally, not an animal, military law gave him the license to kill whatever came this close to Briggs and he now decided to take up the action. A chest shot to take the wind out of it and let it freeze to death would work nicely…

The Spider turned him round about, and went into his den,
For well he knew the silly Fly would soon come back again;
So he wove a subtle web in a little corner sly,
And set his table ready to dine upon the Fly.

The shot hit the thing right in the chest but it continued to move as though nothing had happened. It ricocheted?! What ricochets a full metal jacket?! Private Braun sent up the alarm, this was more than just he could handle, the thing was getting too close for comfort and he couldn’t risk it.
“Adjust for wind speed 4 knotts…

“Three ticks left…

“Locked on.

Fellow snipers took aim with him and showered the oncoming threat with bullets, half of them ricocheting off of metallic pieces and the others passing through it without so much as a meter lost in its speed. Was this some kind of super weapon from Drachma? Some suicide bomber? What the hell was going on?! Sniper rifles were put away in favor of assault rifles and the Briggs permimeter guard held steady as the thing started to come within range of the fort itself. When suddenly…

Up jumped the cunning Spider, and fiercely held her fast.
He dragged her up his winding stair, into his dismal den
Within his little parlor - but she ne'er came out again!

…It stopped. The thing stood in the snow, its kimono raged and wet with melted snow, small patches of blood, and what looked like hydraulic fluid. The thing moved its arm in a stiff an awkward manner to remove a wide gasa hat from its head to reveal long greasy black hair and the face of a well preserved Xingese man in his late 40’s. It was smiling.

“Salutations Briggs Fortress! Captain Gabriel Thaddeus Fogg, PhD, MD, D. Eng. Etc. etc. Reporting for Duty.

And now, dear little children, who may this story read,
To idle, silly, flattering words, I pray you ne'er heed;
Unto an evil counsellor close heart, and ear, and eye,
And take a lesson from this tale of the Spider and the Fly.

[Reila Tsukino]

[BUMP]