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It was a dark and stormy night. Literally.
You're honestly surprised that lightning hasn't struck your train yet. That thunder is sounding heavy, and you're pretty sure there's at least three trees on the island that have been struck already. But you have a job to do, and another train to defeat.
Charles. Honestly, how the hell did that thing come to be? Based on that one tablet you found with the lockpick, you don't think you're gonna be getting any recent information as to how he spawned. He couldn't have always been a train, right? They've only been developed recently compared to the age you assumed the tablet to be from. Is it a shell, then? Does he use it like a hermit crab?
And the eggs. Another mystery. No one else has talked about any other spider train abominations, so… how were they made? Is Charles like a hen? No, that would require another… thing to help with hatching. Maybe lizards? Aren't there lizards that reproduce asexually? You aren't too sure, but it's not unlikely, given other animals in the animal kingdom.
So what kind of lizard is Charles?
Well, you don't get to find out, because you can see something blocking the rails up ahead. Something big, under what looks like a felled tree. Great. You pull the stop lever, preparing to figure out a way to break a whole tree to get through, when the train's light reveals more than you bargained for.
It's not just some tree toppled onto some other debris.
Charles is stuck under it. Right in front of you. Blocking your path.
God fucking damnit.
You hiss under your breath as you weigh your options. You could just hop off the train and go on foot to your destination, but that's a long way, and if the eight legged and wheeled monstrosity in front of you somehow found a way out during that, you'd be open for attack from both the train and cultists. So that's not gonna work.
Another option would be to just floor it and hope it goes through and hurts Charles in the process. But that might also free him from his current predicament, and if this thing can take near unlimited lead and still survive, you don't think blunt force is gonna do much. And a freed, recently smacked Charles is a one way ticket to death. That's out of the picture.
The guns don't reach around to the front, so you can't just kill him now. Unfortunate. So the last option you really have is… probably making a makeshift axe out of scrap metal, chopping the tree, and hoping Charles has some sense of mercy to let you go free for that. Great. Your only chance of survival right now is the hypothetical goodwill of a murderous arachnolocomotive.
…Well, you're gonna die either way, so might as well.
You take some scrap and start shaping it into the general form of an axe. You don't have a blueprint for this, so you just go with you gut as you hammer the metal into place. In your peripheral, you can see him laying on the tracks, looking at you through the window. He's growling a bit. Probably because of the light shining directly into his eyes. Or being stuck under a tree. Or both. His legs are digging against the ground, practically clawing to get out, but there's very little progress being made, given the fact that he's… well, still stuck. As you bend the handle into shape, you spot one of his legs bent at an awkward angle. Huh.
After what feels like an eternity and a half, you finally make a good enough tool that could be more useful than useless against wood. Though, that's not saying much. Better than nothing, you suppose? Well, time to get out and face…
Oh.
Yikes.
Charles is not in good shape, to say the least. The tree has left some huge dents in the train portion, currently finding itself wedged between the smokestack and the cab. His legs are all splayed out except for two, which have been bent backwards and are currently getting crushed by the log. It seems like he tried to get it off before, but it made things worse. Large scratches have been dug into the dirt, probably by his struggle, no doubt. Charles himself is growling, even more so now that you've shown your face. His smokestack pours as wheezes escape from inside.
You almost feel bad for him. Almost.
The moment your feet hit the ground, he hisses violently. His front legs scratch maniacally in your direction, and you flinch for a moment before remembering that he's stuck. You slowly circle around him, watching as he gets louder and begins to flail. He even tries to turn to try and bite you, but then again. Stuck. He can't really do much.
The makeshift axe weighs heavy in your hands. A small part of you screams to take this chance, chop his limbs off, kill him for good. But you know something like your axe isn't gonna do anything except piss him off. This thing can take bullets, fire, and rockets almost like it's nothing. One swing, and you're done for.
You sigh. Really no way to avoid this, huh? Just gotta get it over with.
You raise your axe high and swing.
CRACK
A shriek from Charles is cut short as your blade finds its target. You bring it back up and swing again, repeating the action over and over.
The wood in front of you is beginning to split. You're planning on chopping off the excess on the sides before going in to work on the monstrous train. He hisses every once in a while, but… he isn't making any other movements. Maybe that's a good sign? Then again, any moment he's not trying to kill you is a good moment. You just wished these moments were more common.
Hack, swing. Hack, swing. The wood slowly gives way, though the rain makes the job a lot tougher. With a final heave, you manage to get one side of the tree trimmed, and boy, did that work up a sweat. But you can only pause for so long - you have a killer train waiting, after all. You go around him from the back, not willing to risk getting grabbed by his front legs. His growling still persists, but it's definitely died down. Good for you, maybe? You aren't sure. You don't know demon spider behavior.
Your arms are sore as shit, but at this point, you're committed. You chopped off part of a whole tree, dammit, you're gonna get that whole thing off the rails. What was that thing called, sunk cost fallacy? You don't know or care, really. You simply bring the axe up and start swinging once more.
C'mon, Archie. C'mon. Just get the next bit chopped. Just gotta get it done.
Charles lays still, all hostility put aside. He can see you better on this side, wood chips raining onto the ground as you practically sledgehammer the tree. His front legs tap at the ground, as if eager to get out of this predicament. You're eager to get out of this, too. Preferably alive.
CREEEEEEAAAAKK
You move out of the way just as the other end of the tree buckles and falls to the ground. Well, now all you have left is the bit stuck on Charles, so you walk over and-
"HISSSSSSSsssssssss…"
Jumping back, you narrowly miss a swipe from one of his legs. Right. It's Charles. You know, the demon train. In case you forgot, which you did at that moment. Then again, this entire situation is borderline comical, so might as well roll with it, eh?
You lightly smack one of his legs. He curls it in and hisses again.
"Oi. You're still stuck with that chunk of tree on you, and you're in the way. I'm not gonna hurt you. I don't even think I could if I tried, so just lemme break that, and, uh… gimme a head start before you go chasing me again. Please."
You're not sure if Charles can understand you, but you hope your casual tone of voice carried over the sentiment. Slowly, you inch your way closer, ready to leap if he tries to swipe you again. As you shuffle, you can see his legs twitch, and you nearly gasp in surprise when each one on your side curls up. Charles is still alert, but this might be the closest thing to a truce you can get, and by god, you are gonna take it. With a newfound burst of energy, you slowly begin to whittle away the log stuck on the spider.
Both of you are far from any people or cultists. It's just you, Charles, and the steady pouring of rain. Lightning illuminates the sky every so often, painting the two of you a bright blue for a brief second. The ground is slowly turning to mud. Your clothes are completely soaked. The air is cool and heavy, weighing on the island like a wool blanket. It's almost peaceful, in a way.
The rain begins to pick up, and Charles chitters in annoyance. The log on your side has broken enough, so you go behind him to reach the other side, nearly slipping a few times.
Right. His legs. Still bent awkwardly over the log. You're gonna have to be a bit more careful with this.
Charles, unfortunately, is less trusting with this side, given the sudden growl as he shrinks away. You're not having it, though. You chopped through a good two thirds of this damn thing, you're not gonna stop now.
"Charles. Dude." You pat one of the trapped legs. "I'm gonna be careful, okay? I'm just trying to free your legs. That doesn't look comfortable at all."
…Since when were you so casual about touching a demonic train? Since now, you guess. The train himself also seems surprised by this, front legs tapping the ground as he stares at you. Then slowly, slowly, he relaxes, giving you a better angle to chop the tree.
There's no better time to commit to the bit, so you chop again.
This time, you aren't swinging with as much force as possible. What you have right now is what you assume to be Charles' trust, and you don't wanna fumble it. You chop away bits and pieces, like one would when making a carving. It takes much longer than before, but you're making progress. Inch by inch, the log gets shorter and shorter, and before you know it, one of the legs is close to getting free.
"Alright, big guy, work with me here…"
You tap against the leg. You're hoping he gets the message to slide it off, but after a while without a reaction, you decide to take it into your own hands and push it off for him. Heaving his leg off proves to be more difficult than you thought, though. You push and push, and it takes all your strength and a good effort from Charles himself to get the leg off. The newly freed leg stretches out, curls a few times, then flops straight onto the ground. A puff escapes from his smokestack, almost like a sigh of relief.
If you had a limb stuck in an awkward position for hours and finally got it free, you'd let that thing hang loose too.
It's time to free the other leg, which seems a lot worse, given how bent it looks compared to the joint. You work away at the wood a little faster now. Maybe it's the sympathy or empathy influencing you. You forgot which one is which. Chunks of wood surround your feet, and if it wasn't already for the rain, you're sure you'd lose your footing on one of them. His other leg is almost free, and once you get the log shortened enough, you go and yank Charles' leg to get it off. He hisses, but you can feel his leg moving in tandem. It takes a few more pulls and complaints from the spider, but it, too, eventually frees itself, and he doesn't even bother to flex it as it collapses to the floor.
You're so close. There's just that one bit still stuck between the smokestack and the cab. Maybe if you get a few good hits, it'll loosen enough to fall off.
Well, Charles seems like he's gonna stay on the ground, so you go ahead and get closer. Though, he's pretty big, and you're gonna have to climb a bit to reach the wood. Keeping an eye on the train, you carefully press your foot down on the drive rod. Seeing no reaction from him, you put more of your weight down. He shuffles a little, but ultimately stays put. Biting the bullet, you use your new footstool to reach the wood, hacking away at it one last time. This entire thing has taken hours to finish, and it's satisfying to finally harvest the fruits of your labor. The wood splits and cracks, bit by bit, until it finally loosens enough to-
FWEEEEEEEEEEET!
A sudden wave of panic washes over you as you feel your balance shift. You leap down, dashing back as you watch Charles lift himself up. His two freed legs tremble slightly and the metal is still dented, but he seems to glow with newfound vigor. He shakes himself off like a dog, and you narrowly miss dodging the huge chunks of woods flown in your direction. The heavy air feels suffocating as he turns towards you, the rain on the tracks reflecting the red that the spider emanates.
Charles approaches you slowly, carefully. His legs touch down one by one until he's leaning down, face to face with you.
You've… never really seen him up close, have you? His big, glossy eyes, completely white, seem to shine through the rain. You swear you see pupils under the cloudiness, but you aren't sure if it's just your reflection. His eyes and mouth are lined with red, smeared and uneven, and a bright upper lip lead up to what you assume to be a nose. His mouth is filled with dagger-like teeth, seeming to have been haphazardly stuck in his gums.
He looks like a monster, and at the same time, almost human. What an unsettling thing to see in your last moments. You squeeze your eyes shut, ready for him to tear you to shreds.
…You wait.
…And wait.
…Seriously, how long is this gonna take? You peek your eyes open, seeing the same horrific face in front of you. Is he not gonna kill you, or…?
Charles huffs, more smoke escaping from him, before he brings himself back up. You blink as you watch him turn around, sparing you one last glance, before retreating into the trees.
Huh.
You will yourself to get back to your own train, dragging your feet as you look around, wondering if he's about to suddenly dash out at you and kill you. But he doesn't, and you make it back to your train. Tossing the blunt axe onto your small table, you lay down on the cold floor.
Your arms are nigh immovable, you're cold, and you're soaked. But you're alive.
Maybe that damn spider can be merciful after all.
You fall asleep to the sound of the rain.