Chapter Text
Looks like we’re doing this again, aren’t we?
*sighs*
My name is Will Costales, I was bitten by a radioactive spider, and for eight months I’ve been the one and only Spider Cloud. You probably know the rest.
I spend my days saving and protecting people, going to school as a normal grade nine student, and when I do have free time, I waste it having an existential crisis in the shower, haha!
*pauses and clears throat*
Okay, sorry that wasn’t funny.
I ended up being a series of comic books, movies, and even a meme! Please don’t look at it though, very embarrassing—
Usually, when faced with criminals, I end up winning. Sometimes I don’t. But when the world throws me obstacles, I should always bounce back stronger, because that is what every spider man does, right? Right?
The day everything changed started out normal. It was a Saturday morning, I got up from the same bed, paced around the same bedroom and walked down the same set of stairs.
Everything was where and when it was supposed to be.
I walked up to the kitchen to find my Tio there, cleaning the dishes. Tio Elyon was a nice guy, I guess. He was the only person who didn’t seem to care about my ‘half human genes’, and I loved him for that. Yeah, Tio Elyon is a good guy.
I grabbed an apple and started eating it. I almost laughed when Tio jumped around, surprised that I ‘popped out of nowhere, like I always do’. We had a small talk about how our night went.
« What are you going to do this morning? » Asked Tio, in the middle of placing a plate on the shelf.
« Going to Ashryn’s. » I munched on another piece of apple, « Might as well do it now. See you later, Tio. »
As I opened the front door, beams of sunlight hit the entrance while I ran outside and to the forest. Halfway through the woods, I took a quick glance at The Mystic Magic Mushroom Library, also known as the place I lived in since childhood.
Ashryn Fadir was my best, and only, friend. With that said, you probably know now that my social skills are way too unhealthy. I have to say, Ash is probably the coolest person you would ever know in your life. She has good grades, good looks, and was actually good with people. To be honest, I don’t even know how we came to be friends. The only thing I remember is it was years ago, way back in pre-school, she was the only person who talked to me, we clicked together, and we did what best friends do.
It took me about five minutes to get to Ashryn’s house. As I got there, a petite figure was sitting on the porch, it was Ash’s grandmother.
“Well hello there Will. Isn’t it a hot summer day? Aren’t you warm in this sweater of yours?” Ash’s grandmother asked.
Small talk again, why was every discussion in small talk so obvious? Yeah, right, of course it’s warm, it is summer after all.
And of course, the sun was shining.
And of course, the sky was clear blue.
And of course, this was killing me.
“Right, no—erm, I’m fine. I’ll just go to Ashryn’s bedroom now.” I stuttered, rushing to the inside of the house.
A boisterous laughter emerged from the stairs of the Fadir’s house as I closed the entrance door.
“What was that all about?” Ashryn demanded, as she almost flew down the stairs, with her curly red hair moving like a wildfire. « That was the most awkward conversation I’ve heard in my life! »
« Oh, shut up Fadir! » I chided, trying to toss one of the sofa’s cushion at her. I pathetically missed as she swiftly avoided it.
« Let’s go to the Crowned Woods, I got something to show you.» Ash said as she was about to open the door. I grimaced.
« What are you going to show me? »
« It’s a surprise. »
« I hate surprises. »
« So you hate me then? »
« Pretty much, yeah. »
« Aww, man, I’m going to cry. »
« Ugh! »
I pretended to chase her outside, and together, we went to the Crowned Woods.
When we got there, trees were looming over, with what looked like an intimidating gaze. Wind was picking up quickly, and silence was sometimes interrupted by the ruffle of leaves and creatures trying to hide. The Crowned Woods was one of my favorite places to seek refuge.
It was true, after all, that one of the best things in life were forests. I closed my eyes and wished that maybe, just maybe, can the leaves engulf me as the moss curled up my toes and the vines closed down on me as I became part of the forest myself. Just maybe.
-
“Will, look at this.” Ashryn whispered, as she gestured to something that might have as well changed my life forever.
A bamboo wall, soaring so high that I couldn’t even see the top. The sight was so overwhelmingly green that I had to squint my eyes to not get blinded. The only thing that seemed to thrive in this wall was a weirdly blue spider. What the heck was a spider even doing here in this comically huge bush, I don’t know.
My voice was failing me, and I couldn’t do anything but stare at this…what even was this?
When I finally found my voice, I thought I would say something graceful like “Ashryn, we should alert trusted adults” or something like that. Instead, the only thing I could usher was:
“Uhh?”
I looked up to Ash, who looked at it with big eyes, as if she was a three year old kid with an Ipad in her hands (I am terribly sorry for that comparison).
“We should definitely go through.” She said, with the grin of a proud mother. I laughed nervously, thinking that this was all a joke, but it unfortunately didn’t seem like one. I had the urge to grab her hand as she took a step closer to the bamboo wall.
“Wouldn’t it lead to just the other side of the forest? Why do you have to look at it like that? I don’t know why, but I already have a very bad feeling about this.”
She frowned. “You have bad feelings about everything. Plus, I already stepped through. This is magic, Will. And you know how I don’t believe in magic. Just…trust me, okay?”
I looked at her hesitantly as she sighed. “Oh well,” Ashryn took a dangerously close step to the greenery, “I’ll just go then. Be right back, Will.”
And a faint yellow halo replaced the silhouette of my best friend as she disappeared into the bamboo leaves.
Of course I had to feel guilty for not joining in. So, with a big sigh subsided by grunts, ughs, and thoughts of “Why am I even doing this?” I stepped into…I can’t find any names anymore.
One second, it felt like normal leaves were rustling on my face and the other, it had become a mushy texture, a bit like moss. Crossing the bamboo barrage must have taken about a minute, but it strangely felt like hours and hours on end, the leaves had different sensations every second, and I closed my eyes shut through the whole thing.
Once I felt like the leaves stopped touching me, I opened my eyes to a sight of red chaos. And Ashryn muttered with big eyes, “That was not supposed to happen.”