Free Beckon by Tom Pawlik

meaty fangs that curved out and downward. And between them protruded a pair of short, bony, fingerlike appendages, like the palps that spiders use for sensory purposes. Between them was a large slit that Jack assumed was the creature’s mouth.
    â€œWhoa,” he whispered.
    â€œWhat is it?” Rudy’s voice rose. “Is it poisonous? Did it bite me?”
    â€œHold still.” Ben was busy cleaning and dressing the wound.
    â€œWell . . .” Jack couldn’t tear himself from the specimen. “It looks like some kind of giant spider with an armored shell. I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s huge .”
    â€œBut is it poisonous?”
    Jack shrugged. “How would I know? You’re the biologist.”
    â€œWell, we know it’s predatory,” Ben said without looking up. “It attacked from out of cover of the bones. Like it was waiting there to ambush prey.”
    â€œJack.” Rudy grimaced, pointing to the bone pile. “Did you see the watch?”
    Jack remembered why Rudy had called him over in the first place. He swept his light across the ground and saw the scuffed and battered wristwatch lying in the mud where Rudy had dropped it. He picked it up.
    â€œThis looks pretty new,” he said. “I mean, like a modern watch.”
    Rudy was shaking his head. “What’s going on here?”
    Jack peered at Ben through the lights. “Obviously we’re not the only people in this cave. You said the N’watu would offer human sacrifices to the Soul Eater.” He held up the watch. “I think they’re still doing it. Or at least somebody is.”
    They stared at each other for a hushed moment as that thought sank in. Only the sounds of their breathing echoed in the cavern.
    Ben shook his head. “This is crazy. They’re just a legend.”
    â€œYou saw those drawings on the wall. And all these bodies got down here somehow. They didn’t just wander in on their own.”
    â€œThen we better find a way out pretty quick.” Ben finished wrapping Rudy’s leg with gauze. “We don’t know how many of those spider things are down here, and we should probably get him to a hospital.”
    For a moment, Jack bristled at the thought of leaving. He knew there was real danger here and that they needed to find a way out, but still, his curiosity had been piqued. They had just discovered some actual hard evidence that the N’watu might in fact be real. And that notion was mind-boggling. Part of him wanted desperately to find out more.
    He helped Rudy to his feet. “Are you okay? Can you walk?”
    Rudy tested some weight on his leg. “Yeah, it just tingles a little, but I can walk.” He limped over and stared down at the creature.
    Jack nudged it again with his foot. “What do you suppose it is?”
    Rudy shrugged. “It does look like some kind of arachnid or an entirely new species of arthropod. We’d need to do a comparative DNA analysis to modern arachnids to be sure. But these things could have been down here since prehistoric times.”
    He turned to Ben. “We have to bring it with us.”
    Ben winced. “What? You’re both crazy!”
    But Rudy persisted. “This is a huge scientific discovery.”
    Ben rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’m not carrying the thing. You guys figure out what to do with it.”
    Rudy bent closer and inspected the carcass under his flashlight. “You realize we’re going to be famous with this discovery.”
    â€œNo doubt . . . but hopefully not posthumously,” Jack said.
    Rudy chuckled. “What should we name it?”
    â€œWhat d’you mean?”
    â€œWell, whoever discovers a new species of animal always gets to name it,” Rudy said. “How about Cavernous Arachnis Giganticus ?”
    Jack just raised an eyebrow. He was thankful at least that Rudy was feeling well