it nothing happened. Reggie tried it again, and then when the door remained closed, he tried to force it open with his hands. The space suit had moulded gloves which were all part of the one piece garment, and he could not get a very good grip. There was only one think left to do, and so he banged on the door with his fist.
“Uncle Bob!”
Reggie suddenly realised that all of the noise would attract a lot of attention, and felt quite foolish. It was no use worrying now, so he continued to bang and shout.
“Uncle Bob, uncle Bob are you in there?”
There was no answer so he tried again.
“Uncle Bob!”
This time there was a muffled reply.
“Reggie, is that you?”
“Yes, I’ve come to rescue you!”
Reggie announced proudly.
There was a clang of metal as the door slide open slowly, to reveal Bob. Reggie put his arms around him, as he was so glad to see his uncle again. Heather was behind him, but neither of them looked very pleased to see him.
"What's wrong?"
They just stood there open mouthed looking straight ahead, and he could not understand their reaction. Then, as Reggie followed their gaze he turned his head around to look over his shoulder wondering what they were staring at. His mouth suddenly fell open as he gasped at the sight which greeted him. There standing behind him, was the biggest spider that he had ever seen!
The spider was as big as a large dog, with long hairy legs, and gruesome looking mandibles. His whole face turned white, as he froze on the spot.
Disbelief turned to blind panic, and before he realise what he was doing, Reggie grabbed hold of his uncle’s arm.
“Come on!”
He nearly pulled his uncle’s arm out of its socket as he fled in terror dragging both Bob and Heather behind him. From somewhere deep inside his natural instinct for survival had taken over, as Reggie fled as fast as his legs would carry him. The spider was also on the move, quickly dashing after them.
Taking the briefest look over his shoulder, Reggie could see the gruesome creature as he sped along the corridor. The spider seemed to be gaining on them, and Heather was struggling to keep up in her heels. She had a hold of Bob’s other arm, and he noticed several burn marks on her clothing, which he thought would confirm his metal theory; but there was no time for that now, as the spider started humming. The sound was incredibly unsettling, and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up on end, as a shiver of fear rode down his spine. This, combined with the lighting, reminded him of a horror movie, and he wished more than ever that this nightmare would end!
The spider was getting really close now, as he tried to lead them back towards the life pod. Reggie was breathing hard, and then all of a sudden Heather screamed, and he nearly jumped out of his proverbial skin, for there in the distance appeared another giant spider.
They were now trapped between the two, with nowhere to go.
The first spider was closing in, as the second one started spinning a web. Thick strands began to criss-crossed the corridor in front of them, as they wondered what they were going to do. Whatever they did, it would have to be quick, as the spiders were only a matter of a few metres away.
"Up there!"
Reggie spotted some rungs running up the wall towards a small hatch in the roof.
"Well spotted lad, they must have been put there for the maintenance crews!"
Reggie was already half way up, before his uncle had finished his sentence. Although he was afraid of heights, he was even more afraid of big hairy spiders!
The hatch cover slid to one side, and Reggie pocked his head through. He had expected it to be dark, but a light sensor activated and he was able to see along the ducting. He pulled himself through the hatch, reaching down to his uncle, who was close behind. The spiders were almost on top of Heather, who had also started to climb. But just as they were about to seize her, Reggie and Bob grabbed her outstretched hands hauling her clear at the last minute.
"Few, that was a close one!"
Bob held onto her tightly, relieved that they had managed to escape whist Reggie closed the hatch behind them.
"They’re enormous!"
He still had trouble believe that there were spiders around that size, and was glad that the ones he had found around the house were not so big. If they were, then everyone would be frightened of them!
"You’re telling me!"
Heather pulled a bit of webbing off her singed lab coat, dropping it on the floor of the ducting.
"Are there many of them here?"
Heather nodded her head.
"The place is full of them!"
Reggie wondered how they were going to make it back to the pod, which was their only means of escape.
"How on earth did you manage to find us?"
Bob was very glad to see his nephew, as he thought that they might have been stranded here forever.
"It’s a long story!"
Reggie was not sure himself, but would be glad to tell him all about it, when they were safely back at home.
"How did you manage to avoid the spiders?"
"With great difficulty!"
Heather answered shakily.
"They were the first thing that we saw when we arrived, and we had to make a run for it. Fortunately we made it to the main control room, but everything had been switched off!"
Reggie knew that the space station had been abandoned, and now he knew the reason why!
"Isn't anything working?"
He looked along the ducting at the lighting panels.
"Life support, although I suspect it’s only active in the areas that the main computer senses life!"
This gave Reggie an idea, if they could move through those areas that had no life support then they could avoid the spiders. The only problem would be the cold, and the lack of air!
Reggie was still deep in thought as they crawled along, doing his best not to think about the spiders. He was in the lead, trying to work his way back towards the life pod. The ducting twisted and turned, with icy blasts coming from certain sections. He stopped at the next junction, uncertain of which way to go.
Was it left, or was it right?
He was just about to go left, when something changed his mind. It was just as well, as in the distance there was the unmistakable silhouette of a giant spider.
"Quick down here!"
Heather spotted another hatch, and when she pulled the cover off she stuck her head through.
“It seems to be clear!”
With that she slipped her legs through, kicking off her shoes before dropping down onto the floor. Bob quickly followed as Reggie suddenly noticed the spider. He looked at it, and then at the hatch. There did not appear to be any rungs, and although it was quite a drop to the floor, it was better than staying here to face the onrushing spider!
Reggie took a deep breath, and let his legs dangle for a moment before dropping down, and was caught by his uncle.
“The hatch!”
Reggie looked up as his uncle hoisted him into the air. He was just able to reach it, and slid it across the opening before his uncle lowered him back to the floor.
Heather slipped her shoes on, as Reggie looked around. They were in what appeared to be a storage room, and there were a few small containers stacked neatly against the wall. Bob on the other hand was already at the door trying the opening mechanism.
Overhead they could hear the sound of the spider as it reached the hatch, clawing at it with its large hairy legs.
"Will it hold?"
Reggie was not confident, as the spider continued to bang about. In the meantime, Heather had found a map of the station on the wall.
"Where are we?"
He joined her trying to work out where they were.
"Somewhere around here!"
Bob joined them pointed to a long corridor, stretching through this section.
"I need to locate the life pod!"
There was no time
to explain, as he pointed to the main control room and began to retrace his steps back towards where he had left it.
"We need to get there."
Before he had a chance to study it any further, there was another loud bang above their heads, as the hatch began to slip open.
Bob quickly turned his attention back towards the door, managing to force it open. He looked out expecting to see another spider, but fortunately the corridor was clear. He was just about to venture out, when the hatch cover came crashing down, accompanied by the large, angry looking spider. Heather screamed, as they all scrambled through the doorway.
It was nothing less than a mad panic to get out of the room, and Reggie felt his heart pounding as the spider pursued them into the corridor. In desperation he looked for somewhere else to hide but the corridor was empty apart from the lift at the end, which had been left with its doors slightly open. Reggie looked over his shoulder as they ran towards it with the spider in hot pursuit. When they arrived they all squeezed in, pressing the buttons for all they were worth.
Nothing seemed to be happening, and so Bob pulled the cover off revealing a set of wires. The spider was only metres away, with its mandibles eagerly moving like a pair of giant pincers. It stuck out a leg, which clawed at them through the opening. Heather screamed again and Reggie froze, too terrified to move. Just when things looked really hopeless, Bob pulled out two of the wires touching the ends together. The lift shuddered, and thankfully the doors began to close, and the spider retracted its leg, as they started to move.
Bob was gasping for air, as he was not used to all this excitement. Nor was Reggie, who swore then and there never to complain about being bored ever again!
The lift was now travelling downwards, and from what