they could remember from the map, it would leave them only a matter of a few hundred metres away from the life pod.
Heather still looked shaky, as she clung onto Bob, who was watching the floor indicator, as it descended. All of a sudden it stopped, throwing them off balance. Bob tried to get it going again, but it was no use - the thing was jammed solid.
"What are we going to do now?"
Heather was worried, especially when the light started to dim. The air was also a bit on the thin side, which meant they were finding it harder to breathe. If they were going to survive then they had to get out of there.
Bob delved his hand back into the wires, and this time he was desperately trying to get the doors open. Reggie could see the circuit board. This was where he was in his element, and Reggie watched as he pulled another one out, and just like before he touched the ends together and the doors began to open.
They now appeared to be stuck between levels, with quite a drop to the floor below. It looked quite dangerous; especially when there was a slight jolt.
The cable holding them began to groan somewhere above their heads. Reggie did not like the sound of that, and before he knew it, his uncle was lowering him through the gap.
Reggie’s feet were now dangling, as he felt for the floor. He would have to be careful, as he could easily slip down the lift shaft. He hung in mid air for a few moments as his uncle lowered him slowly, and with a great deal of relief, he eventually felt the solid surface below.
The cable groaned again as if it was in pain, as the lift dropped a little bit more. Bob quickly lowered Heather, who was accompanied by another stomach-churning groan. Reggie held her ankles as she slid down besides him, before they both reached up for Bob.
The lift continued to groan, dropping slightly every few seconds, as Bob's feet hovered just above the floor. Another jolt rocked him from side to side, as the lift hung precariously in mid air.
Reggie and Heather grabbed onto his legs, pulling him backwards as hard as they could, just as the cable snapped and the lift plummeted, crashing to the bottom of the shaft.
It had been close - too close for Heather, who clung onto him so tightly that Bob could hardly breathe. She was laying half on top of Reggie, who felt exhausted, but mightily relieved to have helped save his uncle. He took a few moments to get his breath back before wriggling clear, only to get his foot stuck in the sticky webbing which filled the corridor.
They had temporarily forgotten all about the spiders, but as he looked up, Reggie could see a giant creamy white pod, which sat in the corridor in front of them. It looked like a giant egg, all smothered in web. Heather looked round to see it, nudging Bob gently in the ribs. He picked himself up, edging a little closer.
"We'll have to try and sneak past it.”
Reggie thought that the life pod was just round the next corner, and so he took the lead, and began to briefly explain how he had arrived at the space station. He deliberately kept his voice down, as he edged along whilst his uncle and his girlfriend looked astonished. It was quite a tale, but there was no time to go into details, that would have to wait until they were safely home.
Holding onto Heather’s hand Reggie approached the egg, trying to make his way through the sticky web. It was almost like glue, and his feet kept getting stuck in it. They were almost on top of it now, as he, Bob and Heather looked at the mound of sticky fibre.
Slowly they edged towards the outer skin, carefully shuffling past as best as they could. Reggie got one of his boots stuck, and as he tried to free it, one of the thick sticky strands began to vibrate. Heather and Bob slipped past him, and when they were clear, Bob reached back taking hold of Reggie’s hand. He then attempted to pull him clear, and as he did so, the strand broke free snapping back towards the egg.
There was not quite so much webbing on the other side, and they were able to make better progress, that was however just as well, as the snapping back of the strand had caused movement within the egg. Heather noticed it first, nudging Bob in the ribs as she pointed towards it.
“Look!”
They all stopped to see something stir inside. Then, before they had a chance to move, a small split opened up on the side.
“The egg is going to hatch!
Reggie felt a tug on his arm as Bob pulled him away. He looked over his shoulder as the size of the split increased, rapidly travelling all the way across. Bob and Heather were now clear, but Reggie had managed to get one of his large rubber boots stuck in another piece of web. They were still trying to pull him clear, as the egg suddenly burst open.
They all froze for a few seconds, as a baby spider poked its legs out. It was the size of a kitten, all hairy and horrible looking. It was not on its own, as dozens of them were poised to break out behind it. With one enormous effort, Bob and Heather dragged Reggie clear, almost tearing his arms off in the process. The spiders were now streaming out, eager for their first feed. They were in hot pursuit, with their mandibles clicking with anticipation.
The life pod was now visible as they stumbled along through bits of sticky web. It was not the only thing either, for there, approaching from the other direction was what appeared to be the mother!
Reggie did not like the look of her at all, as she was even larger than the other ones that he had seen earlier. His lungs were hurting, and the whole of his body ached, as he struggled to reach the pod. They were almost there now, just ahead of the pursuing pack.
"When we get inside, you'll have to suit up.”
Reggie could hardly speak and was pointing to his head.
“Oxygen!"
Bob understood what he meant as they had both nearly suffocated on their journey out here. He threw off his trusty roll neck jumper, which had barely touched the ground before it was smothered in baby spiders. Heather's lab coat was next, flying into the air like a kite, and it too was soon smothered.
Reggie reached the flap, diving inside the pod. Fortunately it was free of spiders, although they were bearing down on it. Bob threw off his shirt as he followed on behind. Heather was bringing up the rear, just ahead of the spiders. The mother was also in position, ready to pounce. In desperation, Bob took off one of his shoes, throwing it at her. It was enough to distract her, buying them a few more precious seconds. Off came the other one, followed by his trousers, as Heather made it through the flap.
He was now on his own, as one of her legs swung forwards. He ducked, as it swept over his head. Heather threw her shoes at it, as Bob dived in.
Reggie quickly pushed the yellow button on the little control pad, and was relieved to see the flap begin to close. It was not a moment to soon, as the baby spiders began to spill all over it. Bob and Heather were pulling their suits on, as he pressed the green button, and the set of rings behind them began to rotate.
Heather pulled the helmet over her head, as the mother spider banged against the side of the pod. The material was quite strong, but he was afraid that she might be able to rip it open at any moment. Reggie could feel the effects of the energy bubble, which was trying to drag them backwards. But they were stuck in the webbing and lay tantalisingly close to safety.
The mother spider kept on hitting the pod, denting the side. She was quite powerful and able to inflict more damage at every blow. Everything shook as she hit it again sending them reeling, as the life pod grazed along the floor. One more blow and she would be through, and they would be at the mercy of her giant mandibles.
Bob secured his helmet, and just as she swung out another one of her big hairy legs, there was a muffled grating sound. Then expecting to see the life pod split open just like the egg, everything outside began to brighten, as they finally started their journey home.
Nine
The night wore on, as Reggie's mother waited for news about her son. There had been no sign of him or his uncle since the morning, and there were now genuine fears about his safety.
Inside the house the atmosphere was tense, as she paced up and down in the hallway, hovering over t
he telephone waiting for it to ring. Every minute seemed like an hour, as she looked at the clock which ticked away quietly. She was still staring at it when there was a sudden knock at the front door, and she raced over pulling it open.
It was the police sergeant.
"Have you found him?"
The sergeant shook his head.
"I'm afraid not!"
She started to cry and he offered her his freshly laundered handkerchief.
"I'm sure he'll turn up soon - you know what boys are like!"
He was trying to sound reassuring, but it was already getting well into the early hours of Sunday morning.
"It’s not like him at all; he's never been so late before!"
Reggie’s mother sobbed into his handkerchief.
"And what about Bob?"
There had been no sign of activity at the shop either, and she was becoming increasingly worried about him too.
The sergeant rubbed his chin.
“Have you had any strange visitors over the last few days?”
She tried to think.
"Well, Perris turned up from the local newspaper asking me questions about alien abductions!"
The sergeant looked thoughtful; he did not like reporters, but perhaps Perris might be able to help in some way. After all, they often asked the media for their help on major inquiries.
"You don't think that he could have kidnapped Reggie do you?"
She burst into a flood of tears, sobbing even more.
"He is going to be alright isn’t he;