The Woods in the Preserve, Friday Afternoon
Karla could sense new people on the island; new minds brimming with life and vitality. Slow, stupid minds that hadn't yet grasped the horrors that were waiting for them in the dark. What a pity. Soon so many of them would die, prey for the predators on the island. As one of those predators, Karla smiled--with her real face, not the soft, fleshy one she put on for company.
And then started getting ready for company. So many scrambling new people, frightened and disturbed by the dark, dreariness around them. And so she set new webs, tangled ones, making her section of the woods seem less grim, just a shade brighter. Not too much, or the trap would be obvious, but the kind of thing that would make people move towards her without thinking about it, shift left instead of right, head down instead of up. The kind of decision that seemed random but was influenced by hundreds of subconscious factors. And beyond those webs, she laid her real ones, the thick and fibrous ones, sticky, the kind that clung and wrapped and held until she decided to come out and relieve her pantry of its burden.
Come to her, little insects. Karla was hungry.
And then started getting ready for company. So many scrambling new people, frightened and disturbed by the dark, dreariness around them. And so she set new webs, tangled ones, making her section of the woods seem less grim, just a shade brighter. Not too much, or the trap would be obvious, but the kind of thing that would make people move towards her without thinking about it, shift left instead of right, head down instead of up. The kind of decision that seemed random but was influenced by hundreds of subconscious factors. And beyond those webs, she laid her real ones, the thick and fibrous ones, sticky, the kind that clung and wrapped and held until she decided to come out and relieve her pantry of its burden.
Come to her, little insects. Karla was hungry.