The Spider Queen

(Unknown Starship- Holding Room)

(Cordata's POV)

There was a tense moment of silence as the monster left the room and shut the door. I could see the turbulent emotions displayed on the faces of my fellow crewmembers.

What was going to happen next?

I didn't want to die.

We had all witnessed the fate of those killed by the beast and only the lucky ones were slaughtered instantly.

I still tremble slightly as I recall watching the monitoring screen while that lunatic carefully ripped apart the body of an officer piece by piece while he was alive and screaming out in agony.

That monster with an insatiable hunger for blood and destruction.

For the first time in my life…. I felt a crisis of faith.

My entire life has been spent devoted to the Sun God and his teachings and yet in my darkest hour…

He never answered my prayers.

Perhaps the gods do not deem their followers worthy of their protection. Or perhaps their strength is not as powerful as the scriptures say.

There is no doubt in my mind that voicing out these opinions on my home planet would immediately get me burnt alive at the stake by the archbishops.

I cannot help but hope that I survive by the end of these next two weeks.

I even think that it would be best if I just quietly disappeared to the outer regions rather than going back to the order.

My family would get a nice severance pay that could last for a few years if I managed to fake my death successfully.

I heard that financial groups are hiring labourers to explore new planets for resources. The work is dangerous but at least the pay is good.

Cordata sighed heavily and asked the question that was on everyone's minds.

"So… what should we do?"

No one answered.

She tilted her head to the side and saw Pirene shivering slightly as he continued to nervously glance at the door.

Talking to the monster had exhausted all of his courage and now all he could do was whimper softly.

"I say we pray to the Sun God for answers!" a bold voice came from the front of the room.

Cordata rolled her eyes in disgust as she saw an older gentleman with wrinkled hands make a religious gesture.

"Old man! We already tried that, and it didn't work!" a sharp retort came from the other side of the room.

Cordata took a quick glance and saw a Stukuins female wearing an officer's uniform engraved with multiple stripes.

Pilot…

Usually, the different groups onboard the vessel such as the officers, security guards and technicians were housed and worked in different areas of the starship.

Hence there wasn't much time to get acquainted with everyone.

"You filthy heretic! The order will punish you for turning away from our Lord and master!" the older man yelled.

He raised up his hands and attempted to rally support from the other survivors. There were a few survivors who moved over to his side, but the majority stayed in place.

Years of indoctrination and religious beliefs were hard to go against, but the threat posed by the predator seemed to be insurmountable.

It was this shift in mentality that Sophie was aiming for.

There was no weapon that was more effective in breaking a person's psyche than terror.

She had successfully created an impression in the minds of the survivor that even their so-called god would not save them from her wrath.

"Look… we only have five minutes until she returns," a calm voice attempted to diffuse the tense situation.

It came from a pale-skinned survivor laying down on one of the blood-soaked beds.

Cordata recognised the survivor as a man belonging to the alpha core group of a security squad.

He used to pass her workstation every couple of days while doing a fresh round of patrols.

Cordata furrowed her brows and tried to remember his name.

Amp…Afy… Ampofas!

It was hard to link the usual confident figure who had been reduced to a fragile appearance. A mere shell of the person he once was.

He was missing an arm and a long cut had been made along the side of his face that bled slightly as he shifted around.

"I am willing to sacrifice myself as the first person," he grunted in pain and spoke.

Cordata frowned slightly as she felt a sense of shame in her heart. Here was a man who had fought the creature and yet was willing to give himself up to protect the rest of them.

He was a true hero.

"Do you think that monster will accept damaged goods? What if we make her mad and then she slaughters us all?!" a hysterical voice suddenly yelled.

The security officer's noble sacrifice was instantly forgotten as the survivors exchanged worried glances with one another.

That possibility had never even crossed their minds.

The instructions that the monster gave were for two sacrifices, but wouldn't quality also be a factor?

"Do you want to kill us all?" an aggressive survivor ran towards Ampofas and begun to shake him violently.

Cordata and a few other crewmembers rushed forward and managed to drag the enraged man off the security officer's injured body.

Ampofas' wounds were now bleeding heavily after the sudden attack and his blood dripped on the already dirty mattress.

"Get off him! At least he tried to help us!" Cordata scolded fiercely.

"Shut up! HE WAS GOING TO KILL US ALL!" the survivor shrieked and started to thrash around furiously.

It took the combined efforts of five crewmembers to subdue him. Eventually Cordata was forced to pick up a nearby plasma rifle and knock the struggling man unconscious with a heavy blow.

"Well… I… I… guess we have the first sacrifice," Pirene stammered as he hid in a corner.

Cordata froze in place as she realised what she had done.

No… she didn't mean to pick him… she just wanted to get him to stop fighting…

The approving nods coming from the other survivors made her sick to the stomach. Beasts and animals eager to take advantage of someone as long as it wasn't them.

"But we still need one more person," came a voice from somewhere in the room.

Tension filled the air as there was really no good answer to that statement. Time was ticking and the monster could be back in any second.

Thump!

Cordata hurriedly turned around and saw the limp body of Pirene slowly slide motionlessly down to the ground.

A hooded figure stood over his unconscious body. It was a person that Cordata recognised as the supervisor of the technician department.

Eravis.

The longest serving crewmember onboard the vessel whose personal achievements had even gained him a reputation among the other departments.

"If it wasn't for his questions… then maybe the monster would not have wanted to eat us!" Eravis declared loudly.

What nonsense…

It was as clear as day that the mercenary was in a bloodthirsty rage long before Pirene had bravely spoken up.

But despite this fact, soon other eager voices joined in support for Eravis' declaration.

"That's right! He clearly was working with the monster!"

"This is what the Sun God would have wanted!"

"I never really did like that guy… he was clearly suspicious from the start!"

Cordata opened her mouth to protest but no words escaped from her lips. She looked away guilty and gave a silent apology to Pirene in her heart.

There were already two sacrifices chosen and she didn't want to die.

Cordata stood by and watched as the two unconscious bodies were unceremoniously dragged across the floor and dumped at the entrance to the holding room.

Everyone waited with bated breath as the minutes ticked by. Each second felt like an eternity to the fearful survivors.

Bleep! Bleep!

Two loud rings came from the other side of the room and all the survivors could do was gaze at the metalloid door that was slowly opening.

The monster had returned.