Nightmare Game
Copyright© 2025 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 65
In an instant, Jack was gone.
His legs buckled, and he collapsed face-down, blood pooling.
Hazel and Tessa screamed, stumbling back in horror.
The others’ faces darkened; a Blessed person died so easily, so what chance did the rest have?
Ethan’s scalp tingled; Jack’s death shocked him, but more pressing was what happened to his Blessing.
As feared, the golden shield faded fast, seconds from vanishing.
Ethan grabbed the axe and hacked at the tree’s gash.
The urgent strikes snapped the others out of their daze; they were still in danger.
Ethan had told Jack breaking the tree was their shot at survival.
Unsure of his reasoning, with death looming, they had to bet on it.
Since the Blood Spider formed from the tree’s blood, it might be its source.
But the tree’s toughness was unreal; it teetered but held by a thread.
Sweating profusely, the group grew desperate as the Blood Spider advanced again.
No Blessings left to stall it.
In a panic, a drenched Wesley shouted, “Move!”
He charged, and to everyone’s shock, used his weight to slam the tree like a linebacker.
Snap!
A crisp break sounded, and the tree fell, Wesley yelping in pain.
Time seemed to freeze; humans and spider halted.
Suddenly, the ground quaked, throwing everyone off balance.
They stared, stunned, as something burst from the soil beneath the tree.
Black tendrils pierced the earth, revealing their true form.
Not roots, Ethan realized, his face paling.
A black spider, four meters wide.
The Darkgold Tree hadn’t grown from the ground; it was part of this monster’s body.
Facing this colossal creature, the group recoiled in terror, fearing they’d be its next target.
One Blood Spider had nearly killed them; now a worse one appeared.
“Ethan, I told you we shouldn’t have listened; you’ve doomed us!” Wesley wailed, despairing, trapped in the blood web.
But what happened next left them speechless, minds blank.
The giant spider didn’t attack them; it lunged at the Blood Spider, swallowing it whole before burrowing back underground, ignoring them completely.
The process was swift; as the giant spider consumed the Blood Spider, the blood web vanished.
The group collapsed, hearts racing, drenched in sweat, feeling they’d just escaped death’s door.
“Haha...” Oliver let out a dry laugh. “Can’t believe we made it.”
To read the complete story you need to be logged in:
Log In or
Register for a Free account
(Why register?)
* Allows you 3 stories to read in 24 hours.