With the power out, Saafi’s life support would be out too. So would the locking mechanism for the door. On top of that, Alexia would have no way to communicate with them. She pulled Owen tighter, her skin rising with goose bumps. There was nothing she could do for Saafi—nothing she could do for anyone. They were going to die. She was convinced of it. She swallowed and watched a faint blue glow wash over the room as the door clicked open.

Scratch. Scrape. Scratch. Scrape.

The sound filled the silent space, sending a chill down her back. It was the most awful noise she had ever heard, like a drowning animal trying to claw its way to safety.

She felt Owen shivering and tightened her arms around him. She took in a deep breath, holding it. The glow increased, illuminating the room with a ghostly blue. She peered through the side panel and saw the creatures with naked eyes for the first time. Her heart skipped inside her chest as the spiders entered the room.

Scratch, scrape, scratch, scrape.

With her free hand, she covered Owen’s eyes, but she couldn’t close her own. Something compelled her to watch the creatures. She counted a total of seven, and remembered Alexia saying she had picked up nine contacts. Her thoughts returned briefly to Emanuel. Was he okay? Had he found a place to hide?

Scratch, scrape, scratch, scrape.

She watched the creatures explore the room, their thin legs almost gliding across the floor on the tips of their claws. Slowly they made their way through the space. One of them jumped on top of the bench and tore at the white cushion. Two others surrounded Saafi’s chamber and paced back and forth. A fourth scampered toward her chamber.

Scratch, scrape, scratch, scrape.

For a second, her gaze locked with the spider’s.

Could it see them through the tinted glass?

Her heart skipped another beat and adrenaline raced through her veins. Crack!

Out of the corner of her eye she could see the spiders clawing at Saafi’s tube. The glass splintered as they bashed it with their limbs. Her own spider was still staring at her, its head tilting to one side.

She took in a deep breath.

Please go away. Please go away.

And then, as if in response to her thoughts, it was gone, joining the others as they broke into Saafi’s tube. She watched the glass crack. What started as a small break turned into a web of fractures. Within seconds, they would be inside.

She could see Saafi’s emotionless, emaciated face through the clear panels of his chamber. The sight was too much to bear. She focused on his chest instead, still heaving up and down as he breathed. He was totally unaware of what was about to happen to him.