J ack grabbed Annie's hand. "Whatever you do,don't look up," he said,Annie looked up.
"AHHHHH!" she screamed. She started to leap offthe ledge into the churning waters. But then anotherwave crashed wildly against the walls.
Jack held Annie back. "Don't jump!" he shouted.
"You'll drown!"Above the sound of the rushing waters, a loudwhisper echoed around the cave: Stay!
42Stay! Stay!The Spider Queen was staring down atthem with her eight red eyes.
As Jack and Annie stared back in horror, the giantspider shot a web strand as thick as a rope straighttoward them. Jack and Annie ducked. The strandstuck to the wall.
"What's she doing?" cried Annie.
"I don't know!" said Jack.
He and Annie looked back up at the Spider Queen.
She'd crawled a few feet closer to the crack in thewall. She stared down at them for a moment with herglowing eyes, then shot out another thick rope strand.
"Watch out!" shouted Jack.
He and Annie ducked.
Thwack! The second web rope stuck to the ledgejust a few feet away from the first.
"Oh, no! Look!" shrieked Annie. She pointed up atthe cave ceiling.
The monster spider was zigzagging between43the two strands of her web. She was headingstraight toward them.
Jack and Annie screamed and pressed themselvesagainst the wall. "We have to leave!" cried Annie. Butbefore they could make a move, another wavecrashed into the cave! The water swirled withferocious force around the chamber.
"We can't leave!" cried Jack.
"We can't stay!" cried Annie.
Wait! Wait! Wait!whispered the Spider Queen.
The giant spider kept zigzagging between the twolines, spinning more web, coming closer and closerand closer to Jack and Annie.
They watched in horror, unable to speak or move.
But just when she came close enough to touch them,the Spider Queen turned and scurried back up to theceiling, leaving a giant web ladder behind her.
44The Spider Queen stared down at Jack and Anniewith her eight red eyes. Climb! Climb! Climb! shewhispered from her spot on the ceiling,"I think she wants to help us!" said Jack.
"No! She wants to trap us!" said Annie.
The spider whispered again: Climb! Climb! Climb!
Something about her voice made Jack feel certainthe Spider Queen wanted to help. "She doesn't wantto hurt us!" he said. "She wants to help us escape!
Besides, we don't have any choice!"The water was rising higher and higher over theirledge. It was swirling above their ankles now.
"We have to climb her web!" said Jack. "I'll go first!"He reached up and grabbed one of the spider ropes.
It felt damp and sticky. He pulled himself onto thebottom strands of the web ladder.
45"Grab on!" he shouted to Annie above the roar ofthe water. "We have to get to that crack in theceiling!"Annie grabbed one of the web ropes. "Eww!" shesaid. "It's gross!""Just climb!" said Jack.
Holding tightly to the sticky strands, Jack andAnnie began making their way up the Spider Queen'sweb ladder. The web swayed and stretched, but itwas sturdy enough to hold their weight. Its stickinesskept them from slipping and falling.
Crawling and climbing, they moved higher andhigher above the crashing waters. As they drew nearthe crack in the ceiling, Jack kept his eyes on theSpider Queen. She was watching them carefully.
Finally Jack reached the ceiling crack. He swung toone side of the web ladder, putting himself betweenAnnie and the giant spider.
"You go first," he said.
47"Okay," said Annie. She grabbed the rocky edge ofthe opening and stuck her head out of the crack.
"There's nowhere to go but into the water!" she called,"How far down is it?" said Jack.
"Pretty far!" said Annie. "But I think we can makeit!""Wait--"said Jack.
But Annie was already squeezing herself throughthe crack.
"Annie, be careful!" said Jack.
Splash!
"Oh, man," said Jack. He gripped the edge of48the crack. Then he glanced back at the SpiderQueen.
Her glowing red eyes peered out at him from theshadows. Go! Go! Go! she whispered.
Jack smiled at her. "Thanks!" he said.
Go!the Spider Queen whispered again.
Jack pulled himself out of the darkness onto anarrow rocky ledge. The bright sun sparkled on theblue water of the small cove below.
"Come on!" Annie shouted. She was bobbing up anddown on the gentle waves.
Jack took off his glasses. He pinched his nose andclosed his eyes. Then he jumped off the ledge. |