Seeking Haven

The air is cold, and hangs with the scent of distant rain. With it, you know that danger is coming. The deadly waters will rise and once again wash away your home. How many times had you had to rebuild now? Every year, you consider moving somewhere else - somewhere higher up and away from the floods. But this had been your home since childhood. And it was hard to imagine living anywhere else.

Shivering, you seek temporary shelter among the sheets of the nearest bed. You close your eyes and rest. Only to be awakened by the sudden cold of the sheets being ripped away and sudden screaming. You jump up and begin running. That's when you feel a sudden gust of air and something large is slapped next to you. Change of plan. You turn and run the other direction as fast as possible. Another downdraft, and you're forced to jump and dodge out of the way.

You never should have left home. It was safer there even with the rain. You had heard of the giant beasts that were chasing you now. But you never dreamed you'd encounter them yourself. In fact, you had always dismissed them as webside stories.

Focus. You have to escape. Your very life depends on it. The screaming doesn't end. It shakes the tiny hairs on your back and sends you into a frenzy. Nothing is in focus. You don't remember which way home is. All you can do is force each leg to move as quickly as they possibly can.

One leg, two legs, three legs - the unnerving sounds had stopped - four legs, five, and six... and gentler, deeper grumble sounds directly above you. The giants must have cast a spell because you suddenly hit a forcefield and can't move forward. You climb up the invisible surface. Maybe you can go over!

Beneath you the ground has turned white and you feel the atmosphere shift. Light and warmth from the sun have found you. But you are still bound by a mystic barrier. After what feels like a lifetime you see the white of the ground shift away. And it is replaced by home!

The barrier is lifted, and you breathe a sigh of relief as you climb inside the cold metal interior. Up you climb, further and further away from the giants that had attacked you. Until finally, you feel safe.

Then you feel a rumble through your webs. And down comes the rain.