(Brielle)

I walked through the labyrinth of tunnels inside the vast Temple of Spiders, not caring if I was caught. That was my goal, after all. However, I would prefer to find Arachne myself, to reason with her. I wondered where she could be. Her chambers, possibly... but I had no idea where they were.

I walked, my shoes crunching on the gravelly floor. The slow drip-drip of water was to be heard in the torch lit caverns. I had to admit, I was pretty nervous about this... what if they killed me.... or what if Arachne simply killed both me and Nariah, not caring about the ransom note she had given? That was the worst case scenario.... but I couldn't help but wonder as I made my way through the halls.

Strangely enough, the temple was quiet, empty almost. I had not come across one Arachneion yet. What if they weren't even here? What if they were all gone, moved to some other place, destroying millions... what if Nariah was already... dead?

Brielle. Stop. Worst case scenarios again. Please, you worry too much.

But how could one not worry, when they were about to face their mortal enemy, about to die themselves?

I took a deep breath. Walking on, I craned my neck, listening for the smallest hint of voices, or any sort of sound other than those of the natural noises of the caves.

I sighed, thinking that the worst case scenario that I had been dreaming up was coming true after all. Maybe she was already gone, and there wasn't anything I could do now, now I would just have to wait for Arachne to find me. Tears welled up in my eyes. I pressed my back against the limestone wall, about to slide down to the ground in defeat...

When I heard a sound.

No, not the casual drip drip of the water from the ceiling, the crackling of fire from the torches, the crunch of pebbles under my feet. No, this was a human sound. A human sound that I did not enjoy hearing.

This was the crack of a whip, followed by an ear piercing, blood curdling, glass breaking scream, joined by the evil cackling of a rattly feminine voice. The scream was Nariah's. The laughter was Arachne's.

There was still hope, Nariah was still alive, though, probably, just barely. I jumped up, taking off in a run.

It sounded again, Crack, scream, cackle. I jumped up, taking off at a run, following the sound. Twice more I heard the sequence, it was gradually getting louder and louder. Now, I could see a faint strip of golden light in the orangey darkness. Slowly, silently, I crept along in the shadows, towards the faint brightness. I came upon a door. It was a thick wooden door, with a large brass knob. The door was ajar.

Nothing was to be heard.

Suddenly, the door opened wider, letting more light creep into the cave. I sprinted behind a large rock and crouched there, hidden from view. I peeked over so I could see what was going on. I was blanketed by darkness, so I was practically invisible. I couldn't even see my own hand.

Arachne strutted out, a smug look on her fanged face. She was followed by a Tarantulai, whom I recognized as the clan leader, Shooter. He smiled too, revealing rows of razor sharp teeth. In three of his hands, he carried a large whip. Fresh blood stained its tip. I grimaced.

"The Silver Ninja should be here soon... the three day deadline is almost up.." Arachne explained to her companion.

"Yes, and then we can kill her!" Shooter cried out loudly.

"Shut up!" Arachne hissed, smacking him. "We won't kill her... immediately anyway. You know what we first must do. Suck out her power, and inject it into me, so I am all powerful and unstoppable!" Arachne cackled, "Then, we kill her."

"But won't the other ninja intervene?" Shooter asked.

"Not if they know what's good for them..." Arachne said, her voice getting quieter as they walked away.

I listened closely. Once I was sure the footsteps were gone, I stalked out of my hiding place and slipped into the room, which remained unlocked. What I saw left me in shock.

There, sitting in a cage, much like the one I had been in, was Nariah. She was curled up on the steel floor of the cage, shaking. She had gashes all over her back and arms, tears in her tee shirt and pants. Her thick hair was a mess.

"Nariah," I said softly, walking over to her, tears forming in my eyes again, making my vision blurry. The salt water droplets rolled down my freckled cheeks. I hated seeing the ones I loved so hurt. It reminded me of the last images I had of my mother when she was in the hospital, after the crash, bruised and scraped.

Nariah's damaged body slowly turned over, causing her to groan in pain. I could see that her caramel colored cheeks were tear soaked as well. Her eyelids slowly opened, revealing bloodshot chocolate colored eyes.

"Brielle?" she whispered, her voice hoarse, "Is that you?"

Nariah was thinner, they probably hadn't been feeding her or giving her anything to drink. I look off my hood.

"Yes, it's me, and I'm going to get you out of here," I said.

"How? If they catch you..."

"Sh. I'm going to sacrifice myself," I explained, "It's the only way."

"No, Brielle, It's not. Don't you have powers? Can't you fight your way out of here?" Nariah asked.

"Yes, but they won't stop until they have me. I have to do this."

"Yes, you do," said a voice from behind me.

I whirled around, wide eyed, to find Arachne and Shooter at the door. My mouth dropped open.

"We had come to re-lock the door, as Shooter here had left it ever so foolishly open... but I see that that was not too bad a mistake. Now, Brielle, you will trade places with your friend here." Arachne explained.

Before I had time to reply, Shooter barged in, unlocked the cage, and pushed Nariah out, grabbing me and throwing me in, I screamed. Shooter locked the cage door once again.

"Now go, before I change my mind," Arachne spat at Nariah.

Slowly, she got up and wailed at the pain. She then limped out the door, with one last glance back at me.

Arachne turned her revolting head to face me once more. "Now, what to do with you for the time being," She said, rubbing four of her hands together. "Shooter, you are free to torture her in any way possible. Just make sure she doesn't die," Arachne said simply. Then, she left the room.

Shooter took out his whip, and I gazed at it. Then, I shut my eyes shut tight as the whip came down with another CRACK!

I shrieked, the blinding pain streaking my back.

(Nariah)

I grimaced as I heard Brielle cry out after being whipped.

Limping along, I eventually found my way out of the cave. My clothes were torn, deep cuts covered my skin, and, I was barefoot.

I squinted as I came out into the sun. I hadn't seen it in days. Not exactly sure where to go, I hobbled into the forest, following footprints in the mud. They must have been left by Brielle when coming here, because they led far away from the Temple.

I had to find the ninja, let them know what Brielle had done.

Thankfully, my search didn't take too tong.

About midway along the trail that Brielle had created, I saw four guys in ninja suits: one red, one white, one blue, and one black. Thank God.

"Guys!" I called out to them with the last amount of breath that I had.

They turned towards me.

Suddenly, I felt, so weak, so tired. My vision started spotting, and I felt dizzy. Suddenly, I hit the impact of the dirt with a hard thump, and the world went black.

(Kai)

A girl had just dropped on the ground, unconscious, in the middle of the forest, right in front of us.

We had found Brielle's footprints a little way out into the forest after traveling a few miles in our vehicles and began following them, when we heard a thin voice call our name, belonging to this girl.

"Hey, isn't that Nariah, Brielle's friend?" Jay asked.

The girl was still alive, but she didn't look so good. Her tanned skin was covered from head to toe in cuts and bruises, and her ankle was swollen and purple. She wore a tattered tee shirt and sweat pants, and was barefoot. Nariah looked emaciated, and her chocolate brown, wavy hair was matted and mangled. I was sure that, before she had been captured, that she was beautiful.

"Yeah," I said, "It is."

"Oh no!" Cole cried.

"What is it, Cole?" Zane asked.

"This means that Brielle has already turned herself in!" Cole explained.

Zane nodded. "I'll contact Nya to come and bring Nariah back to the bounty for care," Zane said, flipping open his arm panel and punching in a few letters.

"The bounty is getting awfully crowded..." Jay remarked.

I shook my head, this was no time for snide remarks like that. We had to get to Brielle to save her from the clutches of Arachne and her band of terrifying spider people.

But I think what Cole was saying might have been right.

Brielle had sacrificed herself already, it might be too late.