ANOTHER LADY TURNS INTO A SPIDER

We've been staying at Medusa's house for the past day. It's been a week since we left DGH, so we have another week left to find the thief. (Plenty of time, since I already know who the thief is.) It was eight in the morning, and Vittoria wanted to discuss something during breakfast.

"We're totally broke," Vittoria stated. "Not a shred of money left."

"Well, that sure is a bummer. I wonder why that is." Vittoria glared at me accusingly. "Maybe if a certain someone didn't blow all his cash on fast-food, we might still have some."

"You ordered twice as much as I did, Vittoria. Be thankful I indulged a glutton who likes to splash out cash on dumb souvenirs," I countered. It was true. Vittoria had bought a ton of useless items as we went across the Midwest, and she ran out of money first. She would be starving if I wasn't nice enough to buy her food.

"I bought those souvenirs because I thought they might come in handy, Yiannis."

"Yes, a bottle of lotion is absolutely going to help us take down monsters. Even if they actually do something, did you really need to buy so many? I had to pay for a lot of your expenses, you know."

"That was the plan. You were supposed to buy a lot of the things we needed," Vittoria said. "But you never know. We might need this much, just in case."

"Could I see the stuff you bought?" Vittoria tossed a little container, which I initially thought was a Vaseline box. It turns out it was "Fotia," some magical liquid. According to Vittoria, if you rub it on your skin, you become more resistant to flames, to a certain extent. I blankly stared at the ridiculous amount of Fotia bottles she bought, along with the souvenirs. "A lot of the monsters we faced didn't spit out flames. I agree with you that this may prove useful, but do we really need this many bottles? Also, what are the trinkets for?"

"The trinkets are magical wards. Good defense for guarding against Hecate or her annoying minions, both of which are present in the Underworld. As for the Fotia, you need to apply a lot of it to get a significant resistance to burning up. I speak from personal experience." That's interesting. Did she go on a quest before this one, something that involved fire? Well, it didn't matter. What was important was my plan coming to fruition. "Well, if you're right, I guess you planned well, although I still doubt we needed so much Fotia."

"I am right," Vittoria smiled smugly. "Mad the stupid glutton proved you wrong?"

"You're actually getting worked up over this? You're more childish than I thought.

"As are you, Yiannis, hiding your emotions and denying the truth." I shrugged. "If you want an apology that badly, fine. I'm sorry. Happy now?"

"Stop fighting, you two," Helen intervened. I pointed at Vittoria. "Tell her to stop being a child. She's mad because I called her names." Vittoria rolled her eyes. "Tell your stupid brother to admit the truth. He's such a child, getting mad over the fact that I was right."

"You're both being childish. Just say sorry to each other," Helen suggested. "Okay, you're right. I'm sorry, Yiannis."

"I'm sorry, Vittoria. Happy?" Vittoria nodded. "I know you sincere this time. You're blushing."

"Am not!" Helen rolled her eyes as Vittoria smiled. She mouthed something to Helen, but I couldn't read her lips. Was she making fun of me and getting my sister to join in on the act? Vittoria noticed my expression. "I didn't say anything insulting or mean about you, Yiannis, I promise. Anyways, we should get going. We're only halfway to the Mississipi River."

"Yeah," I nodded. "We'll barely make it there at this rate."

We took another bus. I was getting sick of taking buses all the time. It's always crowded in them, which gives little breathing room. Why couldn't we take a ferry for once? They're pretty cheap.

"Hey Vittoria, how much money did you find in Medusa's house?"

"Only twenty bucks, Yiannis. Don't think about touching it."

"I wasn't going to. I was going to ask you to give it to Helen since she's the only one who spends her money responsibly. But I was wondering how she ran out of it."

"I asked her to loan me some cash," Vittoria said. "Which ended up being most of her stash."

"To buy those Fotia bottles?" Vittoria nodded. "You sure you want me to give it to Helen? She'll just give it back."

"It seems that way," I sighed. "Try not to buy anything but food or water, alright?"

"Don't worry, I'm a glutton. Buying food is right up my alley, don't you think?" An awkward silence passed between us. " I'm really sorry, Yiannis. That was mean."

"I guess I should apologize for calling you a glutton. You sound as if you had a bad history with the word."

"I used to get bullied when I was little. 'Glutton' was one of the words I was called back in private school. I used to be overweight in third grade. I'm sorry for lashing out at you. I know you didn't mean it like that." I shook my head. "No, I'm sorry. If I were you, I'd get mad, too. If you went to private school, were your parents rich?"

"No, my folks were middle class. I wish I were rich, then I could have gotten a butler or whatever to drive us. It would save so much time." I thought about it. "I doubt that would work. I'm pretty sure the car would have been destroyed by a monster, and the poor butler would be dead by now."

"That's a little dark, Yiannis." Vittoria's eyes scanned Helen, who was sleeping on the bus. A thought passed her face, and her smile faded. "Your little sister got bullied a lot, too, didn't she?" I nodded. "Yeah. Creeps target her because she's crippled and can't defend herself. Our dad used to pick her up every day from school because of that, but now I do it. Well, before the gods got in my life, I did it."

"Were you ever bullied, Yiannis?"

"No, I was left alone. Julien was the only friend I had all my life."

"Did people whisper things behind your back?"

"It was only about popularity or whatever. I didn't care; I spent most of my time reading anyway. It was nothing compared to what you and Helen went through."

"You want to know something, Yiannis?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Helen is lucky to have a brother like you." My cheeks felt hot. "Thanks?" The bus stopped. "Let's go," Vittoria got out of her seat.

"Why'd we stop here?" I asked. "There's a weaving contest nearby. The winner gets two thousand dollars. We're going to need the money." Yes, we really do need the money. There's just one small problem. Helen and I don't do weaving, but I'm guessing if Vittoria brought this up, she might. "You know how to weave?"

"Yeah, it's a hobby of mine. The contest starts in five minutes. Hurry and wake your sister up. We need to get going." It's just a "hobby" of hers. Better than nothing, but how will she stack up against people who knit clothing for a living? Wait, I figure people did that before the Industrial Revolution, which was ancient. Vittoria was already a granny.

I was surprised by where the weaving contest was taking place. It was in a simple clothes shop. A woman appeared on the counter. She was old, with her wispy gray hair tied in a bun. She wore a simple blue dress. Her face sagged when she talked. "Children, are you here for the weaving contest?"

"Yes, ma'am," Vittoria nodded. "Is there no one else competing?"

"No, I will be competing alongside you." The elderly woman sighed. "Before, many people would come to my shop to compete with me, although nobody could actually beat me." Her eyes twinkled sadly. " I suppose I was too arrogant, but I was in the right. But never mind that, let's get started."

Helen and I stood and watched as Vittoria and the woman got to work with two looms set up for them. Vittoria's fingers were nimble and quick as she laced the fabric at the right angles. The woman was a lot slower(she was old), but there was a kind of grace to her as she went about her work. As for me, I got bored standing around, and they were weaving the old-fashioned way. I would be standing here for a few hours, at least.

Finally, both of them announced they were done. Vittoria said she did weaving as a 'hobby,' but she made a masterpiece. The cloth she made was stunning(to me anyway). The artwork on it depicted the gods' charity to human beings. The woman showed her cloth piece, which showed the injustice the gods had done. (Although I agreed more with the art on the woman's picture, I had to give the win to Vittoria. She was the clear winner.) "That's quite a fabulous piece of art you've made, dear," the woman grinned. "Do you weave frequently?"

"No, it's only a hobby. I usually knit or crochet at home. Yours is wonderful."

"Thank you, dear. You're humbler than my last customer. She got so mad about how my cloth was better than hers, and then cursed me."

"In what way were you cursed?" The sadness in the woman's eye turned to anger. "I will never forgive her for what she did. A long time ago, I boasted about my skill. This particular customer thought she was better, and so we duked it out. I made the same cloth then as I did today; however, I was declared the winner then. That wretched woman cursed me, took away my beauty, and ruined me." Now I was scared. Her voice got a lot deeper and sounded similar to the Oracle's. "Athena may have won then, but I will have my revenge."

The woman's skin turned black, and fur jotted out of it. Four new appendages came out of her waist, and she grew to twice her size. "You're Arachne," Vittoria paled. "The Queen of Spiders." Arachne cackled. "Yes, and you're going to be my new lunch. I do admire your talent, but I am quite hungry." Before she could move, I stopped time around the store.

Killing the giant spider would be the best move, but I needed to find the money first. When I'm in top shape, I can freeze anything for a few hours and do it multiple times. But I'm sleep-deprived, hungry, and weak. I can only stop time around a space for thirty minutes max, and I can only do this once. Afterward, I'll collapse for a week(assuming the results from the little "experiments" I did with my powers at school are consistent).

I searched the cash register and found exactly one-thousand dollars in twenty's and ten's. Unless the poster was a lie(which it probably was) or Vittoria misread, there was another thousand somewhere in the store. I looked back up at the giant spider, perched in the left corner of the roof. The general relationship is that huger monsters are harder to kill. That spider was more than twice my size. I had a feeling it would take some time to kill it, and it was just me doing the deed. Every minute counts, and by when I let time flow again, I'll either collapse or be really tired. In other words, a sitting duck waiting for death. I prefer surviving over dying.

I whipped out my scythe. The head was too high up, but I could reach its abdomen and some of its legs. I slashed them as best as I could, cutting off three legs and doing some damage to its bottom belly. Then I put some distance between Arachne and me, dragged Vittoria with me, and let time flow again.

"Arrgh!" Arachne fell to the floor in agony. "Damm it! When did you cut me?!" Archne lunged. She was fast, but she stumbled(walking on five legs must be hard for a spider). I would have gotten devoured, but Vittoria covered me. She swiftly gashed the spider in the eye. Arachne howled and jumped up towards the roof, shooting webs at us from her rear(eww, that's like pooping on us). Unfortunately, I got pooped on.

The web was strong and sticky, keeping my arms and legs stuck to the ground. Arachne jumped on top of me, acid dripping from her mouth. It hit my sweater sleeve and felt like burning lava, ripping a hole in my sweater. If she spewed all over me, I was dead for sure.

I didn't have enough time to stop time, but I could still slow it down. I made Arachne go slow-motion and eyed Vittoria, who nodded and began hacking at the spider. Arachne struggled to defend herself, but somehow she managed to push Vittoria away and web her down as well.

"Leave my brother alone!" Helen shot a black arrow made out of the darkness of her shadow. It pierced Arachne in her other eye. "You wish to die first, foolish child? So be it!" Arachne charged but had difficulty moving under the onslaught of arrows. She moved all over the place in an attempt to dodge, but it was futile. My sister's accuracy was still spot-on. Every shot hit Arachne somewhere, gradually weakening her. Arachne backed up, exposing her underbelly, and Helen buried a dozen arrows in it. The giant spider cried out in pain as her body dissolved into dust.

Helen helped me get out of the web. "Thanks, little sis. I owe you one." Helen hugged me. "I was so scared, Yiannis. I thought I couldn't shoot and that you would die because of me." I caressed my little sister's hair. "No, you did well, Helen. I'm proud of you." Tears flew down my sister's face as she embraced me tightly. It was making me tear up. "We need to help Vittoria now, Helen. I appreciate the hug, but you need to let go."

When we got Vittoria out of the web, the happiness on my face turned to worry. There were cuts on her arms and legs. The effects of the acid could be clearly seen on her skin. "You're hurt. We need to get you some first-aid. That acid could be poisonous."

"It's alright," Vittoria shook her head. She took a deep breath, then began to sing. It wasn't any music album or anything, just soft noises and words. I was wondering why she would be singing when her life was in danger, but my eyes widened to the fact that her wounds were vanishing. Was the singing some kind of magical healing chant?

"It's a form of healing magic," Vittoria explained. "It's powerful, too. I can heal even fatal wounds with this, although it does take a toll on me."

"Will you be alright, then? You won't fall unconscious or anything?" I was barely holding up. I can't have Vittoria going down with me. I doubt Helen would be able to move us two. "Yeah, I'll be fine thanks for asking, Yiannis," Vittoria smiled. "I won't faint unless the injuries are pretty severe. In most cases, I just get a little sleepy."

"That's good to hear," I nodded. "Wait, what about the money?" Helen asked. "Vittoria won, and that lady attacked us, so it's ours now." I fished out the thousand dollars I took from the register. "Yeah, I got it on me. I only found a thousand dollars, though. I'm not sure where the other thousand dollars are, and I don't want to find out. The whole thing was a setup, so there's probably a trap in place. We should get going."

"Good idea," Vittoria agreed. "We'll barely make it to the Underworld in time, and we still may not find out the truth. We need to hurry, or World War three might start."