~ Issue #2: Kraneea ~ (Part 3)

The following day, she got up at an early hour and prepared herself to go out into the city again. This time, she was not heading for any nightclub, she was running a bit low on finances, so she wanted to find a job even if it was going to be something temporary. Unlike how it was before, she now knew she had far more confidence in herself and wouldn’t appear as weak or easy to push around as she did in the past. 

The old Claire who refused to take care of herself and could never see herself in a good light was now gone. There was no one in the world who could change her except for herself. No one else had that right, that power, she just saw it as unfortunate that it took her so long to realize this. 

Before she walked out the door, she made sure to note down all the companies that were hiring and seemed to have a good reputation with both their clients and employees. This was an absolute must for her as she didn’t want to repeat history by going to a shady firm that would only end up burying her under a pile of paperwork and surround her by greasy bosses that you couldn’t tell anymore if they were humans or some sort of mutant piece of lard. 

Claire started her interviews as early as 9 AM in the morning, and by 11:00 AM she already went to four different companies, but none of them inspired in her a desire to work there. Besides, at two of them, she found several individuals who kept leering at her. 

Before she went to the next one, which was a newly founded tech company, she decided to pay a visit to the coffee shop on the other side of the road. She was just about to order for herself a big cafe latte, when she remembered the fact that spiders had a tendency to get drunk from caffeine. Unwilling to risk an experiment like this right before an interview, Claire ordered a big cup of natural juice and two big cookies, which almost all the women in the shop avoided because of the rather BIG chunks of chocolate in them. 

There was only one table open with a free chair in the whole place, and the other one was already occupied by a dashing gentleman in a crème suit, who was in the middle of reading what appeared to be various office documents. A single glance at him told her that he was the type of man who enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle filled with all the latest high-tech gadgets and expensive cars. The watch on his wrist was a gold Rolex, and his suit could have been an Armani, but she didn’t know how to check. There were no distinct markers at first glance. 

This man was seating cross-legged on his chair and calmly sipping from his coffee at regular intervals. He carried himself with a certain elegance and finesse that made the people around him stand back and admire him instead of trying to interact with him, but then again not many people go around bothering other people who are drinking their coffee. A man or woman without her coffee in the morning can be quite... cranky. 

For Claire, however, this individual exuded a certain daring aura. It was as if he was downright challenging everyone around him to see if they would dare to sit down on that spot in front of him. There was just enough space left on the table for another person to make themselves comfortable there. 

So why shouldn’t I take this offer if he so brazenly offers it? she thought as her lips curved up into a mischievous smile. 

With her glass of juice and two big cookies on her plate, she walked over to the refined gentleman in a creme suit and asked him “Is this seat taken?” 

The man stopped for a moment and raised an eyebrow at her. His gaze moved up and down, checking her out and then just easily returned to reading his papers. 

“No.” he replied. 

“Then don’t mind if I sit down.” she told him and then made herself comfortable.  

Claire thought about asking him his name or what he was reading, but she immediately cast off that silly thought. She was not the type of woman right now who would try to make herself noticeable by someone like him. The fact that he had riches and elegance mattered very little for her. This man, if he wanted her attention, he had to earn it. 

When she was almost done with her juice, the man placed his papers down, looked straight at her and asked her “So, who sent you?” 

Claire almost choked on her drink. 

“What?” she asked raising an eyebrow. 

“I’m asking who sent you. After all, it is obvious that you wouldn’t just sit down at my table just because you wanted to drink your juice now. Besides, juice... at a coffee shop?” he asked raising an eyebrow. 

Claire looked back at him with a bored expression and took a bite from her cookie. 

“Get off your high horse, Goldie-Lox.” she told him and then turned her gaze away from him. 

The man was left there looking at her with his mouth agape. The shock was probably too much for him, after all... he was just called a gold digger. Him of all people. Something like this was a ridiculous, weird, unorthodox maybe? 

After she finished her cookie, she turned her gaze towards the man, slowly to show that she was a bit bored with him. This was her game, however, her tantalizing deception. For a man who could have everything, it was a bit weird to be rejected just like that. 

Seeing he was still looking at her, she gently leaned towards him, making sure to push her chest out a bit and then closed his mouth. 

With a daring smile, she then told him: “You’ll end up catching a fly like that.” and lifted his chin up with her pointing finger. 

As if pulled out of a trance, the man blinked a few times and then asked “So... no one sent you?” he raised an eyebrow at her. 

“Who would? The FBI? The CIA? Your wife?” she scoffed. 

“Ahem! I’m not married.” he said faking a cough and then straightening his posture. 

“Your coffee is getting cold then.” Claire winked at him and then brought the last cookie to her lips. 

“Yes, thank you.” the man told her. 

“Claire Martery.” she said. 

The man focused his gaze on her, as if trying to see if he could remember her from somewhere and then introduced himself “Desmond... Desmond Vayar.” 

“A pleasure to meet you, mister Vayar.” she replied with a smile. 

“Desmond is fine.” 

“As you wish.” she giggled but didn’t continue the conversation. 

Desmond picked up his documents and continued to read through them, but from time to time, he would cast a quick glance at Claire. For him, she was definitely an alluring woman with a sense of style and a strange finesse to her gestures. She had the courage to sit at his table and didn’t react when she heard his name, which meant that she either never heard of him before or simply didn’t care where he came from. In either case, she managed to pique his interest. 

When Claire was done with her snack, she took out her phone and began to look through her mail, more specifically the reply she received from the tech company where she wanted to apply for a job. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a desk assistant for one of the workers there, someone who wouldn’t even have the chance of meeting the boss of the company on a good day. 

With the desire and intent to have a small chat with the peculiar woman sitting in front of him, Desmond finished up on his worked and then stuffed all of those documents in the briefcase leaning against his chair. 

“So, miss Claire.” he started. 

“Hm?” she took her eyes out of the phone’s screen and looked over at him. 

“May I inquire what brings you to these parts?” he raised an eyebrow and put on his best charming smile. 

“Well...” she placed her phone with the face down on the table and then leaned back in her chair, stretching out her arms. “I’m here for a job interview, actually.” she replied and then assumed a more relaxed posture, legs crossed and gazing back into his eyes. 

“A job? What kind?” 

“Oh, just an assistant of sorts. It’s at the tech company across the street.” she pointed at it. 

“Oh? Is that so?” he replied, looking at it, straightening his back, and with big eyes, blinking twice. 

“Ah, but don’t imagine that I’m going there as a tech or lab assistant! I may be smart, but that’s one or two steps above my degree.” she told him with a wry smile. 

“A woman who knows her own limitations and admits to her own flaws.” he mumbled in a low voice, but Claire picked up the words and smiled softly. 

“At my old job, I had to look through all sort of documents and make sure they were dated properly, stamped, had everything filled out just in case something was missing.” she told him. 

“Why did you quit from that place?” he asked as he furrowed his brow. 

“I didn’t quit. I got fired.” she replied. 

“Fired? What did you do?” 

“Apparently... I was too fat and too ugly for that place. I was lowering their... working productivity.” she replied, but the tone in her voice held a bit of resentment towards them. 

That train of emotions was not going to leave her station any time too soon. She would be hammering at those wheels for another two or three years to come, at least. 

“What?” Desmond was absolutely shocked by this. 

He could not believe that someone would fire a woman like her for not being pretty enough. Out of all the women present at that coffee shop, she was the only one who had the best chance of landing a modelling job. The way Claire presented herself, how she showed self-confidence and a certain sexual allure that made even Desmond feel the need to be on his toes around her were all proof of this. 

This woman was like a predator who was ready to catch anyone she locked onto. 

The question that went through Desmond mind now was: Do I want her to lock onto me too or not?  

That was why, he simply could not understand what sort of man or woman would think about laying off a beauty like her, especially if physical appearance was the reason here. 

With a sigh escaping his lips, Desmond said “Then again, I don’t think it was either productive or wise to work in an environment where the people around you judge you based on how you look or how many credit cards are in your wallet. Those type of individuals don’t inspire trust or loyalty, just greed and betrayal.” 

Claire showed him a soft smile and then said “Then if you ever end up as the CEO of a company, make sure to remember those words of yours. The little guys under you have the knack to spot a lie like that from a mile away. It’s instinct. People don’t want to work under those who don’t inspire leadership qualities.” 

“True.” he nodded. 

“Well then, please excuse me, mister Desmond, but I do not wish to be late for my interview. Have a pleasant day.” she said as she got up from her chair and then left the table. 

“Of course, maybe we’ll have the pleasure of meeting again some other time. If you get the job there, who knows?” he sent her off with a smile. 

A moment later, Desmond got off his chair and was ready to leave the coffee shop when he noticed something on top of his table. 

Is that... Claire’s phone? he wondered and then picked it up. 

The phone was brand new, but it definitely wasn’t his, and he couldn’t remember someone walking by and placing something like that on his table. This meant only one thing, Claire forgot her phone here. 

Desmond picked it up and told himself Well, at least I know where I can find her. 

With a smile on his lips, he placed the phone in his pocket and then walked towards the same company where she was trying to land the position of a humble office assistant. Claire didn’t expect even for one second that when she stopped to grab a quick snack before her big interview, she would end up brazenly sitting at the same table as the CEO of Briask Technologies. 

For him, this was certainly an amusing and interesting meeting, but if he were to be honest with himself, he could not wait to see the look on Claire’s face when she would step into his office and see him sitting in his chair like a boss. 

In order to get a better impact from her, though, he just had to make sure she didn’t see him enter the building after her. Thankfully, his friend and genius behind all of Briask Technologies’ inventions, made sure to install another entry point, just in case they got into trouble with the wrong people. The quick elevator located behind a fake dumpster had only too stops: the CEO’s office and Briask’ personal lab. 

“Claire, oh Claire! I’m going to make sure you get hired in my company, but not on that wasteful position.” he said with a mischievous smile on his lips as he entered the code on the keypad. 

The doors of the elevator opened, and he stepped inside. 

A sudden chill made its way up Claire’s back as she was waiting on a comfy chair for a reply from the Human Resources Department. 

“Hm? What was that?” she wondered, but she couldn’t really put her finger on it. 

Nine hours later, she finally finished her first day at work. With a wry smile on her lips and a feeling of accomplishment in her chest, Claire stepped out of Briask Technologies and looked down at the keycard in her hand. It granted her access all the way up to the CEO’s office. 

“To think that Desmond would end up being my boss...” she shook her head and then placed the little piece of plastic in her purse. 

Claire was now the proud secretary of Desmond Vayar, the CEO of Briask Technologies, and also someone she never expected to get along with. As soon as the lady from the Human Resources Department returned with the contract at hand, she was told to send Claire up to her boss. Apparently, mister Desmond had been looking, with no luck so far, for a good personal secretary, who knew what she was doing and also didn’t drool after him or the money in his pockets. 

For Claire, this just meant a level up in her CV, and the chance to earn more money while doing stuff that she was comfortable with. There were so many papers and documents that required her to read through before sending them over to Desmond that she literally did not have enough time left in order to try and flirt with anyone at the company. 

Basically, it was exactly what she was looking for: good work, good pay, and a good working environment. 

While Claire was thinking with a bit of joy in her heart that things were finally starting to look up to her, she did not expect even for one second that upon her return to her apartment building, she would be met with a row of police cars. At first, a chill went down her spine, and she felt her breath cut in the middle. It was natural for her to think that they were there in order to investigate the small encounter she had last night, but was it necessary to bring that many people? 

“Excuse me, do you live here?” one of the officers asked, an energetic policewoman around her age. 

“Yes... Is something... wrong?” Claire asked, but she found it difficult to push through her words. 

“Unfortunately, yes...” she replied and then looked back at the building. 

“What happened?” Claire asked with a bit more strength behind her words and furrowing her brow. 

“Father Light’s gang paid this neighborhood a visit and several women were kidnapped. Unfortunately, all of them were women who worked in the underground parts of the industry, prostitutes, drug dealers, drug addicts, and former criminals.” she explained. 

“Kidnapped? And what are you going to do about it?” Claire asked, but the woman looked away. 

“We’re looking into it, but... the people aren’t talking. This was... a cleaning operation, a purge.” she replied. 

“A what?” she blinked surprised, as she never heard of something like this before, not even on TV. 

“It’s when criminals and lawbreakers take care of all the ruffians and criminal wannabes in a neighborhood.” 

“But don’t they also have rights? If they committed a crime, they should be apprehended by the police and judged fairly.” Claire furrowed her brow. 

“Are you sure you want to start this conversation with me now?” 

Claire looked her in the eyes, but she knew that this was neither the moment nor the place to talk about the morality and justice behind these sorts of acts. Besides, it wasn’t as if any of this had anything to do with her. Even if a few ruffians were rounded up by the big shots in this area, it wasn’t her problem, maybe it was even a blessing in disguise. 

She knew this now, and she was also aware of the fact that even if they wanted to, the police couldn’t just jump in guns blazing and hope things would turn out alright. The moment they stepped on Father Light’s territory with the intention of messing with his gangs, chances were that some of the police officers would not make it to see their families again. 

As she thought about this for a moment, Claire understood that what the police lady told her was probably far more than anyone else was going to tell her. 

“Thank you... for your help...” she said with half a voice as she then walked towards the entrance. 

Before she entered though, two paramedics were taking out the old landlady on a stretcher. 

“Miss Culiery, what happened?” she asked as she rushed to her side. 

“Ah, you... that noisy girl... Claire, right?” she asked. 

“Yes, that’s me. What happened to you, ma’am?” 

The woman’s injuries were pretty serious for someone her age, besides the cuts and bruises, she also ended up with a broken hand and a busted lip. The people she was up against didn’t even seem to care or mind that she was an elderly person. 

“Those boys... Father Light’s rascals... they took them, Claire. They took them.” 

“Who, miss Culiery? Who did they took?” 

“Agatha... and Joanne... and Sonja... They took them all! Oh, dear Lord! At least you weren’t there... if you were...” she stopped her as one of the paramedics placed his hand on her shoulder. 

“Ma’am, we should take you to the hospital quickly before your wounds get infected.” he told her. 

“Oh, dear Lord! Those poor girls!” the old woman kept saying as the paramedics took her away. 

Claire had no idea who any of those people were, all that she knew was that they were her neighbors from one floor or another. With a bit of a vague feeling laying in the pit of her stomach, she walked up stairs to her apartment. There were still police officers questioning the neighbors, asking them for what they saw. Claire had nothing to report, she simply shook her head and told them she wasn’t here when this whole thing happened. 

When she reached her apartment door, she stopped with her key in her hand just before she pushed it in. Looking to her right, she noticed that her neighbor’s door was leaning against the wall outside. Someone ripped it out of its hinges. 

In that moment, if Claire would have chosen to stop looking and simply turned her gaze away, she wouldn’t have seen him, and maybe then she would have continued with her life like she did before, however, something inside her kept her from turning her head. 

With a toy robot in his hands, tears in his eyes, and snot in his nose, the little boy stepped out of the apartment and looked back at Claire. He was no older than eight, maybe nine, wearing spaceman pajamas with tiny spaceships on the pants and an astronaut waving on his shirt. 

“Where’s mommy?” he asked her, and in that moment, Claire felt her heart break “Why did they took her? The bad men took her... why?” he asked as the tears kept running down his cheeks. 

Looking back at the door, Claire felt herself struggling with the idea of turning around and simply ignoring the little boy. She could have, there was no one there to stop here, no one there to judge her. A single turn of the key was all she needed, and she could escape that feeling of pity and compassion that was boiling inside her. 

In the end, she couldn’t fight it. Taking a deep breath and then exhaling slowly, she placed her key back in her purse and then turned towards the little boy who was crying all alone in the middle of the of the cold hallway. 

“What happened, kid. Can you tell this big sister about it?” Claire asked him with a soft smile as she approached him. 

When she reached the door, she noticed that it didn’t just give the impression that it had been ripped apart, it really was ripped apart. 

They would have needed someone with my strength to be able to do this... or a good battering ram. she thought and then looked inside the apartment. 

The entire place was trashed and showed signs of struggle. A small piece of cake was laying on the ground next to the broken coffee table. Shards of glass were in it and the candle was crushed under a heel. 

“The bad men came...” he sniffled “Mommy told me to hide, so I did. The bad men told mommy to open the door, but... “ he sniffled again “mommy didn’t want to, so they broke the door and...” he looked inside at the piece of cake on the floor “It was mommy’s birthday... I bought that with my spare money... I helped the lunch lady at school too...” he sniffled. 

“Let’s go inside, I’ll help you clean up.” Claire told him with a soft smile. 

“B-But mommy?” he asked her. 

“There’s nothing you can do, but I know someone who might.” she replied. 

“Who? Is it someone strong? The bad men were strong.” he told her. 

“Yes, she’s pretty strong... Stronger than this I’d say.” she pointed at the broken door. 

The boy looked at it and then at her. 

“Who is she, kind lady?” he asked. 

“She’s... Hm, what was her name again?” she wondered and then closed her eyes. The first thing that popped in her mind was her pet Huntsman Spider that died earlier that week. “Her name is Kraneea.” she replied and opened her eyes. 

“Kraneea? Weird name...” the boy said. 

“Isn’t that right?” she giggled. “But you see, that’s the name of a cool heroine. You’ll see, she’ll get your mommy back.” she told him and patted him on his head “Now come on, help me clean up this mess and then I’ll make you something good to eat.” she said. 

Because the busted door was a problem, she grabbed one of the spare sheets and pinned it to the frame. It would not stop people from going inside, but she doubted there would be anyone foolish enough to try and rob a place that ended up as the crime scene for a kidnapping incident. She made sure to store all the possible valuable goods away from sight too. At a first glance, it would look as though everything of value was already taken. 

That night, after Claire helped the child clean up his apartment and also made him a little something to eat, she watched over him as he fell asleep. 

Although she told the little boy that Kraneea was going to get his mother back, she did not feel as though she had the strength to do it. What she spoke were empty words that she couldn’t hold up to. It was just something she had to say in order to calm down the little boy, to help him go to sleep and feel at ease while the police were handling the case, but deep down she knew that this wasn’t the case. 

The boy’s mother would never return to him. Her words were nothing but a lie, and this fact ate her on the inside like a flesh-eating worm. It stirred her and caused her to feel pain and sorrow. She felt like crying, like screaming, but she could not do it here. The boy would have heard. 

With this sort of feelings eating her up on the inside, Claire walked up to the rooftop and looked up at the sky. A few droplets of water fall on her cheeks. 

What a perfectly good time rain... It’s as if the Universe if mocking me... she thought. 

It was the middle of December, so that rain was as cold as it could get, and it wouldn’t have been a wonder if by tomorrow it turned into the first snow of the year. For now, this cold rain, which she barely felt because of her transformation, was hiding away the tears of her tormenting emotions. 

Claire remembered how she felt weak and powerless just a night before when those three gang members tried to kidnap her as well, but even after she managed to turn the tables on her, she still couldn’t shake off the fear she felt in that moment. The women who were taken away tonight would have felt something similar or worse, yet she just promised a young child that she would do something about it. 

Her confident self was just a mask that hid her weak true self. Up until recently, she was an overweight worker in some no-name company who did not care if they sexually harassed her or discriminated against her. After all, she got fired because they told her she was too ugly for the company, yet she accepted it like she did everything else messed up that was thrown at her. 

Claire never had the courage to stand up for herself because she never thought she had such courage in the first place. The changes that happened to her body allowed her to gain a bit of self-confidence and self-esteem, but they didn’t rewrite her history. Those changes didn’t make the old Claire go away, they just gave her a pretty mask she could use for herself, and this fact, this truth made her feel so weak and powerless that it hurt. 

Why am I like this? I know I’m stronger, but why can’t I be strong? Why am I so weak? she kept asking herself as her clothes got soaked to the skin and tears kept rolling down her cheeks. 

Her back legs were itching to get out and she kept rubbing them against each other, a signal that showed she was in distress. A normal spider would have rubbed her back legs against her abdomen in order to release urticating hairs against her foes. 

Claire stood like that, in the cold rain, listening to the droplets of water against the rooftops and the lightning strikes across the sky. She was at a loss of what to do and what to feel anymore. On one hand, her old self was weak and feeble because she chose not to act, while on the other, her new self was far too daring to the point one would call her suicidal. 

No matter how she looked at her current self, she could understand where and how this huge difference between the two came to be. Or rather, she couldn’t accept the possibility that deep down inside, she had always wanted to be the beautiful and strong Claire she was now. 

With a feeling of defeat in the pit of her stomach, she walked back to her apartment and prepared to go to bed. She kept telling herself that it was alright to be afraid. It was normal for her not to get involved with dangerous people. She had no reason to risk her life like that for a complete stranger. She told herself that the child would get over this moment in the end. There was no tragedy there. 

Claire was right about all of these things, but at the same time, she knew that it wasn’t right for her personally not to do anything about it. 

She had the power to make a change, but she was unwilling to use it. 

It was at this moment though when she received a notification from one of the spider breeders channels she was subscribed to. Clicking on the new video, she watched it with a feeling of complete emptiness that threatened to eat away at her very being. 

“Spiders are phenomenal creatures!” the man in the video said “Especially the big females of the species. They are bigger, faster, smarter than the males, but this isn’t all, folks! Oh, no no no! The females also show an incredible strength and determination when it comes to parenting. They will carry their egg sack with them to the ends of the Earth and would attack anyone and anything that tries to mess around with it.” he then continued to praise the spiders while showing off the females in his collections. 

When the video was over, Claire found herself crying again. This time, however, she knew exactly why she was shedding tears. The reason was simple, in this video, she found the answer to her question. 

“The new me isn’t just a more beautiful version of the old me... she’s an entirely different species, a spider...” she told herself.  

Those words were silly if one were to take them out of context, but for Claire they hit the right strings within her heart. Like a spider who molted her skin, she too had cast off the insecure and easily scared version of herself. It still existed there, within her, as a memory, but she couldn’t go back to it. 

Her new instincts, new desires, new goals, they forbade her from taking a step back and letting herself be torn by those around her. Claire had stopped being the insect on the ground who always tried to catch the attention of the pretty butterfly or dream of becoming her one day, she was now an apex predator among those like her. No, she was the spider that lurked among the foliage, weaving her web that was meant to lure in and catch all those foolish enough to challenge her. 

Pushing herself off the bed, she looked at the stain of tears on the covers and then scoffed. 

“I knew I was weak, but I never thought I was this weak...” she said and then looked to her left at the window. 

New York City was bustling with life no matter the time of day or night. Out there, the cabs were still going, the subway rushed to get its passengers in time, and the night owls roamed the streets in search of something fun to do. 

“No one is going to help them...” Claire then said as she thought about the women that were kidnapped by Father Light’s gang. 

The police struggled, but they couldn’t make the breakthrough they needed in order to move in. No doubt this was infuriating for them too, after all, no matter if one was a criminal or a citizen, they both had rights, and it was their job to uphold them. 

Claire wasn’t one to paint the entire police force in the colors the media splashed over them, she would rather judge things with her own eyes first. 

Pulling down the zipper of her dress, she extended her back legs until their tips touched the walls of her room. A sense of relief washed over her as the hairs on the limbs tingled with electricity. Then, from her arms, she released her chelicerae blades, and let them extend to their maximum. Her second pair of eyes opened, and her fangs popped out as she parted her lips and looked up at the ceiling. 

Her senses heightened and she felt the strength within her limbs. 

Even like this... do I still fear the dangers a bunch of gangsters pose? she wondered. 

She imagined herself sitting like this surrounded on all sides by the notorious villains who kidnapped the women from her apartment building. She saw at first one, then two, then three, then five, then ten, then twenty, but she did not fear them at all even when they had completely surrounded her. She then imagined them wielding weapons and carrying metal chains, desiring to pin her down and rape or kill her or torture her just for the sake of hearing her scream. 

No matter how scary, no matter how frightening this scenario might have been for the old Claire, the new Claire saw only prey... only fools who dared step on her web and disturbed it. Then, just like the female spider did to the little male spider who had the nerve to disturb her without properly courting her, she too killed off all those men she imagined having surrounded her. 

The old Claire was still there, holding her head in fear and looking away from the carnage, but the new her was smiling as she used her chelicerae to stab her foes and cut them down where they stood. They tied her back legs with their chains, but she ripped them apart. The guns they aimed at her were spotted by her second pair of eyes, and she could skillfully avoid the paths the bullets took. Her hairs tingled when they shouted and moved, she could feel the vibrations that passed through the air or ground. 

When this imaginary battle was over, all of her opponents were laid on the ground, breathless and in pieces. She held no remorse towards them, no fear of the consequences. They attacked, she defended herself, and now she knew... the part that she feared the most. 

“I fear to kill...” she said as she pulled back her legs and chelicerae blades. 

Indeed, it was easy to think about taking one’s life. It was easy to imagine it or even come close to it, but now Claire possessed the instincts of a predator who didn’t mind taking another’s life. 

“With my strength... it would be far too easy to do so.” she thought and then laughed. 

Rather than fearing that she would end up being harmed by them, she feared harming them. She feared killing. This thought that crossed her mind made her burst out into a loud laughter. She couldn’t believe herself, but it felt so relieving to realize what was bothering her, what was eating her on the inside. 

When the clock struck midnight, she let out a sigh of relief and then walked over to her closet. From within, she took out a bunch of her old clothes and tossed them on her bed. She then walked over to the nightstand next to her bed and took out the sewing kit from it. 

“No heroine can go out there without a proper costume...” she told herself and then smiled. 

Armed with a pair of scissors and needles, she began to work on her proto-costume. She went for dark-colored fabrics that helped her blend in the night. Thanks to her back legs, she had to make sure to keep the back open, so she went for a piece that covered her shoulders and neck. Leather wasn’t an option for now, but she thought it could work well, especially if she did this in a more serious way. For now, she just needed something quick that hid her face and allowed her to move at ease. 

Rather than trying to show off more skin, she went for clothing that covered both her arms and legs, as a minimum degree of protection from both scratches and bruising. A pair of old swimming goggles could act as protection for her normal eyes, but also act as a second layer of protection for her identity. 

She also made sure to cover her fingertips with a piece of see-through duct tape, just in case she ended up needing to touch something. Leaving her fingerprints at the scene of a gang fight wasn’t the most intelligent thing she could do, and she did watch a lot of superhero movies where no one bothered to wear gloves and the police was always clueless as to how to find them. Nowadays even a partial fingerprint was enough to help track you down. 

Of course, after donning her new suit, she made sure to test it out, by extending and pulling back all of her appendages. The first round wasn’t exactly perfect, and she needed to make a few modifications to her top, but after a few minor adjustments, she was ready. 

At 1:30 AM in the morning, Claire walked up to the rooftop while wearing her new costume. She didn’t worry about being spotted because she could detect someone before they even opened the door. 

There, she looked up at the moon and then closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she extended her back legs and entered full predator mode. She opened all of her four eyes and then looked ahead at the building across the street. 

You can do this, Claire, don’t be afraid. You can save them. she told herself as he gathered her courage once more. 

Even at this point, she still felt a bit of doubt and fear lurking around within her heart. 

Her first step felt as though it weighted ten tons, but her second was lighter. Claire approached the edge, slowly increasing her speed and then at the last step, when her fears clashed in her heart, she could hear two voices screaming in the back of her head. 

The first one said: “Stop! You’re going to fall!” 

The other said: “Jump! Hunt! You’re not the old Claire anymore!” 

The latter prevailed and using her back legs she pushed herself off the rooftop and flew up high towards the stars above. 

A sense of freedom washed over her as she felt how all the weights that were chaining her down simply vanished into thin air. At this point, she wasn’t Claire anymore... she was the heroine who had promised to bring back the little boy’s mother, she was Kraneea. 

Several jumps later, she finally spotted her first target, a group of two men who were dressed exactly like the ones who attacked her that night. The hoodie was the same and even the air they gave off was the same, but she couldn’t just attack some random people on the street because she thought they were part of Father Light’s gang. Wearing a hoodie wasn’t a crime, after all. 

Using the nearby back alley, Kraneea jumped down on the ground, scaring off a rat. There, she stayed in the shadows, but when the two walked in front of her, she called out to them with a thicker tone of voice, just for safe measure. 

“Are you part of Father Light’s gang?” 

“Huh? So, what if we are? Got a problem with Father Light?” one of them said as he turned towards her and showed her a confident smirk. 

“No. You are just who I was looking for.” she smiled mischievously. 

“Is that so? Well, I’m sure we can... What the... hell... is... that.” the man was unable to find his words as he saw the big hairy spider legs moving in the shadows towards him. 

“What the?!” the other screamed, but in the next second, Kraneea grabbed them and pulled them in the alley. 

The man who talked first found himself pinned to the wall by her spider legs, while the other was held by the neck and lifted off the ground. 

“Where are the women you scum kidnapped? Talk!” she demanded. 

“Freak! Do you think we’ll tell you anything?! What the hell are you anyway?” the man pinned to the wall rebuked. 

“Hm?” she tilted her head to the left and opened her second pair of eyes. “Don’t you guys watch any superhero or monster movies? In cases like this you talk, otherwise...” she then pulled the man she was holding above with her hand and bit his neck. 

A single drop of venom was poured in his blood, but that was more than enough to paralyze him. He tried to struggle and scream, but her grip was simply inhuman to begin with. When it was over, she tossed him on top of the garbage bags behind her. 

Seeing this, the pinned man began to sweat. 

“You aren’t the only one who is part of Father Light’s gang. If you don’t talk someone else will, but... will you still be alive by then?” she showed him smirk and then pulled him closer. 

“Y-You monster!” the man struggled and tried to reach for his gun, but it was gone. 

“Do you really think I didn’t take out your toys when I grabbed you?” she scoffed and then slammed him into the wall. “Now talk before I rip your head off!” she growled at him. 

The man didn’t squeal, so she bit him as well and then tossed him with his friend among the trash. 

The first round was a bust, but the night was still young. She continued to hunt another group, using the same strategy and the same force. In the end, the third time was a charm and the gangster squealed. He told her that the women were taken to the docks to be loaded on the next boat that was leaving towards Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. 

When she asked for what purpose, her replied that they were ‘living meat’, in other words, organ donors or personal slaves. Once the women got on that boat, there was no hope left for them. Usually, they didn’t last more than ten or twenty years, depending on who bought them. 

Lately, the Black Market’s demand for ‘living meat’ was at an all-time high and there were many rich folks from within the underworld who were looking for them. Usually, one would reach a hefty price of anywhere between 100000 to 20 million US dollars. 

In other words, easy money. 

Fortunately for her, the next shipment wasn’t supposed to leave until 4 AM in the morning. The feds were watching the docks around midnight, but Father Light knew where they were, so they always delayed the departure of the vessel for as long as they could. Sometimes, they would leave in plain daylight as well, pretending to carry pigs or flocks of chicken. At least, that was what the gangster told her. 

The reason why he happened to know so much was because he was smart and could see these sorts of things even if he did not directly participate in them, however, seeing someone as terrifying as Kraneea made him spill all the info he had just so he would not end up dead in that dark alley. Before she left that place, she told him that if he entered the Police Academy, with his deductive skills, he might have landed a detective job in no time at all, a much more honorable profession in her opinion. 

Those words of hers, though, would remain with the man for a long time from then on, as for Kraneea, she hurried towards the docks.