The Spider Queen

(Alpha Star System- Planet Gaia)

(Rohsan Province- Private Beach)

Night had fallen and now only the pale light of the moon illuminated the crashing waves that fell against the shore.

Sophie, Cleo, and Rachel were currently sitting around the fire and enjoying the warmth provided by the flickering flames.

Occasionally Sophie would toss in a piece of dry wood in order to keep the fire from going out.

Tiny red embers fell on the grass nearby and blinked out of existence.

"Are you all ready for something to eat?" Sophie asked lazily as she reached into her storage ring and took out some small metalloid containers.

There was a small red button on the side of each container which she pressed before putting the containers on the ground.

The metalloid containers vibrated slightly before they began to heat up. The technology used to create self-heating devices was quite useful.

"How long does it take to cook?" Rachel asked curiously as she stretched out her arms and gave a small yawn.

"I believe sometime between twenty to thirty minutes," Sophie replied as she checked the instructions on the side of one of the containers.

"Yeah… it's twenty minutes…"

The hybrid girl leaned against her girlfriend's shoulder and absentmindedly played with Cleo's messy hair.

Today had been a fun day.

There were no other visitors or tourists in sight, so the three girls had the beach all to themselves for the entire day.

Plus, she had managed to catch a fish!

Sophie wasn't exactly sure how to properly cook fish, so she decided to bring it back to the mansion and see if one of the chefs knew what to do.

"This vacation is just flying by so fast," Rachel complained as she checked her wrist communicator and saw the date.

"That's why you have to enjoy every day… but yeah… I can't believe how quickly September is approaching…" Sophie replied with a small groan.

"At least classes won't start before the end of the inter-university tournament…"

"Wait… aren't you the captain of the freshmen? Have you been researching strategies and guides?" Cleo mischievously spoke.

"Look… I'll do all of that in the last week of vacation… right now my only goal is to relax and unwind," Sophie replied with a sweet smile.

A cool breeze blew across the ocean and Sophie could smell the saltwater in the air. Being in the middle of nature was such a pleasant experience that very few things could match.

The hybrid girl raised up her wrist communicator and took a few phots. She placed the photos in an unnamed album and then turned off her device.

"You know what would be perfect… ghost stories…" Cleo softly whispered as she turned her head and glanced at Sophie.

"Ghost stories? That sounds fun!" Rachel chimed in as she suddenly sat up straight.

"Who wants to go first? Because I don't know any…"

"Neither do I…" Cleo truthfully admitted.

"So why did you suggest it?!" Sophie teased playfully as she brushed her fingers against the side of Cleo's cheek.

The princess did not say anything but stared at her girlfriend with a pleading expression clearly written across her face.

Sophie let out a light sigh and quickly accessed Sui Meng's memories to see if there was anything that she could use.

She just couldn't say no to Cleo…

Oh wait… yeah that would be a good story…

Sophie moved away from her girlfriend and sat on the outside of the bonfire. The light of the flames casted long shadows on her face as her expression changed to one of seriousness.

Rachel and Cleo were inadvertently affected by the solemn mood and they both paid attention to Sophie's every move.

The hybrid girl opened her mouth and began to tell her companions the tale of the mysterious shop down the road.

"It is said that there exists a shop like no other…" Sophie began her tale in a hushed tone.

"No one knows where the shop is or how to find it. It is said that the shop moves… almost as if it were alive…

Those who have seen it claim that it appears as an old rundown shack with cobwebs, dust and filth covering its exterior.

But once you step inside… you will see a mysterious old man sitting down behind a wooden counter.

The shop is completely empty.

The shelves are bare, the merchandise has not been stocked and the man behind the counter does not seem the care.

He will not speak, nor will he bother to welcome you into the shop.

Instead, he waits patiently as if he already knows the request that you will ask before you even say it.

For the man knows that the only people who enter his shop are the ones who were called to it and very few decide not to purchase anything.

Because in this shop… everything is for sale.

Riches, dreams, power, immortality… anything that your heart desires can be bought for the appropriate price.

The price varies from person to person and none who have paid it have ever said what it was.

Once an item has been bought, the store slowly disappears, and the customer will find themselves back where they were standing as if the shop had never existed.

The story I have to share involves a man called Martin and his encounter with the shop…

Martin was a good man who lived his family. He had a beautiful wife who bore him two lovely little boys.

The family was perfect.

Martin was an accountant while his wife worked from home and looked after the children. It was an ideal life and one that he would never change.

Then one day tragedy struck.

His wife was walking with his children to the playground when a drunk driver crashed into the family of three.

The young girl behind the wheel had been drinking heavily and had lost control of the vehicle at precisely the wrong moment.

A single mistake was all it took for Martin to lose everything. He arrived at the hospital, but it was too late.

He could only watch helplessly as his wife and children were declared dead. Martin cursed and screamed in agony but nothing he did would bring them back.

The driver who killed his family came from a wealthy background and was able to escape going to jail thanks to the lawyer that she hired.

Martin was denied even justice as he sat there in court and watched as the driver's lawyer argued that his client was a young woman with a bright future.

After the judge sentenced the woman to community service, Martin got up from his seat and left the courtroom.

He went straight to the nearest bar and began to drink.

Vodka, whiskey, rum… he needed the poison to forget the pain that threatened to overwhelm him.

Martin stayed at the bar until night had fallen. He staggered to his feet and paid the bartender in cash.

He walked out of the bar and wandered the city in a daze. Martin's eyes were blank and unfocused as he swayed unsteadily from side to side.

Truthfully, he felt as though he had no reason to live. The broken man saw an empty alleyway and decided to wander inside.

Something was calling him, but he wasn't sure what it was. Perhaps he had already gone mad…

At the end of the alleyway was a small run-down shop with vague writings on the signboard that hung right above its entrance.

The writings were in a language that Martin could not recognise but he was instantly struck with the urge to enter inside…"