“Miles, hurry the fuck up!” Gwen yells from the roof, swiping an unruly blonde lock out of her forehead. She huffs, and glances at the quickly darkening sky before adding, “We have to be home before the night arrives.”
They are in the middle of the desert, at an abandoned house. It’s the previous owners had just died a few weeks ago, leaving the house empty of life. Apparently, they left a huge fortune behind, or at least that was what the adults whispered between themselves. It was a rumor that went around the town, and the group of aspiring spider-men went to check it out, obviously. Right now, Gwen and Pavitr are squatting on the roof, watching out for possible sheriffs that would ruin their fun, while Miles is head first inside a hole in the backyard, where their metal detector has picked up a sign.
“I’m trying, but it’s stuck!” comes the strained voice of Miles, and next to him, Hobie lets out a bubbly giggle at the struggling of his boyfriend.
“Wait, let me help you.“ he chokes out, and pulls on the shorter guy’s waist. Bathed in the greyish light of the dusk, they paint a funny picture. Gwen can’t help, but snicker at the sight.
But next to her, Pavitr’s voice hitches, gaining Gwen’s attention. She whips her head to look at Pavitr, who is staring in the distance with his eyes narrowed in concentration.
“Guys, something’s coming!” he shrieks suddenly, trying to alert the group of possible danger. Gwen immediately trains her eyes onto the spot Pavitr is staring at and she gasps, pushing the Indian boy down, into a laying position. She jumps down the roof to run to the duo of Miles and Hobie, her eyes filled with worry.
“It’s the Shadow!” she yells, and pulls on Hobie’s hand upon arriving next to him. She continues with an agitated, “We have to get out of here.”
“That’s just a legend Gwen, you’re probably seeing a cow or something.” Hobie shakes his head with his eyebrows pulled together in a frown. He’s still holding onto Miles’ hips as the latter searches for the assumed treasure inside the hole.
“I’m not joking, Hobie, it’s-“
But Gwen’s sentence is interrupted by Pavitr’s blood-curling scream. “Fuck, it’s definitely the Shadow!”
Gwen’s eyes dilate with worry, because if it’s really the Shadow, then they aren’t safe. Their group of spiders was strong, but the Shadow was a pack of bloodthirsty monsters that loved to eat people who went out to the desert at night. It was hard to deal with it even for the Sheriffs, what could a group of kids do alone? However, it was unlikely for it to lurk around before the Sun fully set and the Moon took over on the night sky. The group must have miscalculated themselves.
“Why is it coming now? The sun hasn’t set yet.” asks Hobie with worried eyes, his hands clutching Miles’ hips even stronger.
Both Gwen and Hobie looks up at the sky, where the Moon starts to ascend from behind the rocky mountains, painting the land into a silvery light. It would’ve been a beautiful sight otherwise, but they both notice, that the Moon is full, meaning that the Shadow is even more aggressive than normally.
“Pav, get your ass down here!” Gwen orders immediately, pointing at the ground. She turns to Hobie and the ass of Miles and continues with a deadly serious, “Miles, get out, Hobie help him! We have to go!”
“I need more time, I’m almost there!” comes the voice of Miles from the hole in the ground. He adds a frustrated, “We are spider-men anyway, not like we can’t fight it!”
“But it’s fucking full Moon! This thing goes crazy when it’s a full Moon!” Gwen shouts, turning her back to Miles to go check up on Pavitr, who seems to be frozen in place on the room.
“It’s just a little bit, come on! How fast is that thing approaching?” Miles yells, and Gwen stops dead in her track towards Pavitr to stare at her friend’s ass with a gaze that could kill.
“Very fast! We have like uh, under a minute until it’s here.” announces Pavitr, his voice trembling in fear. He’s been staying in the laying position on the roof, so he’s not as visible to whatever is approaching in the distance.
Suddenly, the previously peacefully blowing night wind picks up, swirling around the group of teens in a hot whiff. Gwen lets out a painful cough as her lungs get filled with the sand from all around them.
“Hurry up Miles, for fuck’s sake!” she heaves, supporting her weight on Hobie’s back as she coughs more.
From the roof, they can hear a whimper, and Pavitr’s voice comes in a broken sob, “Guys, we are going to die!”
The next moment a dark cloud sweeps around the group, and Pavitr comes flying off the roof. Gwen somehow manages to catch him, holding the shaking boy in her arms, terrified expression on her face. A ground-shaking rumble of the sky cuts through the hot, humid air, and both Gwen and Pavitr shriek as a pair of glowing, red eyes emerge from the black cloud that has gathered around them. Hobie is quick to whip his head up, and he immediately yanks the pair of others close to him, trying to keep his cool as he taps Miles’ back to earn his attention.
The pair of eyes approach them slowly, but surely, making the hair stand up on all four of the teen’s body. The sky seems to never stop rumbling, and the black fog starts to make the group’s eyes water.
“Run!” Hobie yells, and starts to run, pulling Miles along with him by a hold on his belt. Gwen and Pavitr follow him instantly, and the group of teens run through the desert with speed that could put a coyote to shame.
“We are going to die, I told you!” cries Pavitr out, shaking like a leaf as he runs next to Gwen. He keeps looking back at the pair of eyes that follow them just as fast.
“I’ll call for help!” Gwen yells, and she fishes her phone from her pocket with shaking hands. She dials a contact called Sheriff.
“Calling the Sheriff won’t work, Gwen. He’s too far from here.” screams Hobie over the loud noises of the sky. Next to him, Miles agrees with a hesitant nod. He’s holding the briefcase against his chest with his shaking hands like his life depends on it.
The pair of glowing, red orbs are getting closer and closer by every passing second, but the group tries to keep up their pace no matter what.
Suddenly, the sky rumbles particularly loudly and a lightening cuts through the dark sky, illuminating the desert, blinding the group of teens for just one second. But only that blink of a moment is enough to be deadly, because Miles trips on small cactus next to the road, and falls into the dust with a loud yelp. Hobie immediately stops to help him up, but the pair of eyes reaches them, and the creature jumps onto Miles with a frightening growl. Miles screams in pain as a pair of sharp claws cut through his leather jacket.
Both Gwen and Pavitr scream in fear, and Hobie immediately shoots a few webs into the monster’s eyes. It retreats for a moment, and the group sucks in a relieved breath, only for it to return with a full group of monsters of it’s kind. Hobie lifts the wailing Miles onto his shoulders and runs up to where Gwen and Pavitr are standing, frozen in one place.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever said this, but I love you guys a lot!” Pavitr cries out, clutching onto Gwen with all his might as the group of huge, dark monsters approach them. The sky keeps rumbling, and the group of teens shake like dry leaves on the trees, waiting for their ugly death.
One of the bloodthirsty monsters reach out towards them, but just as it could grab onto Gwen’s hoodie, another lightening cuts through the sky and the neigh of a horse can be heard from up close. From between the black fog, a bright orange, glowing lasso appears and hooks around the monster’s arm.
The monster is yanked back by a strong force, letting out a pained howl. The other monsters seem to slowly inch back, disappearing into the darkness of the night, leaving their mate alone to die. A moment later, a tall, muscular figure appears from the black fog. It’s a man with shoulders as wide as a barn entrance, waist slim with a shining spider on the belt wrapped around it. The man yanks on the rope again, baiting another pained cry out of the monster as it clashes against the ground right in front of the group of teens curled together in fear.
“Gotcha.” the mysterious man says coyly as he steps on the monster’s head. He reaches back with his right hand to retrieve his gun and cocks the weapon in one swift motion, aiming it at the monster’s head. He’s just about to shoot, his fingers hovering over the trigger when Pavitr lets out a choked sob, earning his attention. The man whips his head up to look at the source of the noise and a momentarily wave of shock washes over his face. He squints his eyes at the group of teens and says a warning, “Close your eyes, it’s going to be ugly.”
A moment later, he pulls the trigger, and the bullet exits the gun with a loud noise that shakes the ground around them. The metal penetrates the monster’s head, and it’s crimson blood flies to all directions, painting both the group and the mysterious man’s boots red.
It is silent for a while. The fog starts to dissolve, and the night wind seems to calm, too. Miles is back on his legs, seemingly not injured as the monster’s claws couldn’t reach his skin. It seems like everything’s back to normal.
A deep laugh ruins the silence. It comes from the man as he shakes his head, looking at his making with his plump lips curled into a proud smirk. The group of teens stare at him in awe as he leans close to the monster’s head to sniff it before he growls, “Another of you fuckers down.”
The man meets the groups gaze next, and that’s when they notice that his eyes are burning red. However, the eye contact doesn’t last long, as the man looks down at the monster again, and pulls his lasso off of it’s arms. He laces it around his forearm to shape it into a circle, causing the defined muscles exposed by the rolled up sleeves of his white shirt to flex as he moves. It is hard not to stare at his caramel skin and the fine hairs coating the lower part of his arm. The man hangs the whip onto a hook on his belt and stops to look up at the group of teens again, as if he was expecting them to be gone by now. He has a handsome face with a light stubble coating his cheeks and a chiseled jawline. A few, luscious curls of chocolate brown locks are peaking out from under his cowboy hat. He is wearing a white shirt and a pair of light blue jeans that contrast his sunkissed, caramel skin oh so deliciously. His shirt is opened on his broad chest, letting the curious eye catch a peak of muscular, plump pecks and fine, well trimmed hair coating a broad chest and protruding collar bones. There is a small, gold necklace around his next with a pedant in the shape of a skull. It adds a nice detail that makes the man even more desirable. The group of gay little teens are staring at the man as if he was an angel from heaven, not even bothered by the fact that he has probably noticed their ogling.
The man laces his arms in front of his broad chest, and tilts his head questioningly. His muscular biceps almost rip the strong fabric of the shirt, and the silver light of the moon hits his jawline oh so deliciously. The sight would make anyone’s mouth water.
It is Gwen, who is the first to muster up the courage to ask a quiet, “Who are you?”
The man laughs, deeply and melodically. Without even bothering with an answer, he grabs the monster’s black fur to lift it with a grunt. He whistles for his horse, who comes running only a few seconds later. It is a beautiful, tall black stallion with huge hooves that indicate that it is not like the horses that townspeople around here use. It seems to be a draft horse, since it has a big head and a back so broad, it would be hard to mount it for a normal person. The monster is soon lifted onto the horse’s back and the man securely ties it down with a thick rope. When he’s finished with his work, he glances behind his back over his shoulders, and scoffs in annoyance as he still sees the group of teens standing there with mouths ajar.
“Why are you still standing there?” he barks. The loudness of his voice seems to scare the kids, and he takes a deep inhale to calm himself down. When he opens his eyes again, they aren’t red anymore, but rather, a comforting deep chocolate color. He runs his gaze over the group of teens and continues with a much nicer, “Go home. It isn’t safe out here so late.”
“Not until you tell us who you are!” Pavitr chimes in, his eyes filled with determination as he looks up at the tall stranger.
The man seems to smirk at his voice, and as his upper lip is pulled upwards, a pair of fangs peak out from under. The man huffs softly before he answers with a raspy, “I’m Miguel O’Hara.”
“Thank you for saving us.” adds Hobie, his voice gentle.
“Don’t thank me. I’m doing my job.” Miguel answers, and his eyes are serious yet again. He scans the desert with narrowed eyes, looking out for danger in the deep darkness of the night. In the distance, a wolf’s howl can be heard, and Miguel sight in defeat. He offers a regretful, “I will escort you home.”
The group of teens cheer, and O’Hara starts walking, leading his horse by a strong hold on it’s brindle. They immediately follow him as though they are ducklings following their mother.
They walk without speaking for a while, all kids still under the shock of what just happened, and Miguel, well, he just doesn’t talk when it’s not necessary. The desert is quiet around them, only the sound of the cicadas and the occasional noises of the nocturnal animals disturb the silence. Miguel is humming a Spanish song under his breath, almost inaudible for the group of teens following him. Only Pavitr, who’s walking next to him is able to hear it. It’s a song called La Camisa Negra.
“So your job is to kill monsters?” Miles is the one to break the silence. He’s still clutching the briefcase in his hand, his other laced with Hobie’s as they walk behind the pair of Gwen and Pavitr. The absentminded humming of O’Hara abruptly stops, and he looks back over his shoulders to see Miles.
“My job is to protect the land, the people.” he explains, pointing at Pavitr playfully, who is walking right next to him. Gwen doesn’t fail to notice how he has claws instead of normal fingers. She looks at Miguel with more caution, vary of the inhumane features of this mysterious hero who saved them.
“You have claws and fangs, like a cat. What are you exactly?” Gwen questions, gently pulling Pavitr away from Miguel as she talks. Her eyes are narrowed, scanning the body of the cowboy interrogatingly.
Miguel immediately senses it and he smirks, in a way someone does when they know something the others don’t.
“No need to pull the little guy away from me. I’m no monster.” he says, never taking his eyes off the moonlit road ahead. “I’m half spider, similar to you and your group.”
“What?!” Miles yells in surprise, because never has he expected that they would meet with another, much more experienced Spider-Man.
“I wasn’t bitten, though. I was genetically modified. Hence the fangs and claws.” Miguel explains, extending and pulling his claws back a few times as he speaks. The group watches his huge hands as though they’ve seen Jesus come back.
“That’s so fucking cool, dude!” Hobie breathes, still shocked over the fact that Miguel O’Hara is basically, genetically half spider.
“Thanks.” Miguel says. The tone of his voice is weird, he sounds a bit like he has received a praise for the first time in his life.
“And you work alone?” asks Gwen, looking up at the chiseled side profile of the man.
“I have a partner.” and there is the hint of a smile on Miguel’s face as he speaks about his partner. It’s nothing like the cocky smirks he likes to wear, this smile is more softer, genuine even.
“Can we join too?” Miles’ voice is a bit unsure as he asks his question, and Hobie gently squeezes his hand as a way of encouragement.
“When you get older, yes.” immediately as the answer leaves O'Hara’s mouth, Pavitr squeaks in excitement. The rest of the group cannot help but smile at his honest outburst of joy.
“Make sure to not forget!” says Pavitr cheerily, waving a scolding finger into Miguel’s direction. The man just chuckles at that, his deep voice filling the chilly night air.
In the near distance, the lights of the town can be seen, and Gwen sighs in relief. They are home, and none of them was eaten by the Shadow. O’Hara seems to notice the nearing town, too, and he lets go of his horse’s brindle to put a bandana over the lower part of his face, tying it at the back with swift motions. The cloth is deep blue with red inking on it that resembles a spider. And just when the group thought O’Hara couldn’t get any cooler, he cocks his gun with a half hand, too. The group stares at him with mouths agape.
“Do not steal from abandoned houses in the middle of the desert at night again. Then, I will consider not forgetting it.” he says as he sheathes his cocked gun into it’s holder on his belt.
“Why? We just wanted to have fun.” Hobie argues, shrugging his shoulders too, like the cool dude he is.
“Ay, cabrones. The desert is dangerous at night, filled with monsters. It is not a place for kids like you.” Miguel retorts, and he stops right at the town’s entrance gate. Naturally, the group of teens stop too, standing between the gate and O’Hara.
“But you killed one of them.” Gwen reasons, standing with her arms laced in front of her chest.
“Yes, and it is more enjoyable to kill these hellhounds in more cruel ways than just with a bullet. In ways that is not for your eyes to see.” and as Miguel says the word ‘hellhounds’, his eyes flash in red again, reminding the group that essentially, he’s still a dangerous man.
“Okay, we won’t.” Pavitr pouts like a kid who’s been told to not eat any more candy. He gets a reassuring pat on the head from Hobie.
“Good.” O’Hara nods. He throws the brindle over his horse’s head and mounts the huge animal with an easy leap. It’s only then, when the group notices that the horse has red eyes, too. They take a few steps back.
“You aren’t coming into the town?” asks Miles curiously, his eyes switching between the town’s gate and Miguel and his horse.
“No, I don’t live there.” Miguel answers curtly. He’s secretive when it comes to his identity, the group figures.
“Okay, goodbye Mr. O’Hara.” says Pavitr, his voice disappointed. Miguel just smirks at it, or at least the group guesses by the way his chocolate eyes crinkle. Up, on his horse, illuminated by the silvery moonlight coming from behind his back, he seems like he’s not a human. A god, perhaps.
Miguel tips his cowboy hat at the group of teens and only says, “Go home now. Maybe we will cross roads again.”
And just like that, he snaps the brindle and yells a loud, ‘Vamos!’, and the huge, black horse turns on command, knocking up a considerate amount of dust from the road as animal and it’s rider disappear into the deep darkness of the night.