following adrianus through the hallways and corridors and stairways of their house had made it sink in just how large and maze-like the place was. perhaps a bit too large to keep clean even with the money to hire people to do so - as they stepped deeper into the building, victor noticed more and more cobwebs, stretching along the walls, almost as if they were decoration. the lights also seemed to become dimmer and dimmer, though a sweet floral scent not unlike the tea adrianus always made him wafted through the air, gradually becoming stronger. it gave him the sensation of being lured into a trap, though he wasn't sure if it would have done him much good to try to turn around and leave at this point, either. he wondered what they could possibly be leading him to. they just said they would help him pick out some new outfits. at first, he had imagined something like a large walk-in closet, but the more time passed, the more he questioned that.

they finally stopped at a single door at the end of a long hallway.

it creaked as adrianus opened it, and though they turned on the lights, they were still rather dim, even flickering ever so slightly.

"my apologies," they said. "i spend a lot of time here working on my projects, so the lightbulb is burning out. but, it should be enough to see."

if they spent a lot of time working there, then that should have meant that they would have replaced it immediately. did they have night vision? he supposed they might have some sort of superpower that he didn't know about.

his eyes adjusted as he walked into the room himself, and the first thing he became aware of was dozens, perhaps hundreds, of little eyes, staring at him. his heart skipped a beat, before he realized they were simply dolls, marionettes, and mannequins.

"now, let's see... where did i put you?" adrianus murmured to themself, scanning the dolls on the table.

he found their phrasing a bit eccentric, until he saw it, sitting with all of the other dolls - a doll of himself. he couldn't help but notice that the outfit it was wearing was identical to what he was wearing at that very moment.

"ah, there you are." they picked it up, holding it delicately, petting and smoothing out the hair, before looking back at him. "this way, you can see how the different outfits might look on you, without having to try them on yourself."

he didn't know what to say. what could he say? just standing in that dark, stuffy room, with that cloying, dizzying smell had made his mind feel a bit hazy, and now he was watching as they opened a little box to reveal little miniature versions of every piece of clothing in his wardrobe, as well as a few new ones that they presumably wanted him to try.

"what would you like to see first?"

it was difficult to even think about the clothes. at this point, it didn't matter to him. "whichever you want, i guess..."

seeing them slip the clothes off of his doll was intimate, almost violating. they had even gone through the effort of giving the doll underwear. he couldn't remember which pair of underwear he was currently wearing, which he was thankful for, because he'd rather not know if that also matched.

they then dressed it, in a small, revealing latex outfit. he didn't have very strong feelings about the outfit itself, but the way they ran their finger along the material as the doll was wearing it was just a bit too sensual. was that how they thought of his body? as just an object, like that doll? something they could touch so casually? something for them to dress up, to play with?

"what do you think, victor?"

their voice was slow, the sort of tone they used when they were brainwashing him. he shuddered.

"i-i don't know," he said, shifting around in the hopes that it would stop the tingling in his spine. he found himself stepping backward, toward the door.

"well, it's alright. you don't have to wear it." they gently set down the doll, putting their full attention back on him. "are you feeling alright? you seem tense."

"i'm fine," he said quickly. their gaze felt all the more intense with all of the dolls around them, almost as if those eyes were all theirs, too.

adrianus stepped closer to him. he leaned against the door, his hand on the knob.

"is that so?"

"i-i just... feel a bit strange."

"is something wrong?"

he couldn't really articulate it. they hadn't threatened him, and he wasn't especially afraid of dolls, either. and this feeling he was experiencing... it wasn't the same sort of fear he felt at the thought of his own death, it wasn't quite anxiety, or panic, intense as it might have been.

the dark, flickering lights seemed to be playing tricks on his eyes, as well. adrianus' silhouette seemed to be... changing, somehow. it must have just been the shadows.

"i could help you relax," they said.

"i don't know that i could relax right now..."

"then perhaps we can do something else."

"is there something you have in mind?"

"if you have so much energy and tension, it's good to let that out." they seemed to grow taller than they were already, looming over him. "do you know why this area of the house is built this way?" they murmured.

he shrank into himself. "...why?" he whispered.

"there is a little game i like to play, sometimes, when i have guests."

"a game...?" his heart was pounding.

still, he thought he might have heard something over his loud heartbeats, some sort of... snapping, or popping sound. like forced rhubarb.

"i like to see how long it takes me to catch them."

"excuse me?"

"how fast do you think you can run, victor?"

even as they said that, their voice was even, calm, with only a subtle feeling of hunger behind it.

it wasn't the sort of question that was meant to be answered. he squirmed against the door. they were really going to chase him?

"your two legs," they said, "against my eight."

"eight?"

his gaze slowly lowered, to find that the bottom half of their body had been shifting to that of a spider's.

so they did have some sort of ability he hadn't known about.

"i'll give you a head start." they leaned closer, their face nearly touching his. "you had better take full advantage of it."

he turned his head away, flustered by how close they were. "what- what happens if i get caught?"

"perhaps i'll inject you with venom? i'm sure then you might relax... you wouldn't be able to move, after all."

he fumbled with the door, still not quite running away in earnest, even as he stepped backwards out of the room. adrianus followed just as slowly, the movements of their spider legs being somewhat mesmerizing to watch. the way they stared at him was more uncanny than ever. was he... prey to them?

he supposed he should really start running, as scary as it felt to turn his back on them. he started stepping backward a bit more quickly, trying to get some distance from them first, before sprinting away, running through the hall.

they had been quite generous with the head start they had given him, judging by how long it took before he heard the quick, gentle tapping of their legs on the ground, though worryingly, the location of that sound was changing, and he realized they must have been crawling over the webs on the walls and ceiling.

he turned a corner, dashing past door after door - he knew he could try hiding in one, but he wanted a bit more distance between them first.

but they had caught up more quickly than he expected. he picked up the pace, turning another corner, and throwing himself into a random door, closing it behind him as quickly as possible. he hadn't even been running for very long yet, but he struggled to stop gasping and panting. he hoped adrianus wasn't yet close enough to hear it.

even after waiting a moment, he couldn't see anything. the room was completely dark. shakily, he felt around the wall for a switch, flicking it on. the light had only barely illuminated the room before dying out. he desperately tried flicking it on and off, getting just a glimpse every time, until it stopped turning on at all.

there was a closet door, but no furniture. he did notice something else, something that caught the light. a giant web, in the middle of the room. if he had tried to run to the closet to hide, he would certainly get caught in it.

he could hear their legs tapping on the wall nearby, he could feel the vibrations. he was trapped, already. though he had been panting, he held his breath.

their voice echoed through the hallway. "you chose one of the rooms in the middle, didn't you? you wouldn't want to pick one of the first ones, but you were in too much of a rush to go to the other end of the hall."

it was true.

"and you're in a room on the right side, because you made a sharp turn, hugging the wall."

the tapping and their voice were getting closer.

what was he going to do? he was sure he couldn't outrun them. there was nowhere to hide in this room.

but they didn't know exactly which door he was in, even if they had narrowed their search. he would wait for them to open a different door and look through it, and then he would bolt.

sure enough, he heard the doorknob from the door just next to his, and the creak of it opening. it would take a moment for them to be sure he wasn't in it. he cracked open his own door, as quietly as possible, carefully peering over to make sure they were inside the other room. he didn't see them in front of the door, and it was still open. he would just step out--

something touched the top of his head. without thinking, he retreated back into the room, slamming the door.

why had he done that? he froze, simply standing there, as a light scratching sound came from the outside.

they had tricked him, hadn't they? they already knew which room he was in. they were just outside, above him.

"oh, it's alright," they cooed through the wall. "this game doesn't tend to last very long. do you want me to give you another chance?"

"j- ju-" it was more difficult to speak than he thought it would be. "just one more."

the door opened, with two of their spindly legs holding onto it.

his legs wobbled as he walked back out, half expecting them to just grab him as he did, though they were still and calm, as always, with only their eyes following him. they were clearly in no rush. it seemed as if they could do this all day.

"do you need some time to catch your breath?"

it would have been worse to wait there. he needed to keep his momentum. "o-of course not..."

he started to take off again, glancing at them to find that they were still waiting. a part of him had to wonder how quickly it would be over if they hadn't given him such a big head start.

the next time he turned, he saw that at the end of the hall was a staircase. his heart sank. there was no use even trying to scale it - he would lose too much time. they could just crawl along the sides without having to worry about it, but he couldn't, and he risked stumbling and falling.

he would have to pick another room, and hope for the best. but which room? they knew where he was the last time. would they expect him to choose a different one now? should he pick one at the end of the hallway, or at the front, or on the other side?

it might as well just be the one that was closest to him at that moment, he thought. he wouldn't waste any time deliberating about it. he rushed to close himself in, flicking on the light, and though it was dim, it stayed on, to his relief.

it was a spacious room, more than he believed should have been possible, given its proximity to the other rooms.

...no, it was the same size as the other rooms. it was just full of mirrors. there was also some sort of optical illusion on the floors, making it look as though the ground was uneven.

as he explored, he could see his own shaky steps in the mirrors, his heaving chest, his hair sticking to his forehead with sweat.

he hadn't noticed any webs, and there was a bit of a maze, which meant that he could hide.

except he left the lights on. they would know he was in the room. it may have even been visible from the hallway. should he go back and turn them off?

the room was already disorienting, and in his panic, it was even worse. when he finally found the door, and the light switch, he reached for it, only to find that it was fake, and quite obviously so, when he took a closer look at it. there were even other doors and switches painted on multiple walls, in different places.

which direction had he come from? how had he already forgotten?

he heard tapping from outside, and a door opening, far away. though he thought he could at least use that to reorient himself, the way it echoed was somehow confusing. was there something strange about the room's acoustics, or was he just starting to lose his mind?

deep breaths. the best way to get through a maze was to stick to one wall and follow it. the room wasn't especially large. he stepped toward one of the walls, going along it. there was a gap in the mirror that he hadn't noticed. when he stepped through, the room seemed darker. had the light gone out?

there was still light behind him. this was a different area.

well, perhaps this was a better place to hide. adrianus must have been going through another room. the sound was too quiet to have been the same door he had walked in, and he hadn't heard another sound like that since, just the distant tapping on the walls.

he continued walking in that darkness for a while. the tapping became louder. closer. it didn't sound as muffled as it should have.

they couldn't have already been in the room with him, could they? were there secret passages?

or perhaps all of those doors led to the same room. perhaps this was just one giant singular room that he had walked into, and the mirrors were there to disguise that.

he stopped, standing in place, in the darkness, holding his breath.

could they see in the dark? were spiders capable of doing that? was it some other, unrelated ability of theirs? some sort of special contact lenses? experimental eye surgery? or was their comment from earlier misleading?

it was getting closer. they must have been in the room.

there was no use trying to run, his footsteps would only make it easier to find him. and if they could see, he couldn't hope to outrun them, anyway.

the tapping was getting slower, lighter, more delicate, as it approached him. it was circling him.

a small light appeared in front of him, revealing adrianus, about ten feet away. it was the flashlight from their phone. he had entirely forgotten either of them could use something like that.

he scrambled to get away, stumbling over something, but not quite falling, suspended in the air.

it was a web.

they were approaching him so slowly, and yet, as much as he struggled, he couldn't escape. it was stronger than he thought it would be, and he was already exhausted, from running, from the adrenaline, from the tension. he had never felt so pathetic as he did in that moment, squirming and writhing in the web, like an insect.

a couple of legs wrapped around him, adrianus' body pressed against his back. he ceased his movement, freezing underneath them.

their mouth was right next to his ear. "you've done very well," they purred, placing their hands on his shoulders. "you know you didn't have a chance from the start. but i commend your effort. it made it much more fun for me."

he shivered uncontrollably. they were so close. he was so helpless. so weak.

"i wonder what i should do with you now?" they ran their fingers down his back. "should i wrap you up, and keep you down here? or should i eat you?" their voice was still quiet, slow, and gentle.

he moved again, trying to escape, but it was even more hopeless than it had been a moment ago.

they laughed, a quiet, low rumble in his ear. "oh, i'm just playing with you. i'll let you go later."

"r... right," he said, breathlessly. this was just a game, after all.

although he hadn't been entirely sure until that very moment.

"it's alright," they whispered. "you can relax now..."

he almost melted at the words, despite everything. "what... what about the... venom? was that also a joke?"

"it doesn't have to be."

he hardly had the energy to be tense, but he managed, anyway. "what do you-"

"oh, it isn't dangerous. it just paralyzes your limbs for a little while. it can be quite relaxing. perhaps even a bit pleasurable... i'd consider it your reward."

"but i lost..." he said. "n... not that i want that. i just-"

"it's good for you, you know."

"it- there is no way it could be good for me-"

"shh... you need to relax... just relax for me... the venom will make it easier."

he couldn't help but twitch. their mouth hovered over the space between his shoulder and his neck - since he had been wearing a sleeveless shirt, they had easy access to it. he felt their breath, and then a warm tongue dragging against the skin.

"a-ah-- what are you-"

"the saliva will numb the area, so the bite won't be as painful."

they couldn't just lick him like that, while they were pressed against him, holding him so tightly. he was... only reacting to the fear, obviously, but the misattribution of arousal was a very real thing, and not something they should have been playing with.

a sudden stinging sensation jolted through his body, and the numbness was almost instant. they had bitten him.

they rubbed his back, continuing to coo at him, which was something he had already been conditioned to respond to, and found difficult to resist even outside of their sessions.

"just let it spread through your body... isn't it nice?"

his twitching slowed down, becoming weaker and more subdued, until it stopped entirely. it wasn't unlike the process of being brainwashed, at least visually, from an outside perspective. he wondered if this was part of why they had enjoyed that so much, if it was some sort of instinct for them. he wasn't sure how he felt about that thought.

he did have to admit that, physically, it was... an enjoyable sensation. it felt warm, heavy, tingly... it was as if he could feel all of the tension being forced out of his muscles, which was somewhat disconcerting, but it was relaxing.

"i'll just wait here with you," they murmured, "until there isn't any tension left, and the effect starts to wear off... and then i can get you something to eat, something to drink... you have so much energy to replenish, don't you?"

"y... yes," he found himself answering.

it was only at that moment that he remembered that he originally only meant to pick out a few outfits with them. was that just the excuse they used to get him to visit? or had they exhausted him and forced him to relax in order to get him to agree to wear whatever they wanted him to later?

well, he really would have worn just about anything to begin with.

though he wondered if the tightness of that latex garment might feel anything like being wrapped up in this web with them. that... might not be so bad.