Welcome to Gaia! ::

He was sleeping fitfully when the noise somewhere just beyond the stores barricade awoke him. This restlessness was not uncommon for G-Man, his dreams often disturbed, his body strung far too taut with the stress that the A-Poc had brought about. The days events, the invasion by the bandits that could have killed his brother, these memories rested heavily on Giuseppe's mind, piling up on top of his other worries, on top of the fears that he kept hidden from view as best as he could, tucked away behind a heavy curtain of optimism.

A facade, one that, once alone, he no longer even tried to keep up, and in sleep, could not even if he wanted to.

And so, the sound, however loud or quiet, awoke him with a start, with a panicked breath gasped in as his eyes flew open to stare up at the ceiling. Nearby, he could hear the steady breathing of his brother, a little louder than usual, likely due to the breaking of his nose. It was a sound that lent comfort, because it reminded him that Dasz was still alive, that he was, if only just for that moment, safe.

But perhaps not safe for long. Whatever had made that sound was still a mystery, and one that G-Man wasn't sure that he wanted to solve. Instead, like I child, he wanted to pull his blanket over his head, hide beneath it, pretend that if he ignored whatever was out there, if he just pretended that it did not exist, that it in fact would not exist, and thus could not harm him. It was a foolish impulse, one that he managed, in the end, to stave off, instead choosing to lay there, to listen carefully, to decide if whatever it was needed investigating, or if it was perhaps simply nothing at all, just a figment of his imagination, or a product of his nightmares.

He had just about decided to doze off again when he picked up on a strange sound. It was a scritching noise, something so small and faint that he nearly hadn't heard it at all. It was like that of a small, fine needle dragging across the ground over and over again, though there was no pattern to when the sound began, ended, and began again.

Slowly, G-Man sat up, now curious, too curious, of what the source of the sound could be. Making his way off of the couch, he moved as silently as he could manage, hoping to not disturb his brother as he walked softly across the floor and towards the barrier, and the metal gate that was pulled across the stores entrance.

G-Man could not believe what he was seeing. It was disgusting, the most horrifying sight he had yet to encounter since day 0. Worse than the threat of a virus, worse than the infected who's faces appeared to be rotting, worse than the darkness, the undying.

It was a spider. And not just a spider. It was a big a** mother effin holy shizzle burn everyhing spider. G only had to lift the cardboard enough to catch a glimpse before he had jumped back, chills rolling down his spine in a long and horrified shudder, and nearly noped his way straight back to bed.

But what if it followed him?

Now there was a thought rife with horror. This gruesome, hairy legged little beast could next find it's way into The Source, clambering on eight terrifying tarantula limbs through the barricade, across the floor, up the couch, and straight on to G-Man's face. The thought alone was nearly enough to make the former electronic's store employee retch.

No. There was no conundrum here. No moment of sympathy or empathy. No sudden revelations that his poor creatures misfortune was much like his own. No. Nope. Nu-uh.

This little monstrosity just needed to die. It needed to cease to be. It needed to be gone. Now. Sooner than now.

And without further ado, but with many shrill, very unmanly sounds and cringes, G-Man stomped the crap out of that cardboard and the menacing creature that was trapped beneath, until he felt fully satisfied that it would not be emerging again.

And then he went back to bed.