The cream walls were covered with dents and drawing pin holes. A double bed made out of oak, stood at the far end of the room. The bed was unmade; its covers piled up on top of it. The caramel carpet was worn but clean. Tick, tock, tick, tock, the hands moved round the clock. Each time the big hand landed on the number six, it got stuck for ten seconds. A glass vase full of Chinese white lilies, sat on the bedside table.

Simon wincey lay motionless. Like a white camouflage suit in Antarctica, the whiteness of his body blended in with the lily he was lying on. His belly rubbed against the lily’s petal. The petal was soft and smooth. The sweet aroma of pollen lingered in the air.

How much longer would it take? No, be patient, remain calm.

He looked around. The brown curtains fluttered each time the wind blew through the open window.

Was it wise for him to be here? Probably not, he was used to hunting in fields and forests. This wasn’t his natural habitat.

He had cramps in each of his eight legs, but instead of stretching to relieve the pain, he remained still.

He listened. Buzzz, a wasp flew into the room, through the open window. Simon observed the wasps every move.

As it shot around the room, its black and yellow stripes became a blur. It hovered over the flowers for a while, then it landed on the petal he was lying on.

He pounced on the unsuspecting wasp and grasped it with his two, crablike front legs.

It flapped its wings as it struggled to break free, but instead of loosening his grip, Simon sunk his fangs into the wasp.

The wasp's sting shot out of its behind. It wriggled and tried to sting him. It was supple and strong. It fought bravely for a while, but then its body went limp as its internal organs turned into liquid.

Simon sucked up its insides.

The bedroom door opened. He looked. A girl with red fiery hair, pale skin and bucked teeth, walked into the room. She opened her mouth. Pieces of metal ran along her teeth and in her right hand she held a magazine, which said Just Seventeen on the front of it.

Whatever that meant?

Her eyes glanced around and then she walked in his direction.
Simon didn’t move.

Could she see him? No she was too high up to spot him. He would wait for her to go. Then he would make his way out of the house.

The girl walked up to the bedside table, bent down and started to sniff the lilies. She suddenly stopped, her eyes opened wide and her skin became as white as snow. She screamed, ‘Ahh,’ and ran out of the room.

Simon crawled down the vase. He listened. Footsteps approached. He looked. The girl was back and she was carrying a large book.

She shuddered. Then she threw the book at him.

He jumped. The book hit the vase. Crash. Shards of glass and water flew everywhere. Simon dodged the falling debris and scurried under the bed.

What the hell was her problem? She could have killed him. Unlike every other animal he had ever met, humans didn’t seem to need provocation or cause for violence, they just lashed out. How could she be afraid of an incey wincey white crab spider like him? He had to get out of this mad house fast, before the scary giantess came back to finish him off.  

The girl left the room. Simon dashed out of the door and looked around. No one was there. To the left were two doors and to the right there were stairs.

Wow, what a huge staircase, it would take ages to get to the ground floor.

Simon made his way to the stairs and started to make his way down. He listened. Downstairs, a door opened and closed and a number of people talked.

A mans voice said, ' If we split up and search the house we will be able to find and kill that pest.'

Things were moving from bad to worse.  He felt like Frankenstein’s monster. The lynch mob was closing in.

He walked to the corner of the steps and kept on descending.

The ability to spin webs would be really useful right now.

A man ran up the stairs. The man's feet almost squashed Simon.
Simon stopped and listened. Something rumbled downstairs. The rumbling got louder and louder. He looked in the direction of the sound. A woman came to the bottom of the stairs holding a hose which was connected to some type of machine. The hose sucked up everything it was pointed at. The woman brushed the hose over each step, starting at the bottom.

Simon rapidly looked around. The woman was getting closer and closer. She was three steps away. Two steps away. One step away.

There had to be a way out of this. If the hose reached the step he was on, he would be sucked inside of the machine.

He climbed onto the white banister and jumped. He landed on the head of the girl with the fiery red hair. He almost fell off. He held on tight to a strand of hair.

'Mum, I’m going to wait outside until you catch the spider,' the girl said.

'Ok darling,' the women with the hose said.

The girl walked up to the front door. Opened it and walked outside.

Simon jumped off her head and landed in a bush.

Phew that was close, no more going into houses. Never, ever again.