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Crystie turned in the direction of the Giants and watched as they slowly made their way across the plains. Some were coming back into town and others were making their way towards the setting sun. It seemed like their best chance of escape for now.

"It'll be better once I get to see from above," she told him, still starting off into the distance. Suddenly the rope got taunt and she quickly turned around, grabbing hold of the rope.
"Uhh, yeah, alright!" Luckily she didn't have a fear of heights. When blight finally pulled her over the edge (she still shuttered at his touch) she got a magnificent view of the city. Sadly, the city was even more desolate from above. There was not a single building that was still intact; everything around seemed to be decaying. Monsters like the ones she had met previously were scattered across the land; prowling around for food.

"Gheeze, this place is awful.." She muttered, peering around. Her eyes focused more on the Giants and their movement into the valley. She squinted to see where they were going to, but the plains only continued on into darkness. Perhaps in the morning she would be able to see more.

"It's no use Blight, I can't see anything that looks out of the ordinary. It's getting too hard to see anyway with the sun going down." She told him, directing her gaze elsewhere. She noticed a pond, which she could hopefully drink from, and a few houses that looked as if they would contain more goods. Perhaps even a sword!
However, more monsters were appearing as it drew closer to dark.

"Seems like our best bet is to stay up here"

Blight tilted his head. He’d wanted to get going as soon as possible, but if Crystie couldn’t see, they were both blind, literally and figuratively. He could hear more monsters coming out from what sounded like nowhere in search of food. The house wouldn’t be as safe as it was during the day.

“Hnn ... we’ll have to camp out here on the roof, then,” he said. He took off his end of the tether and stuck it to the roof to keep Crystie from going anywhere ... or falling off, for that matter. “I’ll be right back,” he called over his shoulder as he crawled down the house walls and into an open window. The sounds of him skittering around the house could be heard, as well as glass clinking and cans tumbling to the ground. What on earth was he doing?

Her heart began to race again as Blight tied her to the roof. Was he using her as bait or something?

"Yeah okay, i'll just wait here then"!" She called after him a bit sourly. Sighing, she turned and surveyed the roof which was littered with rubble and garbage. Nothing would free her from the web she was tied with, though.

"You know I could probably help you with whatever you're doing rather than just wait out here!" She called to him again. She was met with silence. Groaning, she pulled at the binding around her waist. She only managed to her her hands caught in the sticky web as well.

"Yeah I get it today just isn't my lucky day," she muttered to herself, sitting down on the roof as she reluctantly watched the sun set across the plains. It was then that she realized it was the first time in a long time that she had actually enjoyed her time outside. It had been years since she watched the sun go down, casting its golden glow across the earth. The muscles in her faced ached as her smile grew.

It took a while, but Blight finally emerged from the house back on to the roof. He was carrying a backpack he’d found in the house. It was ragged and dusty, but at least it was able to carry whatever he’d put in it. He attached it right next to her so that it wouldn’t slide off the roof.

“I brought you some water and food. I wasn’t sure what you’d like to eat, so I brought a bit of everything,” he said, unzipping the backpack. In it were one or two water bottles, a pillow, an old blanket, and a lot of boxed items like crackers, cookies, and other snacks. Maybe not the most filling dinner a human could have, but something to eat nonetheless. It wouldn’t do Blight any good if his captive went hungry.

With that problem out of the way, he went to the edge of the roof and began to spin a web between the two buildings. Although, this web wasn’t vertical like a regular spider’s web, it was horizontal, like a trampoline, and more densely woven without the sticky threads in it.

"Gheeze, this is more than I expected. I didn't think this world had any sort of human food in it. I was rather expecting to eat rotten flesh or something..thanks..." Crystie told him as she sifted through the bag. At this point, even the stale crackers sounded delicious. She watched as Blight spun his abnormal web across the two buildings and began to survey him. Maybe he really could be trusted after all? At least, for now.

"So now what are you doing? Are you setting a trap or something?" She said with her mouthful, spitting out chunks of crackers as she did. This really wasn't the time for manners, it felt like an eternity had passed since she had last eaten. All the running and fighting she had gone through today had really worn her out. Still, she doubted she would get any real good sleep tonight. She would be up all night tossing and turning; wondering who or what would be after her next. Well, at least I won't die hungry she thought as she stuffed and Oreo in her mouth and washed it down with a couple of gulps from the water bottle.

"Man, I didn't even think to ask. Are you hungry? Do we uhh..need to go and get you something?" She eyed him nervously.

It took a while for Blight to answer since he was so focused on his web, but as soon as he finished he tested it out in various places. That didn’t require too much attention.

“Even I can’t eat rotten flesh. It makes most creatures sick,” he explained. He went around tugging on the strands that attached the web to the building to see if they had any weaknesses. Her question made him shake his head.

“A trap? Oh, no, I’ve got many of those set in the area. This is what we’ll be sleeping on tonight. Nothing short of those giant can get us in this web.”
He lowered his head down to rub his cheek against the web threads. Since his face was the few fleshy bits on his body, he could feel the texture of the makeshift bed. The web felt as soft as silk, ideal for lying upon. He went back to Crystie and sat beside her.

“Don’t worry, I’ve eaten recently. I won’t need to eat for another day or two. Although ... I wouldn’t mind trying a bit of human food to see what the fuss is about.”
He pulled out an Oreo cookie since it seemed the most interesting out of the items. Carefully, he bit off a piece and chewed slowly. My gods ... that was so tasty! He quickly shoved the rest in his mouth and happily ground it to a pulp. Luckily he had good enough manners to keep his mouth closed.

Crystie started oddly as Blight lowered his head to drag it across the newly web he created. She wasn't exactly sure what he was doing, but it looked like he was testing his web-bed out.

"We're gonna sleep on that? You sure we won't fall through it?" She asked, looking over it questionably. Although she was fully aware how sticky and strong the web could be, she wasn't sure if it could really hold the two of them. Especially where they would be suspended in mid-air. The back of her mind prickled with the thought of another trap, but she shoved it away. She had to trust him if she were to get anywhere. Besides, his webs may come in handy later on.

She watched curiously as Blight indulged himself with an Oreo cookie. While she had seen many spiders down in the cave, she had never seen one close enough to actually watch them eat. They way Blights pincers moved methodically to grind up the Oreo was rather fascinating. That was, until she imagined him ripping flesh off a human being with the exact same enthusiasm. She turned away and watched the last of the sun disappear behind the plains as she munched on another cracker.

"If you thought that was good..you should try cake. Or Nutella. I haven't anything sweet for a few years. Been mostly living off beans and stew for the last year. I almost forgot how enjoyable these things are,"
She scoffed to herself, bringing out the tattered blanket from the bag. She wound it around herself before she could begin to shiver; with the sun down it was beginning to get cold. She could hear the ragged screams of the monsters in the distance. Sounds like they found something of their own to feast on.

Blight badly wanted to eat the whole box of cookies to indulge more in the Oreo goodness, but he reasoned with himself that Crystie would need it more than he did. He pushed it back into the backpack for her to eat later, and if he was good, for him to eat as well.

“Of course we’ll sleep on it,” he insisted, strumming one of the threads near them like a guitar wire. “Spider silk as thick as a pencil can stop a jumbo jet from taking off. My web can – nay, will hold us both.” To illustrate this, he walked back onto the web and bounced up and down it. The holes in it weren’t very big, so even his small feet could jump on it without risk of them falling through.

He could feel the air getting colder as he bounced, though. Blight stopped and sat back down again, this time making more webbing. The crazy spider seemed to have an almost endless supply of the stuff. At the speed only spiders could go, he started making the beginnings of a blanket with all four hands. If he kept that speed up, the blanket would be done within half an hour. Not to mention any knitters that witnessed his knitting would turn the brightest shade of green in jealousy.
“Not that I wish to pry, but where were you before you got here?” he asked, multitasking.

Crystie laughed briefly
"Alright I get it! I wouldn't think spiders web could be so strong. But I guess I'm a witness." She tugged hard on the string around her waist. Shrugging, she pulled the blanket further around her and watched as Blight manipulated more webbing. It looked like he was creating some kind of body bind, but she wasn't going to start assuming things. However, she slowly drew the hammer from her boot and set it beside her just in case.

"Well..I was serving out my sentence in one of the mines in Sandy. I got into some trouble about year back and was sentenced to twelve years." She did not delve into the details for the guilt was far too much.

"How about you? Have you lived here your whole life or what is your story?" She asked him, dragging the pillow out of the backpack and getting comfortable on the roof.

The blanket Blight was making was a quarter of the way finished. He was more concerned about giving her an extra layer quickly for the night than making it thicker. No doubt it will get really cold when the night’s fully upon them. He’d be all right with his exoskeleton and fur protecting him, but she had none. Absentmindedly, he reached a foot out to the line and reattached themselves to each other.

“I used to live in a pit in some caves before I got here,” he said. “The caves weren’t giving me a steady supply of food after a while, so before I starved I moved out and found this city. I didn’t know that they were going to seal it off. By the time I settled in nicely, they’d closed it, and I’d forgotten where the entrance was. That’s why I’m hoping you can get me out of here ... so that I won’t starve to death once the city turns into a ghost town. It’ll be mutually beneficial for us both to get out of here.”
He jumped a little, and turned his head in her direction. “My apologies! All this time and I haven’t even asked your name.”

Her eyes were fixed on Blight as he worked; fatigue washed over her as her eyes began to droop.

"Mmm, Well, hopefully we can help each other out of this hell hole. Maybe once we get closer to the entrance you'll start remembering where exactly it is?" She asked hopefully. While Blight didn't have his eyesight anymore, if he came in here blind he should be able to get out the same way.

"It's no problem. We were kinda in a bind earlier so formalities were a little out of the question. My name is Crystie. It's been an interesting day, wouldn't you say Blight?" More monsters screamed in the distance, closer now than they were before. Crystie sat up and cautiously looked over the edge. There were three long nailed monsters below them, screeching at one another as they fought over the contents of a garbage can. They failed to notice Blight and Crystie on the roof however, so she eventually settled back onto the roof. The hammer was now clutched close to her chest.

“I hope so, too. I’ve been so focused on keeping myself fed and remembering the place over the years ... it’s possible I’ll only remember it if I see it. Er, figuratively speaking,” he added. He felt around his work and made sure it was wide enough to be a blanket. So far so good. Crystie would have an extra blanket soon enough.
“Indeed, it has been,” Blight replied, chuckling. He certainly hadn’t anticipated that someone would be able to get in the city after it was sealed. Was it fate? Maybe. He and his mother used to debate whether or not fate existed when he was blinded as a kid.
The sound of the monsters fighting below interrupted his thoughts. He sighed and shook his head.
“Ah, yes, see why we should all get out of here? There won’t be much left of anything soon,” he said, nodding towards the edge of the roof. “Silly things, they are. There’s no point in wasting your energy fighting each other over resources. That reminds me ... we should take shifts guarding if we’re going to try and escape. Let me know when you’re ready to sleep so I can watch over you.”

She glanced down at the monsters again and shook her head.
"I understand. It's hard to believe a place like this actually exists." Sighing, she rubbed the back of her neck.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. I don't want to be caught off guard while we're both sleeping," she wondered for a moment if he would try to eat her while she slept, but she figured he would have eaten her earlier if he really wanted her dead. This was quite an elaborate plan to get her to trust her just to eat her. So finally, she accepted the fact that he wanted to escape this place just as much as she did.

"I would love the chance to sleep first if that's okay," she told him, straining to her feet as she walked over to the webby bed. She cautiously put one foot on the web before putting her whole body weight on it. As Blight said the webs held strong. Still, she walked awkwardly across the webbing before she got to her knees, gently touching the webs to see if she would stick to it like a flytrap. Surprisingly, the webs were very soft, unlike she had experienced before.

"Blight you never cease of surprise me," she murmured, getting herself into a comfortable position to sleep in. She wrapped herself up into a little ball using the blanket and propped her head up on the moth eaten pillow. Before she relaxed fully, she gripped her hammer tightly in her right hand: ready if she was awoken by danger.

"I'll just sleep for a few hours, then you can wake me up and i'll watch. Deal?"

“Deal,” Blight agreed. He’d slept most of the morning away, so he wasn’t really all that sleepy. He was happy to hear the sound of his web being used. His captive was cooperating nicely now, so he wouldn’t need to keep them tethered all the time. Still, like any spider, he preferred having a drag line for both of them just in case they fell.

The makeshift blanket was finally done. Unlike most spider webs, Blight’s silk tended to last longer before drying out, but the blanket would turn brittle within a few days. He tested the fabric out before walking over and feeling for Crystie’s foot again. Once he found out which way she was laying, he draped the silken blanket over her.

"There. Some extra covers for you in case you get too cold.” Then he detached his end of the tether and stuck it to the web. He didn’t want her to fall off the web, even if it were wide enough for both of them to lie comfortably. “Sleep tight,” he whispered. Then he went back to the roof and settled down to listen to the sounds of the night.

Outside a group of towns folk began chatting, "friends with the beast, die with the beast, friends with the beast, die with the beast!" A bell was rung and an Ogr3 helped barracade the door as the people of the Grotto lit the apartment housing complex, a blaze! As the flames grew the smoke drifted up to the third floor where Blight and Crystie lay asleep. "Friends with the beast, die with the beast!!"

Chanting? Blight got up and peered from the top of the roof. A few sonar clicks from his mouth confirmed that there was a crowd of people gathered below them. His nose was soon hit with the choking, oppressive smell of smoke. Blight let out an inhuman screech in horror. The people were trying to kill them!

Knowing it was only a matter of time before the fire attacked the web, he bounded onto it quickly to retrieve his captive.
“Crystie! Crystie, wake up!” he cried, cutting her tether loose. The fire was getting closer. If he didn’t move her soon, they’d both fall to the ground. He picked her up in both pairs of arms and wrapped her in the blankets quickly. “No time to explain, hang on!”

Blight crouched and then leapt from the web onto another roof nearby. And not a moment too soon; the fire touched the web’s support lines. It was a dry web that wasn’t protected by slime, so it burned easy. Half of it detached and fell to the ground, briefly burning before being released as ashes into the air. Aware that Crystie was squeamish about him touching her, Blight set her down on the roof.

Crystie awoke with a start; her throat and eyes were burning from the smoke overhead. Coughing, she sat straight up and watched as the flames engulfed the apartment building. What happened?!

Filled with adrenaline, she grasped the backpack to her right and slid her hammer back into her boot, ready to run. She only had a second to stare wide-eyed before Blight bundled her up and made his way across the web to the next building.

"What--" she started, but Blight cut her off. He was right, he could explain once they were safe. Once he set her down she thrust the tattered blanket into the backpack and swung it over her shoulders. It was then that she could hear the sounds of the chants below. Tentatively, she creeped over to the edge and glanced down at the growing party by the apartment; the monsters had an ogre on their side!

"So much for those things on our side! Come on, we'll have to jump from roof to roof! The further away we can get from them the better!" She called back to Blight, taking off in a run for the next building. There was about a seven foot gap between the building. With her heart in her throat, she picked up her pace and leapt for the second building. Wind rushed through her hair as she remained momentarily weightless; the next second she came crashing down on the roof. As her feet collided, they buckled under her weight and she folded into a ball, rolling from the edge. Wincing, she rose to her feet and watched as Blight approached the edge.

"Your turn!"

Blight opened his mouth and let out a series of sonar clicks to show him where the rooftops were as he ran. After fighting the urge to make a drag line (leaving those behind would show the monsters where they went), he launched off the roof and onto the next one where Crystie was just like a jumping spider. After all, he was used to jumping great distances. He turned to her.

“It’s probably better I do the jumping. Here, let me –”
The spider didn’t finish his sentence. He was too busy pulling Crystie onto his back and using threads to tie her down so that she wouldn’t fall off. Once everything was stuck on him, he kept making that strange clicking noise, like that noise you get when your computer is busy doing something. It seemed to work for him, though. The next instant he was jumping from roof to roof as though he got his vision back.

Crystie was caught off guard as Blight pulled her on his back. She didn't say anything though as Blight was right. He was definitely quicker on his many feet. Crystie desperately clung to the fine fur in Blight as they crawled across the building, whipping her hair behind her with their speed.

Once they had made it across town Crystie looked back to see if there were any monsters in their wake: they seemed to be alone. They only thing she could see of the building they used to be in was the smoke as it rose into the sky. She bent down next to Blight's ear

"I think we got rid of them! We could probably slow down. Maybe hide out somewhere else," she called over the wind.

Blight heeded Crystie’s words and slowed to a walking pace on the rooftops. He was glad they’d gotten away, since he wasn’t used to keeping up that speed for long. He made a full stop on a flat roof and bent over to catch his breath, panting heavily. Unlike a human, he couldn’t sweat, so panting was the only way to restore normal oxygen levels. Just to be sure they were alone, he paused his breathing to listen around them.

Nothing. Convinced they were safe, Blight used a claw to break the threads and let his passenger slide off him. He took a moment to sit down to rest.

“The ... giants don’t have a set side,” he panted. “They only defend ... the ones that are attacked. The townspeople must have not ... been too happy that you sided with me.”
He reached into the backpack on Crystie’s shoulders and pulled out a water bottle, and gulped down half of it voraciously. Water never tastes so good until you need it badly.