Chapter 3: The Heat Cycle – This is even harder to accept than food reserves! ...
Catherine sat on the edge of the rock, glanced at the ground, and estimated the height. She figured it was about the height of one person, so she turned around, stretched her legs down first, and kept her hands on the rock.
But once her lower body was outside the rocks, Catherine realized her earlier estimate was wrong; she was actually still some distance from the ground. Getting back up was difficult now, so she straightened her legs and tried to reach the ground.
Fortunately, although the process was extremely difficult, the result was good. In the end, Catherine successfully reached the ground on her own.
Throughout the entire process, the alien spider watched her intently. After she landed successfully, the spider seemed to have a hint of lingering satisfaction on its face.
Back when she was at the Vatican, Catherine had seen a stray cat climb a tree by leaning against her, but then became afraid of the height and dared not jump down all at once. So the cat slowly used each branch as a landing point, taking a long time to finally come down.
The way she looked at the cat under the tree was exactly the same way the alien spider had looked at her.
Catherine took a deep breath and composed herself.
Previously, I always pretended to be respectful to the Lord while secretly doing many things that were not allowed by the doctrines behind the backs of the Vatican.
At the time, she always thought that the retribution written in the New Testament was something people used to discipline themselves. Little did she know that retribution actually existed in this world.
Catherine walked up to the prey the spider had brought back.
Just as she had guessed, the prey was enormous, only slightly smaller than the alien spider. Now lying on the ground, it resembled a small mountain, completely blocking out the sunlight streaming into the cave.
Raw meat is tough, and it's from a completely unprocessed wild animal. Although it has many deep wounds from the fight, Catherine still has a hard time tearing the flesh off with just her bare hands. After half a day, all that's left are her hands covered in slippery blood.
There was a noise nearby. Catherine turned her head and saw the alien spider walking towards her. It stopped beside her, then raised its legs and cut the raw meat into pieces that Catherine could eat.
Catherine sat to the side watching his actions, but she felt increasingly strange.
If the alien spider abducted her as a food reserve, then there's really no need to worry so much about her life or death.
Now, he not only specially designated a section in his nest as her "bed," but also laid out shells and fur to keep her warm. Because he discovered she couldn't eat on her own, he specially cut her food into smaller portions.
Could it be because they were afraid that if she suffered from cold and hunger, some of her edible parts would be consumed?
However, it's only the end of summer now, not the time for alien spiders to store food for hibernation, so hoarding food at this time is strange in itself.
Catherine then recalled the look the alien spider had given her when she climbed down from the rock.
Does this mean that alien spiders also keep pets?
However, Catherine quickly lost interest in thinking about these things.
The alien spider's legs were exceptionally sharp, and it quickly sliced its prey in half. Catherine looked at the cut pieces of meat, feeling a pang of reluctance. But in the Devil's Forest, she had no other choice.
Catherine frowned, picked up a piece of raw meat, and stuffed it into her mouth. Instantly, a strong, bloody taste filled her entire oral cavity.
She instinctively wanted to vomit, but quickly raised her hand to cover her mouth, trying her best to suppress this instinctive reaction.
Catherine struggled to chew the thick chunk of meat. Raw meat was softer than cooked meat, but also more chewy, making it difficult to swallow. She simply couldn't bring herself to swallow such a large piece; that might cause her to die from an esophageal blockage.
Catherine closed her eyes tightly, chewed forcefully many more times, and then swallowed the piece of meat in her mouth with her neck stiffened. Almost without pausing, she picked up a second piece of meat and stuffed it into her mouth.
Rather than lessening the pain at any given time but having to prolong the suffering, Catherine preferred to end the pain as soon as possible—even if it would be more unbearable than the former.
Almost every bite of the meat caused blood to seep out, a sensation that nearly drove Catherine mad. Eventually, Catherine numbly shoved the meat into her mouth. She had long since abandoned her sense of taste; now she was simply chewing food mechanically.
After consuming the amount of meat required for a normal meal, Catherine immediately stopped eating.
She swallowed all the raw meat in her mouth, and then began coughing and gagging violently. Catherine knew that her body was resisting the food.
However, all the plants in the Devil's Forest have evolved toxins for survival, as have most of the herbivores—for a time, she was astonished that there were herbivores in the Devil's Forest.
In this forest teeming with death, the only prey she could find were large carnivores like these. They were the safest option.
She obviously can't expect the alien spider to light a fire for her and cook her prey. So for a long time to come, she'll most likely have to eat raw meat.
Her body will have to get used to this fact sooner or later.
But for now, Catherine is not able to stop this physiological reaction on her own.
She felt her eyes welling up with tears, her vision blurred, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
Just as she was feeling miserable, Catherine felt the air behind her freeze for a moment. She turned around with difficulty, her eyes red, and looked up, barely able to make out the enormous figure of the alien spider approaching her through her blurry vision.
Then, Catherine was pulled into an overly cold embrace. She felt the alien spider's hand pat her back awkwardly.
Catherine thought strangely that an alien spider would actually comfort a human.
However, considering the size difference between them, Catherine thought that he might be comforting a small, tearful pet.
Catherine's severe physiological reaction to consuming a large amount of raw meat left her feeling dazed and unable to think clearly. Fortunately, this state gradually began to subside after a few minutes.
Catherine raised her hand to wipe away the tears on her face, and her brain, which had almost crashed, began to function again. Only then did she realize that something was wrong.
The alien spider's hand had lingered on her back for far too long. And its body temperature had cooled.
If before, when she held his arm, it was like touching a piece of cold, hard marble, then now, he was like molten lava that had cooled down a bit.
He was currently holding her with his arms wrapped around her waist. Catherine frowned, feeling that his grip was a little too tight.
Meanwhile, the alien spider's other hand had somehow landed on her shoulder, pressed against her body, and he was breathing softly.
Catherine felt goosebumps rise up her spine. The whole situation was so bizarre that it left her completely bewildered.
For a moment, she even had the illusion that she was flirting with a lover.
Catherine frowned and tried to back away, but suddenly felt something warm pressing against her from below.
Her eyes widened suddenly, and she shoved the alien spider away. The spider must have been completely unsuspecting, because she actually managed to escape.
Catherine stood to the side, subconsciously glancing at the alien spider's waist.
Beneath his groin, where it connected to his carapace, stood something familiar, only much larger than anything Catherine had ever seen.
When she was a nun at the Vatican, she had many lovers behind the Lord's back due to certain physical needs—a perfectly normal human need after reaching a certain age. However, compared to the secular constraints placed on women, Catherine was much more indulgent in her own "constraints."
So she couldn't possibly be unaware of how the alien spider was reacting.
A sense of inexplicable absurdity suddenly rose in Catherine's mind.
He's a spider and she's human—a beast reacting to a human woman?! Oh my God! This is more unacceptable than food supplies!
At this moment, the alien spider looked somewhat bewildered by Catherine's earlier push. However, he was clearly aroused; a flush spread across his usually cold face, and undeniably, the scene was incredibly alluring.
If he were human, Catherine wouldn't mind spending a night with him, just for his appearance.
But he's a beast!
No matter how human his upper body looks, it cannot change the fact that she and he are not of the same race!
Catherine instinctively took a few steps back, but the alien spider had clearly reached its limit of patience. It quickly moved forward, and the distance Catherine had just moved away from vanished in an instant.
Catherine tried to escape in fear, but was suddenly pulled into the arms of the alien spider.
He leaned down, unable to contain himself, and pressed his head against her neck, inhaling her scent. His warm, damp breath, intermittently spraying onto Catherine's neck, sent a shiver down his spine.
"Stop! I am not one of your kind!"
Catherine turned her head to the side, trying to pull herself as far away as possible. She braced her forearm between herself and the alien spider, attempting to prevent it from touching her.
But the strength of an ordinary human being is no match for that of a ferocious beast, and all her efforts were ultimately in vain.
"No, no... Stop right now!"
The alien spider ignored him completely. Seeing that Catherine had turned her head away, unable to kiss her lips, it instead took her earlobe into its mouth.
Sharp teeth gently grazed her skin, and warm, moist breath entered her ear canal, making Catherine feel like she was suddenly burning up.
Her reason struggled to remind her, but most of her brain had become a blur. The heat enveloped her, making her head even more dizzy.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
