"Stay here," Nox told them coldly, his voice cutting through the heavy air.

  Without hesitation, he rose and calmly walked across the hall — straight toward the monster. The others froze, barely daring to breathe. Muscles tensed, ready to sprint at the slightest sign of danger. But the spider-like creature didn’t move. It simply watched him with its countless black eyes, unblinking and eerily still. When Nox stopped, he spun on his heel to face it fully. Their gazes locked.

  For all its horrific appearance — all jagged limbs and twitching mandibles — Nox didn’t feel fear. Instead, a strange calm settled over him, like staring into the eye of a storm. It was nothing, compared to that humanoid creature.

  "Back up a little more," he said over his shoulder, his voice low and steady.

  Without warning, he snatched up the nearest object — a small toaster — and flung it toward the spider. There was a sharp gasp from the group behind him, some of them shifting on their feet, ready to bolt. The toaster clattered loudly near the spider — but it didn’t react.

  It just kept staring.

  "It’s not aggressive... not unless something is right beneath its web," Nox explained, trying to keep his voice calm, soothing.

  He gave a half-grin, grabbed another toaster, and hurled it again. This time, the toaster bounced underneath the hanging web — and the reaction was instant.

  One of the spider’s long arms shot down unnaturally fast, snatching the object in a blink. The speed of it was so jarring that it left a ringing silence in its wake. No one dared move. Even breathing seemed too loud. Except for Nox, who stood there, studying the creature thoughtfully.

  Finally, Mike shuffled forward, legs shaking, and peered at the monster.

  "So it won’t move unless something is near the web?" Mike asked, his voice unsteady.

  "As far as I know," Nox confirmed.

  "I still don’t want to stay here," Emily muttered, inching closer to the two men.

  Seeing that nothing terrible had happened yet, the rest of the group cautiously joined them.

  "It’s not so bad," Nataly piped up, her voice lighter than she probably felt.

  She had wandered off a little — and now, with a heavy clunk, she pulled open a fire escape door near the spider. When everyone turned to her in alarm, she grinned and dragged a battered lawn chair — still tagged with a SALE sticker — into place.

  "Someone can stay near this door," she said practically, setting the chair down. "If anything happens, just run outside. The spider won’t fit through."

  Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

  Nox blinked at her, appreciating the practical move, but didn’t comment. She was sharp. There was no denying that. The others visibly relaxed at that. But then came the real problem.

  "Who’s going to stay behind?" Tylor asked, grimacing.

  At once, everyone started glancing around at each other.

  "Nataly and Nox are out of the question," Mike declared boldly.

  He straightened his shoulders like a leader stepping up.

  "Nox knows this place better than anyone, and Nataly’s a med student — if we want to grab medicine, we need her with us."

  It made perfect sense, but that didn’t make it easier.

  "You also have to remember..." Nox said grimly, "the spider’s not the only monster here."

  The reminder hit like a stone. The room seemed to get colder. Just because someone stayed behind to watch the spider didn’t mean the others would have a safer time gathering supplies. If anything, they’d be walking blind through a minefield.

  "But you said this one doesn’t really move, right?" Nate asked quietly, speaking up for the first time since they entered the store.

  Nox nodded. Taking a breath, Emily stepped forward and grabbed Nate’s sleeve.

  "We’ll stay," she said, trying to sound braver than she felt. "Keeping an eye on that thing sounds better than bumping into... whatever else is out there."

  She bit her lip, cheeks pink with nerves, but didn’t back down.

  Nox offered her a small, approving smile. "Thanks."

  With the guards decided, the rest of the group could focus on planning.

  "What other monsters are there?" Mike asked, lowering his voice.

  Nox scratched the back of his head, thinking.

  "Toy monster outside," he listed. "Spider here in appliances. One in the frozen department — likes opening freezer doors. Another near the makeup section — hoards stuff. Both seemed only interested in that, so as long as we don't provoke them on purpose, we should be in the clear. And one more that dashes at people... but I'm not sure if it's actually trying to hurt anyone. Could just be trying to scare."

  Tylor furrowed his brows. "Where have you seen the dashing one?"

  Nox frowned, racking his memory. Every sighting blurred together — no clear pattern, no specific zone. It was... unsettling. He wasn’t even sure if the creature charged to attack or just to frighten. The uncertainty gnawed at him, and he knew the others could see it.

  "Okay," Mike sighed, clapping his hands together once. "How do we split up?"

  "I'll go with Nataly," Nox said immediately.

  Nataly blinked, a little flustered by his sudden decisiveness.

  "I need medicine," Nox explained, a bit awkwardly. "I want to stock up while we can."

  Nataly gave him a soft nod, understanding.

  Mike and Tylor exchanged glances but didn’t argue.

  "Alright. Then me and Tylor will take the frozen department," Mike said, grabbing a shopping cart.

  He pushed it a few times to test for squeaks — none.

  "You’re sure the monster in frozen isn't aggressive?" he asked, glancing at Nox.

  "No guarantees," Nox said grimly. "It mostly just opens freezer doors as far as I’ve seen."

  Then something clicked.

  "The dashing monster!" Nox blurted.

  Everyone turned sharply toward him.

  "I don’t think I’ve seen it near other monsters," he said, thinking aloud. "Maybe it avoids them... or maybe I just got lucky."

  Everyone went quiet, tension creeping back in.

  "Well," Tylor muttered, rolling his shoulders, "let’s hope we don’t find out."

  One by one, they each grabbed a cart, making sure they moved as silently as possible.

  Mike clicked on the radio.

  "We're heading out. Call us if anything changes."

  "Got it," Nate’s voice crackled back.

  "It’s creepy but it hasn’t moved at all," Emily added.

  "Good," Mike nodded. "Me and Tylor will head to frozen. Nox and Nataly — pharmacy."

  "Near the pharmacy is the non-perishables section," Nox added. "We should grab some basics on the way back. Leave some for others, but stock up where we can."

  "And before we leave, we’ll grab fruits and vegetables," Nataly piped up, thinking ahead.

  With a final shared glance — a mix of hope and dread — the group split up and slipped deeper into the haunted store.