Even after taking another anti-depressant, I still tossed and turned in bed that evening. Once again, I don’t remember falling asleep. My mind simply refused to shut down. The day’s events churned in my thoughts, boiling like a brew in a witch’s cauldron.

I made up my mind to talk to Henry about his step-son’s poor attitude at work. With the proof of the security tape, perhaps I could get Frank fired. In the long run, however, my neighbor was going to be more difficult to deal with. If I had my way, he’d travel the same path his dog did.

As my thoughts drifted over my neighbor, my mind felt as though it left my body and floated through the room. My consciousness seemed to drift towards Delilah’s aquarium. I felt myself lower through the hollow log and merge into her mind. It was as though she were an irresistible beacon, like a moth drawn to a deadly flame.

When the spider mind mixed into my own, I once again saw the savage world through the eight-eyed view of Delilah. The distorted sight was a nightmare glimpse of a world trapped in madness. Images twisted around me as I felt my body begin to grow. The raw hunger wrapped around my remaining sanity and drove my huge, dog-sized body out of the house in search of prey.

Underneath the open, starry night sky of the back yard, I deeply breathed the fresh October air and truly felt free for the first time in my life. The spider’s instinct was to sit and wait for prey to come to it, for one of its gifts is that of patience. My human mind knew, however, exactly where food could be found. There was no need to wait, only an overwhelming desire to feed.

The back door of my neighbor’s house broke like toothpicks beneath my incredible spider strength. The power I felt was intoxicating. I was an unstoppable war machine of death and destruction. My hulking body stalked through his house. The spider’s mind sought food; my human mind sought vengeance. Though my swift creeping was as silent as a whisper, my soon-to-be meal had already been alerted by the sound of the back door breaking in.

My new mind cried out in savage glee as my victim froze in horror at my sight. My distorted eyesight perceived his face as a twisted demon losing its sanity. Its mouth opened and prepared to scream. Ignorant of an arachnid’s capabilities, the demonic face was amazed as I jumped from across the room and onto its chest. With the diabolic fiend’s wind knocked out, I sank my fangs into its neck and injected a dose of venom into this impish abomination.

Now paralyzed by my venom instead of just fear, the demon could do nothing short of quiver. With the thing still alive and conscious, I began to feed on it. My prey died a slow and agonizing death. My new mind was exhilarated by the kill. I was the god of spiders.

Later, I crawled home and into the cage. My body shrank in girth, and I slipped beneath the log once again. I felt my mind drift slowly away from Delilah’s mind. It was a harder separation this time. There was stiff resistance to the split. At last I felt my mind settle into my human body once again. In comparison, it felt incredibly weak and vulnerable.

The next thing I remember, the alarm went off. My startled heart again skipped its customary half dozen beats. Still, I don’t remember actually waking up. Oddly enough, I felt quite invigorated and didn’t even bother to use the clock’s snooze alarm.

I had breakfast with Joanie who was once again playing her “pretend-it-never-happened” part concerning the events of yesterday. During the idle chit-chat and small talk, she again mentioned The Aviator and her girlfriend. Although eating out with the same friend twice in as many days might’ve normally struck me as odd, it wouldn’t reveal its true significance until later in the day.

I amazed myself and several others by arriving to work 10 minutes early this morning. I can’t remember the last time I did that. The rest of the day, however, went down hill. Actually, it was more like a boulder tumbling over a cliff.