Alexa stretched as she got out of Flint’s car. The drive to the hiking trail had been a long one, but now for the next hour or so, it would be just him, her, and the beauty of nature all around them.
“I got the snacks,” Flint said, shutting the car door behind him. “Ready to go?”
“You bet!” She said, adjusting her backpack straps.
The two walked through the dense wood, the only sounds beside their footsteps being the chirping of birds and the occasional rustle of leaves as a small animal ducked for cover. The trail became steeper, and in many spots, was overgrown, as they went further in, and higher up. In places, large tree roots seemed to have formed natural steps up the rising path.
Eventually, they came to the top of the hill, where a small clearing gave them the chance to sit down, and look over the treetops around them.
“Thanks for coming out here with me,” Alexa said, giving her boyfriend a hug.
“You’re welcome,” he chuckled. “It looks way more beautiful with you up here.”
Alexa laughed, and sat back on a large stone, while Flint took off his backpack and began to rummage around through it.
As he did, Alexa’s thoughts wandered back to the strange woman she’d met in that odd shop, and the power she’d claimed to grant Alexa. Alexa felt silly even considering that what she’d been told… but still, it’d be trivially easy to test… and prove wrong, of course. And on the off chance it worked, maybe she could have a little fun with it. But it obviously wouldn’t. There was no reason to think about it.
So she’d just do a little test, quickly, obviously disprove it, and move on like nothing happened.
She quietly whispered to herself, “Flint will become the monster I dream of, as I will it.”
Flint suddenly shuddered and moaned, clutching at his sides.
Alexa immediately rushed over to him. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
“It… it hurts…” He groaned, a bulge forming on either side of his chest, under each arm. Not only that, his lower body seemed to be swelling and distorting, his pants tearing up.
She saw dozens, then hundreds, then thousands, of tiny black hairs rise up over his arms, spreading all over his skin from there. His pants gave up the ghost as his lower body swelled into a second torso, his original upper body arching back, and causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground.
Alexa tried to hold on to him, completely freaking out herself. “It’ll be okay, j-just hang on!” She tried to tell him. But her words were drowned out by his pained, increasingly raspy moans.
His shoes and socks slid off a his legs and feet became longer and narrower, little claws growing on the end of each foot in place of toes. The new legs each rose into an arch that rose above his lower torso. Then, beside them swelled two more lumps, each bursting out, rapidly growing into a second pair of spider legs.
Even amidst her panic, Alexa was starting to realize what was happening, but she was still too shocked to do anything but watch as her boyfriend continued to change. The back of his lower torso swelled up into massive, bulbous abdomen, ending in a spinnerette. Meanwhile, a second pair of arms, covered in the same black hair as the rest of his body, slid out the bottom of his shirt. Both pairs of arms became longer, more spindly, each fingertip growing a claw in place of a fingernail
Flint panted, and clutched at his head, as his final changes came. Already covered in black hair, his nose and ears shrank back to nothing more than little holes in the sides of his head. His teeth sharpened, while his lips became less prominent a small pair of controllable feelers (pedipalps, Alexa had heard them called,) growing at the sides of his mouth. Finally, he let out one last shout, shutting his eyes, while six more slits opened in his forehead above them. When he next opened his eyes all eight of them, they were blood red, not a trace of a white or pupil.
Slowly, the newly-made drider rose up, steadying himself on his for legs, as he tried to take in all the new sensations his body was sending him.
“Oh Flint!” Alexa shook herself out of her stupor, and rushed up to kiss him. Instinctively his pedipalps held her face close, as her tongue explored his altered mouth.
She had never felt a mix of excitement, and guilt, like this before. She had done this to him. Not expecting it to work, certainly, but she had done it, and she was ENJOYING it! She knew this had to be freaking him out far worse than it was her, and was likely worlds more painful… and yet, she still couldn’t help but love that it had happened.
As their mouths parted, Flint caught his breath, before asking, in a raspy voice. “Wh-what… happened… t-to me?”