Spiders were not a good thing to have in your closet, especially if that closet was your recording studio.

Mat scowled as he kept his distance from the small room. His eyes were locked on the corner above his shelves, where a sac of woven webs hanged with hundreds of baby spiders crawling out. Goddangit, of all the poopy things that could happen! Mat groaned and shook his head. I guess I'm gonna have to use another room for all of our theory videos until Steph and I can get this pest problem under control. I hope they don't get in my jackets. Mat looked at the spiders for a few more seconds before he ran into the closet room and grabbed as many of his things as quickly as possible.

When his things were safe Mat ran back in and unplugged his laptop. As he worked on getting his laptop free, a little black spider crawled near his hand.

"Ah! Oh no you don't!" Mat jerked his hand away and backed away. "Stay back you little demonic... eight legged..." Mat frowned as he tried to reach for a good insult. "... attercop."

"Mat?" Stephanie stopped outside the closet and looked at the theorist with confusion. "What are you-" she gasped when she saw the spider problem, and her eyes widened. "Oh no!" She exclaimed. "Oh Mat, what did you do to make them so angry, you drove them up the wall!"

"Ha ha ha." Mat walked over to Stephanie with his laptop under his arm. "I didn't do anything! They came and stole the closet!" He exclaimed.

"Well maybe you ruined their web, so they decided to use your computer to make some websites," Stephanie teased. Mat shook his head, fighting back a smile at the awful puns.

"I don't know Steph, how about you weave me an explanation?" He chuckled. "But seriously, we're gonna have to get rid of them, I cannot stand spiders! They aren't animatronics but boy they will sneak up on you and strike when you least expect it! You just watch!" Stephanie giggled.

"Ok, easy there tiger, we'll take care of them, but right now why don't you go ahead and get a room set up so you can finish that theory about Spiderman? You could try the storage room; besides, you've waited a long time to get a good idea on him anyway, so why wait?"

"How ironic," Mat muttered to himself, and then he sighed. "Thanks Steph." He grabbed his recording gear and made his way to the storage room, stopping only to pet a kitty and murmuring, "Hey CatPat, go guard the theory closet for me will you?" The cat meowed and trotted off with his tail high in the air.

Mat walked into the storage room and put his laptop and equipment on a dusty old table. He sighed and sat down on a pile of boxes, falling into a thinking trance. I wonder if I should put that first, and then that last... he was thinking about how he was going to organize his film theory. And then save that for last, throw in a couple of puns from Stephanie of course... Mat sighed and mussed his hair. Man it's really dusty. How long has it been since me and Steph have come down here? He got up and brushed some dust and cobwebs off the boxes, coughing.

"Man it really is dusty!" He muttered to himself. He stopped and noticed something black behind one of the boxes. He frowned. What's this? He pulled the box out of the way and crouched down. It was a hole in the wall. Mat expected it to be riddled with dust bunnies and old webs, but to his surprise it was actually clean.

"Huh." Maybe something frequently uses this tunnel? Mat tried to look down the tunnel's yawning throat, but it was too dark too see, even with the lights on. With a sigh he sat on the cold floor and ogled the hole. It was a natural crack in the wall, but the tunnel behind it was so smooth and straight. It looked unnatural, and it was so well hidden.

Mat sat there staring at the hole and began to brood.

Man I hate spiders! Creeping through one of the many tunnels that winded through the house's walls was a borrower. And Nate hated spiders. Any creepy crawlies were disturbing, especially at his size. But spiders were just horrifying! They had so many eyes and legs, and they could jump on a borrower and wrap their legs around them. And once that happened, well... you were toast dude. Gone.

Nate climbed up a row of nails that served as stairs, and he entered another tunnel before he walked up to a familiar door. It was made of twigs and dried grass, but it was sturdy, Nate knew that. He pulled a stick out of its place, and the door opened. He walked in and fixed the door behind them, and as he turned a familiar man came out to meet him.

"Hey." Mark yawned and waved. "Where have you been? It's not borrowing time yet."

"Just thought I'd see what the humans are up to." Nate put his hands in his pockets and bit his lip. In truth, he'd been hoping to hear one of Mat's newest theories, but he had been disappointed. "There's a spider infestation in the theor- erm, uh, in the humans' closet," he informed. Mark frowned.

"That's not good." He looked behind him at one of the tunnels that served as a hallway. "We'll have to be extra careful. Their webs are sticky and make the perfect traps for us: Borrowers made good snacks for spiders." Nate shivered. He knew how hard Mark's life had been before moving here. His cousin had once lived in a street alley with his girlfriend Amy. There were all kinds of dangers outside of a house, and Nate was still impressed by how cunning Mark was. He was wise, cautious, and he always kept his head no matter what happened.

I wish I could be like him, Nate thought grumpily as Mark left to go check on Amy. He was nothing like his cousin; if anything, Nate was Mark's opposite. While Mark was strong, tan and brave, Nate was scrawny and pale, and he was one of the most jumpy borrowers ever to exist. He couldn't help but look up to Mark, he was everything that Nate wished he could be.

"Morning Nathan!" Nate looked to see a green haired Irish borrower in the other tunnel, and he smiled.

"Hey Jack." He tilted his head and tried to look behind him. "How's Signe?" Jack's friendly smile fell.

"Oh... well, she's doing better," he mumbled. "But she still can't walk. She doesn't even have the strength to get out of bed, actually. I'm really worried about her..." then he swallowed and forced a small smile. "It's almost borrowing time though. Maybe you could get some medicine for her?" He asked hopefully. Nate blinked.

"Me?" He squeaked. "Why not Mark? I mean, he's more capable..."

"Don't say that!" Jack gently exclaimed. "You both have very unique talents, your own gifts and abilities." Nate let his head hang a little.

"Sure," he muttered. But wonder still made his hopes rise. Could he prove it to himself if he got Signe some medicine? Nate knew his friends were supportive and welcoming, but he still struggled with his own doubts. What did he even contribute to their safety? He had made dumb mistakes in the past, and Mark was always the one who had to clean them up and cover his cousin's tracks. Hell, if it wasn't For Mark, Nate knew that the humans would have discovered them. Or he would have been captured; or killed; or eaten... as good as dead, in other words.

Nate lifted his head and squared his shoulders, looking Jack square in the eye. "I'll do my best though!" He told him. Jack's eyes lit up with hope.

"Thanks Nate!" Mark walked back in the room with a young blonde woman beside him.

"Hey Jack!" The two borrowers greeted each other. Amy walked over to Nate.

"Are you going out there with Mark?" She murmured.

"Jack wants some medicine for Signe," Nate muttered back. "Her pneumonia's getting worse."

"She needs cough medicine." Amy watched Jack with sympathy in her eyes as the Irish borrower talked to Mark. "And more importantly an acetaminophen."

"I know the medicine cabinet is in the kitchen, above the sink. Are you sure that's what she needs?" As he said the words, Nate already knew the answer.

"Of course I'm sure." Amy rolled her eyes and nudged Nate. "I studied medicinal practices."

"Just making sure," Nate chuckled. Mark finished talking with Jack and walked up to Nate and Amy.

"You ready to go?" He asked. Nate stiffened.

"Already?" He exclaimed. "It's early!"

"Jack really wants some medicine for Signe, and our food supplies are low," Mark explained. "Yesterday Ethan said we ran out of salt."

"Is he coming with us?" Mark shook his head.

"No, he's still asleep; he was out last night borrowing some string for Amy."

"On his own?" Nate grew worried. "He could have gotten hurt!"

"He's fine," Mark assured. "And so will we, just like every other borrowing we've been on, ok? Just stay close to me." Nate was dismayed. I'm not a child! His mind snapped, but he ignored the voice in his head.

"I'm just being cautious," Nate reasoned. "Something could always go wrong, you never know."

"That's good, but I'm sure we'll be ok." Mark kissed Amy goodbye and patted Jack on the shoulder before he and Nate headed back into the tunnels. Nate followed closely behind his cousin as the two borrowers traveled the tunnel that led to the kitchen. The entrance was hidden behind Skip's cat bed, which always made Nate nervous.

Cats were dangerous for borrowers. They could hunt little people like Nate and his friends down like mice; in fact, that's really all they were to cats. Nate knew that Skip was actually a nice cat, but cats were animals with instincts, so it was best for him to just keep his distance.

"Coast is clear," Mark whispered. "Do you want to get the medicine or should I?" Nate narrowed his eyes in determination.

"N-no, I'll get it."

"Ok, I'm gonna go to the pantry and restock, be careful up there." Nate nodded and looked up at the counter. It towered over him, but Nate pushed his anxiety away and pulled his tackle out. He swung his hook and threw it, and the metal embedded into the towel that was left on the countertop. As he started climbing, Mark ran across the floor and headed to the pantry.

Nate was already out of breath when he made it onto the counter, so he hid behind the towel to catch his breath. He sighed and glanced to see Mark deftly make his way into the pantry. Show off, his mind grumbled. But Nate was still filled with admiration. I gotta keep up. He turned and looked up at the cabinets. It was a long way up, but with effort and luck Nate knew he could get that cabinet door open.

His jaw clenched as Nate walked out on to the edge of the sink and threw his hook. It hit the handle and wrapped around it, and Nate gave it a small tug to make sure it was secure before he started climbing up.

Mark harvested bread crumbs and got into the seasonings cabinet to get the salt. As he grabbed handfuls of the white mineral, he glanced over his shoulder every now and then to check on Nate and make sure the coast was still clear. I hope he doesn't hurt himself. Mark knew Nate was a good kid, and he knew that his cousin was also headstrong. Jack often teased that Nate was a lot like Mark, and sometimes Mark wondered how the hell that was even possible. He loved Nate dearly as his family and would always protect him with every ounce of fiber in his body, but he couldn't possibly see any family resemblance other than the black hair and brown eyes.

Oh well, that's not what matters anyway. Mark closed his bag and buttoned it up. What matters is that family is family, and no matter what we're all a family, and I'll protect them all to the best of my ability. Mark slung his bag over his shoulder and turned to leave the cabinet, but he stopped when he felt the ground start to shake with rhythmic thumps. Oh fuck! Mark spun around and looked for Nate. The borrower was up in the medicine cabinet, and through the glass Mark could see he was peering at each label on different bottles.

Mark had no choice. he couldn't call out at Nate, that would alert the approaching human. Thinking fast, he pulled the cabinet door shut and hid in the back. He held his breath as he waited behind a bottle of olive oil. Please let Nate be ok, he willed.

Stephanie walked into the kitchen and sighed, thinking. What would make a nice dinner? She was thinking about making spaghetti, but she still wasn't sure. Her mind was still on the spiders, but Stephanie's thoughts were halted when she felt something tickle her arm.

"Huh?" Stephanie turned and looked to see a string hanging from one of the cabinets. Frowning, she grabbed it and untangled it from the handle. "... Mat?" She called.

"Yeah?" Mat's voice came from downstairs.

"Come and look at this." She walked off to meet Mat halfway, wanting to show him the strange object. "It's a string with a hook on it; is it yours?" Mat jogged up the stairs and met his wife in the hallway.

"No." He frowned. "Where did you find it?" He asked.

"I found it dangling from one of the cabinets." She handed the tackle to Mat. "At first I thought it was from a spider, but the hook..."

"I'll look into it," Mat assured her. "Leave it to me Steph, detective MatPat is on the case!"

"Ok." Stephanie smiled. "I'll be in the game room, let me know when you're done." She walked off and disappeared from the hallway, and Mat looked down at the hook and string.

"... time to find out what this thing is." He closed his fist around the tackle and started walking. I know there's gotta be something else in this house, something other than just spiders. And I'm gonna find out what the heck it is.