She concealed herself ten feet above the small patch of bare dirt and settled in to watch and wait. Her sharp eyes were unwavering, her senses focused, waiting for the slightest movement The hot sun beat down upon her back, the air was motionless, she lay in wait as alert as a hunting cat. A stray breeze stirred up a puff of dust. Her eyes shifted, zoomed in, but she didn't move. She knew what she was waiting for.

The day wore on. Wisps of clouds crawled, one at a time, across the sky. The sun inched downward and shadows smudged the landscape. She remained as a sentinel, quiet and unmoving, not the slightest twitch betrayed her presence.

A grain of dirt moved on the slope of a tiny mound. She focused her eyes, her body tensed, sensing the moment was at hand. She crouched, imperceptibly, ready to spring. Another grain of dirt dislodged and moved perhaps a millimeter. A small clod rolled down the mound, then one more, and another. Still she remained as motionless as the tree she hid in. With the patience of a born hunter, she waited, her shiny black body poised and alert.

A cascade of tiny pebbles and grains of dirt rolled down the slope. A fuzzy black and gray creature edged out of the hole. She waited. The spider emerged and stood momentarily as if measuring its surroundings.

She was wise to the ways of the spider and she crouched, waiting for its next move. The spider took several tentative steps, stopped, its legs waving in the air, then broke for the safety of the surrounding brush.

She launched herself into the air and dove straight as an arrow. In the blink of an eye she was upon him. She wrapped her long legs around his body, arched her back and drove her stinger deep. The paralyzing poison took effect immediately. The spider curled into a ball, alive and breathing, but unable to move.

She dragged the spider back to the tunnel and pulled him down into his den. There she positioned herself and laid several eggs on his immobilized body. Later the eggs would hatch and the larvae would feed on the still living spider.
She crawled out of the tunnel. Using her powerful legs, she raked the dirt and clods into place and sealed the hole. The black Spider-Wasp lifted her wings, caught the breeze, and flew away.

Want to comment on this Short Stories? Sign up to Edit Red and you will be able to comment on Short Stories and get access to: Upload your own stories and poems, get readers and their feedback, promote your work...