"You know what he's up to, don't you?" called the stranger to Dolores. "If I get injured, there could be any number of women in this area who go unfertilized. Including you!"

A black shape hurtled from nowhere with a sudden jarring collision. It was Peck. In an instant, Peck's jaws had crunched fatally through the stranger's back.

"Fly away!" Dolores screamed. In her panic, she failed to unfurl her gummy, delicate wings. Her heavy body collided with a dozen nettle leaves on her way to earth.

"Wow, he tastes fantastic!" Peck muttered through a mouthful of pierced integument. "I always knew that a lightning bug would taste great!"

Peck hauled the stranger's paralyzed carcass toward the smooth base of the leaf. "Ow! Why'd you have to pick a nettle plant, Vinnie?"

Vinnie left. With a few discreet flashes, he located Dolores. She was terrified and cowering under a wilting toadstool.

"What was that?" Dolores gasped.

"Jumping spider," said Vinnie. "Came out of nowhere and nailed him."

"What a horrible monster!"

"I've been around," said Vinnie. "They're all the same." He examined himself. His left midleg had frozen into position. One of Dolores's antennae was wrecked and cockeyed. Both of them were smeared with gum and flecks of dirt. "Look how screwed up we are! Why'd you pick a nettle for a perch?"

Dolores loosened her enormous jaws. "That makes it harder for prey to get away."

"Well, we got away, anyway."

"Yes, but now I'm starving!"

One of the Photuris's legs came tumbling down. It stuck to the side of a fallen leaf. It was followed by the entirety of his severed, glowing gut. Vinnie limped forward and sniffed. "Spiders sure are picky eaters. This leg here is practically whole."

"You can't eat that," she said.

"Are you kidding? Sure I can eat it."

"Well, save some for me!"

Vinnie reached out and sampled a bit of the broken, glowing abdomen. "You know what this is? This is practically pure luciferin! And that tangy spice is its catalyst, luciferase!" He stuck his entire head into his rival's exploded gut. It was as if the core of the sun had been made out of jam: yellow, rich, and thick.