Everything's cool in Silksong until you're stuck trying to escape The Slab with nothing but your bare bug fists. Getting out of bug prison is hard work. There are several guards and deceptively precise jumps standing between you and freedom.

The real reward for completing The Slab is getting out with your stuff back, but there's a Lost Flea to rescue, a Spool Fragment, and some Rosaries to collect there too.

Most people will probably find The Slab by getting kidnapped in Act 1, but it's possible to get there in Act 2 without losing your stuff. Being a completionist, I intentionally got myself locked up early on to see what the fuss was about, so the advice below is written from that perspective. It won't be as harrowing if you decide to wait until Act 2 though because you can leave at any time.

How to find The Slab in Silksong

The Slab is a somewhat hidden area no matter when you decide to enter it. In Act 1, you can find an armored flea enemy with a cage on the right side of the Deep Docks area. Alternatively, you can find one in Greymoor if you've progressed the The Lost Fleas quest far enough for the caravan to move a second time. The armored flea with the cage will be on the left side of the map where the caravan used to be.

Be careful: Killing this enemy will permanently prevent them from respawning no matter how many times you re-enter the area. All you want to do is run up and let them trap you to access The Slab.

How to escape The Slab in Silksong

The first order of business once you're in The Slab is to get Hornet's gear back. You don't have your needle or your cloak, which means combat and even platforming will be a bit more of a challenge in here.

I've broken up the steps below into three sections for each bench you can find as a checkpoint.

Escape The Slab part 1

1. Break the wall: Drop down to the left and walk through the passageway to the next room over. Just to the right of the locked door you can wall jump up and break a hole in the wall above you. Watch out for floor traps as you run left and then climb upward. At the top, go left underneath a group of enemies (one of whom is holding your cloak!) until you see an exit.
2. Find the Key of Indolent: It's freezing cold outside, so you need to move fast before you take damage. Drop down until you see another door that will take you back inside. Defeat or run past the enemies to the right until you can drop down a level. Speak to Grindle at the locked door and then go left into a room with a glowing item on a chain. When you attack the item two enemies will show up to hassle you. Defeat them and use the Key of Indolent to unlock the door on the right side of the room.
3. Find the first bench: Keep running right until you can enter another room. Jump across the gap and enter the room on the right below the bench sign. Speak to Grindle again and have a seat at the bench.

Escape The Slab part 2

1. Pick up The Slab map: In the bench room, run right through the hole in the wall to reveal a secret path that leads to the map for the area.
2. Survive the ambush: Exit the bench room and drop down to the bottom level. Enter the room on the right and unlock the gate with the key. Just as you near the exit in the next room, the door will close and you'll have to fight through waves of enemies. The trick is to lure them toward the pressure plates and let the spinning blades do the work for you. Once you take them out, you can leave by going right.
3. Climb to the top: This section can be kind of brutal if you haven't perfected your wall jump skills by this point. You need to ascend past all the spikes until you've reached the top, and some of the jumps are extremely precise. Keep to the left side and use your dash to cross over to the other side safely. To pass the third section with the diagonal line of spikes, let yourself slide down a bit, then leap toward the right and dash at the apex of your jump (video example above).
4. Find the second bench: The area above is outside, so you'll need to move fast to avoid taking damage. If you jump up a level and run to the left there's a fire that'll keep you warm as long as you stand near it. The level above you has enemies, but if you run to the far left there's a Frayed Rosary String. Otherwise, keep heading right until you reach the edge of the area and drop down to where the fire is. Before you drop down again, open the shortcut by hitting the lever on the right. In the room below, drop down until you can run left to the room with the next bench to rest at.

Escape The Slab part 3

1. Get your gear back: From the bench, head right, drop down, and follow the path until you are standing above the group of enemies from step 1. Hornet will take care of the first guy and get her stuff back, leaving you with a few waves of enemies to defeat. The final one will drop the Key of Heretic.
2. Rescue the flea: There will be another bench to the right so you can re-equip your Crest. Open the gate and head back to the center room. Drop all the way down. In the left room there's an enemy and a flea to rescue.
3. Grab the Spool Fragment: If you want to skip the Spool Fragment, use your key to open the path down another level and then jump into the hole below the Bellway fast travel sign and follow step 4. To get the upgrade, run left past the enemies (you can find a Shard Bundle here) and then jump up the cages to the right and wall jump up into the room above. Follow the cave to the left until you can go back outside. Wall jump up from there and you'll find the Spool Fragment on the left.
4. Escape via the Bellway: Down the Bellway hole, follow the path left until you drop down. On the right is an enemy and a breakable gate that will take you to more enemies and another breakable gate. In the next room there's a lock that requires the Key of Apostate which you can't get until later in the game. Drop down, move left, and then drop down again. The last bench is in a room on the right. Going left will take you to the Bellway where you'll need 50 Rosaries to buy your ticket out of The Slab.