The Snake Charmer

II

I woke up to finding myself laying on my side, still surrounded by all of my snakes, except my top 3 biggest pythons were coiled around my legs, hips, and chest like I was a tree branch or a log, I did have my arms free though, since I had my arms tucked in front of me by my chest. I even still had my head on a python, except this time it was Clyde laying there coiled under my head and slightly wrapped around his favorite spot, my neck. I had a few other snakes laying in front of my face as well, and I had no doubt some were on my ankles and behind my back. I reached out and stroked Jewel who was on my hips, hoping I would at least loosen her coils from around me. The second I did, all of the snakes around me scattered, including Clyde who was my most clingy, as they wandered off into the trees and in the grasses in the terrarium.

Not knowing what to think about having slept with all of my snakes, I simply stood up, grabbed the empty bucket and walked over to the door, but I failed to notice the one snake that was still on me, and at the moment was coiled around my neck. As I walked out of the room, I locked it behind me, determined to wait a few days if possible before going back in there, even though it was usually normal of me to go and hang out in there with them every evening, but nothing came to my mind as I tried to figure out what had just happened. I ran upstairs to look at the clock to find I only had enough time to drive up there and clock in. No shower for me today, sucks. Whatever, I already smell of snakes anyways, what will the difference be?

I grabbed my keys and ran out the door. The drive to work luckily wasn't heavy at all. I parked in the private area in the back and locked my car, still not having noticed the snake on my neck. I was in such a hurry, that I ran into the employee locker rooms and threw all of my stuff in the locker right away, before I ran to where the snake terrariums were, which were nothing compared to mine I had at home. All the poor snakes in such small cages, with little space to move around in. As I walked in, everyone went silent as they turned and looked at me.

"What is going on? I know I'm a little late, but you guys are looking at me like someone died." I asked.

"Someone nearly did." My boss approached me. "The new shipment came in, and the thing is it is a lot bigger than we thought it was, not that it won't still fit into his cage, but we need your help. He's got a temper, and you being our 'snake whisperer' were hoping you can somehow get him to calm down."

"Since when are snakes gigantic? The biggest thing out there is the king cobra or the anaconda. How exactly big are we talking here?" I asked.

"Arila, can you do it or not? It is your job with all the snakes after all, you're in charge of that department." He hisses, just like a snake.

I sigh, still nervous from yesterday's incident at home. "Where is he?" I ask, trying to hide the hints of resentment.

"This way." The boss leads me, as all the other employees stare at me like I am walking into a death trap. I didn't know what I had just got myself into, but at the same time this was the job I was paid to cover. I walked behind him towards a strong, metal door that had a heavy duty lock that you punch a pin into. The terrarium was dark as we approached or it just appeared that way based on the glass to the cage. He punched in a code and told me to push enter and gave me the way to enter on my own. I took a deep breath before I entered the cage. As I did, the door shut behind me quite quickly, making me regret not grabbing any bait or food for whatever this snake was, if it was really as big as they were making it sound like it was.

As I stood by the now shut door, I stood in the room and saw that there were some fake trees that were made to look real, but I already knew that they weren't. I couldn't see cause of all the shadows in the room, as far as for what it was I was looking for, but I knew my boss and the employees left me to my own accord, including a card that the boss handed me as I entered that would allow me to get out or back in for future references.