A Devious Exchange

What Slithers and Hisses...

I love this chapter 🐍

*Forewarning, mature

And then it came.

I didn't hear it at first... a low whistle in the wind. But then it grew louder.

A sharp growl, followed by a deep hum like a lion. Its airiness was congested with revolving hiccups of fluid, a need to clear its throat or hack made apparent. Against the wall, the magnitude of the rumble ricocheted in a million directions, neither loud nor soft spoken. I shimmied my backside further into Nicholas, lurching my hand up to squeeze his arm tight. The creature couldn't have been more than a yard away, if that.

I gasped, thumping my head back into his chest.

A hiss slithered right into my ears, slicing the soft tissue like a hot knife. The high pitch bewilderment unquestionably carved its signature of every warning sign imaginable. It crawled through my skin, into my bare bones, trudging past every nightmare with an overwhelming ease. I could imagine a slimy tongue, dripping in thick saliva, sticking and sliding against the top of its mouth to create such a sound. Brushing past rows of sharp, chipped teeth, it would thrum its forked tongue against the grooved hollows of the roof, blowing gusts of hot air out in its wake.

I've heard different varieties of it before. Little garden or prairie snakes lived in the soft grasses back home, especially in the dry peaks of summer. Their dusty brown or shiny, patterned scales would slither and coil in bundles within the sun's rays. I never appreciated their beauty, mostly because I didn't find them beautiful creatures at all. And when one hissed at me, that was all it took for me to call it quits. Dad said they'd always give a 'fair' hiss or rattle to oblige a warning, whereas some would even dare to bare their sharp fangs like an angry cat. All in all, they were the root cause of many fatalities of the poor and stupid. I always believed that the gods made their frightful hiss so creatures had a chance to flee, if they were smart.

Unfortunately, we didn't have anywhere to run now, backed against the cave wall like a rat trapped in a cage.

Wild snakes had nothing to compete with against this creature. Its warning was louder, piercing my ears at a much higher pitch and unexplainable strength, releasing the gates of fear and horror I tried desperately to withhold. My throat tightened at its own desperate scream desired to be released. It held the power of a dozen blades without even showing itself, though I doubted its teeth would be any less sharp. Its acoustic hit the verge of insanity like a drum, spilling over any thoughts of normalcy with a shattered glass.

The worst part is that I couldn't flee away from it. I hadn't a clue where one serpent end began and the other ended, if it was a snake. I clutched my eyes closed, digging my nails into Nicholas' poor hand. As much as my heart and soul burned to flee, I buried that damning, white-hot fear inside and stayed rooted. If I moved now, I would surely die.

The strangest part was that instead of footsteps, an odd crumpling of rock mixed with the elongated crawl of something being dragged echoed closely to where we hid. It was like a heavy sack of potatoes was being hauled in front of us, or even a body bag. My senses heightened to the max to see through the pitch black, desperate for even the slightest silhouette.

Where is it?

Why hasn't it attacked us?

It surely wouldn't be satisfied with just a glance of us.

I felt Nicholas suck in another tight breath, the being's movements quietened down simultaneously. Oh no.

Goosebumps prickled down my arms as all sounds ceased. All I could hear was the pounding pulse in my ears. Please go away. I felt as if I were a dear trapped at the end of a hunter's barrel.