Mythical Link ▸ Link Neal {Book One}

Fourteen

     "Sorry to hear that, honey. We'll call up the eye place tomorrow and see about having them replaced," Christy said consolingly as she planted a kiss on Link's cheek.

     "Perfect. I'm gonna run upstairs and take a quick shower." He gave her another kiss and bolted toward the stairs before she could ask anymore questions. He passed right by Lily who stared at him wide eyed as he took the stairs two at a time, and he was breathless by the time he ducked into the bathroom and shut the door. His chest heaved as he plastered his back against the door, and he held his hand to his chest while he gave himself a moment to calm down. 

     He didn't feel good telling her a huge lie, not to mention when he had to tell his kids the same lie. He turned to look at his reflection in the mirror. Beads of sweat prickled his forehead, his once perfectly placed hair that went upwards now had strands stuck to his forehead. His glasses had a crack two inches long at least, and he looked like he had a bruise on the side of his jaw, but when he wiped at the spot he'd learned that it was just dirt.

     A shudder zipped between his shoulder blades and sliced down his spine, and he hobbled over to the tub and turned the water on. It was unusual for him to take showers in the evening considering showers were a part of his morning ritual, and he'd already had one that morning. There was no doubt in his mind that Christy would find that suspicious.

     When the water was piping hot, he stripped himself completely including his glasses. He stepped into the shower, and was greeted by the water that pelted his tense body in a helpful massage. He allowed himself to close his eyes, and turned to face the shower head as he let the water run down his face. 

     He'd dragged his hands down his face multiple times before he reached for his shampoo, and without hesitation he began to lather up. He worked up the suds for several seconds before he rinsed. He took in the smell of his shampoo, the familiarity that plucked him out of the strange reality he had been in and warped him home. Once he was ready to wash his body, he reached for his bar of soap and then his loofa.

     Instead of the soft porousness of the loofa, Link's fingers met with something rough and slimy. He opened his eyes. Water dripped into them from his eyelids and he wiped his eyes hastily, but remembered that he wasn't going to see too well with his glasses being on the toilet. 

     He reached at the spot where the loofa had been again, and wrapped his fingers around the cylinder shaped object. It seemingly slipped through his fingers when his palm made contact, and he stumbled backward. He threw his arms out to his sides and caught himself by the wall. His breaths were rapid as they were followed by little cries of absolute confusion.

     He looked down at the bottom of the tub and saw something dark and long move toward his feet, and watched as it moved in wide circles at first. It narrowed its path to close proximity of his ankles, and then it wrapped around him. He gave out another cry and swallowed. With his eyes shut, he pressed his head against the back wall and muttered under his breath. "This isn't really happening. I'm just imagining things. This is all in my imagination. I'm tired, I had a long day, none of this is re—" 

     He cut off abruptly when he heard a loud hiss, as if someone had recorded the sound of a snake hissing and played it in a room with surround sound. Link's eyes widened and he tried to move out of the tub, but was tripped up by whatever was around his ankles. He stumbled over the edge of the tub and landed on the floor, a petrified whimper tumbled out of his lips as he frantically reached for his glasses.

     He slid them onto his face with a trembling hand, his body at an awkward angle. He slowly straightened himself to look in the tub. His chest quaked with fear as he screamed as loud as he possibly could. His lungs felt as if they had shriveled from the immense effort. He skittered backward away from the tub, and as he did so, he saw a dozen or so snakes simultaneously poke their heads up out of the tub. 

     They hissed and looked at Link with slitted eyes, and his lips trembled as he struggled to find the words to scream for help. His eyes widened even further as they inched out of the tub one by one and approached him with a wiggle of their slimy bodies. He was frozen to the spot, unable to move, unable to scream for help.

     One of them wrapped around his ankle and leg, and the others followed suit as they slowly worked together to swallow his whole lower body. He threw his head back. He'd finally found his voice, and the scream that ripped from him was shrill. Glass from the window above the tub, the mirror above the sink, and the windows in the room next door shattered. The glass shattering added to the eery hollowness of Link's wail.