A Snake's Desire

Chapter 1

Chapter1

Gave all my hope away, isn't any left for me.

-Hollywood Undead

***** Present Day *****

Siricco and I were sitting in one of the trees. Well, he was sitting; I was sprawled out over the branch. Small rays of sunlight poured through the tops of trees making a leafy pattern on the ground. Siricco had been telling me about a recent hunter attack that he had escaped from in the woods. The hunter had recognized him as a runaway who had been shown all over the news. I remembered when I first met him. He was scared and had a tattered bag with him. His overgrown dark brown hair was plastered to his tan face. Fear had been evident in his eyes. I had instantly decided to help him. He's been on the run ever since then.

"Viper? You listening?" Siricco whined while smirking. He knew that I hated when people whined at me. A small smile worked its way onto my face. I smiled as innocently as possible. He looked at me with suspicion lurking in his dark blue eyes. Without him noticing, I slowly brought my arm up and shoved him off the branch.

"Ow! What was that for?" He asked while glaring up at me from the ground.

"You were whining, and to answer your previous question, yes I was listening." I told him. He cautiously made his way back up the tree as if I would push him once more.

"You, my friend, are a jerk." He teased with a fake British accent. I chuckled lightly. Instead of replying I simply shrugged. I sat up and moved over so he could sit on the branch, not only a small part of it.

Once he was seated he spoke, "You know, for a young adult, you can be very childish." I stuck my tongue out at him and laughed.

"Technically you are a young adult to." I reminded him. He shrugged and playfully pushed me. I gripped the branch so I wouldn't fall and pushed him back. Soon it began to rain and we both jumped down from the tree and landed with a thud on the ground. We both steadied ourselves before heading to the overflowing river.

I had been so immersed in my own thoughts that I hadn't noticed when Siricco's tall figure had fallen behind me. I looked around for him, but it was too late. A pair of muscled arms wrapped around my waist and lifted me up. I squealed in surprise as he tossed me into the river. When my head immerged from the ice cold murky water I mock-glared at him. Only my eyes were above the water as I slowly paddled towards the dry land. As I swam I kept my expression serious trying not to burst out laughing as fear slowly crept onto his face.

In one swift motion I leaped from the water and tackled him. He tried to get away from my small shaking form. He was too slow and I quickly grasped his wrist and pulled him back into a bone crushing hug. I pulled back a few seconds later smiling at the fact that he was now wet as well.

A branch snapped to the left of us, and my head snapped toward the sound. My happy playful mood had turned completely serious. Out of the trees my siblings immerged from the shadows, their weapons ready. I pushed Siricco behind me and narrowed my gaze. My brother hesitated for just a moment before throwing his knife just to the left of my head. That was odd, he never misses his target, I thought.

"Siricco, run to the trees, find somewhere to hide." I whispered to him. I felt him place his hand on my shoulder as if to say, "I'm not going anywhere."

While keeping my eyes focused on my siblings, I removed Siricco's hand from my shoulder and pushed him back slightly.

"I'm only going to say this once more. Get to the trees!" I hissed at him, anger slowly seeping into my words. I could tell he was shocked at how cold I was being. However, I wasn't going to risk him getting hurt. I heard him take a step back, then another and another. Soon enough I couldn't hear him anymore and guessed that he was headed for the trees. I turned my full attention back to my siblings and narrowed my gaze even further. I saw my brother freeze as if he was paralyzed. All too soon he snapped out of his daze and threw multiple knives straight at me. I narrowly dodged the first one, but the second one dug into my leg. I let out a hiss of pain and pulled the knife out. It felt like someone had set fire to my leg, but I tried not to focus on the pain.

When I looked up I saw my sister charging at me. I knew that if she landed on me I would be dead in seconds. I moved out of her way just as she extended her leg to kick me. He balance was thrown off and she was about to fall. But before she even came close to hitting the ground, I grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her back. Before she could react I slammed my knee into her gut and heard her gasp for air. I wanted to apologize but didn't have the chance because my brother threw his last knife before pulling out his crossbow. I quickly dropped my sister and caught the knife right before it came into contact with my face. Before I could throw the knife back, my sister kicked her leg out and tripped me. Then she swiftly stood up and pinned me to the ground. She put her knee to my throat so that if I moved I would choke. I stayed still and looked at the now clear sky. The dark gray clouds had disappeared leaving a shining sun and clear blue sky.

I saw my sister motion to my brother to come over and knew that I was finished. I heard his heavy footsteps slowly move toward us. I knew he'd have his crossbow ready to fire and tried to calm my racing heart. I mean this would have happened eventually, right?

I thought about Siricco and prayed that he was somewhere far away from here. He was like the younger brother I had always wanted. I would do anything for him, and was glad I had told him to run. I didn't want him to witness this. The tall form of my brother appeared within my line of vision. His crossbow- as I expected- was ready with an arrow already set in place. My sister removed her knee from my neck, but kept her grip on my wrists. As she stood she pulled me up with her. My brother backed up about five feet and aimed the arrow at my head.

Hesitance covered his face as if he didn't want to kill me. I wondered why he was this hesitant. My siblings had been hunting me for years. Why would they hesitate now? Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter. I'm going to be dead soon anyway. My brother pulled the trigger and I held my breath. Everything seemed to go in slow motion just then. Before the arrow even come close to me, a shadow appeared. It was a tall figure . . . with a white shirt . . . and it was still wet. My eyes widened and I broke from my sister's grip easily.

I caught him before he could hit the ground and carefully sat down trying not to hurt him. The arrow stuck out from his chest right above his heart. Tears started pooling in my eyes; blood started to stain his shirt like ink. I looked at his face and nearly broke down right then. He was still smiling as if nothing had happened.

"Siricco," I started.

"What? Don't cry Viper. Don't cry because I'm going to die." He choked out. A small dry sob escaped my lips. I couldn't even tell him to shut up because right then his entire body went limp. His eyes became lifeless as he took his final breath.

"No! NO! Wake up! Don't you dare leave me!" I shouted while gently shaking his shoulders trying desperately to get him to wake up. I started shaking, tears pouring down my pale face freely. Rage soon boiled through my veins as I slowly looked up. My siblings were watching my every move, looking at me with pity. I glared before slowly standing. I could barely hold back from lashing out at them with all the strength I had left. I was on the breaking point.

"Guess we win." My sister whispered smirking victoriously. That did it; I charged not being able to hold back any longer. The last thing I remember seeing was red.