The day is nigh, the sun nearly setting above the winter horizon. Somewhere in Colorado, the senior class of a local high school is visiting a nearby animal sanctuary. The students are shuffled in and out of rooms and cages while seeing the creatures. They see penquins, zebras, tigers, fish, sharks, spiders, snakes and more. No one particularly wanted to come here, but they are happy to miss their classes. Except Al. Al is short for Alex, which is short for Alexandra. She prefers Al, the quick, confusing name that is probably why she doesn't go on many dates. Al doesn't care. She has her friends, her strange family and a part time job at the nearby pet store. A Petco, but worse. She used to work at the local pizza restuarant, but she was caught given free breadsticks to her friends.
The students are shuffled into the last room. It's 1pm on a Friday and the students just want to go home. They are closed into a small, long, dark hallway filled with terrariums lining the walls. Some girl screams, some boys cheer, and Al turns her head to be faced by a giant spider crawling towards her from it's enclosing. Frightened, she takes a step back, and falls into her friend, Callie.
"Oh! Hey Al. Woah, you found a tarantula! Look at all these spiders!" Callie gleams. She's a big animal person. She's even studying to become a veterinarian.
"Callie, these things are creepy." Al shivers as she looks around, seeing all the snakes and spiders move swiftly in their tanks.
"Al, be nice to the spiders. Look, this one looks like your brother!" She points at a snake with a yellow stripe on it's back, as an attempt to joke about my brother and his bad dye job.
"He never could forgive that hairdresser." They share a laugh as they walk towards a group of green snakes.
"The snakes are pretty cute, I... just don't like spiders." Callie laughs and punches my arm
"My names Al, I like snakes, but not spiders! What if you come to visit the snakes again? Are you going to pretend that the spiders aren't here?" She cackles at her own joke, nearly kneeling over as the class exits the room. Hearing a hiss by her ear, Al turns to see one of the green snakes staring right into her eyes. It's not too close to the glass, but not hiding in the back, like the others. Callie pulls Al's hand to lead her away, but the snake lunges, and hits the glass, hard enough to crack it slightly. Callie steals Al's gaze as the exit the room.
"Callie please tell me you saw that snake."
She laughs. "Maybe it didnt like my joke"
She shrugs. They board the bus and start the drive back to the school. When they get to the school, Al searches for her car. She can never remember where she parked it. She hops in, and turns on the heater. While adjusting her camera, she catches someone's eye. "Damn it Zack! What did I tell you about hiding in my car?!" Zack laughs and climbs into the passenger seat. "Theatre was cancelled, so I figured you could give me a ride home." Al scoffs. "I'll drop you off, but I have to go to work." He laughs. "You still work at the pet cemetery? I thought they were closed in the winter." Al rolls her eyes and pulls out.
She's almost late to work, someone drove into a ditch on the interstate. While cleaning the hamster cages, one gets out. Fearing the loss of her job, Al chases after it. She runs after it, but can only find it after it let's out an ear piercing scream. The hamster got into the reptile room. And it's not the only thing that got out. On the floor, a big green snake holds the hamster in its mouth, it's neck broken, blood flowing out of it, and onto the floor. Al stumbles back, but this time there's no one to catch her. Falling to the floor, a figure approaches her from the back of the room. The lights flicker as she approaches. The snake notices her, and raises itself in the air. It encircles itself onto her arm, and slithers under her beanie.
"Who... Who are you?" Al stutters as she struggles to move. She feels paralyzed, unable to run or scream. The woman laughs. "You don't need to know." The woman walks past Al and out the doors. As soon as the doors close, Al regains feeling to her body. Getting up, she peers out the window into the store. It's completely empty. It's silent. She hears a faint hiss, and turns slowly to be greated by the woman, with a head of not hair, but snakes. The bloody hamster snake rises by her cheek. Turning to the woman, she freezes again.
"I'm not telling you who I am because you asked. I'm telling you because I want to." The woman takes a few steps into the back of the room, and a light flicks on above her. Her body is tall and slim, but muscular and refined. The snakes vary, they hang low, not even reaching her shoulders. They resemble a pixie cut. She spins, arms wide, to face Al. Her sharp hazel eyes pierce Al's soul. A smile rises on the womens lips, and with swift motion, the snakes reach out, wrapping themselves around Al. Pulling her closer, the smile on the womens lips widens. The snakes bring Al's stiff body to the woman, leaving only a few inches between them. The snakes wrap Al's wrists and ankles, and her body regains function. Attempting to run, Al wriggles and pulls against the snakes, but to no avail. The smile drops on the womans face and a snake near Al's neck bites.
Al awakes, the room is foggy and gray. Al can barely see anything. She has almost completely gone blind. She jumps up, barely placing both of her feet in front of her. She attempts to take a few steps, but she doesn't get far. As she falls, she let's out a scream.
When she reaches the bottom of the staircase, someone is their to stand her up. The woman. The snakes. She throws herself back, hitting her head, and knocking herself out.
The next time she awakes, her vision is slightly regained, Al can now see shapes and colors. She hears the woman approaching before she sees her. "No! Don't hurt me! Where.... where am I?" The woman shushs Al, and grabs her hands. The snakes hold her up and guide her over to a door. They exit the room onto a balcony. The snakes tighten their grip as the woman begins to sneak. "My apologies Alexandra. Had I known that the paralysis would have taken your sight, I would've used a different method. As for the situation of your sight, the only way to regain it is with a kiss. It will only work if you consent to it 100 percent." Al takes a deep breath and the snakes tighten again. She must be nervous. With a small nod, the woman places a hand on Al's cheek. She is warm, not cold, like the snakes, She closes her eyes on the blurry and meek world and feels the womans lips. They are soft, and warm like her hand. Al is enticed. A spark lights up inside of Al, and her body melts like wax. She presses herself up onto the woman as the snakes relax and loosen on her arms and waist. The woman pulls away, and leaves Al with a warmth in her belly and a tingle in her knees. As she opens her eyes, light floods in, at the world is sharp and clear again. She is looking directly into the womans hazel eyes. She is in as much awe as Al. The woman retracts her hand from Al's cheek and the snakes untangle themselves. The woman takes a breath, and reenters the house. Al can hear the bedroom door close, and the sound of crashing glass down the hall. Al wants to go see what is going on, but she cant move. And it's not out of fear. Al is in love.
A few minutes pass, and Al can finally move. Opening the door slightly, she peers into the hallway. Big paintings line the walls, ones of beautiful women, all with snakes for hair. They start from ancient times to more recent events. The woman is also painted there. In this painting, she frowns. The other women, they are all smiling. Near the beginning of the paintings, a small sliver plaque is bolted to the wall. On it, it reads, "to the descent of cursed, the legacy of the medusa" A crash comes from the kitchen, and Al heads in to take a look. She peers in to see the woman, Medusa, picking up a chair that was on the ground. She turns it upright, then freezes. "Alexandra." "...Medusa." She turns slowly, with her head low. "Not for much longer." She laughs. "Every Medusa before me has live to be 25, they has a child, and vanishes." Looking directly at Al, she continues. "I can't descend. The Medusa legacy will end with me. I'm... I'm not going to have children. I'm." She turns away. "I'm the first and only lesbian Medusa in 5000 years." Al laughs and all of the snakes turn to her attention. Medusa's gaze follows shortly after. "Why do you laugh Alexandra?" Al walks towards her. "Medusa, for starters, you can call me Al. My friends do it too. Also, it's okay if you're gay. I'm bisexual myself." Medusa's face lights up and she rushes to hug Al. "Thank you Alexandra! Er- Al."
