Drugs

To Tame a Snake

Kim's body shook as her body was tugged up the stairs. Where were they now? The room was mostly dark and a throne sat in the centre. The light came from, what looked like a few cracks in the wall.

Creatures littered this area, big and small, almost in a row of lines waiting seemingly before this throne.

"Please, please don't kill me." she moaned as her body passed the creatures. She was so close that putrid smell hit her nose. Some had thick fur like beast, others faces looked like a concoction of poxes that would bring a man to his knees.

Every crack, every dent of the ground, she felt as the creature held her hair as a knot and pulled with little effort causing her to move without her control.

Kim had tried to fight her back and tried to remove her hand, but her scratches and digs were to no avail. It seemed as though she was doing nothing at all, and all she could do was shrink into herself.

Andrew, why did you leave me, it's your fault this happened if you didn't leave me behind. I wouldn't be here, it's your fault, I am here."

They were before the throne and her body came to a halt as her hair was released.

"Don't even think about running or else you will die and that is no fun."

The creature took a seat on the throne, crossing its leg and rolling its hand through its hair. A smirk was deeply engrained upon its face as Kim looked up to her, her body on all fours.

A hissing sound graced the air as a snake slithered around her body.

"What do--."

"I want? To thank you."

"Thank me for what?"

"Thank you for what you did with Domenic's mother, Esmeralda. She was such a thorn in my side and you killed her for me. If you didn't things would probably not have gone this way and I would still be stuck and unable to leave. "

"I never killed my sister!"

"You could've helped her, couldn't you? Instead, you choose to do nothing. You acted like you couldn't while knowing the hospital were the ones killing her the whole time. She got herself out of that cult that she had fallen into the things she had to do to survive. You knew it all because she told you, but you even knew more than that about the cult and father Matinal how deep his hands were in blood."

"I--."

"Yet knowing all of that you the sister did nothing to save her and out of jealousy, she died didnt she? So here we are, thank you."

A loud thud came from behind as a creature rushed forward; there was silence except for the pounding of his feet on the ground with a table as he placed it down between the two, Seated on top of it was a chess table. The white pieces were faced towards her and the black-faced the creature.

"Did you hate your sister that much or was it something else?"

Kim's head dipped as she looked at the ground, almost as if in prayer. Her eyes no longer able to release tears, clothes ripped and her body was sore in more than one area. She felt as if she had sprained her leg, but she was unsure. Only one thing mattered, she wanted to leave.

"Please, just let me go. I don't want to be here."

"You don't deserve to? But that's not fair, is it? If I told you to leave, how far do you think that you would get? Play this game with me, win, and I will guarantee your safety."

"Will you?" Kim looked up at the one at the gaze towering down at her.

"Yes, if you win, but if you lose... I will eat you." She chuckled as her body twitched. "And here is another twist, I read before tournament rules this game is thirty minutes."

"This isn't fair," the words left Kim's mouth, but came out a whisper.

She looked at the two creatures beside her. These two will maintain the time for both of us. "My child has quite an interest in these watches with timers. So when it's your time, your clock will tick for fifteen minutes, and when its mine the same clock would tick."

"Wait."

"Begin," she sounded at the two creatures.

A ticking sound clicked over and over. Kim moved her hand forward to the chest board and pushed the white pawn in front of the king two spaces forward. The creature smiled as she moved the black piece to match her.

The room seemed to be closing in on Kim as the creatures that were once in a line circled around the board their faces with glee as they looked on her as that of a midnight snack.

Click, click, click, click.

Kim picked up the knight on the queenside, knight c3. She thought in her head, defend the pawn it was essential as she placed it down. Nothing fancy, keep it simple.

It was the creature's turn that clicking noise was driving her mad. Kim bit her nails as she waited to see what would come next.

She held the bishop in her hand and placed it on B4 to threaten the knight. She contemplated playing the pawn in front of the rook A3 to chase it away, but before she could move it. The room started to shake suddenly as a loud pounding noise seemed to come from below. It caught everyone by surprise as the surrounding things seemed to complain. Kim's head was down for a moment as she balled herself up expecting the worse, but nothing happened. Her eyes looked up at the throne and then creatures' faces, it was enough to make her shudder as the smile was gone and pure rage took its place.