Unexpected & Venomous Love

The Mutation

Verah

I'll never forget that night... the night my life changed forever. My mother and older sisters had decided to take me out for my 15th birthday, since they'd all been so busy with work and school. My two older sisters had taken on part time jobs to help Mom out with the finances and were also struggling with school while Mom was working three jobs. My plan was that after school I'd also get a job to help out because I hated being the only one not contributing around the house. Well, I mean I was usually alone at home and was always cleaning and cooking for everyone since they'd be so tired by the time they all got home, but I felt like I should've been doing more.

Anyway, back to where we were going. They wouldn't exactly tell me, but I knew that it was something special because they'd been planning it for awhile. I knew that it couldn't be too expensive with our budget and it was close enough for all of us to walk there from home, but it was still special nonetheless because it was coming from all of them. I'd be happy with whatever they got me because as long as we were together, it didn't matter. Once we stopped at one of my favorite restaurants, Mr. Murakami's chinese restaurant, I knew that it was going to be a good night! We walked in to see Mr. Murakami at the counter with a warm smile, just like always.

"Ah, good evening ladies!" he greeted us happily. "I will have your order out in just a moment!"

"Thanks, Mr. Murakami-san!" I thanked him before turning to my family. "So, what's the plan for tonight?"

"Well, we thought we'd stop here and just spend some quality time together." Mom said with a smile as she and my sisters pulled out a few boxes. "But we do have gifts for you."

"Really? You didn't-"

"Oh, hush it and open!" Terra, my middle sister, giggled.

I laughed as I took hers first, opening the box to see a new Ipod with a set of black and violet headphones. I smiled and hugged her tightly, thanking her a bunch of times for her gift. I'd been wanting this for a few months and had been saving up for them for just as long. Next, I opened my eldest sister, Brooklyne's, gift. It was a new computer for my schoolwork and personal inventing projects! Id told her about that a few years ago when my first experiment failed, but i honestly didn't think that she was actually paying attention when I told her that it'd be easier with this! I thanked her over a million times in just two seconds and nearly squeezed the life out of her.

"Can't breathe!" she gasped.

"Sorry!"

"I swear child, you're live a little viper-"

"Actually, vipers are venomous so they don't actually squeeze the life out of their prey they only need to bite them in order to make the kill, you must mean a constricting type of snake like a boa or python because they actually-"

"Aaaanndd she's off!"

"Sorry, but it's never too early or late to learn more about-"

"Yeah, but it's your birthday!"

"And you still haven't opened Mom's gift."

"Oh, right. Sorry, Mom."

"It's fine, just open it. I hope you'll like it."

I took the small box from her and opened it with a small gasp. It was a locket with a picture of all of us together, including Dad. I teared up a bit and hugged my mother tightly.

"I love it, Mom... thank you so much."

"Of course, little Python." she chuckled as I instantly let go. "I made sure to leave the one side free for another picture that you might want to add... maybe for a certain someone?"

"MOM!" I blushed from embarrassment.

We all laughed at my reaction as Mr. Murakami walked out with our food... That's right! Pizza gyoza, baby! My favorite! The rest of the night was fun. We finished eating and when Mom went to pay, Mr. Murakami said that it was on the house, his gift to me for my birthday. We thanked him and then headed for home... That was where everything went wrong.

We were about halfway home when some kind of canister smashed into my back and a green liquid splattered all over me. I dropped my things and dropped to my knees as I screamed in pain, feeling like my body was on fire and like my bones were breaking and rebreaking. My mother and sisters jumped away from me in shock and fear as I rose to my feet... or should I say tail? My lower half of my body was a scaly end of a copperhead snake and my hands had patches of scales, not to mention that my nails were now talon-like.

"M-Mom?" my voice came out in a rough hiss.

"S-Stay away from us!!" she cried, leading my sisters away from me.

"Mom! Terra, Brooklyne!! Wait!!" I tried to rush after them, but stopped short when I heard them scream and call me names.

"Monster!!"

"Freak!!"

I teared up as they ran from me while calling me those horrible things. I quickly picked up my gifts and rushed into the nearby alley to hide. I curled my tail around me as I sobbed, scared and alone. After a few hours of crying, I tried to focus on changing back, hoping I could return to my normal form. It worked, but I still felt different... more powerful and alert. I ran back home and expected to be embraced by my family, but I was sorely mistaken. They basically told me to get lost. I calmly asked if I could collect my things before I left and they agreed.

I packed up everything I could carry, which was a lot considering my new strength, and left. I didn't know where to go, but I knew that I couldn't go back there. They made it clear that they didn't care about me anymore, that they didn't want me anymore. I decided to go back to Mr. Murakami and ask him what he thought I should do. He was the only other person I trusted and he might let me stay with him for at least a few days.

When I arrived, he was being attacked by a few Purple Dragons... stupid cowards! Picking on a blind man?! I was so furious that I dropped my things by the front door and attacked the men. I told Mr. Murakami to hide behind the counter while I dealt with them and found that I was much more powerful than I originally thought. I sent these guys packing within a few minutes of fighting them. I actually ended up biting one of them and found that I had a potent venom. I guess I really was like a viper after all.

Once the cowards were gone, I checked on Mr. Murakami. He thanked me gratefully and asked what I was doing back. I explained what happened to me and my family, expecting him to laugh or shun me, but he didn't. He hugged me and offered for me to stay with him and that to pay him back I could work at the restaurant for him. I gratefully accepted and thanked him. He showed me to a spare room upstairs and allowed me to settle in. Afterwards, I went up to the rooftop and thought about what else I was going to have to change in my life. I was lucky that I had at least one person to trust, but I'd still lost my family.

I sighed and went to head back to my new room, but I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching me. My tongue flicked out on instinct and I picked up the scent of... turtle? Probably just Mr. Murakami making some turtle soup or something, right?