The Hydra's Curse

Chapter 2 - Hydramorph

Sasha came to in bed, but not hers. Mind still fuzzy it took a moment to piece together what happened. She remembered the glow in the snake's mouth, and then the fire. Nothing but pain followed that. And now thirst was overpowering any other thought.

Someone was moving in just out the door. She opened her mouth to call but just a croak came out. That was enough to get the persons attention though. An elderly woman came bustling in, saw Sasha tapping her throat and promptly fetched her a waterskin.

"Drink." She ordered redundantly, pressing the tip to Sasha's lips.

Sasha sucked it dry in seconds, parched beyond belief. She did that three times over before she felt like throwing up. Her eyes may have bulged a bit but she managed to keep it down thankfully. The woman looked down at her with pity and placed a hand on her forehead, feeling her temperature.

"You poor thing." She murmured, withdrawing her touch. "These next few days are going to be rough."

"Wha do ye mean." Sasha's voice was hardly more than a whisper and her mouth felt strange.

"Do you remember the hellfire?" There was nothing but concern in the woman's eyes.

Sasha nodded. It hurt to speak.

The woman wordlessly took a mirror from her bedside and held it in front of Sasha, the sight it yielded made her want to cry.

Staring back at her was a stranger. She was bald, hair burnt off and her scalp now covered in green scales. Her face was mostly intact except her eyes, which were now bright yellow and slitted like the snake's. Even her skin had a faint pebbling to it although she had retained her colour.

"Could you try speaking again for me?" Her caretaker asked. "You breathed some hellfire in too."

"I think I can speak." Her words felt slurred and she was having problems with sharp sounds, her tongue felt swollen.

The old lady sighed. "Open your mouth dear."

Sasha did. There was fangs where her incisors used to be. They weren't huge, but the point was noticeable. But her tongue was split down the centre too, which was the reason for her speaking problems. Unthinkingly she stuck it out to get a better look, startled when it shot out nearly a foot. The old lady raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

The woman's expression was hardly her concern however. Her tongue, looking very much like a snakes now was literally tasting the air. It was so sensitive it was almost like smelling, except more receptive. She could taste the old lady's scent, the bed, the scents of those in the next room. It was remarkable and gave her a huge awareness of her surroundings. Sasha pulled her tongue back in before it got weird.

Then of course it sunk in she had snake eyes and a snakes tongue. She was hideous, inhuman, a monster. Sasha started crying again. Her life as she'd known it had just fallen apart. "They're going to hate me." She sobbed, muffling her face on the pillow.

"Shhh. It's okay dear. There's someone outside who wants to see you. Another patient." Something about her voice was soothing.

Sasha looked up. "Really?"

Her caretaker nodded, standing up and briefly left the room. Sasha wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to hold a presentable expression but just couldn't do it. Moments later her caretaker reentered with Greg on her tail.

"Sasha!" He looked taken aback briefly and then relieved. One of his arms was in a sling and part of his face bruised from the fall. "When I saw it burn you I thought you were dead!" He rushed forward to hug her to the best of his ability with a broken arm.