Those That Slither | ON HOLD

Fourteen

Two things tugged at her, developing her frustration into a pit of confusion deeper than the abyss. What am I supposed to believe? What do I do now?

In thought, while bouncing her line of sight from one man to the other, her senses hightened. Vision was sharp and clear; from where she was she could see the dripping faucet across the way in his kitchen. The smell of Daniel's airy cologne fumed into her airways. Her skin was tickled by the slightest breeze and soon her hearing soared into the sky.

What they allowed her to notice was a bowling ball crashing to the abdomen. The hair stood on her neck as she slowly pivoted on the porch.

Hissing, slithering little purple snakes were slowly creeping up the stairs. They were real, live and hungry for her.

Her heart skipped as the her vision dulled from the sharpness. She grabbed on to Daniel, unable to hold steady, "T-Theyre here! It happening again!"

He pulled her close with an arm and pushed her as far from the approaching serpents as possible. Fully intending to protect her at all costs, he turned to the man in the doorway, "Is this your work?"

Simon shook his head and stepped aside, eyes locked on the plum pests on his property. "I.. I didnt."

Leah clung on to Daniel for dear life, "They're everywhere..." Her nose was red as she sniffled, turning away so she didn't have to see them. It didn't matter much, she could still hear them. It even felt like they were sliding beneath her clothing. Her gaze caught up with Simon's, his facade telling a story of shock.

He shook his head, silently swearing he had nothing to do them. His hand rose to begin a gesture for them to enter, but it was interrupted by his eyes widening in shock. Lowered circles of dark brown glared at her chest and she couldn't help but look down in curiosity.

Peekaboo.

A deep violet snake slithered up from her sweater, sliding up over her cleavage. Black eyes of disturbance stung at her and a grotesque tongue poked from its mouth. An instant passed by; in it, she screamed and began to claw at her chest hoping to either kill it or fling it off. But she felt the one she'd seen wasn't alone.

Shaking, clawing her clothing and skin, Leah screamed and jammed against Simon in the doorway before she passed him up. Above the hissing she could hear both men call her name repeatedly, but the struggle was one she couldn't halt. Her nails burned her skin as her eyes filled until she couldn't see.

Hissing.

Slithering.

Tongues poking at her.

She panicked and continued stumbling around, unknowing of the layout of his home. In an unexpected motion, her body fell down a cluster of stairs leading to the kitchen. Without any time to react, Leah tumbled until the hard marble floor broke her fall, sending her blurred vision to pure blank darkness. And finally, the hissing stopped.

--

In a night where the ice was not on the ground, but in the air and leaves couldn't hold on to their branches anymore; Leah found herself standing in a familiar place. Dew covered grass poked from the Earth that had traded dirt for mud and fog rolled in from the corners of her vision.

This night however, she wasn't in the unknown forest. No, this time her body trembled as she was placed somewhere that teased her with bad memories. Frosty air caught her in a lasso as the thunder above her began to roar.

She looked up, catching a single raindrop on her cheek. There was a storm coming and it didn't just bring rain. This particular weather was carrying something more severe.

It was the memory she'd wanted to forget since it happened. Sure enough as her eyes trailed around her, she felt her defensive system spark in malfunction. Leah was in the backyard of her childhood home, the one that had burned down in her mind. Years of pretending it didn't exist anymore caught up to her, slapping her to reality.

I can't be here, she told herself, I can't relieve this memory.

The rain began to pour down, thunder grumbling in the background. Overhead a flash of lightning lit up the sky.

A loud scream echoed from behind her.

She turned and digested the white paneled house towering over her. It was real, it was the place she'd played with dolls in, the place she'd learned to cook, and the place where death had moved in without any notice.

Sealing her lips shut, Leah held her breath when the back door slowly opened with a loud croak. Her lungs were desperate for air as she heard a whispering voice. It sounded familiar, but even more so when the voice transformed into hissing. Her scaly predators had returned and began to escape from the open door.

As she began to back away, her heart jolted when someone called out from inside the house. "Leah!"

There was no second guessing or denying it, the voice that called out was real and had spoken to her before. It startled her system into a lunge forwards. Careless to the snakes, she gripped the door and yanked it open completely.

She wasn't sure what to expect, but the last thing she wanted to stumble upon were eyes blacker than the night behind her. A deer made a trampling exit, knocking her down into the mud. She called out in agony, feeling bruises already appearing across her skin.

But it didn't matter.

Because something far more horrendous was approaching her. Lips cracked, eyes glazed over, someone she knew stood over her with a sense of disappointment masking lifeless skin. A seizing feeling vibrated her body in pure unadulterated fear.

"M-Mom?"

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