Lupus Serpentine

The Nightmare Retold

       "Ahhhhh!" I screamed waking from a nightmare. I look around terrified. My little 6 year old mind can't understand why it felt so real. My mom rushes into the room. "What's wrong? Are you okay honey?" She always called me that because she wanted me to be a sweet person. "I.......I had a nightmare." I say looking down. "Tell me all about it." She says wanting to comfort me.

    "It starts out I'm just walking in school." I began. "I'm going to class so I can see my friends." She shakes her head. "I mean to learn." She smiles, but I know I was caught. "I open the door and a whole bunch of snakes come out, like the flood with all the water!" I say putting my hands up. "They ate all my friends and now they want to eat me!" I scream. "I don't want them to eat me!" I begin to sob into her belly. I'll never forget the look of horror in her eyes, as if she knew something i didn't. My memory is interrupted by Angel who is shaking, but clinging to me as if she can't wait to hear more.

        "The next day we moved." I continue. "We left the state and by the time a month had passed, we had moved three more time. Always because of the nightmare." Jake looked concerned. "Haven't you had more?" I nod. "Plenty. The most recent one is the one that scares me." Xander looks down, but then sits by me. He know how unstable i get about this one. I can never tell it without crying.

     "This one is worse because I see everyone I know now. They...." I began to tear up. "They are all taken by the snakes....and I'm powerless to help them." At that point I break down, terrified of losing them. Angel, Xander, and even Jake, who had been skeptical about all of this tried to console me, but it did little good. After a long time I finally stopped crying. The only one left up was Angel. She had stayed by my side the whole time. "Hey you should rest." I say weakly and she crawls on top of me. I feel her warmth and before i know it we fall asleep together.

       I wake up to find no one there, but instead a not saying they just went for a walk. I get up and walk over by the fire where I freeze. "A snake?" I say scared, but then I notice, it's like I'm looking at closer than I normally would. Why would I get so close? I think to myself. As I look at it I'm overcome, not with fear, but something else I can't quite explain. I get tackled. It's Xander and Jake is about to kill the snake when i find myself scream. "Stop! You can't kill it!" They all look at me in shock, except Angel. Even I am surprised by what I said. I walk over and for once, without fear, I pick it up. It doesn't try to hurt me. In fact it wraps around my arm tightening for a moment but then relaxing as if it had just hugged me. "Well i guess this makes you a wolf snake huh?" He teases, but then i say. "Lupus Serpentine." As the words leave my mouth, even though I know it's wrong, I suddenly remember hearing that in my dreams. I see Angel smile at me, but that's all I remember before collapsing on the ground with the snake like a sleeve on my arm.