Belly of the Beast (COMPLETED)

6

Rhea, Alexandra, and I stumble back.

The snake thing lunges at Annabeth, then it rips her apart with his fangs. But then, all of a sudden, a cut-up and bruised Annabeth is standing there, crying and stumbling backwards. The snake thing leaps at her once again, and this time, it coils around her legs, holding her in place.

None of us can move.

All we can do is watch.

The snakes slither up her body, tiny little creatures smaller than my fingers, and she screams. But then some of them leap into her mouth and go down her throat. She is coughing and gagging, and then the snake thing lets go of her, and she stops coughing and gagging.

The snakes are gone.

"What ... what the fuck are you doing to me?" she asks.

"You used a forbidden word here," the snake says. "And you must be punished before I eat you."

She laughs. "Get in line with all the other things that want to eat me or already have."

"You think this is the worst thing that can be done to you, human? What about living in my body, never moving, never blinking, never eating. Nothing. No speaking ... no screaming. Just you and your thoughts for all eternity."

That's horrifying to me.

But I can't say that, or do anything to help her. Because I, just like the others, am frozen.

"Let this be a lesson to the rest of you," the snake says. "There are worse things that could be done to you."

He leaps at her, and opens his mouth. She screams as he lands on top of her, swallowing her whole, and then I see her body in his, her bulging arms and her feet sticking out of his mouth as he swallows them too. She wiggled once, twice, and then nothing.

Then we are free.

"You can never be too careful," the snake says. "You are not in the worst case scenario here. She is, but you aren't."

"What will happen to her?" Alexandra asks.

"She will become a part of me, forever. Inside me, she is safe. But inside me, she is tormented with visions of her old life before she was here, and tormented by me. All for my pleasure. If you'd like to join her, demonologist girl, just say so." He winks. "Or I could be inside you."

"No thanks."

He narrows his eyes and I feel like face-palming.

"I'm sorry, sir. I mean no," I say.

"I'll let you off this once, demonologist. But remember that I remain eternal, and you shall not see the last of me. Or my brothers. We are everywhere in here, and you'll be hard-pressed to find someone who is more forgiving or less brutal than I am."

"Thank you for your generosity," I say, hating myself for thanking him knowing what is happening to Annabeth right now.

He smiles. "You're welcome, demonologist girl." And then he slithers off into the darkness, absorbed by the shadows. Never for us to see or hear from Annabeth again either.