The screams that are heard are different than those that are normally heard throughout the room, instead of the constant screaming or cries of help or sadness, these are shrieks of terror. They come in sporadic bursts as the small critters move across the floor, most likely just as scared as the humans that jump at the site of them.
"Does anyone know anything about snakes!" Daniel does what can best be described as a whisper scream.
"Not me, sorry, Ross?" Dalton looks over to Ross who looks as stiff as a board, fists clenched and eyes squeezed tight shut. "Ross?!"
"NO! I'm no ophiologist!" Ross tries to barely move as he shouts a response.
"What's an Ophiologist?" Liz looks over.
"It's someone who studies snakes." Ross responds, this time moving his mouth even less to respond.
"Why do you know that, but you don't know anything about snakes?" Daniel looks over to him.
"Do you know that an optomologist studies eyes? Do you know anything about eyes other than you can see with them? What do I know about snakes? Some are venomous, some are not, but they all bite and they are all terrifying and I DO NOT LIKE THEM, AND I HAPPEN TO KNOW THAT A OPHIOLGIST STUDIES SNAKES." Ross grits his teeth and is visibly upset with toady's challenge. "Here's the thing, there has to be someone in this group who doesn't have a problem with snakes and can get us through this."
"I don't have a problem with snakes, but I'm not a fan of them crawling all over me, and I mos certainly don't want to die from a bite. But would he put deadly snakes in here with us?" Daniel tries to calmly respond as to not upset Ross more than he already seems to be.
"Some snake bites you can be paralyzed and still be saved after 24 hours. He could be thinking we can survive until tomorrow, or he could be thinking we'll survive if we don't startle them and get bit, or they aren't venomous and he's just messing with our heads."Dalton tries to rationalize the situation.
"I don't care which. I'm just going to stay perfectly..." a long black snake with white lines down its sides crawls across Daniels throat and swirls itself into spiral and nests itself in the crook of his neck. "Oh my God is it under my neck?"
"Um, yes. Don't move. It doesn't look friendly." Liz tries to move, she squirms her way to a spot where she can see her little group better, to see who else is making new friends with the visitors to the room. "Guys this doesn't look good." she scans the room and sees countless spiders and snakes moving across the floor and all over the group in the room. Throughout the room people are jumping in fear only to get tangled in the low net ceiling above them and then struggling with that trying not to strangle themselves as the fear grips them.
"Daniel, the snake seems to be sleeping under your neck, so don't move. Ross you have like 4 spiders near your legs, but keep them away from Anne, she hates spiders."
"Do you see any centipedes?" Ross asks her, still remaining incredibly stiff.
"No, no centipedes. Just spiders. Don't like centipedes?" she asks
"Hate 'em." he says through his teeth.
"Well if I see any I'll let you know."
"I'd rather you didn't"
"Ross can I lay on top of you?" Anne gets closer to him.
"What?" Ross, Liz, Daniel, Dalton, Jim and even Scott who's nearby forget that they're surrounded by snakes and spiders for a minute.
"Can I lay on top of you, so I'm off the ground, I don't want them crawling on me. What the hell everyone!" Anne starts to move as if to climb on top of Ross.
"That's probably not a good idea." Ross puts his arm up to stop her.
"Why? There's plenty of space, I'm thin and I'm not going to crush you or anything."
"I'm laying here stiff as it is.... that's just going to make me more stiff... if you know what I mean."
"Ohhhh. But I'm only doing it to get away from the spiders, it has no sexual side to it at all."
"Maybe not for you."
The men start to laugh, "She actually thought lying on top of you wouldn't be sexual. Hahahaha." Dalton has tears starting to well up in his eyes.
"Did he really say I'll get more stiff? Hahahaha" Scott chuckles.
"Yes. Hahahaha, you should have seen her face." Jim also with tears in his eyes.
"Stop it. Stop, there's damn snake under my neck." Daniel's body vibrates with the laughter he's holding in. "Ross your damn sense of humor is going to get me killed."
"Its all I got." Ross starts to give in and his belly laugh is so loud that it startles some of the spiders and sends them running from him. "What did they do?"
"They ran...weird." Liz slinks around her friends to make sure no one else is in danger of any of the arachnids jumping on them.
"So can I get on top of you?" Anne asks with all sincerity.
"HAHAHAHAHA" The group bursts out laughing, others in the room wonder what is going on in that section as they deal with snakes and spiders crawling across them, how can a group of people be laughing. The laughter is cut short when they hear someone scream...
"I've been bit! It bit me!" the man shouts and jumps up, his head slips through the net ceiling and he tries to push the rest of his body through. Unable to he, without thinking, tries to run and squirm to a different section it just tangles him more. Those around him try pulling at him to get him free but in his frightened state he panics and pushes away, scared he makes it worse and clenches the ropes around his neck further. Now everyone begins to shout at him to get him to calm down, but its totally ineffective. The room watches as they hear him crying and they beg him to just try and be calm. Maybe its the venom coursing through his veins, or just the sheer panic flight or fight factor taking over but this fight he will not win.
Others scramble, crawling on all fours to get away from him, as they do they squash several spiders and send snakes scrambling across the room. The rest of the night this continues, screams of those who get bit, the turmoil of those trying to escape the colonies of spiders and nests of snakes scattered about their cramped chamber. But amongst this madness the group who found a moment of laughter in the mania that there world has become. They curl up together protecting one another through the night and await the artificial morning and the next day.
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