Life With A Snake That Heals

Riley nodded “it took me awhile to see it but I do now.” He replied hugging his knees. “She blames herself for putting the chip in that's slowly killing me. I see the guilty look in her eyes and just want to comfort her. To make her smile again.”

“You’ll get to do that one day. I know you will…” Colt said as he rubbed at the back of his own neck where a metal plate could be seen. It had numbers etched into it.

Riley scratched at his own neck “the pain is getting worse so is my healing….. it doesn't help they keep me starved. I don't know how much longer I'll last.”

“Loreen won’t let you die. You know that.” Colt said as he laid down and gazed up at the ceiling.

“Not giving up” he replied laying down exhausted as he tried to catch his breath “did you haunt others as ghost or just me?”

“I tried to get Tzeitel’s attention, but she acted like all the stuff I pushed off shelves was just wind.” Colt admitted, not even noticing that cat ears were forming on his head. He wouldn’t even notice his cat tail growing back. Whatever Thrane had done, it was a fast acting thing with the man. “Though, she’s got it really bad. She’s pregnant with Canestone’s child…”

He looked like he wanted to vomit at the thought of that.

“Loreen has been keeping me updated” Riley replied looking up at the ceiling. “She doesn't deserve to suffer like that and the child shouldn't have to grow up in this hellhole. If it comes down to only one of us getting out of here let's make sure it's her.”

“I’ll make sure of it, even if it means I die again.” Colt retorted.

Riley looked at him “ummm I thought you got brought back without your ears?”

“What?” Colt looked confused and reached up, his hand brushing against a cat ear. “What the hell?!”

“You look better this way anyways” Riley chuckled “ from what the guards say catboys are in this season.”

“That just makes me sick.” Colt grumbled.

Riley chuckled “don't worry we'll find a cute girl out there for you. Maybe we can finally take that trip to the beach.”

“Yeah,” Colt said as he shifted in bed and tried to get comfortable, but that was impossible on these cheap beds.

“Loreen in a swimsuit,” he yawned, feeling exhausted. “I hope I live long enough to see that.”

“I didn’t need to hear that…” Colt groaned and rolled over, trying to sleep as the snake cuddled up against his head.

“Goodnight Colt I've missed you. I'm glad you're back.” he whispered closing his eyes and trying to ignore the pain from the chip. Laying there he wished Loreen would come through the door and join him.

Colt wasn't a silent sleeper, sadly. He was quiet for a bit but then the nightmares hit and he started to trash, clawing at the bed to the point his snake slithered off and his beneath it. “Argh…!” He cried out as if in pain and fell off the bed.

Riley moved out of bed and knelt beside him out of breath. “You ok? Do I need to get Loreen?”

Colt groaned and pushed up, shifting so he could sit down on the floor. “I’m fine,” He said as he set his hand down to let the snake make its way up his arm. “Just a nightmare…they’re worse now that I’m alive. I used to do this weird thing where I phased through walls a lot when I was a ghost. Woke up with my head in the boiler’s water once…”

Riley nodded looking him over for any injuries. “you sure i can see if the guards can get Loreen” he offered worry in his voice.

“No, I don’t want to bother her more than need be,” Colt said and rubbed at the back of his neck with his fingers. “I’m not hurt…” He looked down at his hands. They should have been scuffed by the concrete floor, but there was…nothing. No injury. Whatever Thrane had done to him was making him heal far too fast, even for his own liking.

“Healing factor” Riley explained studying his body “Thrane’s been taking a lot of my blood. Looks like whatever his research is worked on you. I'm guessing you're a lot tougher and can heal quicker.”

“I guess, but…” Colt leaned back against the bed and sighed heavily. “I don’t feel like me in this body, Riley. I’ve never felt human, but this just makes me feel…I dunno. It’s like I’m trapped inside something, like a metaphorical cage…” The irony was that they were in a giant cage in this ice covered hell.

“We'll talk to Loreen about it in the morning then it might be a side effect of whatever Thrane did to bring you back” Riley offered “do you have access to your powers?”

Colt was hesitant but held up a hand. Wind swirled around it and spread, making their hair and clothes flutter.

“Just be careful using it you don't want to end up like me” he cautioned scratching the back of his neck with an exhausted sigh before sagging against the wall.

There was a sudden little bite from the snake on Riley’s leg and all his pain would fade. “hey, thats mean. Stop biting, Slither!” Colt scolded her.

“It's fine compared to what Coral did today this is nothing” Riley replied trying not to worry him.

Slither stared up at Riley, knowing her venom would make the pain go away for him for at least an hour.

“Why did I end up with a snake?” Colt murmured and looked at Riley. “Go rest. You need it.”

“I'll try to” he replied shakily standing under and moving to his bed before collapsing onto it and trying to catch his breath.

Slither hissed. Her venom wasn't supposed to cause harm.

“You okay?” Colt asked as he stood up.

“my chip suppresses my powers including my healing factor. Makes it so even a paper cut can take days to heal.” He explained in between breaths “doesn't help that they barely feed me on top of Thrane's experiments and Corals….. visits.”

“That water bitch needs to die.” Colt growled.

Slither made her way to Riley and nuzzles his face, trying to heal him.

“As much as I want to kill her she's carrying my child” he sighed enjoying slither’s company “she's also tthreatened Loreen’s safety if i try anything. I can't see her hurt she already is hurt seeing me like this.”

“She works for Thrane…” Colt murmured. “Can she be trusted?”

Slither kept trying to heal Riley.

“She does what Thrane wants otherwise he'll punish me” he replied feeling a bit better as he reached up to pet the snake. “I Remember how much It hurt her when Thrane told her what the chip actually does to me after she put it in. I trust her with my life besides she's the only one who has a shot of removing the chip without killing me.”

“I hope you're right,” Colt said as he returned to his own bed and lied down. The snake eventually returned to him to rest as well.