Bad Luck

It slithered, a snake in a stained white t-shirt, through the white doorway and into the room, on wobbling, swaying, swirling legs. Tom, it said, Tom, it added again, thoughtfully, Tom… My heart felt like a firetruck, Hey, yeah man what’s up? Tom, I’m leaving I’ll see ya later, it said, yeah, yeah, I said back, and it slithered away and I didn’t know it’s name.

A knot in my chest, a hole in my chest, pulling me down, endlessly huh?

I was in the bathroom, a small room with blue walls and while linoleum floor that made me think of my parents house, of my old bedroom, of that window that seemed so high then. I stared, for a while, as it had begun to slither and swirl, bodies of horrid scales and stains rolling over one another around the toilet like a bed of snakes, hissing and kissing and fighting over a loaf of white-bread. A piece was shoved into my hands, down my throat, how kind, I said, how kind of the pit soothing, and it said no problem bro, hey man, I ever tell you I love you, it hissed cruelly, barbed tongue flailing. I knew it was my time to leave. I had to get upstairs, or outside, the deck maybe – just run, not here.

I pulled myself up from the corner I’d burrowed into, legs a little wobbly, pulling down, and stepped over the pit, careful of their scales and fangs and rattles and scales. A daunting task, to be sure careful, , step careful, watch them, care, care. No sense provoking the serpents, of course, to some lashing of sounds I couldn’t handle

I couldn’t bear it, it was a jungle in there – I’m lucky I made it out.

I shut the door behind me, stepping onto damp carpet don’t bother checking, just take the socks off and keep moving. I took the advice, tossed them onto a pool table two people had gotten lost in the middle of. The eight roosted along a rim, staring, staring back.

The main room wasn’t much better – danger everywhere, adrenaline. A miasma of blue and green and red and black and yellow and red over by the couches how is she lying like that? Two bodies, locked and swirling, hands and feet and knees and hair attacking, with fury, the head of one of the bodies on the ground beneath them, totally unaware how?. Behind the couch, two more rotten beasts, I thought I knew them, the faces masks and hidden and scaled, stood on opposing ends of small grey table, a mosaic of blue cups before them. They shouted something, I don’t think any ears caught it, a yellow ball flew, missed, they laughed. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why you.

I stumbled past careful of the table, don’t get caught, don’t get hit, walked past a door leading into a bedroom, a dark cavern. Rustling, rattling, stirring, don’t turn your head, no need only more vipers and serpents in there.

I fell up the stairs, thudding and plodding, silent and hating, pushed through the door down or up, began to stumble down the hall, a hand dragging against a wall of paint and stains and snags.

It caught on something, I began pulling, yanking Oh Lord I pulled and yanked and writhed. Falling, the beast atop me - a viper a fiend a serpent!- come to claim it’s own, drag me back down!

I wailed and swung and kicked with all I had, swirling, locked in dogfight with this horrid foe. Kicks and punches, bites and grabs and nails, a shout! Quiet how long now?

A small painting – I count myself lucky.

Heavy breathing, panting that can’t be me.

I found myself back up, stumbling down the hall, then I made it through the kitchen, that yellow searchlight swinging, downcast, authoritarian, screaming be quiet, there’s people upstairs, quiet now, then a door, hush.

Lock the door behind you, quiet.

Fresh air, escape. The air below was smothering, I was free, free I think I made it out. Black sky, black wind, black furniture, a world cast in shadow finally, peace, I can breathe, I stumbled, both feet somehow lefts, a hot face with no lips, murmuring to himself, I think. Bumping into the glass table, grabbing a drink, downing the water inside, setting down a beer can something, still, something, to still, I was, I whispered, this time out-loud, I think. Who can be sure?

Breathe.

Drank more water, stared at a black blanket with far too little stars against it, I thought.

A sliding door opened, squeaked, prey caught in the maw, hissing from behind it, Hey Tom! Man, I was wondering where you went, man, how’s it going, man? Fuck, I thought I’d closed that door, can’t they knock adrenaline, calm, don’t run, not yet. Oh hey man, whats up, I said, how’s things?

A knot in my chest, a hole in my chest.

More hissing, behind the first, slithering onto the porch, onto the chairs surrounding me, stared, fangs bared, careful, flee, stay, fight, flee, careful, run, say hello damn you, flee, don’t get caught, Tom! Tooommmmmmmmmm.

Tooommmmmmmmmm.

Tooommmmmmmmmm.

Smiling, I turned to face them,

Hey man, we were missing you man we were talking man we all really miss you man you don’t come aroundveryoftenwhatsupwiththtimenwrethkin………. . . ….    .     .

Huh? Sorry, man, I missed that last bit, I managed to slip out.

Laughter, one said. A few more vipers came out, rattling, a warning. Dispersed themselves, found seats. One snake, blonde hair, brown eyes, rose lips, found me, lashed out, sat next to me, her leg on mine, an arm tucked into my own, a head on my shoulder, was it a bathroom or a floor viper, fuck, you’re caught now, its all over, nothing doing now, sit, a rabbit, still, don’t move, don’t breath, they can smell the CO2, taste the fear-

I was surrounded. A desperate final stand. Survival on my mind, white in my eyes, white hot fear, I could feel it, I needed to do something: I sat forward, grabbed the water-beer on the table, Hey, cheers, to a good night, to friends! An uproar are you caught, you fake? No, a roar of approval, I’ll drink to that! more drinks one of them, replaced the drink, in this, they’re working with someone, laughter. Clink, down, silence for a moment, more laughter.

A new tongue lashed, from somewhere beside me, brown hair, unshaved, it turned, Hey Tom, it said, hey Tom, I’m real glad to meet ya, man. I hadn’t met him before, he’d been talked about by people I knew, I played along, Yeah man, it’s cool to meet you too. An arm around my shoulder, scaled, hot breath on my face, cracked red lips, now against my face, I think, hard, once, twice, Yeah man, it’s nice to meet you, it said again, it’s real nice.

I felt the venom, a rabbit, dragging a bleeding thigh, draining on green grass and green bushes and green leaves, waiting for it’s muscles to fail and seize and betray it, white in it’s eyes. You’re done for.

Hey man, its nice to meet you too nice, play it off, smile. Two vipers, legs on mine, did they notice each other? prey to be slaughtered.

How the fuck did I get here?

A moonlit night, I was in the back of my parents car, a little red one, deep into some foggy night, I don’t know where I was, driving home, sinking beneath the window sill into a ragged, immaculately clean seat, sinking, staring at the moon, silver and white and kind and loving on still water, above the tree line, soaring, staring at me, I knew it, home, where was I?

A couch, a dimmed light above me, yellow, not the moon where the fuck am i? I looked around. Carpet, damp and stained, a bathroom door, murmured hissing behind it, a small grey table, a gorgeous mosaic of blue cups. I was on the couch how the fuck did I get here?, just above where the pit had been, but it had scattered. It’s remnants were around me, on the couch, on the floor, a TV, large and grey and blaring before me, something on. Weight on me, I lifted my head, blonde hair and brown eyes and rose lips staring back up at me, laying on top of me, a hand on my chest, fangs bared. My hand was tied down ready to dissect, a hand in it, attacked to a body attached to a head attached to brown hair. I pulled, it stuck, looped, reptile eyes turned back around to face me, cracked red lips appearing against my face again, Hey Tom, it was

really nice to meet you, man.

I was dead fucking meat. Strung up, caught, fallen, paralyzed, frozen, nothing left fucked up.

A knot in my chest, a whole in my chest – I would’ve counted myself lucky if I’d made it out, but I don’t think I ever did. My muscles had betrayed me, frozen and stiff, white in my eyes, and I laid there, bleeding out on a grey couch, part of the swirling pit.