Serpent

Sebastian sat looking out at the lake. It was a beautiful sight. The sun was just setting behind the trees on the opposite bank sending hues of orange and purple out across the water like spilled paint. The whole world was quiet, the birds had long since gone to bed and it seemed the owls were not yet out. The bugs did not chirrup at the night as they usually did on warm nights like this one. Even the air was still, waiting.

Sebastian’s brown hair was stuck to his neck and face with sweat. His blue eyes were dark, thoughtful as he stared out at the water and the sky. His lips were slightly parted to allow him to breathe easier in the still air. He had his left leg propped up and he was leaning on it, left arm resting on his knee, the right lay in his lap. Thick-rimmed glasses dangled from the fingers of his left hand. The sleeves of his black shirt were rolled up for comfort and his jeans were covered in mud, leaves, and some other unidentifiable substance that stained the blue material brown and black.

As he watched the lake, the water parted in tiny ripples as a small narrow head lifted and skimmed through the water. A long sleek little body. A snake. As it passed it turned its head and lashed its tiny forked tongue out at Sebastian, smelling and tasting his scent on the air. For a moment the tiny body coiled and spun as though coming back for him, having enjoyed its first taste. The smell of whatever covered him attracted it. But then Sebastian moved and the snake went shooting away having realized that the giant being was still alive, contrary to what its smell and taste had told it.

Sebastian’s blue eyes followed the creature until he could no longer see it. For a moment the look on his face appeared to be somewhat tortured as though a memory had surfaced that pained him. But the look passed as he turned back to the horizon. The shadows of the trees were reaching across the lake. It seemed to Sebastian as though they were long fingers stretching out for him. Soon he’d be within their grasp. It would not be long now before he was plunged into the darkness.

His eyes slid closed as he enjoyed the warmth surrounding him. But the darkness was like a giant cloud looming before him. He could feel it. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end as he waited. The fingers of his right hand rubbed together, feeling the liquid-like substance that had been pooled there. It too was warm and this, Sebastian knew, would stay warm. Even after the cold shadows consumed him.

A soft sigh escaped past his parted lips and his head dropped back. The movement seemed to break the spell placed on this secluded place. The sound of a siren rent the still air sending a huge murder of crows flying off across the lake. Their black wings beat the air into a gentle breeze, and their bodies blocked the sunlight sending shadows dancing around Sebastian. The trees shook slightly to and fro and Sebastian heard animals escaping through the underbrush.

He smiled, but only slightly, a tiny bitter smile. He leaned back on his right hand, the red liquid squishing up between his fingers. Another sigh escaped him and he turned his head to look behind him at the ground. His smile softened slightly and he reached out with his left hand and touched blue-white skin in a tender way. He opened his eyes and examined the closed eyes that he knew to be wonderfully deep brown and had been amazingly intelligent, the fine features that he knew so well and looked so different when there wasn’t a haughty expression on them, and then down to the small pink triangle tattooed just below the pale collarbone. He refused to allow his eyes to travel any lower than that. He refused to look at the damage that had been done. His gaze traveled back up to that handsome face, so peaceful, almost happy in a way.

The siren cut off abruptly and the stillness came back. At least for the moment. Blissful silence returned to the world and the perfect moment. Sebastian glanced around at the silent woods and then rolled his hips so he was laying on his stomach next to the pale form on the ground. His own complexion was quickly paling as the shadows from the trees stretched farther across the lake already tickling the bank that Sebastian was laying on. His body was starting to shudder as the darkness closed in.

One shaking hand reached up and touched cold blue lips. The sadness in Sebastian’s eyes deepened, tears shone in them magnifying the blue colour. With a slight bit of rustling, pale lips pressed against blue ones in a chaste kiss. The tears spilled as those huge blue eyes closed. A tiny hum emitted from the back of Sebastian’s throat as he pulled away and laid his head down on the cold flesh. His eyes opened and zoned in on the tattoo and long trembling fingers lifted again and traced it in a pattern that was familiar.

Doors slammed somewhere, echoing in the silence. Then voices began to call out. Sebastian groaned into the swiftly cooling air. His body curled slightly, his fingers gripped the form beside him. He turned his face into the still soft neck, eyes sliding shut once more. The voices quickly turned into shouts and Sebastian wished them gone. They were ruining his moment, his perfect moment. Now pale blue lips parted and mouthed words but no sound came from them. Even so the entire world seemed to have heard the command he’d given it. Silence washed over him, a numb fuzzy kind of silence. As though perhaps it was not the world that had stopped making sound but simply that he was no longer hearing it.

When the feeling of cold flesh under his fingertips was replaced with the same feeling Sebastian forced his eyes open. He could just barely make out his own hand in the orange glow. The entire world was covered in that same orange glow. The sun reflecting off of everything just before it disappeared and Sebastian could no longer see anything. He blinked and looked again, still he saw nothing and he ceased to care. Distant blue eyes closed once again, this time never to reopen.

Men in uniforms crashed through the trees and out onto the bank. The sun had fled the sky by this time leaving them to hunt with flashlights. They had been called out to check a reported kidnapping. They’d stopped and followed a trail down through the woods and now to this bank. It looked peaceful, as though nothing had been there. Until one of the men caught sight of two younger men, boys really. They were laying on the bank, the younger wrapped around the older as though they had fallen asleep together. He shouted to them. Neither moved, a breeze picked up the bunched up shirt of one of the boys and tossed it aside, jerking it so that the damage to the body was clear.

The man who had spotted them spun away, his stomach churned nastily and his dinner found its way to the ground. The other two men tended to him before looking over to see what had caused such a violent reaction. Both covered their faces and breathed deeply before approaching. The ground around the two boys was soggy and squelched red water as they walked on it. It was clear that the older boy was dead because of the deep wounds in his abdomen, but the younger was harder to tell. When they lifted his arm away from the older boy’s chest they found a deep gash running from the elbow to the wrist. The man who’d lifted the arm replaced it gently.

Hours later both bodies had been removed from the lakeshore. And as the last of the uniformed men left the area a small narrow head rose from the water. And in a flurry of ripples a long sleek body moved out of the water and onto the bank. A tiny forked tongue shot out tasting the air. The serpent slithered across the leaves with a slight rustling sound and then curled itself up over the smell of blood and death.