Chapter 4

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"Yes and yes," Zayrn confirmed, swinging the bag over his shoulder.

"Come on then," Einar gestured them to move forward.

Zayrn and Dr. Nilsson found themselves sandwiched in the middle of their armed escort as they crossed the tree line.

The forest was dense, suffocating, hot, and humid. Overall, extremely unpleasant by Zayrn's standards. Still he didn't complain.

"Now, we haven't been all over the island just yet," Einar began, "but we have discovered a lake in the middle, a few freshwater rivers, and there's a mangrove swamp on the western side."

"All very attractive habitats," Dr. Nilsson noted.

The forest was full of unblinking serpentine eyes glaring in the shadows, strange stretches of silence uncommon in the wild, and the distant heavy thuds that could've possibly come from a boar. Or any larger type of animal. Zayrn didn't know. He had only heard of the boars.

"Christ this place is suffocating," Zayrn commented as they made their first stop.

They were at a stream. Dr. Nilsson was crouched down beside him taking a sample of the water. Zayrn held his bag open obediently at her side. Einar's men lingered around some ways away.

"To me, it feels like... a blanket almost. Very comfortable."

"Yeah, if you enjoy being suffocated and cooked to death by your 'blanket.' Dr. Nilsson this place is unbearable."

Dr. Nilsson laughed, "I'm saying it must be very habitable for snakes. We might have your answer at why they've never sought to leave here. This island possibly has everything they would ever need."

Zayrn acknowledged her with a low hum, but didn't say anything more on the subject. Instead, he mentioned, "Einar caught a bamboo pit viper last night - I saw the body. It was six feet long."

Dr. Nilsson looked up, "Six feet long? Are you sure it was a bamboo pit viper?"

"I may not have a degree but at this point in our relationship, I think I can recognize a goddamn bamboo pit viper."

Dr. Nilsson chewed the inside of her cheek. It was a habit of hers, when she was deep in thought.

"Interesting. Hopefully, if nothing else, we'll record some abnormalities present on this island. I saw something quite strange last night too."

"Oh yeah? What?"

Dr. Nilsson reached into her own bag and pulled out an air-sealed plastic bag. "This," she announced, handing it over.

Zayrn took it, studying the object inside. It appeared to be a snakeskin - only a piece - though the lines defining each individual scale were...

"Quite large, aren't they? The snake that skin came off of must be easily thirty feet long - maybe more. One thing's for sure though, that isn't an anaconda's skin. If anything, I would say it most closely resembles a king cobra."

"A thirty-foot long king cobra?" Zayrn sat back on his heels, blowing out a low whistle. "This island is cursed."

"I wonder what causes these snakes to grow beyond their normal capacities."

"I don't know," Zayrn said. "Where did you find that anyway?"

"I was taking a walk around camp. I came a bit too close to the tree line don't tell on me to Einar," Dr. Nilsson pressed a finger to her lips, smiling. "Lo and behold something strange caught my eye. There, snagged in one of the bamboo thickets was this: a snakeskin," Dr. Nilsson took the skin back from Zayrn and studied it. "I don't believe the reptile was trying to shed its skin fully, but it is that time for the reptile. Ergo we have this: a small bit of shedded skin caught on a bamboo shoot. The only bit I could find. Don't know where the rest of its skin went. But this, this is the first tangible evidence we have of abnormal growth in the Ophiophagus genus."

"Do you think we'll find other genera of snakes growing too large too?"

"Quite possible --- more than possible. King cobras are notorious for being 'snake-eaters' so if they are growing this large, it would not be a stretch to say their prey would be growing larger as well."

"You said you found that at the tree line by camp? And it's time for its shedding?" Zayrn mused aloud. "Maybe-- do you think -?"

"That the snake this skin belongs to is nearby?" Nilsson cut her assistant off. Zayrn gave a small nod. "Yes, I had that same thought. Before we even exchanged pleasantries this morning, I went ahead and took a second more thorough look around the surrounding forestry. However, I still could not track or find the snake, or the rest of its skin. Today, I have been keeping an eye out for it or anything else odd -- but haven't seen a thing."

"Hmm," Zayrn hummed thoughtfully. "Interesting."

"Yes," Dr. Nilsson circled a finger in the air, as if referring to their surroundings, "this entire forest would be an ideal habitat for a king cobra So would the mangrove swamp to the west. Something this big shouldn't be able to hide for long. Hopefully we will be able to catch and record a live specimen soon."

Zayrn snorted, "And here I thought the only live specimen you were interested in catching was the naga."

The woman gave him a tight smile, "The Ophidian narus is the specimen I am most interested in studying but not the only."

"I see."

"Come, Zayrn, let's take some soil samples by the water."

"Okay."

Zayrn followed his employer dutifully as they spent the day collecting samples and observational notes.

Dr. Nilsson and Zayrn were in the lab the following day, looking over both the environmental samples and the piece of snakeskin she had found.

Under the microscope, all doubts had disappeared.

"I don't know what to say," Dr. Nilsson leaned back on her wheeled stool with a sigh. Zayrn stood right next to her, forearms resting on the counter.

"While my earlier approximation of the snake's length being around thirty feet might be inaccurate, the species is not. This definitely belongs to a king cobra but there is something off about its pattern. The individual scales are much larger than they should be."

"And that means?"

"That we've either uncovered another supposedly mythical creature a damn basilisk or this specimen is abnormal."

That proclamation shocked a laugh out of the brown haired man. "Well anyway," he said, handing over his tablet, "here is the summary of the environmental samples we took yesterday."

Dr. Nilsson took a cursory look at it.

"Ideal habitat for reptiles," she concluded. Hand over her mouth she chanced another glance at the skin. "Oh, I don't know what to make of this."

Dr. Nilsson reached over and penned a few handwritten notes in her personal journal before she turned her attention back to Zayrn.

"I'm hoping to explore the lake at the middle of the island tomorrow. I'm also hoping to set up another encampment there - depending on how it looks-- so we have a midway point to freely explore the western and northern halves of the island in depth."

"Alright," Zayrn murmured, drumming his fingers against the countertop.

"Zayrn," a hand landed on the brown haired man's shoulder, "why don't we break for lunch and afterwards we can take a walk. Sort of ease off a bit on all this work."

Zayrn smiled, "Sounds like a plan."

They both left the portable, locking the building up after them, and heading down to retrieve their daily quota of dehydrated foods. As they spooned the rehydrated slop into their mouths, they sat in a rather companionable silence, looking out at their surroundings.

Shuffling the strange meat jerky around on his plate, Zayrn spoke, "You never did tell me why the government refused to fund this trip."

"Officially their reasons were 'classified.' Unofficially, I believe they were paid off by private holdings. Someone wanted access to this island before the government could interfere."

"What kind of 'someone'? People like Einar?"

"That's a very likely possibility," Dr. Nilsson replied.

"Well, if so, then where are they? Why are we the only people currently on this island?"

Dr. Nilsson's metal utensil collided with her tray in a loud clattering. "I've thought about that too. I don't think we are the only people on this island, looking for the infamous Ophidian narus, no. Perhaps they came before us. Maybe they're north of us, or west."

"'Came before us' - that'd be hard to do considering we came here within a literal week of its discovery," Zayrn deadpanned.

Nilsson gave a short laugh, "Yes, quite the busy week for you, wasn't it?"

"I expect a million-dollar Christmas bonus at this rate," the brown haired man muttered with a frown.

"I'll think about it," she promised. Dr. Nilsson then stood, patting Zayrn's shoulder, and dragging him up to his feet, "Come on, let's take that walk."

She then proceeded to her private ducking inside briefly, and returning with a rifle.

"Er, I thought we were just going for a nice, calm, leisurely walk?" Zayrn eyed the gun pointedly.

"We are," Dr. Nilsson smiled at her assistant brightly. "Can never be too careful though."

"Right," Zayrn drew the word out, hoping to sound as unconvinced as he felt.

They began their walk away from the encampment at a lazy pace. Though the island was hot and humid, the air was fresh, feeling like a gentle caress against Zayrn's lungs with every inhale. The sun was at its highest point above them, burning the back of their necks. There were no clouds.

Dr. Nilsson did not stop upon reaching the tree line so neither did Zayrn. The brown haired man followed after his employer, ducking under a palm tree's wide fan. The change from the open dirt plain and the forest was night and day. Instantly the burning heat vanished as well as the bright sun rays. The forest was thick and shadowed, cooler in temperature but still sweltering; suffocating in its cloak of heat and vegetation.

Palm trees both tall and short lined their makeshift path and bamboo thickets dotted between their fat trunks.

The forest was quiet. Deathly so. Zayrn could hear every shift of their clothing as they walked - every step; every breath Dr. Nilsson took.

"Have you ever handled a gun before, Zayrn?" Dr. Nilsson lifted her rifle in the aim position. Her target was ahead of them; above them. Zayrn, peering over her shoulder, couldn't see what she was aiming at however.

"Yes/No." (choose)

Nilsson shot him a smile. "My father was a gun enthusiast. He served in the military. Believed it was everyone's right to arm themselves against potential danger. Now, my mother," she lowered the gun and continued walking. Zayrn was hot on her heels. "She did not like guns so much. They spooked her. I believe she was only so terrified of them because she refused to learn how to handle them properly.

"Funny, it sort of reminds me of how I first got into this profession. Not many people have a desire to study snakes, you know, or reptiles in general. But when I was about eleven, my family and I were hiking in the Sunnora Mountains, when I had my first encounter with a deadly snake.

"It was a Timber Rattlesnake. A rare sight - especially in the mountains. My brother and I had been playing nearby and we heard its telltale rattle. At first, we didn't know what it was but my father, he recognized it at once. Instantly, he drew his gun a .22 at the time; he was trying to give us our first lesson on how to handle guns. Anyway, he aims it right at the snake's head. Typically it would be unnecessary but this snake was acting abnormally aggressive towards us.

"My father shoots it. Miraculously, it misses and the snake shoots forward, fangs bared and ready to strike my poor brother. But I - I, somehow, reach the snake before it can even touch my brother. My hand is around its neck and I'm screaming, terrified my father looks amazed; shocked, he's laughing. My mother's screaming, in no better state than I'm in.

"My father takes it from me, very carefully, and throws it by its tail about fifty feet. After that, I was hooked. I was always told that snakes were terribly dangerous creatures but that day, something changed. They became much less frightening. The thing about 'deadly' threats, Zayrn, is that all you have to do is learn how to handle them."

"...I'll keep that in mind," Zayrn muttered, ducking below another low hanging palm tree leaf - only to come face to face with a serpent's surly face. The snake reared back, hissing viciously and nearly spitting its venom already. The brown haired man reeled back, gasping out a, "Holy fuck !" while Dr. Nilsson looked over her shoulder and laughed.

Zayrn glanced at her as the lime green snake tangled in a tree branch hissed at him once more. It was a warning, undoubtedly. Had it not been, Zayrn would've been full of bites by now.

"Is that a fucking-?"

"My word, I've never seen one up close - in the wild," Dr. Nilsson came to stand at Zayrn's shoulder. Her eyes were sparkling. "An eastern green mamba. Quite the deadly snake. Strange to see it in a place like this."

"Well, fuck," Zayrn put a hand up to his chest, feeling his heart beat a tattoo against his chest. He slowly backed away from the snake, his hands up in surrender. "Holy hell, sorry for bothering you - jeez."

Dr. Nilsson laughed merrily before she pulled her phone out of her pants pocket and snapped a picture of it.

"It looks to be juvenile. Only about three feet in length. No telling how big it will grow on an island like this," she rapidly shot out her observations.

"Female. So, the larger of the species."

"Can I resign?" Zayrn asked out of the blue.

"Nope," Nilsson grinned. "Near death experiences are in the job description, Zayrn, so suck it up. This is what you signed up for."

The brown haired man crossed his arms over his chest, "When this is over and we're back home, consider that my two weeks notice."

"I'll miss you," she laughed.

"You'll miss me more if I die."

"Don't be so dramatic. Come," Nilsson wrapped her arm around his and tugged him along - away from the irate snake. "Let's keep walking."

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2500 words.

Early update ig.

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