Beyond The Walls
A bit of excitement to kick off the summer…
Chapter 55: Distracted
Friday morning was not entirely welcomed. The sun pouring in through the open curtains, both in front of the window and around the bed, was far brighter than it should have been, all things considered. The knocking on the bedroom door was incessant and annoying beyond all belief, yet Gary ignored it to the best of his abilities as he drowsily pulled one of the pillows over his head with a groan. Sleep had not been abundant this week, particularly not the previous night. He found it difficult to slip off into slumber with the bed empty other than himself, Umbreon, and now Loki, who was old enough to be on his own but was incredibly attached to Gary. Nothing seemed to help – not running, not music, not playing with the pokemon, not even hanging out in the den with his friends, and the fact that Anna was still avoiding him certainly did not help out at all. She was still staying with her mother and her sister and, according to Michelle, was still annoyed with him over everything with Rachael, though Anna had yet to get into any fights with her twin.
Umbreon's sudden loud bark shook him out of his thoughts as Loki cuddled up next to him while he tried in vain to fall asleep once more; whoever was knocking at the door was intent on rousing him from his hiding place amongst the covers and it was apparently irritating the dark canine. Gary instinctively knew that it wasn't Andrew, as the blonde's method of waking him, though far less annoying, was more direct. It couldn't have been May or Chelsea since both girls were far more likely to come in and wake him, as was Chris. It could've been either Ash or Shawn – they both seemed to enjoy annoying him in any way – but it was doubtful since Gary knew they both preferred to not start the day off on bad terms with him.
The door opened and Gary heard a familiar irked sigh. "Gary, get up," Alex called from the doorway.
"I am up," he growled in annoyance as he burrowed deeper under the covers.
"Then get out of bed!"
"You have three minutes to get ready or else I'm going running without you," Chelsea's voice came from down the hall.
"Then go," Gary muttered under his breath as he heard Alex leave the doorway without closing the door behind him. The covers shifted as Umbreon stood from her spot at the foot of the bed and stretched languidly; her master may not be willing to get up for their morning run, but she certainly wasn't about to miss out on the crisp morning air. He fell into a shallow sleep again as Umbreon leapt off of the bed and headed out of the room to join Chelsea for her morning run with Ash.
All in all, it was a typical weekday morning in the mansion – someone was yelling at someone else to get out of bed, somebody was being yelled at to get ready… Andrew's stereo was playing loudly on the other side of the wall separating their rooms while the running water from his shower could be heard through the wall as well. Footsteps and voices constantly could be heard in the hallway, along with the barks and yelps of hungry growlithe puppies and the excited chirps from Tracey's marril, who seemed to enjoy mornings even more than his trainer. Everyone was getting ready except Gary.
An hour passed easily before Umbreon came running back into the room, frisky from running around the reserve; Gary got up with little complaint when she woke him with a small nip to the wrist, knowing that he would need to head down to the lab in a short while. He dragged himself out of bed, dressed slowly and then flopped back down onto his bed to wait for someone to force him out of his room. The last thing he felt like doing was going down to the lab.
"Hey," Andrew's voice forced him to open his eyes once again, not realizing that he had fallen asleep. "It's supposed to rain later so we're going to train now before the weather gets bad."
"I think I'll skip training for today."
Andrew scoffed and marched into the room to grab Gary's arm and forcefully drag him off of the bed. "Not happening, you lazy cunt. You promised Ash you would help him so you'll get your sorry ass out of bed and help him. The competition's in less than two months, you know."
"I know that, I just don't feel like it today."
"That's just because you're being a pussy – if this whole thing with Anna and her sister is bothering you so much then go talk to them! Get the fuck out of here!" he demanded as he dragged Gary out of the room and towards the stairs with Loki and Umbreon both following them.
--- --- ---
Tracey glanced up from the computer he was working when he felt the presence of someone standing behind him. "Training looked pretty rough this morning," he commented when his glance confirmed that Andrew was the person leaning against the counter that was several feet behind him. He had watched a large portion of the training through the windows of the lab and had seen far more arguing than battling, to the point where he had to wonder if Alex's presence was having an adverse affect on everyone's attitudes despite the increased cheerfulness exhibited by both May and Chris.
"It would have gone fine if Chelsea hadn't started off by bitching at Gary for not running with her and Ash; that completely killed it," Andrew replied with a small sigh.
Tracey nodded in response as he scanned the research summary he had just typed, he had noticed that Chelsea and Gary both seemed to be in foul moods as they battled – there was a certain tenseness in the way they called out their pokemon and commanded the different attacks that wasn't easy to miss. On top of that, their battles had been particularly vicious: Gary had ruthlessly taken out one pokemon after another while Chelsea used an uncharacteristic all-out offense technique. Ash had surprisingly backed out of a battle with Gary when he saw the way his rival's houndoom had brutalized Chelsea's victreebel, which, of course, led to another argument. "She picked the wrong day to start with Gary, didn't she?" He saved the document on his computer and flipped off the monitor before standing and walking over to Andrew so that he could slip his arms around the taller boy's waist.
"I guess you could say that. I wish Anna would just stop freaking out about her sister because it's really getting kind of tough to deal with Gary – he's either totally distracted or flat out nasty… At least, that's how he's been today." He smiled despite his concern for his friend and returned Tracey's hug as he nuzzled his throat. "You must be tired," he observed from the way his boyfriend was quietly cuddling against him.
"It's that stupid eevee research," Tracey muttered in response. For the past two weeks, he had been poring over stacks of articles on eevee reproduction, summarizing it as he went; it was tedious and left him exhausted with constant headaches that were soothed by gentle head massages from Andrew. "My eyes are crossing from staring at the computer screen all morning."
Andrew's embrace tightened a bit as he pressed a small kiss against Tracey's cheek. "Take a break for a bit; you've been working really hard all week, there's no reason for you to not take it easy today. I mean it, Trace," he added as Tracey sighed softly. "Come on, we've got to work with the snakes today; why don't you go upstairs and take a nap or something? It's not like you'll miss anything."
"I have to stay down here in case anything happens – you and Chris have already been bitten, Andrew. It's only a matter of time before Gary or Chelsea get bit."
Andrew rolled his eyes and ran his hands through Tracey's short hair as he spoke again. "And when that does happen, May or Professor Oak will give them their shot and send them on their merry little way. No big deal."
Tracey shook his head at Andrew's words; the arbok bites were far more serious than his words implied and he couldn't help but be just a bit paranoid about those long fangs being anywhere near his boyfriend or close friends. "I have to be here just in case, Andrew," he replied firmly. He glanced up at the blonde and noticed how tired he appeared with his messy hair and the slight shadows beneath his eyes – the thing that especially stood out was how particularly calm he was compared to usual. "I think you're the one that needs a break, you look exhausted!"
"I'm fine, Tracey," Andrew replied with a grin. "Remember, I went to a school that's known for driving teenagers to emotional breakdowns and suicide attempts – I can handle anything!" He flexed his muscles playfully with a small growl that Tracey snorted at.
"You're too scrawny for that," he reminded him, laughing at the way Andrew pouted and crossed his arms across his chest.
"Now I need a kiss." Tracey smiled at the whine and cupped Andrew's face in his hands while he pressed a gentle kiss against his lips.
Andrew slipped his arms around Tracey's waist again and slowly melted into the kiss, after putting up with everyone's arguments this morning, the kiss was incredibly welcome. Having Tracey pressed against his chest as their lips gently massaged each others felt nearly heavenly and he could hardly think of anything else as long as it lasted. He was hesitant to pull away but they both knew that they had work to do and the lab certainly wasn't the best place to hold a make out session. The two boys held gazes for a moment longer, not entirely willing to part completely as Andrew saw Chris lead in a cross-looking Chelsea and an equally irritated Gary. A glance over at the other desks showed that Shawn was already there while another glance over at the professor's office found May, Alex, and Professor Oak conversing over what appeared to be several reports spread across the large wooden desk. Andrew groaned and gave Tracey a grim smile; now that everyone was present, work had begun for the day and, unfortunately for him, today's work included milking snakes and typing reports. He had a distinct feeling that it was going to be a long day.
--- --- ---
Gary was quiet as he set up the equipment for the day's work, Alex was talking to him about something but, for the life of him, he couldn't recall what exactly that something was; he had simply been nodding in response to everything he had said. His mind was elsewhere as he lined up the glass containers that he had grown so used to setting up for Chris in the past couple of months, it had been a week since the fight with Anna – or nearly a week anyway. He had tried talking to her on Tuesday and ended up giving up on speaking to her for the next few days when his attempts were met by a stubborn attitude. All he had done was make a comment about her sister once being his friend; was that really so bad? Granted, he did talk to Rachael behind Anna's back but was that really enough of a reason for her to treat him like this?
He had always tried to be the best boyfriend he could be with her; he showered her with attention every chance he got, he made it clear that he was in love with her, and he wasn't afraid to spoil her for absolutely no reason other than simply because he could. He wasn't whiney around her, he wasn't overly sensitive, he dealt with her moods as they came – there just wasn't a reason for this. Of course he occasionally snapped back at her but he was never mean to her, at least not in any way other than playful and Anna knew him well enough to know when he was just playing around with her. He would never dare to hurt her intentionally and he certainly would never hit her, aside from the playful swats that she always countered more than twice as hard. He never tried keeping her from doing what she wanted, even if it meant that she hung out with friends that he knew she had been intimate with – Gary trusted her fully and didn't worry about her being unfaithful in anyway.
So why was Anna doing this, he wondered as he secured the thin rubber sheets to the top of the containers without even noticed that Alex had stopped talking.
"Are you even listening to me, Gary?" Alex asked as he watched Gary pull out more equipment from one of the cabinets below the counter.
"Of course I am," Gary muttered in response as he counted out enough pipettes for the containers.
"Then what did I just say?"
Gary sighed and set the handful of narrow glass tubes on the counter next to the other materials. This was something Alex had always done whenever he knew that Gary wasn't listening and it annoyed Gary for obvious reasons; the last thing he felt like doing was playing these games with him right now, especially not when he had other things on his mind and when he had other things to do. "Fine, I wasn't listening," he snapped. "I'm a little busy at the moment."
"You're setting up glassware! How difficult is that?" Alex asked while he watched Gary count out vials and line them up in the test tube holder on the counter. "Still skulking over everything with Anna?"
"I'm not skulking."
"You should just go talk to her."
"We had an agreement, Alex," Gary reminded him, walking over to one of the other counters to sit down while Alex watched on, looking as though he wanted to say more. "And I've already tried talking to her twice; so did Michelle and May – even Bella tried talking to her. It's all Anna now."
Alex sighed and rested his arms on the counter next to Gary, several things running through his head at once but not saying any of them so as to not set Gary off. The last thing he wanted to do was create a riff between them by interfering once more. "I was trying to talk to you about the competition in May. You guys have to come up to Pastoria the week after the competition is over, don't you? For Charlotte's wedding? It's coming up pretty quickly."
Gary frowned; he hadn't really given any thought to the Pokemon League competition that he had agreed to compete in with Ash, Chelsea, and Andrew, despite how much they had been training for it. Perhaps it was the fact that he had fallen a bit into his older, more depressed way of thinking, but something about Alex bringing it up made his stomach churn uneasily. Maybe it was the fact that he had suddenly realized that he would be returning to the same place where he had suffered perhaps his worst defeat, but he felt worried about what would happen as a result of the outcomes of the battles he would face there. He would almost certainly be able to walk away from losses with little or no issues, but what would happen if he didn't lose? The chance of that was infinitesimal, especially with how strong of a trainer his former rival had turned out to be, but the chance was still there.
And then what if he had to battle one of his friends at the Indigo Plateau? Sure, he could battle them with no problem in Pallet, but those battles all had a somewhat playful feel to them – most of the time, that was. But what if he was suddenly paired against Andrew? It would be the third serious battle between them as trainers, as they had met and battled twice when traveling through the Kanto region so many years earlier. Would he be able to even view the battle as serious with his best friend and ex-boyfriend across the field from him as his opponent? He knew Andrew's team inside and out by now, he knew Andrew's battling techniques, and the same was true in the reverse. It was true with the entire group by this point in time after battling for several hours a day, at least five days a week for over two months; they all had learned each other's styles and it would give an unfair advantage to them in battle. But at the same time, they would each know the others' weaknesses, so perhaps that would negate the advantage? Either way, his concerns were not quelled but he forced them out of his mind to the best of his abilities.
Then something else came to his mind: a memory that had often replayed itself in his mind over the years that had passed since he first arrived at the Indigo Plateau as a twelve-year-old pokemon trainer. The elated feeling of the first victory – truly a child's happiness – followed by the simple joy of running through the woods with his closest friend – the one person he would trust with his deepest secrets, his heart, his entire life. Then that strange and fairly unfamiliar feeling that surged through his body as Anna playfully pounced on him in the darkening forest; the way his breath caught in his throat as her pale hazel eyes locked onto his own, the way his heart sped up as he realized she was straddling him, and then the way his stomach knotted in shocking pleasure when their lips connected. It had been perhaps the best moment in his entire life up until that point and at least many months past then; the sudden feeling of ecstasy that filled him when his brain had finally comprehended what had happened was something he doubted he would ever forget.
It would be wonderful to recreate that scene or even create a newer and better memory in the same place where that one had occurred.
Before fighting with Anna, Gary had been having thoughts of furthering the relationship… Perhaps, just maybe… No. Gary pushed the train of thought out of his mind with a small shake of the head, thinking about Anna would only distract him even more and today was no day to be distracted, especially not with whose turn it was to physically milk the venom from whatever snake pokemon Chris had on the list for this early afternoon. If he recalled correctly, it was a group of rather mellow seviper but the results of a bite gained by distractedly handling them were severe no matter how mellow the reptiles were.
"Gary?"
He glanced back up at Alex when his voice interrupted his thoughts; he hadn't realized how distracted his thoughts had made him. "What?"
"Spacing out again, weren't you? I just told you that Monica and I were planning on coming down to the Plateau for the competition; Nicole's apparently planning on coming up and she and Monica are going to work on planning the wedding, which could turn out to be pretty interesting actually… Anyway, speaking of weddings: Chris told Damien, who told Monica, who told me, of course, about a certain conversation you guys had pretty recently about you and Anna. Maybe you should try making up with her –"
"Alex, give it a fucking rest already! Now isn't the time for this, I have work to do," Gary snapped as he stood up and stalked over to where Andrew was standing behind Tracey's desk as he watched his boyfriend continue to work on his computer.
Alex watched him go with a small frown and shook his head as he watched Ash and Chelsea discuss something concerning their pokemon. "I swear," he muttered under his breath. "That boy is going to make up with her before I leave on Sunday."
It was nearly half an hour before Ash finally fetched the group of pokemon for Chris and the other two boys, during that time Gary watched somewhat reluctantly as Chelsea checked over the syringes and other materials in the first aid station of the lab, his eyes flicking nervously over the long needles that she handled with ease. He had noticed in recent weeks that she had been setting up the station differently, presumably to make it easier and faster to administer treatment, considering the way nearly everyone in the lab had sustained some sort of injury by now. Chris had gotten a rather painful bite from an ekans that had managed to worm its way out of his grip, Ash had gotten a long gash from the horn of a tauros which needed several stitches, even Tracey had gotten stung by a nidorina, while Chelsea had somehow managed to elicit a painful burn from one of the young charmander that the professor had gotten in for the new trainers in town. Those were the most severe injuries too; it seemed like there wasn't a day that went by when someone didn't need a wound to be cleaned and bandaged or something of the sort.
Andrew came over after a few minutes and began writing in the log book, a task which had been permanently delegated to him after he had been bit by three different snakes. As Chris quickly looked over the setup of equipment, Gary grudgingly approached the lab bench and leaned against it with a groan; though never a fan of snakes, this particular project seemed to fry his nerves every time he helped out. Near misses were constant and he was continuously hearing Chris or his grandfather scold him for going about his part in a manner that was more dangerous than the preferred methodology. He rather enjoyed working in the lab, especially surrounded by friends as he was, but he couldn't stand this part of the work. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Gary recognized the number that Chris read off to Andrew and frowned – it was the group of malicious arbok that contained the snake who had managed to bite both Andrew and Chris on separate occasions, a far cry from the group he had been expecting.
He had, of course, milked this same group twice before without sustaining a bite so why would this time be any different? The third time was always the charm, wasn't it? He was unsure if he was the one who should be doing the milking today – no matter how hard he tried, he seemed to have a difficult time concentrating even the most menial tasks. Milking a highly venomous snake was anything but simple and it required the highest level on concentration one could possibly give.
Still, he wasn't one to back out of something he had agreed to and he had certainly agreed to help Chris out with this, no one could help the fact that his turn to do the milking had happened to fall on today.
The first snake came out of its pokeball with a vehement hiss but was surprisingly calm, which confused Gary slightly as he let the snake's venom drain into the container and noticed that the markings on the hood identified this one as the most malevolent one the boys had to work with. As the long fangs slipped from the rubber cover on the container, the snake suddenly squirmed in Gary's grasp and nearly escaped. Chris quickly grabbed the glass container before the purple cobra could knock it over with its thrashing tail, giving a small gasp of pain as the tail wrapped around his wrist suddenly. Out of the corner of his eye, Gary saw Ash grab the empty pokeball from the counter and return the pokemon as the two boys struggled with it; he hadn't even noticed the boy was in the lab when they started. As Chelsea looked over Chris' wrist and the blooming bruises on it, Andrew and Gary exchanged nervous glances.
"I don't have a good feeling about this," Andrew muttered after Chelsea finished her inspection of Chris' arm.
Gary nodded slowly as he watched Chris removed the venom from the collection container a bit more slowly than usual. He noticed that Chelsea had moved closer to the first aid station and the thought of the needles in the cabinet sent a slight shiver through him, he shook his head and turned away from the lab bench to look out the windows of the wall opposite him. For some reason, his phobia of needles was particularly strong today, to the point where the only piercing he had in was the tongue bar which he rarely removed in the first place. Outside the windows the sky had darkened considerably since they had finished training for the day – it had been a good idea to train earlier than usual, he thought as he heard a low rumble of thunder.
"Let's get this over with before that storm comes in," Chris replied to Andrew's mutter as he capped the vial of newly-collected venom and reached for the next pokeball.
The next snake was more vicious than the last, hissing and striking as Gary dodged the lunges until he finally managed to grasp it securely behind the head. Another roll of thunder came from outside as the arbok began furiously biting the rubber top, sending fresh spurts of venom into the clear container, and Gary anxiously adjusted his grip as the creature wriggled in agitation.
"Focus, Gary," Chris reprimanded quietly as the snake nearly escaped.
"Then don't distract me," Gary snapped in reply when the other boy quickly recalled it.
Chelsea glanced across the room to where Ash was standing somewhat closer to the group than usual, obviously eager to help out in any way he could, as he had already done by jumping in only minutes prior without being told. She frowned, not liking the way things were going so far – it was only the second snake and they had already had problems with both, along with an injury, however mild Chris' bruises were. "Maybe we should finish this later on, guys, after the storm passes," she spoke up more timidly than usual.
Andrew nodded in agreement, something that rarely occurred between the two teens, but Gary and Chris both shook their heads, determined to get the job over with as soon as they could. "We're not dragging this out just because you're scared, Chels," Gary shot at her, still glaring at Chris for the scold he had received.
"There are only five, Chelsea; we've already finished two of them. Don't worry about it so much," Chris calmly told her, glancing up to meet Gary's frustrated gaze with his an even look that clearly told him to knock it off.
The next two snakes were far less quarrelsome than the previous two and allowed the four young researchers to relax a bit while they took their time to carefully complete their task as the thunder outside grew louder and closer. The final arbok rose from the floor hissing with its hood unsurprisingly open fully yet, much like the first one, allowed Gary to grasp it with little difficulty and began to obediently drain the venom from its fangs. Gary gave a small sigh of relief, pleased to see that the task was nearly over.
The loudest clap of thunder yet suddenly erupted from outside the building, causing everyone to jump slightly and, in that moment of surprise, Gary distractedly slackened his grip. Startled by the loud noise and enabled by the loosened hold on its body, the snake twisted away from the collection container, tearing the rubber cover as it did so, and latched onto the irritating creature that had summoned it from its pokeball. The pain erupting from the bite was extreme and sudden, and it was all Gary could do not to give a scream of agony, instead giving a sharp yelp as the fangs drove deep into his forearm.
Everything seemed to freeze for a moment before turning into a confusing jumble of activity; Chelsea quickly made her way to the first aid cabinet and threw the door open, Ash turned and ran to get Professor Oak, and Andrew and Chris grabbed at the glassware lining the counter, moving what they could as the snake began thrashing. Tracey and Shawn immediately jumped up at the pained yelp but held back, waiting for someone to recall the attacking pokemon before approaching and enraging it even more. May appeared in the doorway and ran forward to help, only to be cut off by a swift black and yellow blur.
"Umbreon – no!" The canine didn't heed May's cry as she leapt at the animal attacking her trainer and sank her teeth into the animal's tail with a snarl. Gary screamed in pain as the arbok's fangs tore through his flesh, releasing a flow of blood that he quickly moved to stem with his hand; the snake began thrashing in the grasp of the dog and swung to snap at anything else around it, managing to momentarily latch onto Chelsea's leg before Chris was able to locate the empty pokeball.
"Shit," Chris cursed loudly, swiftly recalling the thrashing snake as he turned to where Damien had just entered the room. "Dame – get May!"
"I'm already here!" She crossed the room quickly and began pulling supplies out of the cabinet that Chelsea had been standing at before collapsing to the floor in pain from her own bite.
Before, the infuriated animal had sunk its fangs into her leg, Chelsea had managed to grab one of the bottles of antivenin and one of the syringes she had prepared earlier. More worried about her bleeding friend than about her own bite, she measured out the right dosage with trembling hands and passed the needle to May, who made quick work of injecting the antidote before rushing to her brother's side as Chris came over to help Chelsea bandage her calf where the bite had occurred.
Gary barely noticed Andrew push back one of the growlithes who had come forward out of curiosity over the commotion that had been created while hissing an order at Shawn and Damien to get the animals out of the lab. He was too busy focusing on his attempts to stem the sudden gushes of blood that had erupted from the twin lacerations caused by the snake's fangs; sheer pain was shooting throughout his entire arm, both from the deep tears and from the venom that was entering his blood. He was kneeling on the floor but couldn't quite remember dropping to his knees during the attack; Tracey was suddenly in front of him, pressing a towel against the wounds and holding his arm higher to help slow the bleeding. He couldn't quite focus on what was going on around him as slight panic gripped him, he knew the way arbok venom worked – the anticoagulants that kept the blood flowing from the bite, the chemicals that caused the heart rate to increase, the necrotizing effect the venom often had on tissues – not to mention the bacteria harbored in a snake's mouth; was it thirty-four known strains of dangerous microorganisms in an arboks mouth? Alex had said it once in his microbiology class and even Chris had mentioned it before they started working on this project but damned if he could remember now.
Somebody slipped their form between himself and the cabinets he was in front of and placed their hands on his shoulders, holding him somewhat still as he writhed in pain. "Calm down," Andrew's voice, softer yet more commanding than usual, spoke up against his hair. "You'll make it worse."
Gary only nodded, unable to speak as May and Tracey worked on slowing the blood flow from his arm, something that didn't seem to be working so well. Closing his eyes and trying to calm his breathing, he leaned back against Andrew; the pain was simply blinding, there was no real way to describe it. It was worse than any cut he had ever given himself, if the substantial amount of blood wasn't enough to illustrate that fact; the crimson liquid was pouring out him, despite the way both May and Tracey rushed to close the jagged wounds with swift stitches. He wasn't sure how much time had passed since the arbok had bit down on his arm but he was sure it had been at least several minutes, yet he was already growing lightheaded from blood loss. Something sharp pierced his arm away from where he knew the gashes to be; he opened his eyes and groaned when he saw the needle that his grandfather had just used on him.
"I hate needles," he complained weakly as Andrew's grip on his shoulders tightened slightly in a reassuring manner – not that he was particularly reassured in this situation.
"Alex already called for an ambulance," Professor Oak informed him, gently pushing long strands of hair out of Gary's face. "You're losing a lot of blood."
"I noticed."
Despite the antivenin injection his grandfather had given him, Gary could feel himself growing weaker even after May and Tracey had completely stitched the wounds as best as they could with the amount of bleeding. Blood was still oozing from them through the stitches although the flow had slowed and May was now holding a new towel against the cuts to help stem the flow. He was feeling more dizzy than before, somewhat nauseous as he slumped against Andrew, too weak to writhe against the pain that still gripped him. He was beginning to feel chilled and he could see May exchanging worried glances with the professor and Andrew both; he could feel his breathing becoming a bit more shallow as a faint ringing filled his ears.
The ringing grew louder before turning into a roar and then there was darkness.
--- --- ---
::Author's Notes::
A hard chapter to write – I'm curious about thoughts on the way the story is going in general along with opinions on the whole snake bite scene. Please review!
Next chapter should be up very soon.
