SNAKE BITES

Chapter 2: Deeper into the Fires of Confusion

"So what's your new plan almighty captain of the Enterprise?" McCoy moaned as two guardians hoisted him up into a cage suspended in the air over a sea of magma. Kirk looked up at the cuffs he was held in which was made from cooled lava. He glanced over beside him to sway in discomfort showing his green burn marks from the heat of the lava cuffs on his hands, which confused Kirk who felt nothing from the cuffs. He ignored the insult.

"Why did they capture us? We didn't do anything wrong." Kirk muttered.

"Since you are more knowledgeable of these people's ways.. we'd thought you know." Spock responded. Kirk rolled his eyes.

"I know you're jealous Spock..you of all people are pretty tied with logic." Kirk immediately retorted.

"Jealousy is an emotion I do not possess. I am just saying that you being able to understand what these people are saying, you'd know more than we do about what's going on, captain." Spock intervened. McCoy nodded in agreement.

"He's right Jim..It's all Greek to us." McCoy mentioned.

"Doctor, this language is not human.." Spock articulated.

"Spock it was an expression." McCoy scolded. Spock fell silent and kept on swaying in place, occasionally looking up towards his cuffs. The only sound heard was the bubbling of the magma under the cage..which seemed soothing to Kirk somehow. All of a sudden another pain pounded his head like a frying pan, and felt like there was a fire burning inside him..a green fire. The pain didn't stop there...Kirk suddenly saw a hoard of snakes with yellow green eyes hissing at him and bearing their fangs out at him. The pain stopped and became unconscious, his body hanging on the wall fastened by the lava cuffs cutting into his wrists. "Help! Our Friend needs help! He's unconscious..let him out." McCoy yelled out trying to get a guardian's attention.

"It's no use doctor, even if we could have found one of those men, he still wouldn't understand." Spock implied.

"Understand! What's to understand! The man's hurt..you can darn well understand when another man is in pain." McCoy shouted angrily, he turned to Spock who was looking up at his cuffs. "What are you doing now?"

"Something that might be useful to us." Spock replied simply, rocking back and forth.

"Does something useful mean breaking out of here?"

"Not entirely." Spock replied thrusting his body for one last swing and broke free from the lava cuffs. "But it passes the time."he added rubbing his wrists as he lowered himself down onto the cage floor.

"Is he alright?" McCoy asked. Spock put a hand on Kirk's head and lifted it, he turned towards McCoy.

"There's no sweat.." Spock remarked confusedly.

"That means he's okay?" McCoy asked. Spock placed a finger on his captain's face and felt it. He looked back towards McCoy.

"Are you feeling warm by chance doctor?" Spock interrogated. McCoy laughed.

"If you weren't so adjusted to the heat Spock I'd say this feels like a boiler room." McCoy stated.

"Nor would the captain." Spock remarked. "There is no trace of sweat on his face."

"How could that be? It's impossible." McCoy said. "Quick, get me off the wall, I'll see what the problem is."

After getting out of the lava cuffs and off the wall McCoy helped out Spock release the captain from his shackles and checked Kirk's condition. As the doctor did so he found some dramatic changes in Kirk's health. As McCoy found this out Kirk came back to life. With his eyes closed he muttered a few words in the unknown language that he extraordinarily learnt, but opened his eyes quickly and returned to normal.

"What happened.." Kirk asked abruptly. "Why are you staring at me?"

"Jim, you've changed." McCoy muttered in a low voice. Kirk tried to stand up but couldn't get the energy to move a bone. "You're physical state has changed..you undergone a weird sort of transformation somehow."

"I'm perfectly fine.." Kirk denied. "Just a little weak that's all."

"I know you're healthy but some things changed in your system." McCoy answered. "What happened to you lately?"

"As you don't remember.." Kirk replied.

"We don't!" McCoy ejaculated. "What happened?"

"The orange clothed man! Don't you remember the giant snake?" Kirk shouted.

"Jim you're hallucinating..there isn't any orange clothed man."

"I was not hallucinating he gave me something at the market place and then I could hear him say that the market was the Istar Inn!" Kirk blurted, suddenly his communicator started to beep. "Kirk here."

"Sir, very bad news to report." Scotty's voice came from the other end.

"What is it Mr Scott?" Kirk asked.

"Well..I don't know where we are, sir." Scott replied.

"Did Uhura tie a rope to each of the officers to keep them in line?" Kirk kidded.

"No, we were searching for parts when all of a sudden.."

"Scotty?"

"All of a sudden we were transported some place else."

"What do you see?"

"Nothing, sir."

"Nothing? Can't you see the sky or who you're with?"

"Nothing, sir." Scott repeated.

"Keep a good eye out for something and report back with anything else..Kirk out." Kirk concluded, he then saw one of two guardians open the cage. The faceless being pointed to him and the other guardian took Kirk out. Kirk was taken towards a huge room which was filled with seats and spectators which were leading downward towards an arena and in the middle ring was a giant guillotine which guardians stood by chopping what seemed to be another of his crew members..Chekhov!

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