Chapter Two

A serpent's mate

The next morning Lea struggled to get a word out with her parents running all over the house to take her to therapy on time. It seemed like they had scheduled an important meeting for her mother and now had to find babysitters for her brothers within the next half hour. The twins had already left the house on an impromptu shopping trip with their friends who stayed home instead of going off to college. That just left the teenager stressfully attempting to talk to her mother about the night before.

“Mom I need to tell you something-”

“Your sisters are going to have to pick you up from therapy today. Your father and I have a busy day,” Her mother said exasperated as she interrupted the anxious-looking teen. “I know that you would rather walk home instead but sweetheart your sisters do want to spend time with you.”

Lea nearly dropped her backpack hearing her mother's words. The twins would be picking her up? It wasn't like they'd make fun of her for going to therapy, they had become more supportive over the years. But seriously, them of all people? Neither woman was a safe driver, she still struggled to figure out how they passed their driver's test. She cringed and put her things into her bag with a frown openly on her face.

"Will their friends be coming with them?" The twins had okay friends in her opinion. Some of them were nicer than others however they all were more or fewer people with the same attitude as her sisters. "Mom, I can just take the bus home."

The center she went to offered transportation for anyone who had a membership at the facility. She knew the idea of it would worry her mother more, but she did not need any more stress in her life. All night she had spent trying to research the drawing on the card and the language but she had no luck. Everything she managed to find led to suspicious-looking sites and creepier links. For now, she had stuffed it into one of the pockets of her bag, hidden under some snacks.

Once she arrived at the center she planned on investigating some more. She hoped that today one of her fellow therapy goers had some sort of mental breakdown of some kind to distract the group leader from seeing her on her phone. It was morbid to want it to happen, but right now she was unable to think of anything but the card's existence.

Her mother shook her head, grabbing her keys from off of the kitchen counter as she headed toward the front door with the other following. "I'd rather your sisters drop you off with a friend or two on time than have you come home an hour late."

Damnit. She had completely glossed over the fact that she'd get home later due to the other passengers in her mind. Her stop would certainly be one of the last, just because of how far she lived from the center. It was a two-hour drive on a good day, with traffic making a near three and half hour ride on a terrible day. With stops, she would be lucky if she got home by night.

"Can you promise that they won't bring like six people with them? Like last time?" Her jacket sat tied around her waist, the heat outside being too much for her to wear as they walked to the family car.

"I'll talk to them about it. Make sure that you have everything with you, we are going to stop at a gas station to get you something for lunch." The car started with a loud stutter coming from its ancient engine and soon they were off.

***

By the time she arrived at the health and wellness center's front door, the heat had cooled down enough for her body to feel relaxed. She opened the door and was immediately met with bright fluorescent lights gleaming in her eyes. Sunglasses covering her eyes, she could make out some of the usual figures in the room seated or standing around the room phones in hand. Some looked up at her and waved while others nodded their head before going back to what they were doing.

Some new people had joined recently from the looks of it. A girl who looked to be from another part of the state from her clothing choice sat alone near the back of the room within the circle of chairs. Once she noticed Lea's eyes on her, the girl looked up at her with a glance. Her face fell when she saw how uncomfortable the new member looked. The glance seemed very dismissive to a degree that the other wondered if she had maybe offended her by staring. Guiltily, she decided to try and privately apologize to the girl.

Therapy was new for many people and this might have been the other girl's first-ever session. Years ago when she first came here she remembered all the curious looks that made her way and the anxiety that situation gave her for days afterward. Jeez, now she felt like such an asshole. Sitting down in a chair near a fan, she took off her sunglasses and put them in her backpack waiting for the session to start.

Even though she had arrived late it looked like the group leader wasn't even there. It was a tiny bit annoying, especially with the fact she wanted to get home as soon as possible. The card had felt like a weight in her backpack as she rode with her mother. After getting on the highway she had given up on trying to tell her mother about what she had found and why it scared her so much.

They had instead talked about how her day would go, with everyone being gone again by the time she got home. Her guilt only grew knowing that this was something she should tell her mother. The card was like some creepy stalker letter in her mind and it scared her to know someone had been in her room. They had snuck in somehow or had gotten someone she trusted to do their bidding. She had looked around for what felt like hours that night, trying to see if her window had any possible way of being unlocked from the outside.

But her mother was already so stressed with their normal schedules that telling her about the card would be like giving her a nuclear bomb. Her father would find out next and then they'd have police officers tearing her room, her bookshelf, her dressers apart looking for traces of evidence. Her parents would never let her sleep alone or go out alone so she'd have to kiss therapy and sports goodbye. If it turned out to be fine then her family would have uprooted their lives for nothing.

And if it turned out to be something serious, something life-threatening she just couldn't stomach the thought of it. It made her sick with worry about the possibilities of what may happen if she even thought of mentioning the letter. Frustrated with her mind, she looked away from her lap at the now more full room. While she had been consumed the rest of the participants had come in, with five or so other new members joining the group.

They were all of various ages, but every single one of them couldn't be over the age of nineteen. That was just how the group was set up with the youngest age allowed for sign-up being fourteen. That's when she had joined with any other therapy-type setups beforehand being one on one or with her mother present in activities. She felt bad for the younger ones who looked unsure of themselves no matter how hard they tried to hide it. She could see it vividly in their eyes and the way they held their bodies.

A clap echoed throughout the room, startling many of them. "I'm sorry I'm late everyone. As you can see we have some new members joining our group today, I would like you to be as welcoming as possible to them." The group leader strutted into the room with her folder containing notes in her arms and her heels clicking on the stone floor loudly.

She had been the leader of the group for only three years and had integrated with everyone fairly well. When she arrived at first they all had been hostile to her presence. They had been pleasantly surprised with her actions towards them and their problems. Miss Jade was a warm and intelligent woman who cared about them, unlike other leaders they had been given.

From the corner of her eye, Lea could see the girl from before staring at the older woman strangely. Her eyes were incredibly wide to a point she felt worried that she might hurt herself. Widely, she starred as the woman introduced some of the newsies members, her pierced lips moving as if she was murmuring to herself. Suddenly her target changed and her head whipped around to another part of the room eradicate. Quickly, Lea looked away from the confusing scene and looked back at her lap to avoid being caught by the other girl.

Maybe she had been wrong about offending the girl, now she wondered if she had scared her in some way. Her face was full of emotion when she starred wide at the warm but commanding women helping them. It was raw rage mixed with terror, a type of terror that Lea had only seen before a few times. Usually when somebody who, in her mind, was not ready for this type of situation was forced to come and participate. They left the same day or by the next week never coming back.

"This is Momo everyone," Miss Jade the group leader introduced them to the girl in question and everyone else welcomed her in monotone. "She is one of our newest members so I would like you all to be kind to her and open to her opinions."

Momo looked uncomfortable with the attention being brought onto her and she stayed silent for the rest of the conversation. They moved on once she chose not to respond, introducing the last members to everyone else. Soon the conversation moved on to talking about anything new in their lives and what they had learned from these events.

One of the younger members talked about a test they got a high score on and how it made them feel more confident in themselves. An older girl talked about how becoming a teen mom had changed her life positively the more mature she got. While others talked negatively about events like funerals, parents divorcing or struggles with their appearance. And the rest stayed silent just like Momo, choosing not to share anything unwanted.

The session went on more or less peacefully, with only a few people having bad moods and shouting. Everyone else was rather mellow with the way they spoke and acted. Nobody had any energy to cause a scene due to how early in the morning they had to wake up to get here. Soon the talking melded together as she felt her tiredness grow along with her urge to go home.

Eventually, they reached a break period and Lea excused herself to go the bathroom. Taking her bag with her, she walked into the spacious room and stood in front of the large mirrors lining the wall. Her face looked more tired than she had previously realized. Her eyes were red with anxiety, she looked like a wreck. Stress lines had grown to become bags under her eyes as she briefly rubbed at them to make them disappear.

She took out some makeup from her bag, hesitating as she looked at the brush in her hand. Covering it all up now would only cause suspicion, she had been here for hours, and only now did she put on anything. She didn't need any other questions entering her life at the moment. Putting the brush back into her bag she hears the bathroom door swing open with a loud bang.

Startled, she looked up only to see the blank-faced expression of Momo as she came into the bathroom. The older woman ignored her as she went over to the bathroom sink, turned on the hot sink water, and began to wash her hands. Lea opened her mouth to apologize for earlier but stopped once her gaze caught it. Unknowingly her jacket sleeves went up her arm revealing something familiar. Like a tattoo, what she thought were words traveled up the girl's dark skin in the color of gold. The same gold that had been on the card, was in the form of the same text.

Lea gasped unconsciously, her hand reaching to cover her mouth only too late. The girl stopped washing her hands and turned towards her. Her body chilled at the sight of the coldness in the other's eyes, she looked down on her with an amount of animosity that was unheard of. Lea wanted to ask her about the tattoo, about whatever language it was in, and how the girl had come across it.

But something in her was frozen. She found herself unable to move with those eyes staring at her. Her mouth felt like it had been filled with cotton as she struggled to get words out. What was this? Why did this woman stare down at her like she was some sort of vermin? It frightened her more than anything, but the idea of not knowing was starting to frighten her even more.

"Please," She felt as if someone was sitting on her chest suddenly, with those eyes getting harder as the two stared at one another. "Please where did you get that tattoo from? I need to know."

As she spoke the other girl blinked at her in confusion, her gaze softening momentarily before she saw something. Beneath the surface of her expression briefly, there had been something other than anger. It was hard for her to recognize it as soon as it appeared it was gone. Replaced by a feral creature that seethed and frothed at the teeth.

The girl chuckled coldly, moving uncomfortably close to Lea. This made her press her body against the wall behind her in an attempt to getaway. The sound of the older woman's voice frightened her to a point she began to shake. Her gaze drifted down to her trembling hands in shock. They were shaking uncontrollably, her entire body felt like something foreign within the crevices of her mind.

"So that's why you kept watching me. I thought you were just some nosy bitch but no," Momo's voice was dark filled with rage that made her confusion grow. "I can see it on you now. Don't play dumb with me, you know what this is."

Quickly, the woman lifted her sleeve to show more of what she had thought was a tattoo. Gold writhed like maggots on her skin. It moved upward endlessly, disappearing beneath the clothing it had previously come from. She still couldn't make out what any of it meant, the language was too strange to even know what the letters were. Her stomach twisted as she saw it wasn't the words or letters moving on their own. Her mind was engulfed in terror as she struggled to decipher what was happening, what she could even be seeing.

"Your skins moving!" Lea screamed her hand coming up once again to cover her mouth, but this time she was fast enough. Her body shook even fiercer as the other looked annoyed at her reaction.

Momo rolled her eyes, annoyed at her words as she pulled her sleeve back down. Her other arm slammed forward, her hand slapping the wall next to Lea's head too close for comfort. A cruel smile painted her lips as she stared down at the other girl with glazed eyes. She could still see the tattoo moving on the girl's skin even though her jacket was covering it. All she could see was the way the skin looked bloated like something was trying to come out of it. The way it was scarred remembered her about what she read in school textbooks about chemical burns.

"Don't act like you're shocked. I know you can feel it too, can't you? Or are you just that stupid that you don't even understand what it is?" Her voice was mocking, she knew what the response would be already. "It's all over you and you don't even see it. Just look at your hand."

"What are you even talking about?" Lea's voice wavered as she spoke, unsure if she could even trust her mind. There was no way that this could be happening, there was just no way. "Get away from me, you're crazy."

Momo moved closer to her as she finished speaking, so close their faces were almost touching. The cold gaze of a madwoman met that of someone scared to recognize what was blatantly in front of them. She could feel the woman breathing down her neck as she felt her nerves get the best of her. Using all the energy left in her body she pushed her body forward, knocking the woman away from her as she escaped her grasp. Her shoulder touched the woman's bare skin with something moving against her body in a way that made her skin crawl with disgust.

There was no way what she saw was real. There was no way what she felt against her body was even real. But her eyes had seen it, she knew for a fact that she had seen that disgusting display. It made no sense, however. Had she been drugged? Was there some sort of hallucinogen on the card? But wouldn't she have felt the effects earlier? Nothing made any sense and terrified her. Her stomach continued to curdle as she began to feel ill.

"Get away from me. Don't come near me again, I don't know...I don't know what's happening but please stay away from me!" Lea yelled weakly, her throat burning from how hoarse it was. She could hear the sound of someone coming towards the other side of the bathroom entrance.

Before Momo could reply, the door opened revealing a worried-looking Miss Jade. The woman was followed by two security guards of the center. Lea had no idea how loud they had been yelling at one another but right now she couldn't even be embarrassed about the fact. She starred at the blank face of Momo with shock. The woman looked disheveled from their brief encounter, but mostly she looked exhausted. Her body trembled as she tried to exit the room only to be stopped.

"Lea dear god she's bleeding, we need to get her some help." Miss Jade said taking her hand into her own with wetness suddenly covering it.

Slowly, Lea looked down at her hand and saw what everyone else in the room had been seeing. Her hand that had been trembling the most was covered in blood. A low buzzing filled her ears as she stared at in disbelief. Had Momo seen the blood on her hand? Was that why she kept badgering her to take a look? The skin looked as if she had taken a razor blade to the inside of her palm, nausea filled her mouth as she tried not to vomit all over her shoes. Dizzily, she starred back at Momo in disbelief only to see the girl gone.