HOME | DD

Description
Jen awoke in an unfamiliar bed.

Confused at having no recollection of what happened the day before. She hadn't been out with friends so there was no chance this followed a night of regret. Everything about this room was new to her. The bed was large, with just a single pillow. A thick and crumpled white duvet draped over her petite form, as if a foot of snow had fallen in the night. It was almost medically sterile, or posh, she couldn’t decide.

The room was lit by a scattered morning light; piercing and warm. It wasn't cold and the duvet was an unencessity. She was only wearing her underwear, still on from the day before but spotlessly clean. Breathing in the air she noticed it was thick and moist, which made her wonder how it would affect her short afro.

She sat up, leaning back on her elbows trying to piece it all together, and half expecting a man to walk into the room at any moment, or if she was really drunk the night before, a woman. The room itself was unlike anything she had ever seen. There was nothing beside a lamp, a bed, a window, and a door, almost like it was a show room for an uptight furniture shop, contrasting against her dark skin. Prior to this she existed completely within London so the lack of sounds from the outside world began to unsettle her.

Panic struck her.

“Where am I?” she thought, her heart now leaping out of her chest as pangs of ideas fizzed in and out, “Am I dead, am I on a reality TV show, have I been kidnapped?”

She jumped up, running on sweet adrenaline and leapt towards the window. Her still half-asleep eyes only saw a blinding whiteness as she waited for them to adjust. A burningly lit jungle lay ahead of her. The building had no windowsill, the architect in her subconsciously noting this to be a quick build.

Spinning around she noticed the closed door once again. With a swift turn of the handle she opened a door that lead out into a jungle.

It was steamy and hot, almost stifling in the humidity and staleness. The jungle ahead of her was dense and endless. "Where am I?!" she repeated out loud, reaching a confidence that this was happening, in her breaking voice.

She slipped on a pair of ballet flats that sat beside the door, inviting her to leave. Now dressed in just the shoes and her underwear, the petite girl stepped out of the room and into this unusual world. The room itself was just that, a single block with nothing else around it. The roof was low and could be easily climbed placing her foot on the door handle and pulling herself up. From there she scouted out what she could — twisting branches, a quiet surrounding hissing, a fantastic light from an orange sun.

"So I'm in a jungle? Okay... maybe I banged my head. Maybe I should stay here and wait".

And she did. For a couple of hours she sat on the roof, altering her pose as they grew painful on the hard surface. Further observations rolled in — there are no insects, the temperature remained the same throughout, no animals spotted "so where is that hissing coming from?", running water can be heard in the distance, nobody is coming.

By now she was getting hungry and thirsty, but there was no where to go. Maybe there was another one of these rooms nearby fully stocked with supplies, maybe there wasn't and she wouldn't be able to find her way back. Choosing to play it safe she climbed back down, entered the room and climbed back into the bed, believing rest would stave off the hunger pains.

A few more hours passed. Laying there with the sun now setting, a quiet series of bangs came from the wall. She shot upright! "Help! I'm in here!" she shouted, not thinking for a second of the intentions of the person.

"I've been in here all day!"

But nobody answered.

Confused she sat there, eyes fixed at the sound as it slowly travelled around the outside of the room. The sound passed under the window but nothing could be seen through it. Jen climbed out of bed again and stood there, in a mixed state of excitement, fear, and worry.

One of the vent covers began to bang, buckle, and fall off in quick succession. Jen shrieked as a snake began pouring from the hole in a patterned cascade of green shades, flowing onto the floor below. Jen remained fixed to the spot — frozen in fear, letting out a gibberish stream of noise. She managed a half-step back when the snake finished pouring out into a mound of coils on the floor. The head of the snake, atop its throne of muscle, flicked its tongue in her direction. Neither the girl nor the snake flinched, both static for different reasons. Jen quickly mapped out exactly where the door was, hoping to escape and shut the door before it did anything untoward.

Silence.

The second she slid her left foot back to turn and run the snake pounced at the girl. “AH” she blurted as the head struck her own, looping behind and using that curve as a grip to wrap the rest of its body around her own. It only took a few seconds, now covered from her chest to her knees in snake, before she toppled onto her side. The fall was cushioned by the snake. “No no NO!” she shouted before an incoherent bundle of screams fell from her full lips.

The snake had her. It didn’t choke her straight away, as she thought snakes did. Instead it simply held her in place in its deathly grip.

She began to squirm out of sheer panic, as the adrenaline neutralised her paralysing fear. Frustrated by the lack of room she had, the panic increased. Twinges of claustrophobia kicked in as she realised there was no movement in this scaly trap. There was no escape from this and she knew it. The snake would soon devour her completely just like in those films she watched as a child. Her entire life lead to her being used as food for a lesser creature.

Each time she squirmed, the snake would tighten its grip on her, like a Chinese finger trap big enough to cocoon her from head to toe. She realised this and was determined to survive, at least until someone discovered her before it was too late.

The snake didn’t make much noise. She could feel its own lungs breathing under the crushing pressure, she could feel its heartbeat as it echoed through the coils. She felt horrible that this creature was allowed to breathe and she wasn’t. Her thoughts meandered during her attempt to remain calm and silent. “The only thing separating us is a little bit of DNA… if quantum mechanics could just go chaotic and I could teleport over there… if only I was a lot stronger… this cant really be happening”

She entered a dream-like state, sat somewhere between being awake and afriad, and falling asleep and happy. She’d gently awake to thoughts that someone was hugging her or she was taped up in a drunken prank. The reality hit her, causing a brief panic and the snake to tighten up.

Breathing had become impossible. In a burst for freedom she jolted about, tearing her own muscles apart in a dance for the dying. The snake reacted. The coils cinched in closer over the course of a few seconds, long enough to catch Jen’s lungs deflated. This was it now. Her little lungs could no longer pull in the air needed. The agonising, binding crush would finish her. She tried to keep positive thoughts in her head, tried to have a flashback before the snake killed her. Nothing but the pain, the numbness escaped her mind. Her extremities spasmed as her body failed her.

Jen passed out amidst the bed of twisted coils.

Description
Jen awoke in an unfamiliar bed.

Confused at having no recollection of what happened the day before. She hadn't been out with friends so there was no chance this followed a night of regret. Everything about this room was new to her. The bed was large, with just a single pillow. A thick and crumpled white duvet draped over her petite form, as if a foot of snow had fallen in the night. It was almost medically sterile, or posh, she couldn’t decide.

The room was lit by a scattered morning light; piercing and warm. It wasn't cold and the duvet was an unencessity. She was only wearing her underwear, still on from the day before but spotlessly clean. Breathing in the air she noticed it was thick and moist, which made her wonder how it would affect her short afro.

She sat up, leaning back on her elbows trying to piece it all together, and half expecting a man to walk into the room at any moment, or if she was really drunk the night before, a woman. The room itself was unlike anything she had ever seen. There was nothing beside a lamp, a bed, a window, and a door, almost like it was a show room for an uptight furniture shop, contrasting against her dark skin. Prior to this she existed completely within London so the lack of sounds from the outside world began to unsettle her.

Panic struck her.

“Where am I?” she thought, her heart now leaping out of her chest as pangs of ideas fizzed in and out, “Am I dead, am I on a reality TV show, have I been kidnapped?”

She jumped up, running on sweet adrenaline and leapt towards the window. Her still half-asleep eyes only saw a blinding whiteness as she waited for them to adjust. A burningly lit jungle lay ahead of her. The building had no windowsill, the architect in her subconsciously noting this to be a quick build.

Spinning around she noticed the closed door once again. With a swift turn of the handle she opened a door that lead out into a jungle.

It was steamy and hot, almost stifling in the humidity and staleness. The jungle ahead of her was dense and endless. "Where am I?!" she repeated out loud, reaching a confidence that this was happening, in her breaking voice.

She slipped on a pair of ballet flats that sat beside the door, inviting her to leave. Now dressed in just the shoes and her underwear, the petite girl stepped out of the room and into this unusual world. The room itself was just that, a single block with nothing else around it. The roof was low and could be easily climbed placing her foot on the door handle and pulling herself up. From there she scouted out what she could — twisting branches, a quiet surrounding hissing, a fantastic light from an orange sun.

"So I'm in a jungle? Okay... maybe I banged my head. Maybe I should stay here and wait".

And she did. For a couple of hours she sat on the roof, altering her pose as they grew painful on the hard surface. Further observations rolled in — there are no insects, the temperature remained the same throughout, no animals spotted "so where is that hissing coming from?", running water can be heard in the distance, nobody is coming.

By now she was getting hungry and thirsty, but there was no where to go. Maybe there was another one of these rooms nearby fully stocked with supplies, maybe there wasn't and she wouldn't be able to find her way back. Choosing to play it safe she climbed back down, entered the room and climbed back into the bed, believing rest would stave off the hunger pains.

A few more hours passed. Laying there with the sun now setting, a quiet series of bangs came from the wall. She shot upright! "Help! I'm in here!" she shouted, not thinking for a second of the intentions of the person.

"I've been in here all day!"

But nobody answered.

Confused she sat there, eyes fixed at the sound as it slowly travelled around the outside of the room. The sound passed under the window but nothing could be seen through it. Jen climbed out of bed again and stood there, in a mixed state of excitement, fear, and worry.

One of the vent covers began to bang, buckle, and fall off in quick succession. Jen shrieked as a snake began pouring from the hole in a patterned cascade of green shades, flowing onto the floor below. Jen remained fixed to the spot — frozen in fear, letting out a gibberish stream of noise. She managed a half-step back when the snake finished pouring out into a mound of coils on the floor. The head of the snake, atop its throne of muscle, flicked its tongue in her direction. Neither the girl nor the snake flinched, both static for different reasons. Jen quickly mapped out exactly where the door was, hoping to escape and shut the door before it did anything untoward.

Silence.

The second she slid her left foot back to turn and run the snake pounced at the girl. “AH” she blurted as the head struck her own, looping behind and using that curve as a grip to wrap the rest of its body around her own. It only took a few seconds, now covered from her chest to her knees in snake, before she toppled onto her side. The fall was cushioned by the snake. “No no NO!” she shouted before an incoherent bundle of screams fell from her full lips.

The snake had her. It didn’t choke her straight away, as she thought snakes did. Instead it simply held her in place in its deathly grip.

She began to squirm out of sheer panic, as the adrenaline neutralised her paralysing fear. Frustrated by the lack of room she had, the panic increased. Twinges of claustrophobia kicked in as she realised there was no movement in this scaly trap. There was no escape from this and she knew it. The snake would soon devour her completely just like in those films she watched as a child. Her entire life lead to her being used as food for a lesser creature.

Each time she squirmed, the snake would tighten its grip on her, like a Chinese finger trap big enough to cocoon her from head to toe. She realised this and was determined to survive, at least until someone discovered her before it was too late.

The snake didn’t make much noise. She could feel its own lungs breathing under the crushing pressure, she could feel its heartbeat as it echoed through the coils. She felt horrible that this creature was allowed to breathe and she wasn’t. Her thoughts meandered during her attempt to remain calm and silent. “The only thing separating us is a little bit of DNA… if quantum mechanics could just go chaotic and I could teleport over there… if only I was a lot stronger… this cant really be happening”

She entered a dream-like state, sat somewhere between being awake and afriad, and falling asleep and happy. She’d gently awake to thoughts that someone was hugging her or she was taped up in a drunken prank. The reality hit her, causing a brief panic and the snake to tighten up.

Breathing had become impossible. In a burst for freedom she jolted about, tearing her own muscles apart in a dance for the dying. The snake reacted. The coils cinched in closer over the course of a few seconds, long enough to catch Jen’s lungs deflated. This was it now. Her little lungs could no longer pull in the air needed. The agonising, binding crush would finish her. She tried to keep positive thoughts in her head, tried to have a flashback before the snake killed her. Nothing but the pain, the numbness escaped her mind. Her extremities spasmed as her body failed her.

Jen passed out amidst the bed of twisted coils.