They say that curiosity killed the cat. And right now, Gil was tasting that truth firsthand.
The pain that assaulted him lingered for a long time before finally subsiding. When he tried to open his eyes, his vision was still blurry, so he closed them again to let them rest. But his mind wasn't idle.
What was that? he wondered.
Temporarily shelving his thoughts about the red silhouette, he tried to make sense of what had just happened.
He was shaken, and rightly so. Though he had never actively tried to use "that" in the past, the backlash he had just taken spooked him.
Why didn't it happen before?
If it had happened while I was fighting Hector...
He shivered at the thought.
What did I do wrong?
Is it because I tried to use it too actively on the first try?
Or perhaps I looked at too many people at once?
His thoughts were a jumbled mess of questions.
But he didn't have the luxury of letting his mind wander further, because someone had approached his corner without him noticing.
"...Hey there. Gil, was it?" A voice sounded out, light and friendly.
Too friendly for Gil's taste.
Opening his aching eyes, he discerned the silhouette of a young man nearby.
Still on edge after his earlier experiments, Gil tensed up.
Seemingly aware of his wariness, the stranger said: "No need to be so guarded. I just wanted to chat a bit. After all, we're all in this together, aren't we?" He spoke easily, trying to diffuse the tension.
Gil stayed silent, fixing his gaze on him. Taking the silence as an invitation to continue, the other captive said: "Oh, my name is Greg, by the way. Nice to meet you, despite the circumstances."
Silence.
"You're not the chatty type, huh? Well, I get it. Being here and all... it's pretty crazy, right?"
Silence.
"Well, it's really something. When those people got me, I... I followed them because I was scared. Perhaps I should have resisted more, but they don't seem like the type who take 'no' very well."
Listening to Greg and seeing that he wasn't acting threateningly, Gil relaxed slightly.
He even began to feel a sliver of sympathy; he could tell the man wasn't lying.
For a while, the only sounds in the corner were Greg's hushed voice and Gil's occasional hum of acknowledgment.
Just as he was lowering his guard, he heard it.
It wasn't Greg's voice, nor the voices of the other
captives.
It wasn't the chaotic voices from before he woke,
nor the clanging of chains like he had heard against Hector.
No, what he heard was...
SsssssssssSssssssSsssss.
A low, raspy whistling.
At the sound, goosebumps erupted on Gil's skin and a shiver ran down his spine.
He searched the darkness for the source of the sound, but found nothing.
Puzzled by his sudden movements, Greg asked: "A problem, mate?"
Finding nothing, Gil was about to respond. But following an impulse, he focused on his "mate" and tried to look at his intent instead.
Thankfully, he did.
Greg was different.
He had no gloomy clouds looming above him. No skulls pestering him. No red aura.
Instead, there was something else.
A snake.
A huge snake, coiled around him. And to his horror, Gil could see the snake's head and its forked tongue flicking in his direction.
He recoiled against the wall, perspiring profusely.
His reaction drew the attention of Greg... and the snake.
"Are you sure you're okay, pal? Perhaps we could try to ask for help? Those people seem to like you, maybe..." Greg said, stepping closer.
Seeing him approach—and seeing that snake coming with him—Gil shouted with all the strength he could muster:
"Stop!"
The snake recoiled, coiling tighter around Greg's body.
Greg stopped for some reason Gil shout made him uneasy enough to step back.
Silence settled between the two as tension filled the air.
Finally, Greg spoke first.
"...Sorry if I made you ill at ease. I... it's just that I wanted to talk with someone to unwind a bit." A pause, then he added, sounding remorseful, "I shouldn't have bothered you."
Gil frowned slightly.
For a moment, silence returned. Gil didn't know what to make of the situation. On one hand, his gut told him the man was being sincere and didn't seem threatening.
But... looking at the snake, which was fixing him with an intense stare, it was difficult to trust someone like that.
Am I being paranoid? he wondered. After all, I only just began to explore this faculty...
Finally, he decided: better safe than sorry. Though he remained on his guard, he didn't let it show in his voice.
"I understand," Gil said. "But those guys roughed me up pretty badly, and I would appreciate it if you stayed where you are... nothing personal."
Seemingly happy to finally get a response, Greg didn't mind being told to stay away and continued cheerfully,
"Oh! I understand perfectly! Don't worry, it's fine." But then he added, puzzled, "But why did they beat you up? I thought the jailer said that someone took a liking to you?"
Though it was too dark to make out each other's faces, Gil could feel questioning eyes fixed on him. At the question, the snake uncoiled slightly, tilting its head as if it were puzzled too.
Great,now I am analysing a snake's behaviour. , Gil thought, trying to find some humor in the situation.
After seeing no immediate hostility from either of them, he said curtly:
"The one who caught me—Hector." Gil spat the name. "Things got rough between us. He beat me up, and tada, here I am."
Ssssssss.
The snake appeared startled, its eyes widening at Gil before it retreated slightly.
Greg seemed shocked too and exclaimed, "Wait—you fought one of them and lived to tell the tale? Wow, Hats off, mate."
Embarrassed, Gil corrected him, mumbling,
"I didn't really fight him. He... wasn't being serious the whole time."
But the other party didn't see it that way.
"Don't be too modest. I am sure plenty tried to resist, too, but it looks like you're the only one singled out," Greg said assuredly, gesturing to the other silhouettes in the dark.
Around him, the snake hissed and, surprisingly, nodded its head.
....Alright, that was getting disturbing.
"With you amongst us, we'll have a better chance of surviving here," Greg continued, sounding hopeful.
But the snake... Its tongue flicked repeatedly at those words, and it looked restless.
That heightened Gil's guard, though he didn't know why.
Oblivious, Greg said, "Perhaps we could team up tomorrow? What do you say? Maybe we could handle things better together. What do you think?"
Already wary, Gil didn't respond immediately.
Instead, he said offhandedly,
"Well, the test would have to permit it, don't you think?"
"Of course it would—I mean, with all of us here, it probably will be, right? They don't strike me as patient enough to do it one by one."
The reasoning was sound.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSS.
But looking at the tightly coiled snake baring its fangs at him, Gil doubted that was all there was to it.