The First Male Read Free Page B

every bug and every swamp creature in the near vicinity—died.
    The child was gone.
    And so was Addie.

C HAPTER 2
    20 Y EARS L ATER
    Simon Cassel dreamed of serpents.
    They covered his body with their cold scales and slithered arrogantly across his bedroom floor. Snakes of every kind and every color, in numbers far too great to count, commandeered his home, as if they had no plans to vacate the premises; they claimed his tenement as their permanent residence.
    Colorful coral snakes, with their deadly red, yellow, and black combination, wriggled in his bathroom sink and tub; black mambas, with their intimidating speed, darted across the floor of Simon’s kitchen, curling themselves around the legs of his table; rattlesnakes, making good use of their bone-chilling sound, lay in wait in the half-open drawers that contained his socks and underwear. Huge Burmese pythons hung from the railings in his closet and balled themselves in the corner on the floor, covering his sneakers and the only pair of dress shoes he owned. Aggressive king cobras, flaring their trademark hoods, hissed loudly and attacked and cannibalized a few smaller members of their species. A massive ball of red-sided garter snakes spilled from the top shelf of his kitchen pantry and swirled around each other, seeking to mate with the lone female among them; green tree snakes made themselves at home, blending in with the pine branches of Simon’s anemic Christmas tree that stood against the bay window that overlooked the busy sidewalk below. An indistinguishablecombination of large and small snakes squiggled and squirmed around each other on his bedroom floor, almost playfully, giggling and hissing his name as if they were seasoned friends. They crawled across the massive stacks of medical, historical, and technical books that occupied space against the walls around the perimeter.
    Ssssss-simon. Ssssss-simon. Ssssss-simon .
    Hundreds of serpents writhed carefully over Simon’s bare body as he lay in bed, asleep. By their casual movements, they seemed comforted. They hissed his name with care, as if they wanted to wake him, but did not dare startle him.
    A black snake, who had been satisfied to watch the orgy from the darkest corner in the room, slowly began to crawl across the floor. It slithered haughtily, in no particular hurry. It was completely black, except for its dull, yellow eyes, and it looked to be carved from solid black marble; it was glossy and void of scales, its body having the appearance of a long, gleaming oil slick. It moved with purpose and ego, and the other snakes parted like the Red Sea so that it could pass, unobstructed.
    It slithered up one of the legs of the bed and crawled across the blood red comforter that was tangled up at the foot of the mosaic queen panel bed. It moved calmly toward Simon’s face, pausing momentarily before it continued its forward motion. It crawled unhurriedly through his legs, past his ankles and calves, between his thick thighs and over his exposed genitals. When it reached Simon’s chest, the serpent raised its head and looked on, as if in admiration, with its forked tongue darting rapidly in and out of its mouth.
    Ssssss-simon. Ssssss-simon. Ssssss-simon .
    There was no venom or malice in its sounds; instead, the hissing was like a gentle whisper tickling the neck of an old friend. It was tender, almost nurturing; yet, Simon awakened from his dreamin a panic, clutching his chest. He sat straight up in bed, and looked around the small enclave that served as his room. His chest heaved rapidly, and his body was drenched in sweat. He tried to cut the darkness with his eyes, but the black of night was too thick. The only light that shone in the room was an eerie green glow from the digital alarm clock on his nightstand that illuminated only a small section of the cramped space. Simon steadied himself and remained alert, but he was afraid to move, almost petrified.
    The corner of the room