Jeff—now trapped in the body of the snake Kain—woke groggily, stretching his coils as the morning sunlight streamed into the room. His forked tongue flicked out instinctively, tasting the air. Something was different. No, wrong.
As his eyes adjusted, they settled on the sight across the room: his old body lying in bed, tangled with Maddie. Both of them were naked, their limbs intertwined, the aftermath of their night together painfully clear. Jeff felt an overwhelming wave of rage and disgust.
Are you kidding me?! he thought, slamming his tail against the glass in frustration. I’m stuck in here, eating rats, while my little brother—my twelve-year-old little brother—is in MY body hooking up with MY girlfriend?!
The thought of Henry—Henry!—using his body to fool around with Maddie made Jeff feel sick. He hissed loudly, hoping to wake them up and put a stop to whatever was happening. But the two figures in bed were oblivious, giggling softly and exchanging quiet kisses.
“Unbelievable,” Jeff thought bitterly, his coils tightening in frustration. “I’ve got thirteen days left of this nightmare, and he’s already ruining my life!”
Eventually, Maddie sat up, stretching languidly, completely at ease as she smiled down at the "Jeff" beside her—Henry.
“You’re impossible,” she teased, giving him a playful shove.
Henry grinned, clearly feeling more confident after last night. “Hey, you didn’t seem to mind.”
Jeff could feel his anger boiling over as he watched them. How is he so comfortable pretending to be me? And how is Maddie not realizing something’s off? He banged his tail against the glass again, harder this time, but neither of them even glanced in his direction.
As Maddie got out of bed and began to dress, Henry followed suit. Jeff watched, his anger simmering as his old body—his stolen body—moved around like it belonged to Henry. Henry chatted easily with Maddie, occasionally pulling her in for a kiss, as if he’d been Jeff for years.
Finally, Maddie slung her bag over her shoulder and smiled at Henry. “I’ll see you at school, okay?”
Henry nodded. “Yeah. I’ll text you later.”
They kissed one last time, and Maddie left, giving Jeff’s terrarium a fleeting glance without a second thought.
Once the door closed, Henry turned to the terrarium, a smug smile on his face.
“Well, looks like I’m doing a pretty good job being you, huh?” he said, leaning down to tap the glass. “I mean, Maddie didn’t suspect a thing.”
Jeff hissed furiously, slamming his body against the glass again.
Henry chuckled. “Aw, come on, don’t be mad. You did say I could use the Chronivac, and technically, this is all part of the deal. Two weeks, remember? Besides, it’s not like you’re missing much—you’re just chilling in there, eating rats.”
Jeff coiled tightly, his cold, reptilian mind struggling to push past his rising frustration. He knew he couldn’t communicate directly with Henry, but the sight of his brother casually walking around in his life—living it better than he ever could—was infuriating.
Henry, oblivious to the storm of emotions inside the terrarium, grabbed his phone and began texting Maddie, grinning to himself. Jeff’s tongue flicked out, tasting the air filled with his brother’s smugness.
Thirteen days, Jeff thought darkly. I just have to survive thirteen more days. And then Henry’s going to pay for this.
But as he watched Henry stroll out of the room with his phone in hand, whistling to himself, Jeff couldn’t shake the sinking feeling that by the time his two weeks were up, there wouldn’t be much of his old life left to reclaim.