Inside the terrarium, Jeff—still stuck in his snake form as Kain—had begrudgingly adapted to his new existence. At first, he tried to ignore the female snake Henry had so "generously" introduced, but as the days passed, his instincts began to take over. The warmth of her presence, her movements, her scent—all of it was deeply compelling in a way Jeff couldn’t rationalize.
No matter how much his human mind screamed against it, his snake instincts won out. By the end of the first week, he had fully embraced her company, much to his disgust.
Meanwhile, Henry was thriving in his new role as Jeff. Days blurred into nights filled with Maddie, friends, and all the freedoms of being a 15-year-old. He stayed out late, partied with Jeff’s crew, and spent nearly every evening with Maddie, who had practically moved into his—Jeff’s—room. Waking up with her naked and curled up on top of him had become the norm, and he’d grown so accustomed to it that it barely fazed him anymore.
Life was good.
But on the eighth morning, as Henry stretched and rolled out of bed, leaving Maddie snoozing peacefully, he wandered over to the terrarium to check on Kain—and froze.
“Whoa…” he muttered, his eyes widening as he spotted the clutch of eggs nestled in the corner of the terrarium. The female snake coiled protectively around them, while Kain lay nearby, looking utterly defeated.
Henry laughed, shaking his head. “Wow, Jeff, you really got busy in there. Made some babies, huh?”
Kain hissed weakly, too exhausted and frustrated to do much else. He hated it—hated how his snake instincts had overpowered him, how natural it had felt to fertilize those eggs, and how helpless he was to stop any of it.
Henry smirked, tapping the glass lightly. “You know, maybe I should keep you like this until the eggs hatch. You’ve got a family now, Jeff! Can’t just abandon them, right?”
Kain’s body tensed, and he slammed his tail against the glass in protest, but Henry just laughed.
“Don’t give me that attitude,” Henry said, grinning. “You seemed to enjoy yourself plenty, from the looks of it.”
As the day went on, Henry couldn’t shake the idea of extending Jeff’s time as Kain. Two weeks had flown by, and he wasn’t ready to give up the freedom and excitement of being Jeff—not to mention the perks of having Maddie as his girlfriend.
Jeff, on the other hand, was simmering with rage and humiliation. Each passing day made him more certain that Henry had no intention of giving his life back, and the sight of the eggs only deepened his despair.
This can’t be how it ends, Jeff thought, coiling tightly in frustration. I need to find a way to stop him before it’s too late.