Overwhelmed by emotion and exhaustion, a sharp pain shot through my lower abdomen, and I turned to leave. But before I could get far, Caleb smirked and shoved a black bag into my hands without any explanation.
"Since you were so eager to come, we can't let you leave empty-handed," he said, his tone ice-cold. "Open it."
I stared blankly at the bag, too numb to process anything. Mechanically, I followed his instructions and opened it. Inside, a mass of slithering creatures writhed and squirmed.
"Ahh!!" I screamed.
Startled, I stumbled backward, dropping the bag as hard as possible.
It hit the ground with a thud, and then… snakes.
Dozens of them, of all sizes, slithered out, flicking their tongues and staring me down with those cold, unblinking eyes.
Some even coiled into aggressive postures, ready to strike.
I collapsed on the floor, shaking and terrified.
Caleb stood over me, looking down with a smirk as if he had won some sick game. "You made a post accusing Nina of bullying you, didn't you? Consider this a lesson. Next time, it won't be as simple as just releasing a few snakes, Lily."