“Kill me, then.”

  Pause.

  “Well, won’t you do it?”

  My mute captor did not respond. I shouldn’t have expected him - or her (them?) to respond. I was trussed up like a turkey, all nice and ready for the killing. What was taking so long?

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  “Get on with it, then!”

  I really must be crazy, talking to a snake.

  But then again, I was dying before I met the fellow, so a little craziness should be allowed.

  “Can’t even kill me properly, can you?”

  The tears hiss against my skin, seeping into the cracks. The coils tighten, and the waves of pain rise to a beating crescendo.

  “Please.”

  Another pause, more of an accepting one now. One last twist, and -