Fallen by Laury Falter Page A

you’re all right?” he asked again as if my answer might change. I wondered if he could somehow see that the pain lingered.
    “Perfectly fine, really.”
    He stared at me, disbelieving . After a brief pause, h e must have realized I wasn’t going to confess , so he decided to refute my accusation instead . “ I have far b etter things to do with my time than to be a stalker . ”
    He was still glancing at my hand so I pressed the conversation further, hoping to divert his attention. There was no sense in dragging out our discomfort . “So how is it then ?” I persisted .
    “How is what?” He brought his eyes back to mine. This was good. Progress.
    “That I keep running into you?”
    The side of his mouth turned up in a confident grin. “I suppose you’re just lucky.”
    That response triggered anger , so fluid it quickly flooded my veins. Here I was trying to make the fact that he’d burned me a passing thought for him , and he used the opportunity to mock me.
    In return, I laughed sarcastically . “Well…Eran…It’s getting late , and I should be going.” I hoped he saw through the fake cliché of those words. Let him be offended.
    The stinging throb in my hand had disappeared now , so w ithout waiting for him to reply, I reached down to grab my backpack . In truth, I was torn between wanting to stay here and banter, though I certainly did not want to give him any reason to believe that his cockiness was welcomed, or to leave and head home for a hamburger and tofu turkey tacos.
    Fate made up my mind for me. As I took hold of the thick green strap , something twitched inside.
    I paused, wondering if I’d really just felt something move.
    T he n a head peered out. It was black and triangular and its flickering tongue test ed the air toward me.
    I yanked my hand back.
    T he head darted forward , and the ten-foot long body of a shiny black snake s lithered out.
    The next moments were a blur, running together like ink bleeding on a page .
    I vaguely sensed that the snake came straight at me , even as I ran backwards to avoid it. It was fast and within seconds had reached my toes , even though by then, I was more than ten feet from my backpack.
    Out of the corner of my eye I saw Eran move toward it. I tried to warn him against it , b ut my throat had gone dry and the sound came out a whimper.
    By then, he’d reached down and seized the snake by its head. Even in my panic I realized how fast Eran ha d moved – far too fast. He appeared distorted , as if he were nothing more than colorful images blending together . On a subconscious level, s omething registered in my min d. His speed was not normal , but that thought didn’t linger once I saw the snake’s head lean back . It open ed its jaw and snap ped down toward Eran’s hand. Offering little resistance, i ts fangs easily punctured Eran’s flawless skin . The fangs went so deep , I watched its gums disappear into Eran’s heated flesh .
    I heard a scream but didn’t immediately recogniz e that it came from me. The snake released its iron grip. Yet, Eran didn’t move. Hi s hand remained still . Instead, his head jerked up searching , bewildered, for the reason that caused my reaction.
    “Your— y our hand,” I mumbled, pointing to where the snake had bitten him.
    He glanced down at where its fangs had made contact. “Oh, that. Didn’t even break the skin.”
    I felt my mouth fall open in shock at his nonchalance.
    “No…I saw it. I saw its fangs out. They sunk in … they went deep into your skin. I saw it, Eran.”
    “I’m fine,” he replied calmly. “See for yourself.”
    With the snake f irmly in his grasp, Eran’s thumb had been caressing the top of its head , and its body – all ten feet of it – had begu n to stop writhing . After a few seconds, the snake was limp.
    I took a step forward, my eyes locked on the snake’s head , in case it should move again, and Eran held his hand out for me to take a closer look.
    “See? No harm