CHAPTER 1: THE FORBIDDEN PETS
Private Eth
an Carter had been stationed at the remote desert military outpost for nearly four months.
Every day felt exactly the same.
Wake up.
Train.
Dig trenches.
Patrol.
Sleep.
Repeat.
The endless routine slowly drained the life from everyone in the camp.
One scorching afternoon, while digging a defensive trench near a rocky hillside, Ethan noticed movement beneath a cluster of sunbaked stones.
At first, he assumed it was a lizard.
Then he saw them.
Two tiny snakes.
They couldn't have been more than a few weeks old.
Their bodies were thin and fragile.
Their heads lifted cautiously as they stared at him.
According to military regulations, the procedure was simple.
Dangerous wildlife near camp personnel had to be eliminated immediately.
No exceptions.
The commander repeated it constantly.
"One mistake with wildlife can cost lives."
Ethan raised his shovel.
The snakes froze.
For some reason, he couldn't do it.
Maybe it was boredom.
Maybe curiosity.
Maybe loneliness.
Whatever the reason, he lowered the shovel.
"You're lucky little guys," he muttered.
That evening, he returned carrying a piece of bread from the mess hall.
The snakes were still there.
Watching.
Waiting.
He tossed the bread nearby.
Nothing happened.
Minutes later, one cautiously approached.
Then the other.
The next day he brought scraps of meat.
Then more.
Soon it became a secret routine.
Every evening after training, Ethan visited the snakes.
Nobody knew.
Nobody could know.
The tiny reptiles gradually became comfortable around him.
They no longer hissed.
They no longer retreated.
They simply waited.
As if they knew he would return.
Weeks passed.
The snakes grew rapidly.
Much faster than Ethan expected.
Then one morning he noticed something strange.
There weren't just two snakes anymore.
There were four.
The following week there were six.
Then eight.
Ethan convinced himself it was coincidence.
There had to be a nest nearby.
Nothing more.
Nothing dangerous.
Nothing to worry about.
But deep down, a small voice whispered that something wasn't right.
He ignored it.
And that decision would soon change everything.
Because one morning, as the sun rose over the desert...
Ethan stepped out of his tent and froze.
Dozens of snakes were gathered outside.
All staring directly at him.
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And in the center of them stood something far larger than anything he had ever seen before...
Something that made his blood run cold.
