I woke up unable to open my eyes, enclosed in a dark place. Unable to move, unable to see, unable to feel anything other than the hacking drowsiness forcing my consciousness back to its dark embrace while my panic was left completely ignored and growing inside my chest.

 

 I was finally awake again, and I was unable to do anything or even feel my arms or legs, left just to think in this tight, enclosed place.

 

“Who am I, Where am I?” was the classic question that I couldn’t answer at the time.

 

I felt my anxiety grow inside of me as I tried to think of what happened before I fell asleep.

 

Had I been in some sort of accident? Was I in a coma?  Was I blind or deaf or paralyzed? I couldn't think of anything that would fit me as I remember myself. I was a normal college student studying... wait what was I studying... more importantly, what is my name?! I can't remember at all. It’s like... my memory is a wheel of swiss cheese... wait what even is swiss cheese? I get it's a specific cheese made of milk... but I can't visualize it, hell I can't even remember it, what will I foxing do!?

 

 I tried to move again in my panic, but I could only barely move my neck.

 

I'm foxed, aren't I? No memories, or rather barely any remnants of them, I can't move nor can I feel anything much that would help. I'm pretty sure I wasn't paralyzed—after all I remember enjoying running faster and faster, always trying to be the fastest—but why was I doing this? Maybe I was kidnapped?

 

Before I could finish my train of thought I felt my <cage> move sideways like it was slightly pushed against, then nothing. Other than the sharp blade of sleep kissing me goodnight once again, my train of thought was permanently sent to oblivion.

 

I woke up again, still unable to move my body. Well not exactly, there was a development: I could move more of my neck? And something else, it didn’t feel right…

 

Just what had happened to me? No, more simple than that even, what is going on with me? I'm so scared... I can't get an answer and the more I wait here thinking, the more things feel wrong to an existential degree.

 

Well, let's maybe try at least calling for help—if I'm lucky maybe I will be able to scream—even if it's unlikely since I can't even feel my eyes.

 

Shit it's no time to start having anxiety!

 

Is there anyone here? Hello? Help me?!

 

 

「System command: Help activated. “To access the system, please ask 'System' or think about it if you are unable to speak.”」

 

Wait... is this like... a video game or whatever my friend played constantly? Well here goes everything... 'SYSTEM!'

 

Race: Green Sneraeloa (egg)

Sex: Female

Additional information unavailable in a pre-birth stage

 

.....

 

An EGG!? How the hellish fox am I in an egg? No, even more, what am I? I guess green is my color? But that way of naming things, I'm an animal? If yes... the egg part leaves fish, amphibians, birds, reptiles and some mammals if nature wasn't kind.

 

Yes, I know some insects come from eggs, but.... let’s say I’m not a fan of bugs? Even less being one. That would be very very not great news...

 

Anyways, let's try to go with logic. Amphibians and fish are mostly all out of the list for the simple reason their egg is very soft and wet and in the amphibian case should be transparent, not opaque. That leaves birds, reptiles and weird mammals.

 

The green part is used more often to describe bird or reptile species but it could also apply to some mammals like foxes and wolves... but a mammal being green is unlikely in so many ways. At least, isn't that basic science? Wait. What is science? Argh, stupid memory loss!

 

It still doesn't help me much for knowing what I am. The worst part is the green could even apply to bugs. Brrrrrrrr, no no no thank you.

 

So what is a Sneraeloa is the real q—

 

Sneraeloa: A species of reptile.

Similiar to the Earthen snake, it lives in both arid and woodland regions and eats insects after first hatching before progressing to small prey and even humanoid species as it, and it’s abilities, grow.

 

SYSTEM are you serious? I'm a snake—or something similar. That explains the lack of feeling in my legs and arms... or my lack of those, now. And why is only my animal knowledge good? Why system, why?

 

Internally sighing, I knew the system wasn't responsible in the slightest for all that was happening, but I felt better blaming something than keeping that anger and fear inside of me. Especially my disgust at needing to eat freaking bugs. Ewwwwwwwww!

That still leaves the issue of communication in the future, seeing the species I’m part of or more the genus. 

 

They eat humanoids as they grow... bigger? Aren't I a monster actually?!

 

Feeling the panic grow inside my chest, I felt the outer shell of my egg being pressed against and slowly started feeling drowsy again.

 

Let... me... think... No..?

 

My consciousness fell back to the unnatural softness of the sleepiness I felt once more.

 

I was forced awake by the small sound coming from all around me as eggs were breaking. I shot awake in shock as I felt something force itself into my egg—my lifeline.

 

I couldn't see, but whatever or whoever it was, it damaged my home outer shell, letting light bask into my sight, nearly blinding me. Wait, I could see?

 

Well, maybe I didn't feel like I was before because my eyes were different, but eyes are kind of universal unless it’s a specific eye type, and snake eyes are close enough to mammals, I think.

 

But whatever my past body and species was, I guess this body adapted.

 

As far as knowledge goes, I knew most snakes had poor eyesight and used their tongues to perceive the world around them, but I was scared... like, how would it feel? I wasn't ready yet, and even if I was, I preferred not to try for now, while my scales needed to harden and dry anyways. Especially while I heard my sibling’s angry noises toward each other, I wasn’t feeling adventurous but a tiny bit tense.

 

Speaking of scales, all I could see was some foggy green shade on myself, in other words... my noodle body. I sighed.

 

I was a newborn. I would need to wait to see if I at least had decent enough eyesight, first of all. Though as a snake-like being, it was unlikely to be useful other than to detect movement, and general shapes and colors.
So, I guess here goes everything, I thought, slowly flicking my new(?) tongue a couple of times out of my mouth, and my mind almost blanked out from all the information that invaded its confines.

 

I knew I had at least a dozen siblings. I also smelled—or tasted?— blood, so either they were fighting, or our mom had left us prey, which was unlikely as most reptile species rarely cared about their offspring.

 

I also smelled the temperature and humidity and other... smells I couldn’t yet decipher... but I tried continuing flicking my tongue. As much as I hated the feeling, nonetheless I needed to adapt to this alien body to survive.

 

As I continued to hear the hisses of my siblings and the intensity of the taste and smell of more blood entering my mouth, I understood I needed to go now or I was doomed. I knew cannibalism wasn’t very rare in the animal world, especially for predators and carnivores. It was survival of the fittest. Or, rather, I wished I could, but moving a tongue is relatively easy. I had one in the past. No, the issue right now wasn’t my fear of ending as prey, it was that I couldn’t understand how to move a body without limbs.

 

The only redeemable fact was past me did appreciate snakes, after all most species with black beady eyes are extremely adorable, minus the venomous fangs aspect or constrictor ones and the fact that they are killing machines... wait is it past me if I’m still me...to a degree?

 

Snakes have 4 forms of movement; serpentine, concertina, sidewinding and rectilinear. The real question was which one did my species use? My eyes were useless for such detailed observation.

 

Serpentine, the classic side by side by side, uses the abnormalities in the
terrain and environment like stones or trees for speed. The concertina is like earthworms—you go forward, the back follows, you flex forward and the back follows like an accordion made of muscle and vertebrae. Sidewinding is very special to describe, probably the fastest one and also the best one for any hard to grip surfaces like sand or powder. The easiest way to explain it is not only wiggling like the serpentine motion but also lifting their body off the ground so it's only touching in 3 places, like slithering and walking at the same time to carry the snake forward at an impressive speed and with good traction. The last one is rectilinear. Not the best, sadly as of now it was the best for me as I was lacking some internal knowledge of how my body worked. It’s simply a very slow crawl forward like a centipede or millipede using your muscle ripple to slowly carry you forward. It’s not a great example of speed as those little critters have limbs.

 

The best way to start might be to extend my neck forwards a bit then bring it back. Plus it sounds like a good exercise. I took another taste of the air around me, my siblings were still fighting each other and not interested in me—after all, snake vision is mostly for movement and the eggshell protected me from their sight. Lucky me, I mentally giggled. To start learning I slowly tried to move my head up and then down like a nod, which led to a kind of success. I might have more spine segments, but the motion was similar enough. The issue was the body was more neck or back feeling wise, I really couldn’t tell which was which in the slightest to my dismay.

 

Actually, it might be easier than I thought. Maybe I should just try to stretch myself up? Maybe that is the way to learn how to move around—stretching my whole body and muscle forward then some bend and loop, mhhhhhmmmmmmm.

 

 

As I stretched myself, I slowly felt each of my muscles work in a way that strangely felt right and after a few minutes of trying to move around more in my egg, I felt confident enough in basic movement. It probably wasn’t pretty, but it would hopefully let me get some distance from my brethren slaughtering each other.

 

I slowly stretched myself out of my eggshell tearing at the hole with my toothless mouth.

 

Wait, toothless? Right, I eat insects… am I a toothless snake, the same there was back in Canada, or am I just ignorant at how to prepare my fangs? Those are excellent questions for future me to answer.

 

I closed my eyelids to not be momentarily blinded as my head dived toward the light and slowly after a few seconds I opened them back up.

 

What I saw around me shocked me. My brethren? All black coloured with red glowing eyes and  easily at least twice my size. Their glowing orbs of red the only source of color around their body, minus the pool of their flesh, blood and the dead bodies of others. Light was shining from the wall all around me slowly moving and shimmering.

 

Why am I the only green one!?

 

Something was wrong.

 

I was in serious danger, holy sweet scaly tail of my ancestors whoever they were!

 

 I could have hidden in my shell, but the smell of my fear must have been easily sensed, and then I would have been trapped in my shell at the mercy of all those… bloodthirsty monsters.

 

The good news though, was my vision wasn’t that poor. It's a bit foggy but not as bad as one would think for a snake, I could see the general shape of the black ones.

 

And the glowing eyes helped me not miss their presence.

 

I steadily and as slowly as humanly—wait no I mean snakily—possible, tried to crawl silently away from them. Those were probably the worst ever minutes of my whole past and present life, not that I can remember but eeeeeeeeh—the feeling that every big movement could have potentially sent me to meet my progenitors isn’t really tempting to my heart.

 

I looked around for a place to hide and spotted a tiny hole at the base of the cave. It looked to be big enough for me, but seeing that the other snakes were twice as big as I am? Hopefully, it would save me. But if it had no passage it would be like asking to get trapped and starve to death.

 

 

‘’Sssssssssssssssss!’’

 

‘’Sssssssss!?’’

 

I turned around as fast as this new body and my still learning brain could and saw 3 of the black calamities fighting each other to get to me. I didn’t stare twice—no need to with my heart thumping in my small chest and the sight was enough to send me trying to move in the serpentine way as fast as I could toward the small opening.

 

Being my first try, some of my muscles jerked a bit, and my movement, while not graceful, was giving me a bit more distance than before. It was very poor but with the threat on my life, I quickly learned to do it as best as I could possibly manage right then. As I slowly closed toward the cave, I felt my thoughts divert to a past memory of mine.

 

At least it seems that it’s definitely true that having your life in danger lets you improve dramatically. I thank you, strange proverb from my Swiss cheese of a brain.

 

Suddenly as I was still in my thoughts like a very dumb snake, I felt something bite the air beside my tail and pushed all my energy to dive headfirst into the opening just ahead of me, entering inside of it and crawling as far into it as I could with my slowly draining strength. It seemed that without any major injury other than some small tail scales damaged by the missed bite, I succeeded in getting to safety.

 

The red-eyed ones were still outside, bashing at the entrance and then turning toward one another in anger and fighting at the hole entrance.

 

 But I was too drained to care, my consciousness fading as my eyes closed shut. My whole self fell unconscious from exhaustion.