The Naga's Bite Ch 1

"Today is a perfect day to go camping," thought Amanda.  Amanda was a country girl who loved going camping.  If she was given a choice between a shopping day at a mall or a day outside, she would chose the great outdoors.  Today she was hiking along a path in the woods, in her native state of Montana, and admired all the wild plants and creatures as she went.  It was almost sunset and she was about to head home, then she noticed the strange track in the dust.  The track was long and smooth.  "It was not like a snake could make such a track?" she thought.
She noticed there were more tracks leading deeper into the forest.  Being curious, she began to follow the tracks.  Pressing on for about a half hour, shadows faded into the twilight, she came upon a cave.  She inched into the pitch-black cave and listened for any movement.   After a moment, she heard a breathy sound like something was sleeping.  As her eyes adjusted she caught a slight movement, but she couldn't tell what it was.  Frantically, she probed her pockets for her cell phone, flipping it open for the light.  She did not expect to be out so late and left her flash light at home.  She directed the faint cell phone light toward the flicker of movement.  What appeared was a long snake-like tail.  It was huge; bigger than belonging to any snake she knew of.   The light could hardly pierce further into the darkness but she could faintly make out large coils of the creature's body.  On the top of the shockingly large mound of coiled body was a reptilian head, hooded like an excited cobra, yet apparently asleep.  Unlike snakes she knew of, this creature had eyelids like a human and they were shut and the head was atop a muscular neck and body.  There were arms folded across a massive chest as the creature breathed rhythmically at rest.  
      The sight was so shocking, she dropped the cell phone as she gashed.  When the phone hit the ground, the creature's eyes shot open.  Its eyes were light green with cat-like slits.  Being startled it turned around and charged at Amanda.  In fear, she side-stepped the charging beast but lost her footing and fell down.  Lightning fast the creature sprang upon her and bit her arm.  She screamed in pain as fangs pierced deep into her flesh.  At her scream, the creature pulled back glaring at her and her wounded arm.  A panic seized her.  She wanted to jump to her feet and flee -- but overwhelmed with fear, she couldn't get her legs to move.  Her arm began to throb with pain.  Not being able to take her eyes off the reptilian creature, she was surprised to notice a softened, almost sympathetic look cross its face.
      Then she began to feel hot and dizzy.  Something was happening to her arm.  At the bite marks, the skin was transforming into snake-like scales.  Things go dark has she seems to be losing consciousness.  As she was slipping away, her last sensation was that of being picked up and carried.  The creature was bearing her deeper into the coolness of the cave.  
      When she came to, she was leaning against something scaly.  Then she realized she was surrounded by the loosely coiled body of the creature and more shocking than that, her own body was covered with scales.  "You're awake!" she heard a voiced say.  She turned her head and it was the creature speaking.  Her fear was returning when it said in a calming voice, "Don't be afraid.  I'm not going to harm you."  Still confounded by what was happening, she calmed down a bit with the reassuring words.  Looking around, she noticed strange-looking rock formations covered with moss.  The area looked like a room about the size of a basketball court.  It was lit by a couple of burning torches with the light and shadows flickering with the flames.  
      The creature asked, "Are you alright?  You startled me when you came into my den."  She nervously replied, "What is happening to me?  And who or what are you?"  "Some ancient people called me a naga.  My name is Azeem.  You are fortunate.  You are turning into a naga from my bite.  Most humans die from a naga's bite but you absorbed some of my power and began to transform."  
      Amanda's eyes widened when he mentioned "transform."  Before she could reply, she felt a terrible pain in her legs.  She tried to move them but they wouldn't response.  Her pants legs were ripping at the seams as her legs began to merge physically together from her hips on down to her feet.  Her feet began to lengthen into a long snake-like tail.  Then her head began to ache as it began to morph in shape and form.  Apparently, it too was becoming reptilian like the naga creature.  Even her teeth were reshaping:  sharpening and curving back and two longer fangs growing from her incisors.   Her nails were turning into lizard-like claws, long and sharp.  The pain began to lessen.  The transformation was complete.  She now was a naga creature herself.
      Azeem had been calmly watching her.  She asked, "What happens now?"  
      "You will have to live as a naga."  He said.
      "I know nothing about naga.  How can this be?"
      "You happened into my den and disturbed me.  It is now your fate but I will teach you.  We will begin in the morning but now you need rest."  He slithered to one side of the cave and coiled up his body into a sleeping position.  Soon he was sound asleep.  
      Amanda watched him for a moment and then gave in to her own weariness.  The transformation had taken a toll on her and she felt the pressing fatigue.  She followed his example and drew her body into a coil on the other end of the cave.  She found it quite comfortable and soon fell asleep.
      When morning came, she was gently shaken awake by Azeem.  "Now your lessons will begin.  You must learn how to hunt for your food."  The shock of her condition returned to her consciousness and she drew back instinctively, but Azeem was not threatening.  
      "Don't be afraid" he spoke softly, reassuring her.  "I don't mean to harm you."
      Fearfully she asked, "Will this change be permanent?"
      "Yes," he answered sadly.  "The naga magic is irreversible.  Come, while it is early we must seek out our prey."  He slithered to the cave's entrance and turned to see her follow.  Then he led her down the path and deeper into the forest.  He would pause occasionally and lift his head to check the area.  He appeared to taste the air flicking out his forked tongue, then he would continue.  Suddenly, he stiffened with strained alertness.  He slithered to some bushes, lying very still.  Amanda mimicked his movement, watching carefully.  Then she spotted what had alerted Azeem; it was a large buck.  It was lazily scrapping its antlers on a small tree while its breathe snorted forth from its nostrils.  Azeem edged ever so slightly closer to the unexpecting creature, his eyes locked catlike upon it.  The deer stopped its scrap and sniffed the air as it looked around.  Azeem was motionless blending in to the misty forest scene.  His brown and green scales were a natural camouflage in the mottled light.  When the buck was satisfied, it returned to this scrapping.  Azeem was several feet from the animal but this didn't discourage his attention.  There was the chance the buck would stop and move closer.  Azeem patiently waited.  Finally, his patience was rewarded as the large deer began to move toward the bushes.  Azeem poised himself for a strike.  Amanda's heart pounded as she watched.
      Then it happened.  Azeem struck with a force that knocked the deer suddenly off its feet.  It was all a blur.  Azeem had the deer by the neck and his coils around the body.  The deer struggled but his powerful coils squeezed life and breath from the overwhelmed animal.  It soon grew still in that death grip.  Now using his strong hands and arms and without loosening his coils, he grabbed the horns and twisted the head off from the body.  Then he tossed the head aside.  Uncoiling, he then seized the legs and broke them from their joints.  He offered the legs to Amanda and began to bite chunks from the body and consume them.
      Amanda found herself quite hungry and since the transformation apparently affected even her nature, the legs looked good and she ate them whole.  Azeem finishing off the carcass, turned to Amanda and asked if it was enough for her.  She was still hungry so he suggested she try the hunt.  He would watch as she took the lead.
      First, they needed to move from this bloody scene.  She was learning how to move as a snake.  It was slow and quiet.  Finally they had moved a few hundred yards off.  She lowered herself into some bushes and began her watch.  Azeem was behind her.  Like Azeem, she tasted the air with her flickering tongue.  It all seemed so weird but this was her new reality.  There was nothing moving when suddenly, she caught the scent or airy flavor of a warm blooded creature.  It wasn't a deer.  Something was lurking in the area and finally she caught a movement.  It was a wolf, a male loner.  He too was looking for prey, sniffing around.  
      Then she noticed that the wolf had spotted a large rabbit sitting very still beside a tree trunk.  He sprang toward the rabbit and they chased around the grassy area.  The wolf was so focused on the rabbit that he never knew what hit him when in the chase they raced toward Amanda and Azeem.  Amanda sprang upon him with her new serpent instincts.  She grasped the surprised wolf with her sharp fangs and arms, wrapping her coils around it in a deadly embrace.  The wolf tried to scratch, paw and bite its way free but those coils just tightened all the more.  Its strength and life was quickly ebbing away.  Amanda was animal now and without a pause of remorse, she wrenched the neck of the wolf and it was over.  The wolf went limp.  
      She began to uncoil around the lifeless beast and position her body at the head.  Widening her mouth, she started to swallow the wolf whole.  It took a while just as it does all snakes.  Azeem just watched.  Finally he said, "Not bad for your first prey."  Amanda smiled at his compliment.  He asked, "Are you still hungry?"  She replied, "Not anymore."
      "Good.  Now the next thing you are going to learn is magic."  "I'm really going to learn to do magic?" she said excitedly.   He grinned and said yes.  Then the rest of the day, he taught her about the different types of magic.  There was healing magic and fighting magic and magic you could use to talk with other animals along with many other types.  Some of it was through speaking special words and some required potions made up of different ingredients. The more Amanda learned, the more she wanted to learn.  Azeem taught her many things over the next couple of days.  Amanda was very curious about Azeem and asked him about nagas and where they came from.  
      Azeem replied, "We are ancient creatures from ancient times.  We hide in the forests of the world and some deserts shunning men who think of us as monsters.  As for our magic, we learned it from wise ancient nagas who passed it on to all their descendants.  It helps keep us safe from threatening men and other dangers.  There is a legend that our race began when a wizard was experimenting with snakes and accidentally used a spell that fused himself with a snake and that was the first naga.  When other humans saw him they were repulsed and drove him away to the forest.  After months of this banishment, he was very lonely.  He needed someone to share life with.  One day he came across a young maid lying on the ground beaten and bleeding.  She had come to the woods to pick berries and some ruffians had discovered and abused her.  He carried her to the cave which he had found to live in.  When the unconscious girl came to, she was horrified to see the half human and half snake creature but he reassured her that he meant no harm.   He offered her food and gently treated her wounds and bruises.  After some days, she began to recover with his care.  She began to trust him, realizing that he was no monster, but had a kind and gentle heart.  She began to fall in love with him and he with her.  After her wounds had healed, she returned home but would come back to the woods periodically to visit the naga in secret.  They became true friends.
      One day the father of the maid promised her to a man which she did not love.  Overcome with grief over having to marry someone she did not know nor love, she sought comfort from her new friend of the woods.  The naga was very protective and sought to allay her fears.   His concern meant so much to her in this time of distress.  
      The man who was to have her as his wife became curious about these times when she would disappear into the woods so one day secretly followed her at a distance.  Just as she was approaching the naga's cave, her eye caught movement behind her and she realized what was happening.  In order to not betray the naga's home, she changed her direction seeking to lead him away.  Unfortunately this lead deeper into a part of the woods she did not know and where there could be dangerous animals.  Nevertheless she wanted to protect her friend.  The man followed her… deeper and deeper into the woods.
      The maid stopped by a large tree to rest.  The man inched closer.  She looked back in his direction and he realized that he had been seen.  He approached and asked her why she spent so much time in the woods.  When she did not answer he grew angry.  He grabbed her and began to shake her violently as he demanded an answer.  At that moment they began to hear a vicious growling.  Looking around they saw two angry red eyes staring at them from a low hanging limb of a massive tree.  The dark form was hard to make out but the growl definitely was that of a panther.  It appeared ready to spring but then jumped to the ground and slowly began to circle the two.  The man shoved the maid toward the panther and fled in the opposite direction but the large cat did not take the bait.  It sprang after the man who howled in fear.  It caught up in an instant and sank its fangs into the man's neck while its claws ripped at his back.  The man did not struggle long as the powerful cat broke his neck and he fell into a bloody heap.  The panther held on for a deadly minute as his victim grew still with his life slipping away.  The cat did not linger but loosen its death grip and turned toward the terrified maid and approached growling.  Just as it paused, preparing to pounce, a giant tail slapped the cat off its feet in a blinding blur.  It was the naga whose body rose up from the ground with eyes glowing red with rage.  Before the great cat could recover from the surprise, the tail snapped again like a whip and stung the beast between the eyes.  The stunned cat did not hang around but in a furious and panicked rush, dashed pass the maid whose back was lashed by a random claw stroke.  
      With the panther gone, the naga rushed to the maid's side and carried her back to his cave as her wound was bleeding profusely.  He bandaged the lash but she had lost a lot of blood and he feared for her life.  She was in great pain and asked the naga to end her life to escape the suffering.  At first he refused but reconsidered with her pleas.   Reluctantly he bit her on the arm but instead of dying she transformed into a naga herself.  He was as surprised as she and after the transformation, he asked for forgiveness.  But she comforted him saying that she was not sorry because she wanted to be with him forever.  So that is the legend of how my race was started."
      On the second week of Amanda being a naga, Azeem diverged a secret which all naga's shared.  They had the ability to hypnotize others.  This both surprised and amazed her.  On their next hunt Azeem promised to demonstrate this ability.  They went out again searching for deer, their favorite prey.  Soon they discovered a doe which was grazing in a meadow.  Azeem worked his way near the deer which looked up straight into Azeem's eyes.  The deer was fixed by that gaze apparently unable to run.  Amanda watched as the deer's eyes began to glow with different shades of color; first red then pink then purple then blue.  Then Azeem without lowering his mesmerizing gaze, moved effortlessly up to the doe and wrapped his coils around it.  It was soon their meal.  "How did you do that?" she asked.  Azeem replied that it took concentration and reaching deep inside to conjure up snake instincts that give you confidence of control.
      Then it was Amanda's turn to try this new trick.  They moved through the meadow until they noticed a large rabbit.  As it was feeding on the fresh grass, Amanda started her stalk.  She lowered herself to the ground and fixed her eyes on her prey.  The caution rabbit would munch the grass and then look around.  Amanda would move a foot and then stop, barely breathing.  It took what seemed like forever, but Amanda finally was getting close.  She began her concentration and when the rabbit looked up again, she caught its gaze.  Her eyes glowed with this new power and the rabbit was fixed with fear.  She then could move steadily to the rabbit and take it.  It was soon still with death in her coils.  Following her snake nature, she started to swallow the rabbit whole.
      She turned to Azeem who smiled and said, "Excellent, success on your first try."  She was pleased with herself.  Azeem continued to instruct her in the ways of the naga.  After another week, she had mastered most of the crafts and skills of their kind.  
      One morning, she woke up and looking across at sleeping Azeem, realized that she loved him.  She wondered about his feelings for her and if she could tell him about her affection.  These thoughts continued in her mind distracting her from her hunting and working magic.  Azeem could tell that something was wrong and later in the evening asked her about it.  Finally she gave in to her emotions and told him that she loved him and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.  Her fears of rejection were relieved when he replied, "I love you too."
      He moved to her and they embraced.  He kissed her gently.  Their love blossomed and a year later, they were a family with three little nagas:  two girls and one boy.  The two girls were named Christy and Samantha and their son was named Jeff.  They grew up hearing the family stories and learning the naga ways from Amanda and Azeem.  
      Amanda found fulfillment with her husband Azeem and her children there in the hidden wood.  Sometimes she remembered her old life and wondered how it might have turned out, but she had no regrets:  She loved Azeem and this new life that began that day she found him, wandering down a wooded trail.