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By the time the paramedics reached the apartment, I was still lying exactly where I'd fallen, not moving an inch.
Some instinct told me not to move after a snakebite, so the venom wouldn't spread any faster.
George and Kate had both insisted, over and over, that the snake wasn't venomous. But I wasn't willing to bet my life on it.
After the doctor asked me a few questions, his brow furrowed.
"Do you know that snake? What species was it?"
Terrified as I was, I forced myself to picture the thing again.
"I don't know the snake, and I don't know if it's venomous."
"But it was black and white, kind of like a zebra, black and white bands, ring after ring—"
I didn't get to finish before he cut me off, sharp.
"A krait!"
"This is insane. Who keeps a snake like that in their home?"
He waved the nurses over to lift me onto the stretcher, already dialing the hospital, his voice urgent.
"I've got a patient with a krait bite here, critical condition."
"Get the antivenom ready, we don't have time to waste!"
Once I was in the ambulance, I finally couldn't hold on any longer. My eyes shut and I lost consciousness completely.
When I opened them again, it was full daylight, nothing in front of me but an endless stretch of white.
Seeing me awake, the nurse hurried off to get the doctor.
He checked my vitals, then looked at me with something close to reproach.
"You young people, you've really got some nerve. That was a krait. Do you think that's something you keep as a pet?"
"The krait is the most venomous snake there is, deadlier than a king cobra."
"You're lucky you called for help when you did. Any later, or if we hadn't been able to get the antivenom, and you wouldn't have made it."
Even after he left the room, I sat there turning his words over, unable to shake them.
A krait?
I pulled out my phone and started looking up the basics on the snake.
"The most venomous land snake."
"Four fangs."
"Mostly nocturnal."
One chilling word after another jumped out at me.
And yet Kate and George had sworn, again and again, that it wasn't venomous.
A month ago, George had come home with a cage. Before I could even see what was inside, he'd already carried it into his study.
"Kate's been busy lately. This is her pet. We're fostering it here for a while."
"Don't go into my study for no reason. It's a nervous little thing, don't scare it."
"It won't get out anyway. The cage is locked, it's perfectly safe."
Since George had said all that, I never once set foot in his study.
Now that I thought about it, that snake had been in the apartment for a whole month.
But George had clearly said the cage was locked. So how had it gotten out?
I was still turning it over when my phone rang.
It was George.
"Where are you? Kate and I got back from the vet and there's not a soul in the apartment."
"You not coming home, is this you sulking at me? What gives you the right to throw a tantrum at me?"
"Do you have any idea, the vet said Blossom was traumatized, and it's all because of you. Kate's crying her heart out right now. Get back here and apologize, now!"
Kate's sobbing carried through the phone to my ear.
"George, don't say that. It's my fault, I never should have left Blossom with you."
"You should go and comfort Nanette instead. Don't let Blossom come between the two of you."
"I just feel awful for Blossom. You know she isn't only my pet, I've thought of her as family for a long time now. She's always been affectionate, and now she won't even come near me. I'm just so upset."
When I said nothing, an edge of anger crept into George's voice.
"Nanette! Did you not hear what I said to you?"
"I told you to get back here and apologize to Kate and Blossom—"
This time, George didn't get to finish before I cut him off.
"George."
"I've been poisoned."
