The Snake Pit

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The Snake Pit (700 Words)

 

     She was thrown into a pit full of writhing venomous snakes. Above, the tormenters laughed as they closed the lid to the torch- lit pit. Barbara cursed the light as the monstrous serpents eyed her arrival. The snakes spit and hissed as they slithered across her trembling body. Her eyes widened in terror as she saw a huge black and white snake slide towards her. Its fangs dripped with blood and venom and its eyes were as red as the fires of hell. Her screams were deafening...

 

     In the middle of her screams she felt someone or something shaking her, “Miss Hughes, Wake up! Wake up!  You’re having one of those dreams again.”

 

     Barbara Hughes found herself in a hospital bed in a full body cast being tossed about by a skinny little wisp of a nurse. “I’m awake, thank God I’m awake; these bloody nightmares are driving me mad. There has to be something that you can give me that will block them out. It’s getting that I’m afraid to go to sleep. Please, please, help me.”

 

“I’ll ask the doctor to subscribe something that will give you a dreamless sleep,” replied the nurse. She wrote a few things down on the chart, smiled and left the room.

 

     Barbara’s hospital room smelled like a florist shop. It was filled with all assortments of flower and balloon arraignments with messages of heartfelt wishes and humorous fluff. She noticed that most of the get well messages, cards, and other assortments were from her male clients and office colleagues. She loved men and they loved her but unfortunately the opposite was true when it came to her own sex. The extraordinarily intoxicating effect she had on men due to her beauty and natural charm had many a woman turn green with envy.

 

     She knew in her heart that the person who put that “Serpent of Hell” in her portfolio was a woman.  It was a hostile and mean- spirited act that only a vindictive and envy-eyed woman would come up with. It had the touch of a desperate woman’s hand.

 

     Barbara ruled out all the women who worked in clerical and sales support. They had no reason to sabotage her work or sanity and it would also be counterproductive as well. Her sales were tied to many of their bonuses’. It had to be one of her Account Executive colleagues.  That left three to choose from.

 

     She ruled out Sally Johnson, she was a friend and mentor, who worked for the company thirty years. Her envious and overly ambitious days were behind her. That left either Julia Finkel or Heather Thompson as the suspected tormentor. She went over in her mind that day’s events:

 

     She remembered putting her hand in her portfolio and touching a living slithery thing. She looked in and saw a big black and white monster staring at her. She freaked out and let out a blood- curling scream and in her panic jumped out the window. But she also remembered that just before she reached her hand into “dooms awakening”, she looked across the conference room and remembered seeing a strange smile on Julia’s face. THAT COLD-HEARTED DOG-FACED B***H!!!

 

Barbara painfully reached for the phone and made a few calls…

 

 

………

 

 

     Alex Denning, the president of the firm, was the first to welcome Barbara Hughes back. He gave her a big hug and slipped a set of keys in her hand.  “What’s this,” she asked. “It’s the keys to a new BMW. My BMW saved the life of my most valued employee and friend. If you landed on concrete instead of the roof of my car, I can’t imagine what further injuries you would have. It’s your new lucky charm.” Barbara squeezed him tighter.

 

     The whole office gathered around and welcomed her back with genuine affection. She turned towards Heather, gave her a quick kiss and asked, “Where’s Julia, I don’t see her around, is she sick?” Heather’s eyes widened as she said, “You haven’t heard the news; oh my goodness of course you hadn’t. She disappeared. No one knows where she is.”

 

     Barbara knew that wasn’t true, revenge served cold was so delicious…