Magic Space: Struggling to Survive in the Apocalypse-Chapter 37: High Temperature, Snake Plague 1

The temperature continued to rise, accelerating the decomposition of the bodies in the water. The pungent stench of decay was noticeable even from the balconies. Fewer people ventured outside, not just because supplies were impossible to find, but also out of fear of the robbers lurking about.

Evelyn Ford hadn’t left her apartment in two weeks. She placed her solar panels on the balcony to charge her batteries. In her spare time, she took out the toad venom she had previously collected and mixed it into a solution she had prepared, to be used in an emergency.

The temperature climbed to fifteen degrees, and the air began to feel muggy.

Early the next morning, there was a knock on Evelyn’s door. Lauren Keller stood outside, holding an oval-shaped egg, which she presented to Evelyn as if it were a priceless treasure.

"Evelyn, you’ve got to see this! I found it in the stairwell, and there are more in the water. This one’s for you. It’s edible! Nana Doyle accidentally broke one a minute ago, and she ate it raw so it wouldn’t go to waste. She said it tastes a lot like a chicken egg, just a little fishy."

Evelyn glanced at her and took the egg. The shell was thin and cool to the touch. When she held it up to the light, she couldn’t see anything inside. She gave it a little shake and could feel liquid sloshing within.

"Are there a lot of them?"

Lauren Keller nodded. "Tons of them in the water. I haven’t told anyone else yet. Evelyn, let’s hurry and go gather some."

Evelyn’s brow furrowed. ’Something this strange can’t be good.’ It wasn’t normal for so many eggs to suddenly appear.

"You go on ahead. I’ll be there in a bit."

Lauren Keller rushed downstairs excitedly. Evelyn closed the door, returned inside, and retrieved a chicken egg from her personal space. She placed it beside the oval egg and began to examine it closely.

’This is definitely not a chicken egg. It looks more like an alligator, turtle, or snake egg.’

Walking out to the balcony, Evelyn took out her binoculars and looked down at the water’s surface. Just as Lauren had said, numerous white eggs were floating there. They didn’t seem to sink, just bobbed on the surface.

An hour later, the other residents in the building had also discovered the eggs. They rushed downstairs in excitement to gather them. Some people cracked the eggs open and slurped down the contents the moment they scooped them out of the water.

Evelyn cracked the egg open. Her pupils constricted at the sight of the thick, yellowish fluid inside. She immediately ran to the balcony, but when she saw the other residents excitedly fishing the eggs out of the water, the words died in her throat.

’It’s a snake egg. Unlike chicken eggs, snake eggs don’t have a distinct yolk and white. It’s just a cloudy, yellowish fluid. If it were fertilized, you’d even be able to see the embryonic veins under a light.’

Evelyn was terrified of snakes. Absolutely terrified.

Just seeing a picture of one would give her goosebumps, make her hair stand on end, and send a wave of revulsion through her entire body.

’So many eggs appearing in the complex... it’s just like with cockroaches. If you see one, it means there are probably tens of thousands more hiding in the corners.’

A wild thought struck Evelyn. ’The rising temperatures have brought the hibernating snakes out in droves. Their numbers are massive, and they’ve laid eggs in every corner of the city.’

Evelyn poured the contents of the snake egg into the trash can. Then she grabbed a flashlight and meticulously inspected every corner of her apartment. ’If all those eggs hatch... the consequences will be unimaginable.’

Officer Graham and his family from upstairs had also gone to gather eggs. Seeing them haul back two full buckets made goosebumps erupt on Evelyn’s arms. Her mind was flooded with images of densely packed, writhing snakes.

In the middle of the night, Evelyn slipped out and sprinkled some of the snake-repellent powder she had prepared in the stairwell.

In the damp, dark corridors, innumerable snakes coiled together, tongues flicking, letting out a chorus of "HISS... HISS... HISS..."

A floating corpse was snared by a snake’s tail. The swarm surged forward, slithering onto the body and beginning to frantically tear and devour it. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Beneath the murky floodwaters, a giant python lay coiled, recuperating. As it sensed the change in temperature, it opened its crimson eyes.

Evelyn had a nightmare. She dreamt that her apartment was filled with snakes. They slithered under her covers, coiling around her ankles, her knees, her waist, her neck, her head. She was powerless to resist. One snake wrapped itself around her neck and opened its fetid, cavernous maw, revealing sharp fangs. Drool dripped from its mouth—a viscous liquid that gave off a pungent stench. The snake’s head drew closer and closer, then suddenly lunged for her eyes.

"Aaaah!"

Evelyn gasped, panting heavily. She switched on the emergency light and scanned her bedroom warily. Seeing that the door was still intact and closed, she collapsed onto the bed, limp with the relief of a survivor.

The survivors gathering the snake eggs were in high spirits. Evelyn glanced out once before pulling the curtains shut. The scent of fried eggs wafted through the air. With food to fill their bellies, the neighbors’ footsteps seemed lighter as they moved up and down the stairs.

The water level outside the eighth floor had receded a little, but Walter Owens’s family, who had relocated to 1201, couldn’t move back down yet. He and Officer Graham were the most industrious people in the building. As the two men were heading upstairs, each carrying a bucket of snake eggs, Evelyn opened her door and called out to Officer Graham as he passed the tenth floor.

"Those might be snake eggs. You’d better cook them as soon as you get them back. The temperature keeps rising, and if they’re fertilized, they’ll hatch very soon."

Officer Graham’s expression changed. He’d had the same suspicion, but Walter Owens had insisted that snake eggs weren’t this large and that these must be alligator eggs or from some other animal.

"So that’s why you didn’t go gather any."

Evelyn smiled. "The eggs themselves aren’t poisonous, but it’ll be a huge problem once they hatch. Besides, snakes are known to be vengeful creatures. Once the temperature hits twenty degrees Celsius, I’d advise everyone to stay indoors for the time being. It would be best to seal up all the cracks and gaps in your apartments."

Officer Graham had always deeply trusted Evelyn’s judgment. He thanked her solemnly and immediately went to share the news with the others.

Over the next few days, Evelyn noticed far fewer people were out gathering eggs. Officer Graham wasn’t a selfish man; he shared what he knew with the others. Word spread like wildfire, and a sense of fear began to take hold among the residents.

Lauren Keller stopped by once to confirm the news about the eggs with Evelyn.

However, with drinking water so precious, everyone had to resort to roasting the eggs instead of boiling them.

By the end of June, the temperature reached twenty-five degrees Celsius. Daylight now lasted for eighteen hours, while night shrank to only six.

Leah Crane hadn’t been seen for two weeks. While Evelyn found it odd, she had no intention of meddling. Then, a few days later, a strange, viscous slime started appearing in the stairwell.

In the middle of the night, Evelyn heard a slithering sound. All sleepiness vanished in an instant. She held her breath, listening intently to the noises outside.

After a long moment, she confirmed the sound was coming from outside her window. Flashlight in one hand and combat knife in the other, Evelyn pulled back the curtain.

The moment she saw the snake clinging to the windowpane, Evelyn’s mind went blank and her body froze.

’It’s a red-spotted rat snake, commonly known as a water snake. Mildly venomous, but edible.’

The water snake was about a meter long, with a thick body, black spots on its skin, and a striped pattern along its spine.

Evelyn stared back at it. The snake began ramming its head against the glass, making a series of dull thuds. "THUD, THUD, THUD." Its tail was hooked around the iron security bars outside the window, and its scales made a faint, scraping sound against the metal.