Gemotions

The hissing. That's what did it. The sudden, rasping sound. Her roommate, David, was holding a snake, a long, coiled, green thing. Her vision blurred for a split second.

Everything went cold. Her breath hitched. The thought of that thing, in their apartment, slithering on the carpet, in her bed, sent a wave of icy dread through her.

“Isn’t he gorgeous, Sarah?” David asked. He held the snake out, and it moved in her direction, and she instinctively stepped backward. "He's very friendly, I promise." Sarah felt a strange lightness in her head, as if she might float away.