After a few minutes of walking, something strange began to happen. Dark, oily liquid started to drip from the cracks between the bricks. Athoi noticed it first.
"What's that?" she said, stopping abruptly and pointing at the black substance sliding down the wall.
Nabil bent down, cautiously touching a drop of the dark liquid. It slipped through his fingers like water, leaving no trace. "It's slippery," he said, trying to pick it up again, but it kept evading his grasp. "It just keeps slipping."
"Let me try," Athoi said, reaching out to touch a drop. As soon as her fingers made contact, the liquid hardened in her hand, and within seconds, it transformed into a writhing snake. She screamed and flung it away, her heart racing.
"What happened?" Nabil asked, alarmed.
