The Inland Taipan holds the title for the most venomous snake in the world! Its venom is so potent that a single bite can kill around 100 adult humans or over 200,000 mice.
However, it's a shy snake that rarely bites humans, preferring to stay hidden in the arid regions of Australia.
And then... there's me, a 30-year-old, somewhat handsome idiot, trying to catch this deadly creature.
A tall man with black hair and black eyes thought as he held a long circular pole with a net attached at the bottom while sitting in a white van that drove along a road lined with houses on both sides. His name was Takeru Mizuhara, a self-proclaimed snake catcher.
He had gotten a call from one of his friends the previous week that they had to fly out to Australia to catch a "rare specimen."
It wasn't just to catch it for bragging rights; the little devil had been terrorizing a family of three for weeks for some unknown reason, slithering around their kitchen as if it owned the place.
That was when one of Takeru's friends got the call and immediately insisted they had to go.
It took them a few weeks to arrive at the location where the snake was last spotted.
They approached in a white van, stopping in front of a big modern house that looked like it belonged to a rich family.
Hiro, Takeru's friend, let out a whistle as he stared at the house. "Man... look at this place!" he said as a grin formed on his face.
Takeru was fiddling with the pole in his hand, checking if the net was correctly connected. "Don't smile too widely. You know what we came here for, right?" he reminded his friend.
Hiro looked back at him before correcting his glasses. "Ohh... look at you, trying to act all composed. Don't try to hide that grin from me," he joked.
Takeru clicked his tongue before turning to open the door and exiting the van. "Come on, let's go!" he said, shutting the door behind him.
As he stood outside the van, a smile could be seen on his face as he held the netted pole in his hand.
He couldn't hide his excitement anymore—this would be his first time seeing such a rare snake.
Shortly after, his friend also climbed out of the van, walking towards the back, while Takeru approached from the other side.
They took out some equipment that would be used to catch the snake and went toward the house, knocking on the front door.
An old woman with gray hair, brown eyes, and a hunched back opened the door, greeting them in English. But Takeru was fluent in the language, having studied it for years to the point where he could be a translator.
The woman welcomed them in and showed them where she had last seen the snake.
Walking through a hallway, they passed different rooms until finally arriving in a clean and furnished kitchen.
The woman didn't enter with them—she was too afraid. The snake had already killed her husband a few weeks ago, traumatizing her.
Takeru and Hiro didn't hold this against the woman, as they sympathized with her sadness.
After telling her she should go wait outside, they began their search.
Rummaging through the kitchen, they looked in the cupboards, behind the fridge, even under the table and chairs. They found nothing. They were beginning to think that maybe the woman was just a bit crazy after losing her husband. They started to give up—until they heard a noise coming from under the table.
Didn't Hiro check there already? Takeru thought before making absolutely sure. And to his surprise, there it lay—light brown, with a sleek and slender body, watching their every move.
He called out to Hiro, his voice barely above a whisper, not wanting to alarm the snake. "Hiro! Come here! Quickly!"
Hiro walked toward him and saw what Takeru saw. They looked at each other, acknowledging that they were both seeing it, before they started moving in closer, crouching to get a better view of the snake.
But that only caused it to softly hiss, as if warning them to stay away.
Without a single care in the world, they approached it from both sides, cornering it, their nets ready to capture it.
Hiro signaled and mouthed the words, "One... two... three."
As soon as he shouted the last number, he swiftly pulled out the chair as Takeru tried to catch the snake in the net. But they had heavily underestimated its speed. It swiftly slithered away from the net, heading straight for Takeru before sinking its fangs into his leg—its venom flowing into him.
He winced, and as a reflex, he quickly reached to pull the snake from his leg, throwing it against the fridge and losing sight of it.
"Ahhhhhh!" he yelled.
The bite marks on his leg burned with extreme pain. Takeru clenched his teeth, trying to speak through the agony, but he struggled to get the words out.
His friend rushed over, dropping everything he had in his hands.
He grabbed Takeru by the shoulders. "What happened!?" he shouted, his voice shaking.
He could see Takeru suffering, clutching his ankle. He pulled Takeru's hand away to see what he was holding onto.
His eyes widened. He quickly reached into his shirt pocket, grabbing his phone to call an ambulance. His hands shook as he tried to dial the emergency number.
Meanwhile, as Hiro fumbled with his phone, Takeru's symptoms worsened. The world started to spin and he began to feel nauseous. Blood began to flow from his nose and the snake bite.
Pain was the only thing on his mind—he had never felt anything like it.
He reached a trembling hand out to Hiro, who was now violently screaming into the phone, before uttering the words, "H...e...lp..."
His hand fell limp to the ground.
His eyes started to droop closed, his long eyelashes covering his blurry vision as he felt his breathing slow—until his eyes fully shut, his breath gone.
His mind got swallowed up by darkness all the thoughts he wanted to think raced through his brain as if they wanted to claw their way out of his head.
Why did I die? When my life was finally starting to pick up! I don't want to believe it! Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!! Dammit! This is so frustrating! I even asked that beautiful teacher out last week... and she said yes. If I could've at least... Huh?
His mind got swallowed up by darkness. It was cold, suffocating. Then—something shifted. A strange warmth spread through him, but it wasn't human warmth. It was... different.
Am I alive? Or is this just a vivid memory? he thought, trying to move his body.
He could feel himself wiggling around. He tried opening his eyes—and unexpectedly, it worked—only to reveal an unfamiliar scenery.
A massive, dark space with uneven walls made of hardened dirt and rocks. A tree stood in the distance, leafless, looking as if it were in its last days.
Where the hell am I? Didn't I just die a few minutes ago? he thought, turning his head to look around the cave.
And what's this red stuff I'm seeing? No! That's not important now. Let's stand up and get out of here.
He tried to move his legs.
Why can't I feel my legs... or my arms? Also, why is my butt still wet!?
He turned to look at what he thought was his wet butt—only to see a pitch-black, smooth, scaly tail dipped in the water behind him.
The tail only grew thicker as it led up to his... his head?
Then it hit him
"Hissssssss..."
What?! I just yelled "Whaaatttt!!!'"and a hissing noise came out of my mouth?! he thought, tilting his head, which felt light—extremely light.
He had an idea of what was happening, but to make absolutely sure, he wiggled and wiggled the front of his body toward the water. As his head met his tail, he looked down at his reflection.
Heh... Is this a joke?
He fully realized what he had become—the thing he loved the most, the thing that killed him, and the thing that turned him into what he was now.
A snake.