The Serpent

“that’s it.  Keep her going.” Dr. Hayes said to two assistance securing a giant clay vase.

“Be careful you two it was not easy to get it back state side.  Madison is your investigation ready?”

“yes sir.  Our preliminary carbon dating from the samples taken from Greece puts the vase to around 1600BC” Jin said looking at her clip board.

“When were you going to start you investigation?”

“as soon as we get it into my lab.  I believe you two still have some work to do with that.” Jin said looking at the two workers lifting the pot onto a flatbed dolly.

“uhhh… sorry madam but this thing weighs a ton”

Madison was the new classical archeologist fresh out of school the museum just hired a few months back.  She still looked quite young despite being in her mid twenties.     

After some trouble Madison and the two workmen managed to get the jar into her lab.  To call it a vase would have been an understatement even though its shape was just that.  It stood nearly 8 feet tall and was around 5 feet wide at its base tapering to only about 3 feet at the top.  It was dusty and was a brownish red.  There were various cracks and chips in the clay, a testament to its age, and a large portrait on it depicting the god Apollo and several hoplites subduing a giant snake. There was faded ancient Greek written bellow the image.

Madison, after translating the rough text of greek on the side of the jar Jin studied its cryptic message.

Python of delphi shall guide whom dwells within and become cursed as child of Typhon with the serpents coil.

“huh…”  was all Madison could think to say

The style of the portrait and vase looked minoan to Madison.  Madison thought to herself and could think of nothing like this she saw in her studies.  It was found in Greece after a hiker feel into a small cave that hid the giant clay vase.

X-ray imaging show little.  Only that it was hollow and had a few bones inside. 

“Maybe it was a container for offerings to the gods?” she thought.

The x-rays did show that top the vase was capped with only a thin layer of clay.  Madison dawned a face mask and gloves and grabbing a hammer, chisel, and small ladder Madison carefully and slowly began to open the top.  Carefully removing the clay lid, Madison looked down into the vase and only saw darkness.  Shining a pen light down and leaning down into it showed only a sandy/dusty bottom.

Just then Madison felt her balance wavering. 

“Oh shit!”

Her ladder lost its balance with her leaning far forward and Madison’s world turned from the bright light world of her lab to the dark interior of the giant vase with only a column of light beaming down though the top of the vase.   Upon hitting the bottem of the vase a plum of dust was kicked up after centuries of settling.  Madison began coughing the dust she had sutured upon falling in.  While coughing Madison heard the crash of the ladder on the floor. 

There was not much room but Madison could just stand inside and looked up at the opening.

“hello!  Is anyone there!”

Dead silence was the only response Madison was given.

“well this is just great.  Now I’m stuck in here.  I’ll be fired for sure.”  She said following a sneeze of dust.

Madison turned around as the blackness slowly disappeared into a purple glow on the opposite side of the vase.  It was image of a serpent and a short phrase in ancient Greek and begain to glow brighter and brighter.  Using one hand to shield her eyes until Madison could see nothing but bright purple all around.  Feeling dizzy she decided to sit and then lay down rather than topple over.  She soon lost consciousness as her eyes rolled back in her head once she was laying on her side.

Madison opened her eyes.  It was pitch black say for a column of light shining inches from her hands. 

“Where am I” Madison said aloud.

She was in darkness… maybe she was in a cave?  There was a thin layer of sand and dust on the ground and had her head resting on one of her arms.  It then started to come to her.  Her life, job, the vase, and the purple glowing from the wall.  It was dark now.  Lying on the ground she felt the sand on her body.  Bringing one hand to her chest she discovered that she was totally in the nude now.    

“Man I must have hit my head or there is something in this dust.  And where the hel  Ahhh chewww!!!” Speaking to herself again and sneezing.

Madison tried move her legs to stand up again but could not.  She also heard something hit the side of the vase and felt something solid on her calf. Slowly she managed to stand but felt a little unsteady and grabbed both walls of the vase.  Looking up the lights were still on and could see the ceiling above. 

“I got to get out of here…”

Trying to climb out, Madison inched her way up moving up the vase.  Reaching up she managed to get one hand on the lip of the vase opening and pulled up. Grabbing the other side of the vase opening Madison pulled herself up so that her head arms and chest were out of the vase.  It then dawned on her that she could still feel the sand on her feet.

“… something does not feel right” Madison thought to herself. 

She motioned to push herself up using her legs out of the vase.  Using all of her strength sent her further than she had thought it would.  She struggled to grab something to keep her from falling.  she slide forward hitting the ground while guarding herself with her hands.  She felt a sharp pain and she heard a metal table bang loudly as one of her legs hit it.

“OUCH!!!” she grimaced as she reached one hand down and brought her leg up.  The feeling and the sight hit her at the same time like a lightning bolt.  She felt her hand on what should have been skin only to feel smooth scales while catching sight of a massive snake tail.  Screaming she pushed away and tried to run only to fall over and see the snake tail incoherently flail around as she tried to get her footing and smacked another table hard sending her a jolt of pain.  She stopped trying to get up and started tracing the length of the tail upward until hitting her own skin.

Taking deep breaths to calm herself down Madison gathered herself.  She looked at the tail and concentrated as the tail coiled itself slightly.  She slowly stood up and looked down at her body.  Using both hands she felt the transition between skin and scales to prove to her that this was no trick.  Moving across her scaled side she could feel her hand sliding across her scales.  Far from being rough or course, they were smooth.  Looking behind she could see her “hips” flaring out slightly and some of the scales formed what look liked the makings on the back of a cobra.  Looking forward Madison could see her own belly transitioning into that of a snake’s underside. 

“How am I going to get out of this one.” She said as she brought the tip of her tail up to hands to feel it.

~~~~~~~~~~
Rather happy with this one.  Could not think of a better ending.  I'll leave it up to the reader to decide what happens.  ~_~