"The slightest move could set them off," Lykopis informed the rest of the group.
"Anyone got a flute?" Tommy asked in the form of Mercutio. "We could charm them like they do in India."
Through a clinched jaw, Lykopis responded, "That is just a trick, you fool. Snakes cannot be charmed by a simple instrument."
"Oh, yeah. Snakes are deaf. I forgot."
"What else did you forget?" Adem asked.
"Huh?"
"You're the one with encyclopedic knowledge of every animal you turn into," the alien reminded the shape-shifter. "Think about everything you know about snakes that we could use to our advantage."
Foxe tried to concentrate. He began to rattle off a list as it came to his head. "Um... deaf..... poor vision....... transparent scales over eyes....... cold blooded.."
"Good," Different interrupted. "Icarus, do you have your pack on? Never mind. Of course you do. You don't even go to the bathroom without it." A string of obsceneties were muffled by the pilot's lack of a mouth. "Release your pack's coolant system."
"Mmmmmmmm MMMMMMM mmmmmmm?" Sidewinder asked.
"The coolant system that obviously prevents the heat from your pack burning off your legs and back," Adem replied.
With a bit of work, Icarus Sidewinder expelled a cold gas... from his jetpack. The gas sank and rolled across the floor. The snakes hissed and slithered away as fast as they could. "To the door!" Lykopis yelled. Icarus led the way as the rest followed. The giant wooden doors was locked shut. The Amazon pushed her shoulder into the door with all her might. Though she looked ancient on the outside with her wrinkled skin, the muscles and strength she'd gained over the centuries still remain. Soon, the wood around the lock splintered and the door crashed open. The group shielded their eyes from the blinding sunlight as the tumbled out of the church.
Tommy and Icarus began rubbing their hands along their legs, hoping to warm their limbs again. "A trap," Lykopis said, pointing out the obvious. "It is clear that we are on the right path." She squinted as her eyes readjusted. "Adem!" she almost screamed in shock. "You are taller."
"I know," the alien acknowledged.
"At least five feet."
"Around five and a half, I believe," he said looking off in the distance.
"How?"
"I didn't like being short," he matter-of-factly answered, "so I decided not to be any longer."
"You just decided not to be short?"
"Yes."
"That is just absurd," the Amazon said with a bit of anger in her voice.
"Yet, it seems to be working."
"Can we go home now?" Tommy asked while his body changed into what he considered Julius Ceaser to appear like.
"I believe that we have been stranded here," Adem said pointing to the far end of the village. There, the rental Bronco was engulfed in flames.
"Bloody hell!"
