It felt as though entire days passed in that hellish torture room, though it was probably just a few hours. Time had become meaningless. Eventually Ricardo became desensitized to the pain, accepting of his fate.

That's when his body went limp. Holding his breath, he resigned himself to lying at the bottom of the water for the rest of his life. Coincidentally, this was all that was needed for him to start floating on his back. Still being bitten and with a dismal view of the ceiling, he closed his eyes and cleared his mind. There was no use struggling anymore; there was truly nothing left he could do. 

It may have been that the snakes were biting less frequently, or maybe it was the feeling of the hard floor on his back. Either way, Ricardo finally opened his eyes. The roof was far away, the floor around him only slightly damp, and the last of the snakes was pulling it's fangs out of his neck. 

He sat up and watched as the snake slithered into one other holes in the corner of the room. He was now alone and mentally exhausted, but he had never been calmer. The lights in the room went out... and not even knowing why, he smiled.

Just then a door opened, greeting him with a light, inviting him to continue. For a moment, he considered staying put. It wasn't that he was afraid of what lied ahead; he wasn't sure if he could ever feel fear again. No, he had just become lazy. But something greater inside him told him to stand, to walk toward the light... and so he did.