This is the second of an occassional series outlining the most unusual experiences of the FC community.

Everybody fears different things in life. Some are afraid of the dark, others panic when they see a spider. Me? I am scared of snakes, so four months ago when my brother decided to get a snake as a pet, I was not thrilled.

I was fine with having the snake as long as it stayed in the cage, but the guy at the pet store warned us that snakes are known for sneaking out of their cages. Since I have two cats and two dogs I was not too worried about the snake getting out because I figured one of my animals were bound to get it before it got to me.

However, after about a month, my brother forgot to lock the cage and the 4-foot corn snake disappeared. I assured myself that one of my animals was going to capture it.

Three months went by and the snake was out of my mind. However, the other night, right as I was about to go to sleep, my mom runs in my room yelling at me to follow her. Against all odds, the snake was alive, lying in my mom?s bathtub.

Shocked, my mom and I were clueless as to what we should do. My brother was in Montana visiting his dad, and he was the only one willing to touch the snake. We still had the cage so we thought we would just capture it and all would be okay. So as my mom went to get the cage, I stood guard to make sure the snake would not escape again.

Unfortunately, neither of us considered closing the drain. As I was watching to make sure the snake did not go anywhere, I made a noise that scared it. It began to move and I yelled at my mom to hurry. Right as my mom appeared with the cage, the snake slithered down the drain.

We had no idea what to do. My mom did not want to close all the drains because she feared killing the snake. There was no way I was going to be able to sleep knowing that this slithering creature could be crawling around my sheets at night.

That night I slept with a towel under my door so the snake would not sneak up on me. I also got kind of nervous while I went to the restroom because I thought it might come up out of the toilet.

Luckily, the next night my mom decided to open the drains again just in case the snake came back out. She checked her bathroom every hour to see if it would show up. Surprisingly enough, three hours later, the snake was in her bathtub again and we were able to get the snake in its cage.

Even though we caught the snake and it is safely in its cage, I still get paranoid when my leg itches or my cat glides across my leg, because I am never sure if the snake got out again. I will always remember that night when one of my worst fears came to life.

For more stories of unusual experiences, read the Oct. 3, 2007 article, Splashing through fat: A most unusual experience or check out Duct tape may be banned.