Matt’s heart stopped at the sight that greeted him through
the bedroom door. A prairie rattler,
every bit
Matt’s mind raced. He
couldn’t shoot the snake curled on top of her chest without hitting Kitty as
well. He couldn’t shoot the snake on the
floor without startling the snake on the bed, causing it to strike out and
possibly bite her. There was only one
thing to do. He steeled himself,
breathing shallowly and noiselessly moving closer to the bed, one silent step
at a time. The snake seemed unaware of
his presence; it was facing in the direction of Kitty’s head. If it struck, that’s where it would
bite. He prayed that Kitty wouldn’t waken
and startle the heat-seeking reptile.
Two more steps to go.
He stopped breathing entirely. Sweat
popped out on his forehead as he inched one arm soundlessly closer...closer...
Kitty stirred and the snake hissed menacingly. Matt’s heart was in his throat as her eyes slowly
opened. Thankfully, she lay frozen,
though he could see the utter terror reflected in her stare. The snake coiled more tightly and gave a
rattle of its tail, its head rearing before her face. Her eyes widened in fear, but still Kitty did
not move.
Matt struck suddenly and decisively. His agile gun arm shot out, grabbing the
snake just below its head. He jerked it
off Kitty’s body and held it at arm’s length, then raced around the bed, aiming
awkwardly with his opposite hand at the rattler undulating across the
floor. He shot and missed. The snake on the floor lifted its head to
strike, shaking its rattler in warning.
Matt shot again and hit its body, but the rattlesnake was still able to strike
at him.
Kitty cried out in alarm, attempting to sit up in bed. She
watched in terror as the snake gripped tightly in Matt’s hand hissed and
writhed, wrapping itself around his arm.
Matt fired again at the snake on the floor. This time the shot found its mark, the bullet
piercing the rattler’s head. He shot
once more at close range, over the spinal cord directly behind the head, then ran
out the door with the first snake still desperately gripped in his hand.
Hurrying to the wood pile, he knelt and held the snake’s
head over the cut end of a log, dropping his gun and grabbing the rusty axe
nearby. The rattler’s mouth stretched
wide, giving him a view of fangs dripping with venom as its body wound round
and round his arm. Matt gritted his
teeth, sweat dripping into his eyes.
Shaking his head hard to clear his eyes, he tried again to aim
carefully. He had a very small margin
for error and did not want to lose a finger.
Holding his breath, Matt chopped the angry snake’s head off with two blows
of the axe. Standing, he pitched the
snake’s lifeless body far away, in the direction of the Gunther brothers’
graves.
Retrieving his gun from the ground, he hurried inside to
where Kitty lay, shaking, her hand held tightly over her mouth. Her frightened gaze led his eyes in the
direction of the hole in the floor. Yet another rattlesnake was poking its head
through. Quickly Matt strode across the
floor and shot through the dark hole. Hitting
his target once again, he snatched a fallen wooden shelf from the floor and dropped
it quickly atop the hole, grabbing the small nightstand and turning it upside
down to hold the shelf securely in place.
No more snakes would get through here.
Rapidly, urgently, he searched the room, even looking under
the bed and jerking Kitty’s covers off, searching for any further intruders or
possible entrances. He found only the
snake he’d shot on the floor, still twitching and moving even in death. Matt carefully picked it up and carried it
outside, slinging it distastefully across the yard, again toward the outlaws’
graves. They all belonged together, he
thought with satisfaction.
Noticing the blood on his hands, he stopped at the well and
quickly drew a bucket to clean himself before he went inside and upset Kitty
with his appearance. She’d had more than
enough scares for one day. Matt dried
his hands carelessly on his pants legs and hurried in to check on her.
Kitty was still curled on the bed, eyes searching the room,
her labored breath coming in hiccups. He
strode toward her, and her arms were outstretched, reaching for him. “Matt...” she called and her voice was
nothing more than a whisper. He took her
in his embrace as he sat facing her, and she buried her face in his neck. He could feel her hot tears wetting his skin,
but she hardly made a sound. He didn’t
quite know what to say to her to calm her fears so he just stroked his own hands,
trembling as well now that the danger had passed, across her shuddering back
over and over, saying, “It’s okay.
Kitty, it’s okay now...”
tbc
ljljljljlj
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