Cemetery Closing by Jeff Strand

Author:Jeff Strand [Strand, Jeff]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-06-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

I made my way to the tree as quickly as possible. Because of the heavy current, Roger was jiggling around but he didn’t appear to be conscious.

“Hey, Roger!” I shouted.

He didn’t open his eyes.

Crawling out on top of the tree branch seemed like it would result in the branch snapping and both of us being carried off to our deaths. I’d have to get into the water and ease my way over to him, praying the entire time that he’d been knocked out instead of killed.

I climbed down the incline. I was no longer worried about piranha or similar aquatic dangers. I just needed to make it over to my best friend and bring him back safely.

Wait, was that a…?

I had to stare at it for a moment to confirm that, yes, there was a great big snake coiled on the branch between Roger and I. Its coloring wasn’t much different from the wood. I didn’t know why a frickin’ snake would want to be out on a tree limb that dangled over a river. Maybe it got an adrenaline rush from the feeling of danger. What I also did not know was what kind of snake it was. If it was another boa constrictor, hey, no problem. If it was a venomous rattlesnake, that could be an issue.

I couldn’t try to shake it off the branch, because that might dislodge Roger. And Henrietta was probably too far away to see what kind of snake it was. Our conversation would be the kind of comedy of errors that I didn’t have time for right now. I had no real choice but to hope that I made it to Roger and back without the snake deciding to do me harm.

I walked into the water, almost losing my balance in the current, and proceeded forward until my feet no longer touched the bottom. Fortunately, there were lots of smaller branches attached to the big branch, so my hands wouldn’t have to get too close to a potentially venomous snake as I made my way forward.

No problem at all. This was going fine. Better than expected, even.

I kept watching for something that might indicate Roger’s condition, but his eyes remained closed and his body kept moving around. As I moved directly underneath the snake, I tried to look for some kind of telltale markings that would tell me what kind of snake it was, at least until I remembered that I don’t know shit about snakes.

I passed completely underneath the snake without it trying to strangle or bite me. It didn’t even move. Maybe it was dead.

I was almost to Roger. Still no way to tell if he was breathing.

I froze as I thought I heard a branch crack. But the rapids were so loud that there was no way I’d actually be able to hear something like that, so it was just my imagination trying to make me even more tense than I already was. My imagination could suck it.

Just about there…

I made it.

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