Early Thursday: a War, a Hurricane, a Miracle! by Linda S. Cunningham

Author:Linda S. Cunningham
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2020-06-18T19:15:13+00:00

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The wind died. The relief was welcomed. The surges finally stopped. I was thirsty. My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. I moved my jaws. My mouth was pasty. I looked up into the tree and opened wide, but the rain tasted salty and only made me thirstier. I hadn’t noticed the smells when the wind blew, but now I smelled a mixture of raw earth, saltwater, sewerage, dead animals, and oil. I knew that when the sun came out, it would get worse. I really didn’t care about the odor; I was alive or at least alive for now. I looked around and saw a refrigerator floating toward the tree. I took a large branch that had fallen over the boat and reached for the refrigerator. I nearly jumped out of the boat when a snake slithered on the limb. I shook it off. The snake fell in the water and swam off. I managed to hook the refrigerator with the branch and pulled it close enough to reach out and grab it by the handle. Luckily, it floated with the door up. I opened it and gasped at the putrid smell. I hung on to the handle and covered my nose with my other hand and took a deep breath. Pooch shook his head, even though dogs tolerate bad odors better than humans. I rummaged around in the tumbled contents of the refrigerator and found two RC colas and a Falstaff beer. What a find! It was better than any treasure, but how was I going to open them? I tried prying it off on the edge of the boat by hitting the cap, but it kept slipping, so I looked around for something else. I noticed a nail on the branch where the chain was attached. A big moccasin was on that branch, and I was afraid to go near it. I sat down and watched the snake in hopes that it would leave on its own accord. As seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into an hour, I struggled with the dilemma. I grew thirstier and my head began to ache. I should try to get the snake off the branch before nightfall or it might drop into the boat, I reasoned. I watched the snake, trying to get my nerve up because it didn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon. I decided to take the branch that I used to retrieve the refrigerator and push the snake away from the boat. Hopefully, it would fall into the water.

“Okay, Pooch. Get ready.” Pooch’s eyes were riveted on the snake. I pushed the snake off the limb, but its tail clung to the limb and its three-foot length hung over the boat.

“Holy Cow. Look out, Pooch!”

I pushed again, and it fell into the boat. Pooch nearly knocked me out of the boat trying to get to it. In a flurry of yellow dog fur, Pooch bit the snake behind the head and shook it, just like he used to do with the end of the rope swing.

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