“Getting worse every day. I can’t chew on that side now.” Kyle quickly glanced in Alexis’s direction and saw that she was on the western side of the river. The sun was low in the sky and he needed to shade his eyes with his hands to see her. “I didn’t tell her because I don’t want her to worry.”
“We don’t have any pliers.”
“Pliers! Shit, man, calm down and back off, Dr. Frankenstein.” Kyle began to row away from Robert and toward his wife.
Robert was not able to determine how much of Kyle’s reaction was anger and how much was sarcasm. He did not reply to Kyle’s remarks, but merely shook his head as Kyle went toward his wife near the river’s edge. The sun was getting low in the western sky, causing him to squint as he looked toward them.
“Hey,” Robert yelled toward the couple with his hands cupped to his face, “we’re getting close to a town and it’s getting late. Let’s find a spot and set up camp.”
Kyle nodded and waved him forward. Just ahead was a cornfield near a small inlet that should be good for fishing. A grove of trees that would supply abundant firewood surrounded the inlet. The riverbank was worn away near the inlet and was low and level, a perfect place to stop for the night.
The threesome pulled the rafts up the riverbank and away from the water, so that they were midway between the river and the cornfield. The field sloped up gently to the crest of a ridge that was greeting the setting sun. A breeze wafted from the direction of the cornfield. It carried the smell of wood smoke and Robert became tense when he noticed the aroma.
“I smell a campfire,” said Robert, cautiously.
The couple went motionless and closed their eyes. Another light breeze brought the smell of burning wood to them. They caught the scent and looked at each other simultaneously, not knowing what to say.
“How close?” asked Kyle. He began to bring his hand to his jaw, then awkwardly raised his hand and scratched his head, trying to disguise his gesture toward the painful tooth.
“Maybe it’s not a campfire,” Alexis said, apprehensively. “We can’t see past the ridge. Farmhouse… or fireplace… maybe?”
“If we can’t see them, then they can’t see us,” said Robert. “Let’s just keep low and we’re out of here tomorrow.”
Kyle put his hand on his wife’s shoulder and said, “Get a little fire going. I’ll go get enough wood for the rest of the night.”
She patted him on the back and pushed him toward the inlet and the grove of trees. Kyle got the hatchet and went for wood. Not realizing it, Kyle grabbed and held his jaw as he walked away. Robert pointed to Kyle and nudged Alexis.
“How bad is his tooth?” asked Robert.
Alexis exhaled a long sigh, frowned, and shook her head. “I don’t know. He has been trying to hide it and he didn’t say anything to me. I know that last year it was bad. He was going to get it fixed, but there was an infection. He got on some antibiotics, but never did go back to the dentist.”
“He can’t let it go. There are no antibiotics here. We need to pull it.” Robert motioned toward his jaw as if he was pulling a tooth.
Alexis was kneeling down around a small pile of wood she had gathered. She touched it with a precious match, starting a fire. The small twigs began to ignite and she gently fanned the flame with her hand.
“How are you going to hold him down?” Alexis asked. “He’s not going to cooperate.”
“We couldn’t pull it if we wanted to. We don’t have any pliers,” said Robert, shrugging his shoulders.
Alexis was contemplating their problem as she picked up more branches for the fire. The branches were still green and many still had leaves on them. She stood in front of Robert and hugged the bundle of green wood tightly, momentarily lost in thought. “I’ll talk to him. He needs to be confronted so that—”
The sound of Kyle’s scream interrupted Alexis. She was startled and dropped all the green wood on the campfire near her feet. They both instantly turned toward Kyle. They saw him holding the hatchet in his left hand and stomping the ground near a pile of old driftwood. Kyle then swung at the ground with the hatchet several times, and turned to walk back toward Robert and Alexis.
Robert cupped his hands and yelled at Kyle as he approached. “Hey, big man, if it hurts that bad we need to do something about it. I told your wife and she agrees.”
Kyle said nothing, his face visibly pale, and with a terrified expression. He kept glancing down at his right hand, and as Kyle closed the distance, he held his hand forward, terrified and speechless. What had happened became obvious to Robert instantly. He saw the two bloody spots in the fleshy part of Kyle’s hand, between the thumb and first finger. A snake had bitten him. Only a poisonous snake could make that wound.
Alexis’s green wood had begun to cause a large plume of white smoke on the fire. Robert stepped away from the smoke. He grabbed Kyle, guiding him to his raft, and motioning for him to sit. With tears in her eyes, Alexis huddled close to her husband.
“Where is it? What kind is it?” demanded Robert. “Did it rattle?”
Kyle was in shock. He glanced back to the pile of wood near the grove of trees at the inlet. He looked down at his wound and summoned a few words. “I killed it.” He gestured with the hatchet in his left hand. “I stomped on it, and cut its head off. It was brown like the dirt and the dead wood around it.” He sucked the wound on his hand as he contemplated his fate. “What am I going to do?”
Robert took the hatchet from him. “I don’t have an answer.”
Robert went to where Kyle had killed the snake. The decapitated snake’s body was next to its severed head. He tossed the head into the river and brought the snake’s body back toward the smoky fire and Kyle’s raft.
Robert held up the snake. “Copperhead.” It was three feet long and thick. The brown color gave it a perfect camouflage against the dirt and weathered wood on the ground.
Alexis held onto her husband tightly, fighting back her tears. Kyle’s eyes were wide and his face was pale. He looked terrified.
“That’s poisonous. What am I going to do?” Kyle asked, not hiding the fear in his voice.
“I don’t know.” Robert cut the belly of the snake and pulled the skin back toward the tail. The skin neatly peeled away like a sausage casing. He held the length of snakeskin up for Kyle to see. “Souvenir?”
Kyle shook his head. “No, thanks.” He clutched his hand close to his chest and leaned back in the raft. His wife caressed his forehead as he looked upward to the fading blue sky. He watched the few remaining puffy white clouds slowly drift by and tried to remember a better time in his life.
Kyle suddenly sat up and shook the daze from his eyes. “Am I going to die?” Alexis’s lips began to quiver. She was trying to maintain composure and be strong for her husband.
Robert did not immediately respond. He tossed the snake near the smoky fire, sat on his raft next to Kyle and took a deep breath, trying to find the right words. He slowly exhaled, leaned forward, and rubbed his bearded face with the palms of his dirty hands.
“Am I going to die?” Kyle sternly repeated.
“No, but you’re going to get sick. Very sick. We’re going to have to stay here until you’re better. We still have plenty of dried food. Just relax and let us take care of you for a while.”
Kyle nodded his head and then closed his eyes and leaned back in the raft, waiting for the poison’s effects.
During the night, while the others were asleep, Kyle became ill. His right hand was swollen and very painful. He broke into a sweat and his breathing became labored. The nausea urged him to lean over his raft as he felt his stomach turn, and the saliva dripped from his mouth. Kyle began to vomit violently and it felt like his guts were being ripped out of his body through his throat. The vomiting and diarrhea lasted throughout the night. Alexis tried to give him sips of water and Kyle tried to drink. The nausea was overwhelming his tired body when, near sunrise, the effect of the poison began to fade. His fatigued body retreated into much needed sleep and, just before sunrise, all three weary travelers finally slept at the same time.