S. J. Bolton - Awakening

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T HE SNAKE AND I WERE HOLDING EYE-CONTACT, AND I WAS beginning to wonder if there was something in the old stories about snakes having the power to mesmerize. 'No,' I said, 'that isn't a grass snake.''What, then? It doesn't look like an adder.''Get the others out of here. Don't let them touch anything else. If you can close windows and doors, that'd be good, but don't go near any more snakes. The man who was bitten - make sure he gets to hospital straight away. He needs to be under constant observation. Then get me an empty carry-box. And a weapon of some kind - hammer, axe - something like that. Be as quick as you can.''But what...''Just do it!'He was gone. I heard him cross the corridor, feet pounding on the bare wooden floors, running downstairs, shouting to the other three men. I heard them questioning, even arguing, and then all of them left the house. The front door slammed shut and the house was silent.The sudden flurry of noise had disturbed the snake. It moved, heading for the refuge of the open wardrobe. If it went inside I could trap it, wait until help and proper equipment arrived. Oh, please let it go inside.The snake didn't go inside the wardrobe but instead started to glide up the door, the carvings on the old oak making it an easy task. Reaching the top, its body shimmered and disappeared over the rim.OK, I had to stay calm. The snake on top of the wardrobe had to be caught or, failing that, killed. And I had to do that knowing there could be others in the room, or elsewhere in the house. I felt sick, realizing the danger I'd put those men in. I should never have let them stay in the house.Right, think. Was this really something I could handle alone? But how soon could help get to me? The nearest zoo was miles away and it was the middle of the night.I heard footsteps running lightly up the stairs and felt an overwhelming sense of relief. Which was not the least disturbing thing to happen to me that night. I, who had never relied on a man my whole adult life, who was so used to being in charge, was going mushy at the first sign of real danger.Matt crossed the landing quietly, and I risked taking my eyes off the wardrobe for a second to look at him. He had the carry-box, a large wood-chopping axe and a wide-eyed look on his face. It could have been a pretty alarming sight. Except, given the choice between an axe-yielding madman and what was on top of the wardrobe, most days I'd take my chances with the axe.'Get back here, now,' he whispered, gesturing me to join him in the doorway. I shook my head.'I'm not arguing,' he said, so softly I could barely hear. I found myself backing towards him.'What is that thing?' he said, instinctively keeping his voice low.'I'm not sure,' I replied, because I wasn't. Not 100 per cent. 'It's a little on the small side but...'He said nothing. Just looked at me.'I think it's a taipan,' I admitted.'A what?' He looked disappointed; he'd expected me to say cobra, pit viper, rattlesnake - one of the better-known dangerous snakes.'A taipan,' I repeated. 'They're from Australia.''And they're bad?'I nodded. 'They're the most dangerous snakes in the world.'He took hold of my arm and pulled me out of the room, on to the landing. 'Right, we're out of here. The police are on their way. They can deal with it.'I resisted. I'm quite strong when I need to be.'Absolutely not. If you can get a herpetologist with experience of venomous snakes out here in the next half-hour, then go ahead. Believe me, I have no desire to go back into that room. But to ask young policemen who've never handled a snake in their lives before to try and catch it is just asking for several of them to get killed.'He screwed up his face in disbelief. He thought I was exaggerating, being hysterical, like any other woman confronted with a scary snake. I had to make him understand.'Taipans can be very aggressive snakes. They're fast and strong. Each one of them has enough venom to kill a whole battalion of policemen. People die within hours of being bitten, and I really doubt the Dorset County Hospital carries the right sort of anti-venom.''So we close down the house and we wait for experts. We get your herp-- What do you call them?''Herpetologists. But look at this house. It must be four hundred years old. There are gaps and holes everywhere. The snake will escape. And believe me, you do not want one of those things roaming the village.'I could see him thinking about it. I stood there, watching him, feeling angry that he'd just waltzed in and taken charge, purely on the strength of being a man and (by this stage I was sure of it) a lawyer. At the same time, half of me was hoping he'd hold out and refuse to let me back in the bedroom. It's surprising how the prospect of a rapid and painful death can make you value what little you do have in life.'OK, what's the plan? I'm not saying I'm going to agree to it. Just that I want to hear it.''We need to catch it quickly,' I managed. 'We may have to kill it, but I think catching it might be marginally less dangerous.''How do we do that exactly?''It's on top of the wardrobe,' I said. 'If you're OK to help, first thing we have to do is knock it off. Then we use the axe as a grab-stick. If you feign attacking it with the wooden end, it should bite on to it. I can then take hold of it round the neck and it'll be safe. We can drop it into the box.''Christ!' He looked round, noticing the ventilation gaps beneath windows, holes in wooden beams, an open skylight in the roof. 'You're right, it can escape. Are you sure you can do this?'Now that it came to it, I was far from sure. I nodded. 'Let's go.'I turned back to the door. First thing was to check the snake was still where we'd left it.'Hold on.'I turned. Matt was shrugging off his brown leather jacket. He held it out to me. 'Put this on,' he ordered.I was wearing a fine-knit cotton sweater. No protection at all from a taipan bite. Even so I shook my head. 'You're the one it'll be aiming for. You need it.''I'll get something of Nick's. Now put it on, and the gloves, and stay there.'I put my arms in the sleeves of Matt's jacket and pulled it over my shoulders. He wasn't a big man, but it certainly felt huge on me. It was thick, strong leather - it would help. It was also still warm from his body. So don't ask me why I started shivering the moment I put it on. The gloves I found in the pockets were useless, and I dropped them against the wall. Too late to run home for my own. I stood in the doorway, watching for movement in the room and wondering if I was doing the right thing, whether there was any possible alternative. Waiting for expert help was the only really sensible course of action, but there was a real danger of the taipan escaping. And the police would get here first. They might not listen to me, might try and catch the snake themselves. At least I fully understood what I was facing. I turned to see Matt coming back, wearing a green quilted coat. His right arm looked huge, and several inches of towel were visible below the cuff of the sleeve. He didn't hesitate but walked into the room and looked all round. Then he pulled the duvet off the bed and threw it out into the corridor.'Check it,' he said. I did. Nothing there.Once I'd shaken my head at him he stepped on to the bed and peered forward to see the wardrobe top. I moved in, scanning the room, left to right, up and down, watching for any hint of movement.'It's still there,' he said. 'It's coiled up but it's watching me.''We need it on the floor,' I said, knowing it wouldn't be that easy. 'I can't get hold of it up there.''I'm going to knock it off into the corner. Can you be ready?'I slipped past him. There was an eighteen-inch gap between the end of the wardrobe and the wall. Miraculously, given the state of the rest of the room, it was clear of young boy's debris. If Matt managed to knock the snake into it, we'd stand a good chance. On the other hand, a cornered snake is the most dangerous kind of all.'I'm ready,' I said, knowing I'd never be ready for what was about to happen.Holding the blade with both hands, Matt swept the handle of the axe across the top of the wardrobe. The snake reared up with a defensive cry. Startled, Matt stepped back and wobbled on the soft mattress. He swiped again at the snake and managed to dislodge it, just as he fell backwards. The snake tumbled over the edge of the wardrobe, twisted itself round in mid-air and fell on the bed, where Matt lay half sprawled.'Move!' I yelled at him.Matt rolled over the side of the bed and jumped to his feet. The snake lunged towards him. Matt staggered back and came up against the window. He'd dropped the axe.I bent down, my hands connected with something and I hurled it at the snake. It was a child's Darth Vader mask. It hit the snake squarely on the back of the head. The taipan swayed and turned. Faced with two threats, coming at it from opposite ends of the room, it was unsure. Then it decided. It was coming for me.I threw something else - a football annual - and as it landed uselessly in a crumpled heap, I realized I'd made a terrible mistake; one that was about to cost me my life. I was aware of Matt moving forward, bending down, but could look at nothing but the glossy, gunmetal-grey scales and amber eyes of the creature bearing down on me. It reared up. I took a breath to scream.Then Matt hit it against the side of the head with the axe handle. The taipan turned and struck, sinking its fangs into the wood. I shot forward and, without pausing to think, or I'd never have been able to do it, grabbed it with both hands round its neck. The taipan released its hold on the handle and struggled to be free, but I had it tight. Matt dropped the axe and reached for the carry-box. He knocked off the lid, grabbed the taipan's tail and pushed the lower part of the snake into the box. I shoved the head in, holding it in place, and Matt got the lid ready to drop down. The snake stopped moving.Matt and I stared at each other.'Where the hell are the gloves?' he demanded.The gloves he'd offered me earlier had been huge on my hands. They might have offered some protection but they'd have completely removed any dexterity.'This is the tricky bit,' I said. 'Once I let go, he'll probably strike.And he'll move faster than me.''And again, I ask, where the bloody hell are the gloves?'Beneath my hands the snake's body was trembling. 'They were too big,' I said. 'I wouldn't have been able to do anything with them on.''Great.''Guess I have a taipan by the tail,' I said.He glared at me. 'It's not remotely funny.''Give me that T-shirt,' I said, thinking, Humour, since when do I do humour? Matt looked round and found the crumpled piece of soft cotton I was indicating. He held it out and I risked taking one hand off the snake. I could just about still hold it but probably not for long. I took the T-shirt, scrunched it into a ball and pushed it down on the taipan's head to pin it to the bottom of the cage.I looked up at Matt. There was no need to speak. He knew exactly what I was about to do, what he had to do. Faster than I'd ever moved in my life before, I pulled away my left hand. Matt dropped the lid on the box and I locked it. The taipan was safe, with a Spiderman T-shirt for company.Moving as one, Matt and I sank to the floor and sat looking at each other over the lid of the box. Neither of us, it seemed, had the energy to move.'What now?' he said at last.'We look for the others,' I replied.He closed his eyes and sank back, full length, on the bedroom carpet. And I did something I'd never have dreamed I'd do in such a situation. I laughed.There were no more taipans in the Poulsons' house. Five minutes after we captured the snake, four police officers arrived, all of whom seemed to know Matt Hoare very well, and then we resumed our search. We found a few more grass snakes and one adder - dead. A young constable found it in the grandfather's bedroom and called me in. I'd already given strict instructions that nobody but me was to touch any snakes, and the police had been happy to agree.The adder was at the foot of a single bed. Its head had been crushed. It was the only snake we found that night that had been harmed in any way.'One of the family must have done this,' I said, knowing a dead snake could hardly have found its own way into the house. 'This could have been what bit the father.''This is old Dr Amblin's room, though,' said the young policeman, who was no longer looking at the snake but at the side of my face. I turned away and, without speaking again, we searched the rest of the bedroom.Definitely a room belonging to an elderly man. Plain, dark furnishings, clothes brushes and combs on the dresser, shaving equipment in the tiny en-suite bathroom. On the pillow was a mark that looked like a bloodstain. And something formed a small bump under the covers. Bristling under the constable's stare, I moved forward. Close enough to touch, I paused for a second. Was the lump moving? I didn't think so, but...'Let me take the other side,' said the policeman, moving round. At the same time, with a small amount of hesitation on both sides, we took hold of the sheet.'One, two, three,' the constable counted, and we whisked the sheet back. The young policeman laughed. I didn't.'He's a bit long in the tooth for soft toys, wouldn't you say?' he said.'Probably the little boy's,' I said, looking down at the small stuffed monkey we'd uncovered.'I think we're done in here,' said the PC. I followed him out, thinking, Why, of all the soft toys I'd seen in the house, would it be a small, brown stuffed monkey hidden in the grandfather's bed? A snake and a monkey. Now, why was that bothering me?