by Anna Willett
Paige wanted to ask what he meant by won’t let it go, but held her tongue.
“When you came around from behind the car and the magpie swooped you.” He paused and looked over her shoulder to where the car was parked. “I got a …” He scratched his head and shrugged.
“You got a what?” Paige asked her voice dropping to a whisper.
“I don’t know.” He laughed, a dry nervous sound. “It’s nothing. I just got a fright when you almost fell.” Hal held her gaze. “I’m fussing, I know.”
“No.” Paige put her hand on Hal’s arm. “You’re not fussing. We’re miles from the medical centre in Mount Barker, the last thing we want is an emergency out here.” She looked around at the abandoned factory and the dense green bushland seeming to crowd closer with every passing minute. “I don’t know if I’m just too much of a city girl, but this place gives me the creeps. I say we go.” She released Hal’s arm and snatched up the picnic blanket.
Hal grabbed the Esky and followed his wife to the rear of the car. Loose gravel and bits of debris crunched under their shoes. The boot-space held their two suitcases, road snacks, and paper towels, supporting their plan to spend a few weeks exploring the South West before the baby arrived. A carefree “babymoon” seemed like the perfect way to transition from newlyweds to parents.
Paige watched Hal push the matching black cases aside and put the cooler into the back of the car. Their next stop, Mount Barker. The small town tourist spot allowed visitors to enjoy the fruits of the Great Southern wine region. Not that I’ll get the chance to sample the wine, she thought. Hopefully the side trip to the crazy cheese factory wouldn’t sour their last week on the road.
She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and tossed the picnic rug on top of the Esky. “I don’t like the look of those clouds.” Paige nodded up at the sky to the previously blue expanse.
Hal followed her gaze and nodded. “They get some heavy rainfall down here, even in spring. But we’ll be long gone before the downpour starts.” Hal slammed the hatch closed and gave Paige a playful pat on the butt. “Let’s go, Honey. I plan on getting us to Mount Barker by five, and placing a cold beer in my hand by six.”
“You mean my swollen feet in your hands,” Paige teased, pleased that Hal sounded upbeat.
Paige opened the passenger door and grabbed her denim jacket. The wind had kicked up and the temperature dipped. She slipped the jacket over her white cotton dress and slowly hoisted herself up onto the seat. She glanced across the driver’s side and noticed Hal standing outside. He was looking down, a frown creasing his brow. What now?
Paige opened her mouth to ask what he was doing, but his head ducked out of sight. An icy sensation touched the back of her neck. She slid back out of the car and walked around to the driver’s side. Hal crouched on the ground inspecting the tyre. Paige noticed a line of sweat gathering on the back of his neck.
“It’s flat.” Hal looked up and pointed to a gash in the tread.
For a moment their gazes locked. Something flickered in Hal’s green eyes. It was only there for a fraction of a second, but Paige knew she’d seen it. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear her husband looked scared.
The saliva in her mouth evaporated. She reminded herself that he’d been in far more dangerous situations during his time in the army. This was nothing more than a flat tyre. His anxiety probably stemmed from being stranded with a pregnant woman. Who wouldn’t be? Her doctor had assured her the long car trip was perfectly safe as long as she took rest breaks. The worse that could happen would probably be fatigue and dizziness. Even so, she understood his anxiety.
Paige put her hand on her belly and bit her lower lip. Hal stood and gave the tyre one last kick before trekking around to the back of the car. He unloaded the suitcases and the Esky, working quickly, trying to get the tyre changed before the rain fell.
“This won’t take long,” Hal said, and bounced the spare out of its mount on the tailgate.
Paige nodded and managed a weak smile. She glanced back at the empty building. Three large windows faced the carpark, the glass looked black behind the wire mesh covering them. The windows higher up in the centre point of the tower were boarded over. Paige wondered what they were trying to keep out, animals or people? She pulled her jacket closed across her chest and shivered.
Hal balanced on one knee, working silently he jacked up the front of the vehicle and unscrewed the lug nuts. When he had the flat safely off the axle, Paige moved a little closer. In spite of the chill creeping into the air, a dark line of sweat marred the back of his T-shirt.
“Nearly done,” he said and lifted the spare up to the bare rim.
“What do you think caused the flat?” The question nagged at her from the moment Hal showed her the gash in the tyre. The dilapidated carpark was covered in bits of gravel and twigs, but she couldn’t see anything that would’ve torn a hole that large.
“It could have been a broken bottle or – holy shit!” Hal jumped back from the tyre. His right leg drawn up in pain. As he pushed himself away from the car, his left foot hit the jack out of position and the vehicle dropped suddenly. The spare fell out of his grasp and spun sideways.
A crack, like a branch snapping rang out and then the car bounced. Hal’s head snapped back as he cried out. Paige shrieked and lunged forward hands outstretched.
“No!” He croaked and put up his hand to stop her approach.
She hesitated confused, then she saw the snake slither up near Hal’s shoulder. He lay flat on his back holding his right leg up to his chest. His other leg still under the car next to the rim.
“Don’t move,” Paige gasped, keeping her eyes fixed on the shiny brown snake bobbing and weaving its way around her husband.
Her heart beat so hard it felt like it might come out of her mouth. She looked around for something to use as a weapon and spotted the tyre iron on Hal’s far side. With the snake between her and the iron, Paige realised she’d have to make her way around the creature.
“I’m going to get the tyre iron,” she whispered.
“No. No, Paige,” Hal groaned. “Don’t.” He tried to move and his eyes widened; he gasped and lowered his head. The snake slithered closer to Hal, its slimy body undulating as its pale underbelly rasped over the bitumen.
“Shhh,” Paige whispered and stepped to the side so she could move around his head and give the snake a wide berth.
Blood flooded Hal’s face turning it from lightly tanned to almost purple. He was bathed in sweat and pain. Paige’s eyes moved between Hal and the snake. She wanted to speak to him, tell him everything was going to be okay, but with each fraction she moved, the snake’s head weaved between its hiding place next to Hal’s head and Paige’s feet. If she made a sound, it would strike.
She took another side step to the right. The snake lifted its blunt head, regarding her with blank, blackish-brown, reptilian eyes ringed with orange. Paige tried to swallow but couldn’t. Hal’s breath came heavy and raw.
“Don’t move your head, it’s right next to you,” Paige whispered when Hal attempted to watch her progress. He didn’t respond, but kept still.
Paige didn’t know a great deal about snakes, but she did know that Western Australia was home to some of the world’s most venomous. Snakes were one of the things that scared her when she and Hal made the move from Melbourne to Perth only six months ago. She remembered telling herself the fears were irrational. The chances of her ever coming face to face with a snake were slim to none. Right.
The thick-bodied creature coiled in front of her and darted its forked tongue out, tasting the air. Paige recalled reading that snakes were shy creatures, more scared of us than we were of them. It didn’t look scared, in fact it looked supremely confident. Although it could be anything from mildly venomous to deadly, Paige knew she had to get it away from Hal before it struck again. And then there was that voice in the back of her head asking, if it bites me, will it kill the baby?
Paige fe
lt beads of sweat run down the back of her neck. She resisted the urge to wipe them away and took another step. Now on Hal’s right side, she noticed him following her progress from the corner of his eyes.
“Don’t try and move it,” he managed through clenched teeth. “Just go get your phone and call for help.”
The sound of Hal’s voice alarmed the snake. It moved with lightning speed, its sickly olive coloured body flicking up dried leaves and sticks as it darted for Hal’s face. Paige stamped her foot and clapped her hands. The creature turned back towards her. She stooped and grabbed the tyre iron as the snake left Hal and lunged towards her, hissing. Its open mouth revealed small sharp fangs and the soft pink flesh within.
Paige screamed and tried to step back, but the creature lunged upwards as if about to take flight. An evil hissing filled her ears, blocking out all other sound. She crossed her left arm over her stomach hoping that the snake would bite the sleeve of her jacket and not her belly, but just as its head came within striking range, it jack-knifed backwards and landed on the ground with a thump.
It took Paige a split second to realise Hal had grabbed hold of the snake’s tail. The creature wreathed and twisted in his hand, its head turning towards her husband’s face, its jaws gaping at an impossibly wide angle. Using both hands, Paige swung the tyre iron over her shoulder and down, landing a shuddering blow on the creature’s head. The iron crushed the snake into the bitumen, the impact sent a shock wave up Paige’s right arm.
Lifting the tyre iron with shaking hands, she pounded the creature a second time. The first blow crushed the snake’s skull, the second almost separated its head from its long thick body.
“Are you okay?” Hal’s voice sounded distant.
Paige looked past the crushed snake and found her husband’s eyes. Unshed tears glistening on his lower lids. She nodded stiffly. He’d turned onto his right side, still gripping the snake’s tail.
Paige used the end of the tyre iron to flick the reptile’s lifeless body away from Hal. She stepped closer and sank to her knees, ignoring the roughness of the broken bitumen under her skin, she leaned down and put her head on his chest. She felt his hand grip the back of her head and hold her against him. For a moment the only sounds were Hal’s breathing and her sobs.
“Are you bitten?” She asked cupping his face with her hands.
“Yeah. It got me on the calf. But it’s my other leg.” Hal grimaced and tried to sit up. He got as far as his elbows on the ground and stopped moving. “When I hit the jack out, the rim hit it when the car bounced down. I think it’s broken.”
“Don’t try and move.” She putting her hand on his chest. “I’m going to call an ambulance.” Paige stripped off her jacket and tucked it under his head. “I’ll be right back, okay?” She waited for Hal to nod and then gave him a kiss on the mouth. His lips were icy.
Rising, she jogged around the car. The passenger door stood open, her handbag sat on the floor. She grabbed her phone. She’d only ever called an ambulance once before, the day her father died. He’d had a heart attack during the night. Paige remembered opening his bedroom door, it was after eight in the morning, but his blinds were still closed. The air in the room tasted hot and stale. At first she’d thought he was asleep. The sheets were all rumpled; they looked grey in the thin bars of light seeping through the blinds. She’d called to him, but he hadn’t responded. She’d put her hand out and touched the top of the dresser near the door. Something landed on it. Something black and thick, and she could feel its legs moving on her skin. She flicked her hand and the fly had buzzed up to her face.
Paige closed her eyes and forced away the memory. Hal isn’t going to die. His youth and strength reassured her this time she wouldn’t be too late. She tried to slide the bar across the screen to unlock her phone, but her hands shook badly, she could barely make her fingers work. When she finally got the phone open, a no signal warning flashed at the top left of the screen.
“No. No.” She shook her head and brought up the keypad, refusing to believe they were cut off.
She dialled triple zero and pressed the phone to her ear muttering a prayer. For a couple of seconds nothing happened, then a series of beeps. Paige squeezed her eyes closed and shook the phone. She looked around as if hoping to find herself on a busy street, instead of stranded in front of a crumbling factory in the middle of nowhere. Her eyes blurred with tears and her breathing came in rapid gasps. She struggled to breathe past the panic filling her throat.
She had to act. She took a long, deep breath and jogged back around the car. A black crow sat a few metres away trying to pick up the snake’s carcass in its long black beak. Another crow pecked at the snake’s head, snatching up bits of decimated meat off the bitumen. The birds paused in their work as she approached. The crow, picking at the head, let out a squawk and Hal’s eyes flew open. He looked pale and his teeth chattered.
“Oh God, Hal. You’re freezing.” Paige knelt next to him.
She put her hand on his face, his skin icy to the touch. His eyes fluttered and then closed, but the shivering continued. He’s going into shock, the realisation got her moving. She raced to the rear of the car, baby bump swaying, and grabbed the picnic rug; she then returned and draped it over her husband.
She knelt down and tucked the blanket around him. His left leg was bent slightly. Paige saw the snake bite just above his ankle. The area looked puffy, two red fang marks surrounded by purplish skin. His other leg remained under the car, his calf concealed by the vehicle.
“Hal?” She whispered. “Hal, I don’t have a signal on my phone. I … What should I do?” She hated the whiny sound of her voice. Hal needed her. He needed her to take charge for once and be the strong one.
Hal’s eyes opened. “Send a text, it will work with a lower signal.” He sounded groggy, like someone waking from a dream.
Paige let out a whimper of relief and fumbled with her phone. She typed a message and pressed send. The message bar moved slowly, crawling its way across the screen, then stopped. She stared at the phone and tucked her lower lip under her teeth.
“Hal, it’s not working. I’m going to have to go for help,” She said. “I … Will you be …”
Hal pulled his arm from under the rug and grabbed her hand. “I’ll be fine,” he said. “It’s just a broken leg.” He tried for a smile, but it looked more like a grimace....
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Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
BACKWOODS RIPPER
FREE sample chapter
