Christ.
She knew the results of a snake bite, knew what to do, but what would happen if she had to deal with the cobra itself? She hated to admit it, but unlike most of her veterinary colleagues, she’d always had a deep fear of snakes.
The impossibly green marshes stretched out to the mountains beyond, a natural boundary. In the distance, a group of thatched huts rose above the fields on wooden poles set deep in the rice paddies. A small group of people gathered near one of the huts, several of them wearing the bamboo bucket hats that the rice workers wore to keep off the sun. Probably members of Anurak’s family. She followed the boy through the water-logged rice paddies. Anurak lived on the outskirts of the fields and would have been working with them today, which is probably why the edges of his pants were still wet when he came to her.
She kicked off her sandals and continued wading down the paths between the paddies, keeping to the mud as much as possible and watching closely in front of her for the telltale squiggles that the big snakes made. Her heart beat hard in her chest, and the sun blurred her vision. Within a few moments, she saw that one of the people was a blonde man dressed in Western clothing.
Peter Hatcher? When did he come back, and what the hell is he doing in this rice paddy?
“Oh, thank God, Natalie!” He shouted to her, his hand over his eyes like a visor. “I hope you brought the anti-venom. It’s Anurak’s dad!”
She held up her bag. “I have it.” She waded into the calf-deep water toward Hatcher. Behind him, Anurak’s mother cradled her husband in her arms. As Natalie drew closer, she saw Anurak’s dad struggling for air, though Hatcher had tried to open an airway with a homemade tracheotomy. She jogged the last couple of steps, then bent to check on the man.
“I have no idea where that damn snake went,” Hatcher whispered to her. “Watch yourself.” He pulled open her bag and grabbed one of the vials of anti-venom, plunging the needle into Anurak’s dad’s arm. Immediately, he began breathing more easily.
“Get him out of here!” Hatcher told the men. Then he said something in Thai. Immediately, they hoisted their friend up and scurried toward dry land. Natalie and Peter started following, but the sound of heavy breathing stopped them in their tracks. A deep growl followed.
“Fuck . . .” Hatcher pointed to his right.
An impossibly long, angry cobra, its burnished tan and black body raised, its yellow and white hood wide, coiled only two feet away from Hatcher.
Natalie’s breath caught when the cobra struck. So quick. Hatcher cried out.
A struggle, some splashing, and he screamed again.
Natalie’s legs zippered through the watery rice paddy toward where he now leaned forward as though he were about to plow into the shallow puddles of water.
Was the cobra still holding on? She caught him by the arm, pulled with all her strength and heard another hiss nearby.
Whirling, she saw a flash, and heard Sophie’s roar, then her angry trumpet.
In the sunlight, Sophie sprinted down through the paddies toward her. How did she get out? A shadowy figure sat atop her shoulders. The sunlight blurred for a moment, then the person came into view. Long skinny legs, a glossy brown head of hair. Huge smile.
Danny! Natalie lost her grip on Hatcher’s arm. His groan pulled her from the unbelievable sight of her son on the back of her elephant and grounded her in the moment. She grabbed Hatcher’s arm again, instantly realizing she couldn’t move him.
“You’ve got to stand, Peter. Stand. Then, lean on me. We’ve got to get out of here!”
She frantically worked with him until she could get him to stand, his face white and his legs wobbly. To her left, Sophie, still trumpeting, wrestled with something Natalie couldn’t see. She shaded her eyes.
Danny. Where’s Danny? A trick of the light through the rushes alongside the rice paddy. A wish on Natalie’s part. A visit from beyond. Whatever Natalie saw was no longer there. She shook her head and concentrated on Peter.
He struggled to get to his feet, mumbling something about the anti-venom. Natalie checked his hands quickly, found the needle he’d been using on Anurak’s father, and quickly shoved it into Peter’s right arm, hoping beyond hope there was enough still left in the vial to stop the venom. At least to pause it. The cobra bite on his upper left arm looked way too close to his heart. She had to get him back to the clinic. She called for Sophie. She came immediately, her bulk casting a shadow around them.
“Nung long! Sophie, nung long!” Natalie yelled.
Immediately, Sophie lowered her head to the ground as Natalie had commanded. Together, Natalie and one of the rice workers pushed and pulled Peter’s body until he lay over Sophie’s lowered shoulders. They slid him down so he was cradled against her neck, then Natalie commanded her to stand up, and Sophie did.
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Loog khen! Sophie, loog khen!” the woman says, so Sophie rises.
A strange buzzing fills her ears. Her legs are unsteady, but she slowly lumbers down the road, the man’s inert body slumped over her neck. She holds her head erect. She needs to hold him in place, knows that he cannot hold on, so she moves carefully when she feels him slipping. They pass under the cashew trees. The only sound: the birds overhead. Slowly. Carefully. Finally, the white building is in sight. She lifts her legs a little higher, walks a little more quickly.
The woman yells something. Two men run inside.
Then the woman is by her side and orders Sophie to lower her head to the ground. All the elephant sees is the woman’s face. All she hears is the woman’s voice. She ignores the tightening in her chest as her legs stiffen, and she lowers her head, feeling the man slide over her forehead, past her eyes, landing in the curl of her trunk. She stays perfectly still until the woman and two male humans take the man off her, and she tries to stand. Sways. Finds it difficult to catch her breath. Forces her good leg straight.
Then she stumbles.
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Glancing up to scold the elephant, Natalie notices the bites. Multiple bites. All around the healing scar on Sophie’s leg. She’d been bitten by more than one snake. Bad enough the big cobra had still been agitated enough to attack, but Sophie must have disturbed the nest. Oh God, no. Baby cobras didn’t know how to temper their release of venom like the adults did. The chances of dying from multiple baby cobra bites could be much higher than dying from an adult’s single bite. And God knows how many of them had bitten the big elephant. “Jesus.” Natalie looked into Sophie’s eyes, silently begging her to wait for a few moments while she cared for Peter. “I’ll be right back, ol’ girl,” she said softly.
Turning to the volunteers now rushing around, Natalie shot quick orders. “I need more antidote, a clean bed, a bowl of hot water and fresh towels, and someone get some anti-venom for Sophie, too. Load it in a super large syringe, and as soon as I get Peter set, I’ll be right out to take care of her. Now, go!” The students stood around her in wide-eyed shock. “Go, for chrissakes! Go!”