During the night Honda woke. He paced around the hogan in a nervous manner, grumbling deep in his chest.
***
There was a bright moon, but all the people were asleep. It wasn’t very late but busy young people drop off to sleep easily. Their lantern had been turned off and it was pretty dark.
The dog, however, was uneasy. He knew deep in his heart that there was a threat building. He objected, which was his duty. But, as an innocent young creature he didn’t understand the nature of that threat. Honda waited on guard with his people who slept on. He did not sleep.
***
The walker was tired. He had been walking a night, a day and part of a night. He had a score to settle with a man who had been his friend. Old history, but the walker did not forget, had never forgotten. He had waited long for this time to come. At last, he was free and he was prepared and he knew the way very well. He fell to his knees outside the little blue house. Hate filled his heart. He had almost forgotten the offense that was his motivation. Hate had become his whole heart and only it moved him. As he knelt, he fell forward onto his face. His eyes clouded and grew darkened. He forgot the form of man. He lost his arms and hands. His legs became one long form. Serpent-like he lay panting with the pain of transformation. He rested until he could move again. Sight returned. He learned to glide then with his serpent head held high with inquiry. He had been promised this. He had paid a heavy price for this.
He remembered John Chee, who had been his friend. Now he must find him. First, he slid silently toward the old wooden hogan. The moon shone on his scales in little bright spots of brilliant white light that undulated with his motion. The hogan looked strange to him. Things had changed somehow. Two human breathers lay within. One dog stood stiff-legged and awake, listening. Jonas, for that had been his name, lay still, confused, for a moment. He made a circuit around the old hogan, listening from every direction. He didn’t sense old John Chee there at all.
Inside the little blue house, the old lady’s eyes opened. “He’s here,” she thought. “Okay…”
Jonas thought maybe John was in the trailer house. He glided to the other building, sniffing, and listening, tongue flicking. He smelled old John here. Yes. The scent was old but true. Moving to the bedroom side, his tongue touched the window, there was heat and breath within. The window was closed. Changing his mind, he moved around to the front and the door, which was never locked. He nearly fainted from the power of the moment. Surely, here John was sleeping. A song of loathing filled his mind. Silently he told the words of blood and death to himself. He recited the old imprecations.
He touched the door. The moon was as bright as a moon could be. You could read the words in a book by it if you had tried to. A stray wind paused and gathered on its own way again. If you had listened maybe you would have perceived objection in the air, an absolute negation.
***
In the morning, when the sun returned, the man and woman and dog in the hogan woke and stretched their strong young limbs. The dog was breathing quietly on his folded blanket bed, his bright eyes open. The woman sat up, looked around and smiled. A prayer formed in her mind silently. She placed both hands on her belly and smiled. She rolled over and kissed the black-haired man on his tan cheek. He smiled at her and held her in his arms for a moment. The growing pup stood and tail waving, came over to stick his nose into the happy pose.
***
Honda was the first out of the hogan. He ran around in goofy big circles, looping all around the chicken yard barking and running around the garden plot, but not in it. He woke the hens who needed to be let out of their little house. Then they needed to be fed and watered. Livestock taken care of, Jessie and Beth turned to go into the house and start the day. Their eyes fell on a mess. First, they saw blood. Blood was before the door in big splotches on the ground and on the little porch. The idea of grabbing the hose and cleaning up passed through Jessie’s mind as he stood there gazing.
“Jessie! Look, there is a trail around the house, like something got dragged around out there,” yelled Beth.
“Yeah…I see,” said Jessie.
They followed the drag marks around the back of the mobile, with some apprehension. There were broken weeds and lots of scuff marks all around. Signs of violence continued around and out into the bush behind the house.
So, Beth and Jessie followed the trail out into the dry brushy land not knowing what to expect. What they found was not pretty. It appeared to be an enormous black snake, dead and disgusting and torn apart. It was at least ten feet long. Honda had followed them, but he hung back silently. Sober now, he seemed to be frightened of the thing. Something in the scent and the sight was offensive to him. A sense of evil hung about the carcass. Its eyes were open, glittering dully. Its mouth hung open and the fangs were smeared with blood.
Beth said suddenly, “Jessie I’m worried about your aunt! Let’s go in now!”
Aunt Julia was not sitting in her chair in the living room. Nor was she in the kitchen working on breakfast. It was late for her to still be in bed, but that’s where they found her lying on her back with her hands folded over her chest. Billy was snugged in beside her in his usual place.
A bolt of fear ran through both of their minds, but then she opened her eyes and smiled. “I’m just a little tired this morning for some reason my dears,” she said. “I guess I’ll have to leave breakfast to you!”
“Well, that’s fine of course,” said Beth. “No problem at all! But are you alright? How do you feel?”
“To tell the truth,” said Julia, “I fell in the shower and hit my head. I have a lump, but it’s not serious. My knees got a pretty good whack too. So, Billy and I decided to just sleep extra for a while. Don’t worry!”
“I’m going to go out and start coffee,” said Jessie. “Beth, why don’t you stay and check her out. If she needs to go in to the hospital, we can leave anytime. Whatever you girls decide.” He headed out to the kitchen.
Beth sat on the side of the bed, looking at Julia’s face to assess her condition. She stroked Billy as she looked, and thought about this strange morning. She lightly felt the lump on Julia’s head and looked at her knees, which were scuffed and slightly bloodied. It seemed like a lot of injury for just a fall in the shower to Beth. She wasn’t sure what to think. She thought briefly about telling Julia about what they had discovered outside but decided to wait until later when they were sure of how Aunt Julia was doing.
“Beth, sweetie, I’m OK,” said Julia. “I really don’t want to move. I just want to rest here. I’ve been bruised up before and I’ve always recovered just fine on my own.”
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