Python

From its resting place in the parched skeletal roots of a dead tree, the rock python slowly emerged, its leviathan head – easily the size of a calf’s – raised in anticipation, investigating immediate surroundings for any ground vibration or smell that meant prey was nearby.

This mutant female had grown to a massive size. Her plain brown scales were made more attractive by straw-coloured mottling that decorated her eight-metre long body. Starting at the tip of her nose were two pale stripes that filtered out on either side of her huge head, like an inverted triangle. Her colouring afforded her almost complete anonymity in her habitat and her home, the Okavango Delta.

She began to shift her bulk, muscles flexing in their horizontal bands to move her body forwards, gaining purchase from plant roots and ridges in the swampy terrain. Two days ago she had suffocated and swallowed a large buck; now she wanted to move from her temporary resting place and find somewhere suitable for a long sleep. Other pythons might be content sleeping near the river or hiding in the swamp, but not this female.

At first her progress was slow and hesitant, for she was constantly on the alert for movement. She raised her monstrous head numerous times, using the heat sensors on her upper lip to test the air for any warm-blooded creature; an extra snack. She weaved through the swamp’s vegetation until she unexpectedly came across a stationary structure. She moved determinedly towards it, exhausted from dragging the extra weight of her swollen belly as it digested the buck. She craved rest and shade.

The structure she had chanced upon was a disused wooden cabin that had once served as a hideout for hunters lying in wait for potential trophies. Now that conservation orders had been enforced, hunters preferred to pay owners of private game reserves as fines were heavy and imprisonment a threat if they were caught hauling back some unfortunate animal. Therefore, the cabin was deserted, except for empty drinks cans and bottles strewn across the floor. The wooden door had rotted and was hanging from its frame, leaving a gap large enough for the python to pass through. Inside it was dark and stuffy but this did not bother her. For now, it was perfect.

She weaved between the bottles and cans, accepting their inertia, and occasionally paused, flicking her tongue. After she was satisfied that she was alone, she glided forwards and instinctively found the refuge she was seeking.

Massive as she was, she began to climb, using the vertical wooden supports to pull her body towards the rafters that spread like a grid across the roof of the cabin. It was a laborious climb, but luckily for her, between the roof and the walls was a wide shelf that had served to store the carcasses of game.

She chose the darkest corner and immediately began to coil her muscular body until she resembled a mound of truck tyres.

She dropped her head and slept.

***

Dan sensed that he and Terri were going to have another argument, about the tenth that day. Lucky, their by now unlucky guide, had warned Dan many times that their excursion into the uncivilised Okavango swamps this late in the afternoon was ‘not wise, boss’, but the boss refused to listen, while madam was in a belligerent mood, which meant she knew best. Lucky knew another woman like that. Her name was Zandi and she worked at the safari lodge as a waitress. She had him on a promise – if he got back by six she might be receptive to his advances.

Of course, Dan was fully aware of the time and that the sun was about to disappear, but his previous arguments with Terri meant that they were hardly speaking to each other and any attempts at communication were sparse, rather like the game they had been promised they would see.

Dan watched his wife struggling to walk through some stubborn flora, wondering how he had missed her transformation from playful kitten to feral cat over the years they had been married. He guessed he had been too busy with the business. He was peed off too. At her instigation they had come here for adventure and togetherness and with any luck to have sex, if he could remember what that was. Terri had told him for the umpteenth time that they needed to spice up their marriage. ‘We need to start doing other things …’ which, in her mind, meant flying halfway across the world to the Okavango Delta, costing a bloody fortune, just to get laid. And that wasn’t a given either.

“Ah, shit!” A sharp pain stabbed his ankle and he dropped to the ground. “For crying out loud!”

“Dan, what now?”

“I just tripped on a rock and hurt my ankle. I think it’s broken”. He looked up at her face and then wished he hadn’t.

“Okay, boss?” Lucky’s brown eyes filled with alarm.

Dan prodded around his ankle and found that it was beginning to swell. He silently cursed his bad luck but gingerly stood and put some weight on it. It was agony.

He held his arms out. “Well, one thing’s for certain, I’m not going to make it back to the lodge any time today.” He tried to lighten up the tense atmosphere. “Don’t suppose you’ve got any ice?”

Terri’s lips were pursed and her eyes narrow. She looked ready to pounce. “You’ve just ruined everything all over again! And I’m really SICK OF IT!” As she yelled, a bird flew out of a tree. There was silence.

Dan was silent too, trying to balance and not knowing what to say. It wasn’t as if he’d done it on purpose.

“So!” Terri demanded, “What do you suggest we do?”

Get a divorce, he thought.

He chewed his lip tentatively, knowing that whatever he said would be wrong. “Well, at least I brought the groundsheet.” He wouldn’t mention that he was carrying it in case there was any chance of spreading it and Terri on the ground for some of this spicing up that she kept harping on about. “Don’t worry, I’ve slept in more dangerous places than this when I was in the Army.” No reaction. He continued, “Go with Lucky and I’ll join you tomorrow. I need to rest my ankle.”

Something hit his shoulder. “So you want me to go on my own with a strange man? Well, thank you very much!”

She slammed her hands on her wide hips and glared at him.

He glared back. Suddenly he’d had enough. He picked a direction and began to limp off. The pain in his ankle was excruciating but he didn’t care; right now he’d rather kiss a crocodile. He glanced over his shoulder and found that she was a few steps behind him, her eyes blazing with fury.

“Don’t you walk away from me! We said we were going to do everything together so I’m staying with you.”

“Just go back, Terri.”

“Yes, boss,” Lucky nodded. “We go now.” He was ignored.

“If you’d only use your brains, Dan, you’d surely see how stupid and dangerous it is to be out here on your own. Anyway, we shouldn’t have come this far in the first place.”

Dan spun round, his face the colour of beetroot. “Listen, you…” he took a deep breath “…I’ve been telling you that for the last two hours!”

Lucky put his head in his hands. He really didn’t want to stay here any longer. It was getting dark and he had heard dreadful stories about strange things coming out of the swamp at night and eating people, to say nothing of the wild animals. He looked at the sinking sun, noting how it was losing its colour of ripe maize. He pressed his hands together. “Boss, we must go. I will find a stick for you. Soon it will be dark and it is not good here.”

“In that case, I agree”, snapped Terri. “Let’s go, boss!”

Dan looked around. Lengthening shadows were starting to creep across the vast swamp. The place was developing a spooky feel and the shadows resembled scaly claws, reaching out to devour them.

He took a deep breath and put pressure on his ankle. It was sore. Although not fractured, he figured it was a nasty sprain and it would be foolhardy to walk back to the lodge. Also, because of Terri’s obsession in creating some kind of holistic ambience she had insisted that they didn’t bring their cell phones. What idiots they were.

He said, “Lucky, go. Come back in the morning. We’ll meet you here.” He looked around him. Where exactly was here?

“Okay, boss.” Lucky fled thankfully into the dusk, happy in one way, yet feeling bad, knowing that Moses would be furious with him when he turned up at the lodge without the paying guests.

Dan watched Lucky’s figure vanish from view, a wave of despondency flooding him. Why so many arguments? And now this.

He regarded his wife. “Okay, well let’s look round and see if we can find somewhere safe to sleep for the night. What about that way?”

They didn’t get far. Their journey was hampered by stiff reeds, long grasses and fynbos, a dense heathland plant that blanketed the ground and halted their progress.

Terri asked, “Are there hippos here do you think?”

“Yes.”

They picked their way across the swampy terrain, acutely aware of night creatures awakening; a snort here, a grunt there, and a growling noise from something close by that didn’t sound like anything they had ever heard before.

As darkness fell, Dan halted. “I can’t go on, Terri, I really can’t. And God only knows where we’re going. The last thing we need is to sink into the swamp.”

She touched his arm. “I know, and I can see you’re struggling. Look, give me the torch and I’ll walk ahead and see if I can find a tree or something we can sleep under. I won’t be long.”

Dan handed her the torch; at least he’d be able to see where she was from its light. As he gave it to her their hands touched. She looked at him and he saw trepidation in her face. Oddly, it endeared her to him. A fleeting memory: the evening he saw her lovely face sitting across the bar in ‘The Wayfarer’ pub. What he’d give to be there now with a pint in his hand.

She set off, leaving him to limp after her. The sound of something large making its way through the reeds was way too close for comfort and he stopped to let it pass. Now that reason prevailed and he could think straight, he realised they should have told Lucky to get help instantly and not leave it until tomorrow. At the very least they could have gone some of the way back to the lodge. All the needless arguing had made them both irrational.

Torchlight was coming towards him. “Terri?”

“You’ll never believe it! I’ve found a hut or something. It looks deserted but it should be okay for the night.” She lurched from the shadows. “Grab my arm.”

They struggled on at a snail’s pace, picking their way through the flora, testing each step unless they sank. It seemed to take forever. She’s mistaken, he thought, why would there be a hut out here?

Darkness was closing in like a shroud and with a sinking feeling, Dan realised that he hadn’t checked the torch’s batteries before they set out. To be fair, he hadn’t considered they would need it.

“There,” Terri whispered, as if she didn’t want anyone or anything to acknowledge their presence.

“Thank God!” He let go of her shoulder. “Well done.”

She looked at him. “Ta.”

***

From her deep slumber, the python slowly raised her head, agitated. She had picked up ground vibrations that alerted her to something large moving towards the cabin. Her species could survive for weeks or even months on a large meal, say an average-sized buck, but she was gigantic and her appetite substantial. She had travelled across huge expanses of the swamps and had once come across a farm where the livestock had fascinated her; but there had been too much activity for her to concentrate on a kill and she had retreated to seek other prey. Eventually, she would return to the farm where the calves were easy pickings.

Instantly she was awake.

She began to uncoil.

***

Dan and Terri approached the cabin warily, both of them exhausted, emotionally and physically. The evening was cooling rapidly and they pulled on fleece tops.

“What do you think?” Terri whispered.

Dan didn’t answer immediately. Instinct urged that something wasn’t quite right, yet he didn’t want to upset Terri. She had been brave enough to explore and find this place, and bearing in mind the state their marriage was in, if he came across as being dismissive it would probably finish it off. Also, what other options did they have? Neither of them could afford to be reckless right now; there was no point in either of them stomping off, or limping off in his case, into the swamp. They were both finished, it was dark, and the torch might pack up at any second.

He feigned an airy attitude, hoping Terri wouldn’t see through it. “It looks okay, but we’d better check, just in case.”

“Hmm. You go first.”

Dan shone the torch through the gap and around the part of the cabin that he could see, and also behind them, just in case they were being followed. The thought made him cringe. That’s it, he realised. It feels like a trap; it’s too quiet.

“It’s very quiet here, isn’t it?” said Terri.

In spite of everything, he smiled. “It is a bit.”

“Should we split up and look…?”

”…No, we stay together.” Till death us do part, he thought sombrely.

He looked at her as he knocked on the door. “See? No-one home.”

“Very funny.”

The python stretched out a full metre, head poised, her tongue flicking rapidly.

“Okay, here goes”. Grabbing the door for support, Dan stepped gingerly through the gap, wincing at the stab in his ankle. Once inside he paused, his heart knocking against his ribs. What on earth was the matter with him? He shone the torch around slowly, relieved to see only wooden walls, a couple of old canvas chairs and empty cans and bottles scattered over the dirt floor. He suddenly remembered the beer in his backpack and relaxed. Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all.

“Empty!” his wife suddenly cried, startling him. “Give me the torch, er, please. I’ll have a look round while you work out where we sleep.” She snatched the torch and left him to explore by the light of the moon.

The python glided forwards another metre, gauging the strength of the creatures in her place of rest. She was aroused, and hesitant. Most prey was easy for her to seize but these creatures were much larger than her standard kills. She flicked her tongue, tasting their unfamiliar smell; yet she remained calm, knowing that they were warm-blooded. Food.

It didn’t take Terri long to discover that the cabin was really no more than one room with a smaller one at the back, which stank. She entered cautiously and wrinkled her nose in disgust. The toilet, obviously. She assumed the white bits were used toilet paper. Revolting!

She walked back to Dan. “If I need to go to the toilet I’m going outside. That is filthy. Why are men so disgusting?”

Dan was feeling around the canvas chairs. “Can I have the torch? What makes you think it’s men?”

“Of course it is.”

He sighed. She was probably right but he was too tired to argue. “Listen, these chairs will have to do.”

Terri shone the torch on them and they both grimaced. The chairs were rotting and filthy; insects of all descriptions scuttled into the corners to get away from the light.

Dan limped over to his backpack and pulled out two beers. At least the cans had cooled in the evening air.

“Here.” He handed one to his wife who took it, popped the widget and gulped back half the can. “Oh, I needed that. Cheers.”

Dan hesitated as he raised the can to his mouth. “Yeah, cheers”.

They silently sipped their beers, neither of them wanting to sit on the chairs or the floor.

“Well, look on the positive side,” said Terri. “We’ve got a roof over our heads, we are safe, and it’s only for one night. As soon as it’s dawn we can start making our way back to the lodge,” thinking… if you’d looked where you were going in the first place we could have been back by now.

Dan nodded, wondering if in fact they would be able to find their way back. Anyway, that was for tomorrow.

He unclipped a strap at the bottom of his backpack and the groundsheet landed with a thud on the floor. “It’s just as well I decided to bring this with me; help me unroll it because I’m sure as hell not sitting on those chairs.”

A few minutes later, the groundsheet was laid out with their backpacks serving as makeshift pillows. They lay down side by side and did their best to get comfortable.

Dan held his ankle and groaned. It was throbbing painfully.

“Are you all right?” Terri asked quietly.

“Not really, but anyway it’s my fault; I should’ve looked where I was going.”

After a pause, Terri said, “I hope that when we get back tomorrow your ankle will be okay and we can stay. We do need the time, don’t we?”

Dan patted her hand. “We’ll stay. We said we would, and we will.

They dozed off, oblivious to the other lodger in the cabin.

***

The python began to glide soundlessly along the horizontal ledge until she reached a vertical support. She hesitated, constantly flicking her tongue, sizing up her intruders. One of them was smaller than she had at first perceived and her confidence grew.  She started to climb down the support but as her massive body descended, the wooden support cracked with her weight. She froze. The creatures stirred and light shone in her direction. She was fortunate; she melded into the wooden support and her unblinking eyes didn’t reflect the light. She waited until the creatures had settled again and all was dark.

She continued her descent. The latter half of her body was still uncoiling until finally she had stretched out to her full eight metres. Now she moved rapidly, eager to kill, although aware that she could only swallow one of the creatures. That meal alone meant that she could spend months without hunting for more food while she nurtured her nest of eggs.

She weaved across the cabin floor. The creatures vibrated evenly. Rarely had a kill been so easy, yet she sensed they had strengths that other prey did not, and she was wary of their ability to create light. She would have to take them both together.

She struck, locking onto the larger one with her teeth as she expertly whipped her body around them and gripped them in her enormous coils. She squeezed tightly, emotionless at their terror and struggles to breathe. Their screams and the stench of fear told her victory was close. There was no escape. Her mouth was stretched wide, ready to swallow.

Dan and Terri were forced together, face-to-face, lips locked in an eternal embrace.

Just like the first night we met at ‘The Wayfarer’, thought Dan.

I should have gone back with Lucky, thought Terri.