"You don't love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear." ~ Author Unknown
A Song Only You Can Hear
Chapter Two
Waiting for the Night
Jennifer trembled in Rodney's arms. He'd never seen her so frightened. Her fair skin had gone almost bone white. He drew a hand down her hair and held her tight to provide comfort.
"Oh, I hate snakes!" She declared vehemently.
"Considering its size, me too." He'd once read an article about the remains of an enormous snake discovered in an open coal mine in Columbia, South America. Its length was 43 feet and it weighed in at an estimated 2,500 pounds. The one they'd just seen was easily double the size of its fossilized Earth cousin.
His mind had just started to recap what he knew about snakes when the creature's tail slithered passed the open hatch. As it did so, it flicked the side of the Jumper flipping it over onto its side and bouncing the couple around. Fortunately, they had been leaning against the side that now served as the floor and weren't badly injured. Unfortunately, the pilot's seat was now on the ceiling. "If we can get it to do that one more time then we'll be right side up and can get out of here."
"So it does work."
"Mmm. Yeah. At least all of the systems check out." They climbed to their feet. "Are you okay?"
"Yes. I'm just-I've kind of had this, uh, fear of snakes ever since I was a kid."
He took her by the hand. "I'm sorry our romantic getaway is more about how to get away from a giant reptile than getting away from work."
To his surprise, she laughed. "But at least we're spending some quality time together." He laughed too and was glad to see her color was better.
They walked cautiously to the open hatch and looked out. She pressed herself against his back looking over his shoulder. The creature was nowhere to be seen. "Let's get some supplies together and go hide in the caves. If that's where it sleeps at night we should be okay until the temperature starts to drop. While it's warm it will be out in the sun."
"So when it gets cold we get to sleep outside and it gets to sleep in the cave? I don't think that's very fair."
"It was here first and it can swallow both of us without even blinking. That trumps 'fair' any day of the week."
"True. Let's get out of here before it comes back and decides the Jumper is edible."
Rodney rummaged around in some locked storage boxes and came up with several weapons: two nine mils, a stunner and wonder of wonders, four blocks of C4. He had no idea if any of it would be effective against the snake but it was better than nothing. One of the nine mils he gave to Jennifer. She checked the chamber, flicked on the safety, stuck it in the back waistband of her slacks and covered it with her jacket. She also pocketed two of the four spare cartridges and shouldered the emergency medkit. Rodney did the same with his own nine mil then put the stunner into the backpack along with the C4 and put it on.
She handed him the life signs detector so he could keep track of the snake's whereabouts. Then he got out the data pad and brought up a map of the area. They made a quick check of their supplies and headed for the caves.
*****
"You can put me down now." Jennifer told Rodney when they finally reached the cave. She'd sprained her ankle when her feet had gotten tangled in vines creeping through the undergrowth in the forested area that edged up to the cave opening.
He did as requested and held onto her arms as she lowered herself onto a boulder just inside the cave mouth. He swung the medkit from his shoulder and placed it beside her so she could reach it then shucked the backpack. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Hand me a bottle of water." She used it to swallow a couple of Tylenol. "Will you hold my leg while I wrap the ankle?"
"How about I do that?" He sat down next her and held her leg across his knees. "Just let me know if it's too loose or too tight." His eyes on his task, he cleared his throat then said, "So, in addition to being afraid of snakes you're also afraid of squirrels? Or rather squirrel-like creatures?"
"Noo-oo." She rolled her eyes. "It just…startled me when it ran over my foot."
He laughed openly now. "Startled? You screamed like a littlegirl."
She crossed her arms, trying not to laugh herself. "You should talk after what happened when you ran into that spider web."
"Well, excu-uuse me! But the last time someone ran into a huge web Sheppard ended up with an Iratus bug attached to his neck. I didn't want that to happen to me…or you, of course."
"Of course."
He finished wrapping her ankle then slipped her sock back on. She turned herself around until her back was against the wall and her leg was elevated. This part of the cave was approximately the size of the Jumper though it would have been a tight squeeze. It was dank smelling and damp. Just your typical everyday cave…well, except for the super-sized snake lurking about.
Rodney excused himself and stepped outside. He was gone so long she was about to call out when he finally returned. In one hand he held a long branch stripped of its leaves and smaller branches. It was approximately fifteen centimeters in circumference and just under two meters in length. He was also looking very self-satisfied. "What's that?"
"This is a walking stick. As romantic as it sounds, carrying you through the forest is not feasible for safety reasons. We have to be able to defend ourselves if we encounter Henry."
"Henry?"
"Yeah, well we can't keep calling the snake it, can we?"
"I guess not. Henry it is." She levered herself to her feet using the walking stick for balance as she reached for the backpack containing their food supplies.
"What are you doing?"
"It's my turn to make dinner, such as it is."
He moved the pack out of her reach. "No, that's my job. At least until you can walk." She didn't answer and he turned to see her staring at him in awe. "What?"
"Nothing. Have I told you lately that I love you?" His shy embarrassed smile was back. Oh, I love that smile!
"Yes. But don't let that stop you from saying it."
She hopped over and kissed him.
*****
"When do you think we should head back to the Jumper?" Jennifer asked after they'd finished eating MREs. She peered out at the lengthening shadows and could already feel the temperature falling.
"We're not. This cave, or at least this part of it, isn't nearly big enough for Henry to fit into it."
"That's a relief. My ankle is throbbing and I'm too tired to hop all the way back."
Rodney stood and flicked on one of the high-powered flashlights they'd brought with them. "I think I'll go explore a bit."
"Okay. Don't be gone long and don't get lost."
"I won't. Try to rest. I'll be back soon." He disappeared around a bend at the back of the cave. She watched until the light faded then removed her jacket to use as a pillow and stretched out on the ground. A few minutes later she fell into a light sleep.
*****
Jennifer shot to a sitting position confused about where she was for a moment and wondering what had awakened her. A hissing and slithering sound came from outside. Her breath started coming in gasps when she saw Henry slither past the opening, but she needn't have worried. He kept going without even so much as a glance in her direction.
Rodney returned at that moment. "Hey."
"Hey. Henry just went by on his way home for the night. Are you sure it'll be okay to stay here?"
"We'll be fine. And I've got bad news, good news, worse news and not-so-bad news."
"Okay. Let's hear it in order."
"The snake's name will need to be changed." He let himself down next to her.
"To what?"
"Henrietta."
Jennifer's eyes widened. "No!"
"Yes. I found a nest filled with eggs the size of the backpack. The good news is that they don't look like they will be hatching soon."
She sighed. "What's the worse news?"
"Well, finding the nest means that Henrietta's mate is out there somewhere."
"Do I even want to know what the not-so-bad news is?"
"Probably not. I'm going to leave you here while I go back to the Jumper and see if I can get it right side up again. I'll leave the stunner with you and take the C4 just in case."
He got her settled comfortably in a corner away from the cave opening with the stunner, the nine mil and her headset then headed out.
*****
Though he'd tried to appear calm for Jennifer's sake but the truth was he was scared. He knew the snakes would be somewhere that would provide warmth for the night but what if these weren't like the snakes back on Earth? Not to mention there could be all sorts of other creatures out there in the dark.
Despite his fears, he arrived at the Jumper without incident.
He stood on storage containers to reach the controls but it refused to start. One or more of the control crystals must have been damaged. He preferred to work during the day even though there was a greater chance of running into Henrietta and her mate. And he would need some assistance from Jennifer….well, not really but he didn't want to leave her alone for much longer and refused to leave her in the cave while he worked. And if she was here they could leave immediately when repairs to the Jumper were completed.
Rooting through the storage compartments that were now on the ceiling brought gold: blankets! They wouldn't freeze tonight. More searching failed to turn up anything else they might be able to use so Rodney stuffed the blankets into another backpack then stepped out into the night.
He decided to take a quick turn past the destroyed campsite to see if they'd missed anything that could be salvaged. There were scraps of the sleeping bags spread all over. He gathered up some of the larger pieces just in case. One of the folding chairs was salvageable as well. He tucked it under one arm and headed out.
*****
"Jennifer? Jennifer?" Rodney kept his left arm close to his body and as still as possible. Even so, the pain was incredible. He used one foot to gently nudge her awake so he wouldn't have to bend over.
"Rodney, you're back." She yawned and stretched.
"Yeah. And I kind of need your help."
That brought her wide awake and she finally looked up at him. His right knee had an abrasion and his clothing was dirt-streaked. There were scratches all over his face and arms, at least on the parts that showed beneath the tears in the sleeves of his jacket. He also had the beginnings of a black eye. Her gaze finally settled on his left arm which was hanging at an odd angle. "Rodney! What happened? How did you dislocate your shoulder?"
"It's a short and embarrassing story that I will tell you tomorrow while we fix the Jumper."
"No, it isn't…"
"Yes, it wouldn't power up and I didn't want to leave you alone too long. Now it looks like I'll need your help to fix it."
Jennifer nodded. "Sit down." She stood and rested the knee of her injured leg on the rock next to Rodney's hip for balance. "I need to manually relocate your shoulder. It's going to hurt but try not to move." She manipulated Rodney's arm in a specific set of motions and a few moments later he gave a short scream of pain. Using one of the larger scraps of cloth he'd collected from the campsite she put his arm in a sling then passed him two of the Tylenol from her medkit.
After she tended to his other injuries they carefully lowered themselves to the ground. She rummaged in the backpack and came up with one of the chocolate bars. "I think we deserve a treat after the day we've had." Unwrapping the sweet indulgence, she broke off two equal size pieces then folded the wrapper back around the remainder and put it away. "Open." She slipped a piece into his mouth then the rest into her own. He put his good arm around her shoulders while she covered them with one of the blankets. Both were exhausted and were asleep within minutes.
*****
"Just five more minutes please, dad? I was up all night studying for a mid-term." Jennifer mumbled against Rodney's shoulder when he shook her.
"Jennifer!" He whispered back urgently. "Wake up but don't move!"
"Rodney? What's going on?"
"Sh-sh! Don't move!"
She opened her eyes and drew in a deep breath to scream but the hand around her shoulder slid up to cover her mouth preventing it from escaping. In front of them was a very large snake. It was olive green with black blotches the length of the body, at least the parts they could see. The head was narrow compared to the rest of the body with orange-yellow stripes on either side and was roughly half the size of Henrietta. Still, it took up nearly all the room in the cave they'd taken refuge in.
The good news? It was asleep.
The bad news? It was between them and the exit.
TBC