It hadn't taken long for Ezra's questions concerning Hog Jaw be answered, the first of which had been his uncle. Ezra couldn't remember exactly what he'd been expecting, but he knew it hadn't been the man that had stalked into the cabin the night of his arrival. Ezra remembered he'd been stunned almost into silence just by the sight of the man. Asa McClellan stood well over six foot and he was as least a solid two-hundred-and-fifty pounds if he was an ounce, and his eyes were about the darkest that Ezra had ever seen. Back then his hair had hung to his shoulders and a matching beard covered most of his face - Ezra suspected that hadn't changed – and they had been almost as dark as his eyes.

At first Ezra had felt no small amount of trepidation related to Asa's size. The man was so much bigger than the James men and Ezra's first look had immediately brought back memories of living with Howard Mercer. Ezra didn't think he could stand to be in a situation like that again. Fortunately, Ezra had soon enough learned that although Asa was an imposing figure physically, he was one of the gentlest men Ezra had ever met; as well as the most talented moonshiner.

The still was another thing Ezra was soon acquainted with. It hadn't taken Asa long at all to requisition a good part of Ezra's free time to help with the still. It was certainly an activity that was new to Ezra, but he'd learned about it quickly and he rather enjoyed the time he spent working there. Being at the still was also the answer to another of Ezra's questions; how did five people live in a two room cabin? The answer was, they lived in very close quarters. As much as he liked the McClellans, Ezra was used to living on estates where it was very easy to avoid people if he wanted to. That wasn't possible in the cabin so the still gave him a chance to be alone, or at least be with just Asa.

Even the town of Hog Jaw hadn't been bad once he's had a chance to settle in. The store carried, or could get, everything that was needed and there was a school, although it was different from any school Ezra had ever attended before. Actually, Ezra had never attended school before. Until Hog Jaw, his education had been provided by private tutors so any public school seemed odd to him. The school did keep a farming schedule though, taking breaks for planting and harvesting at appropriate times of the year to accommodate the population of the community.

Ezra eventually became accustomed to not living close to a big town, not living in a large house, and not having servants to do everything. Not only did he become accustomed, but he learned to enjoy the simple way his aunt and uncle lived, and the way their close-knit family did things. But there was nothing that could have happened to prepare him for that day in late spring when he learned a very painful and long-lasting lesson about life in the woods.

"Ezra!" Ezra turned his head to see a clearly exasperated Azalea watching him with her hands on her hips. "Do you have to do that?"

Ezra ignored the look his cousin was giving him and continued to put his shoes on. "Yes," he responded simply. As the months had gone by he had gotten somewhat accustomed to not wearing shoes. He would finally be in the house without them on and sometimes he even ventured outside barefoot, as long as they didn't get too far from the cabin. He simply would not make the quarter-mile trek that they were about to take back to the still without his shoes though.

He, Azalea, and Ruby had all been up at the still with uncle Asa earlier, but when Mr. Copland had come by Asa had sent them off to play. The three of them had been only too happy to run off. They'd ended up by the creek and eventually had found their way into the creek. This wasn't a problem for the girls, being the end of May both of them had already abandoned wearing their shoes daily and had gone in and out of the creek without a thought. Ezra, however, still insisted on wearing his and had had to take the time to remove them. Now, he was taking the time to put them back on.

"Pa's waiting for us," Azalea informed him as though it would make a difference.

Ezra rolled his eyes. His uncle wasn't expecting them back that soon. He would bet that Asa and Mr. Copland were still talking, and even if, on the off chance, his uncle was ready to go home he wouldn't begrudge Ezra the time it took to put his shoes on. "It won't take a minute," he mumbled as he finished tying his shoe. He really thought Azalea wouldn't be happy until he could run around like she and Ruby did, but he just didn't see that happening. Ever.

As soon as Ezra's shoes were back on they started back towards the still, all three of them picking a slightly different path along the boulders that lined the creek bank. They were talking about nothing in particular when a bee flew past Ruby, eliciting a yelp from the girl. Azalea instinctively shrieked in response.

"What!?" Ezra demanded, freezing on top of the boulder he was standing on.

Both girls were already on the ground and exchanged a sheepish look before Ruby looked up at Ezra innocently. "It was a bee," the six-year-old admitted giving her cousin her most angelic smile. Ezra tried to scowl, but it was hard to do with Ruby staring at him like that.

"Come on," Azalea giggled. "Pa's waitin'."

Ezra jumped down from his perch. He stumbled some when he hit the ground, and one foot slipped out from under him. He caught himself on his hands, but his foot slid under the boulder just a bit. That's when he heard it. He'd never heard the sound first-hand before, but that didn't matter; he knew exactly what that ominous rattling was. Gasping he jerked his head around looking for exactly where the sound was coming from. He yanked his foot back, but the toe of his shoe kicked something semi-solid. That rattle sounded again and Ezra finally caught sight of the triangular-shaped head a split-second before he felt a slight tug on his pants leg.

"Zalea!" he cried his heart stuttering in his chest. He tried to jump up, away from the potentially deadly reptile, but the rocky ground and his panic made his steps unsure. Dirt and leaves were kicked up under the rock in his haste; again he heard the rattle, and again he saw the snake move to strike. This time it wasn't simply a tug. This time it felt like a sledgehammer had just been slammed into his leg. Ezra yelled again, this cry was a mixture of fear and pain rather than surprise.

The force of the hit knocked him off balance, taking away what footing he had found, and he was once more on the ground. He was facing the rattler now; he could see it underneath the large rock, watching him. He wanted to get away from the snake but was too afraid to try, afraid he would unintentionally provoke the rattler causing it to strike again. He thought he heard Azalea hollering his name but she sounded so far away. How had she gotten so far ahead? Before he'd seen the snake she'd been right there in front of him. Ezra slowly, very slowly, scooted back, his eyes never straying from the coiled-up snake, whose rattle was now quickly twitching as its beady eyes watched the human who had disturbed him.

Azalea finally made it over to him and with strength most wouldn't have thought the girl processed, pulled Ezra away from the snake, nearly yanking him to his feet. Holding onto Azalea, Ezra took a few stumbling steps backwards before collapsing on the ground. Everything from his knee down now felt like it was on fire, and he yelled again as he hit the ground.

"Ezra!" Azalea dropped down beside him. "Oh, Ezra don't die. Please don't die."

Ezra heard the words but couldn't quite sort them out. Now that he wasn't in danger of being bitten again he was starting to feel the wound on his leg. His heart was pounding, his leg was burning, and he was scared. Suddenly, Azalea was gone and Ezra's fear turned to terror. Why had she left him? "Zalea!" he cried before the pain in his leg tore a groan from his throat.

Azalea appeared again. "Ezra, I sent Ruby for Pa. It's gonna be okay." He groaned again and Azalea voice became a touch more panicked. "Ezra, please be okay." Tears started to fill her eyes. "Ezra, you have to be okay!"

Ezra wanted to answer her, he really did, but it just wasn't possible. His heart was pounding so hard it was frightening him, and the burning in his leg seemed to be growing in intensity. He tried to answer Azalea but the only thing that came out of his mouth was another yell.

"Hold on, Ezra, Pa's coming. He'll take care of everything." The only reply Ezra could make was to close his eyes and moan. It didn't matter that Asa was coming; Ezra knew he was going to die. Rattlesnakes were deadly, right? And there was no doctor in Hog Jaw. Would Asa even be able to do anything when he got here? Maybe he wouldn't die; maybe he would just lose his leg. Panic set in. Ezra didn't want to lose his leg. He groaned again, his eyes closing. The pain was getting worse.

"Hold on, Ezra. Help's comin'."

"Zalea! Ezra! I got Pa!" That was Ruby as she came running out of the trees.

Ezra opened his eyes when he heard that. Asa was right behind Ruby, running. Ezra had never seen his uncle run before. Asa came over to Ezra's left, the side with the bit. "Ezra, calm down, son. It's gonna be alright."

Ezra was trying to calm down, but he kept remembering the sight of the rattler jumping out at him, and his leg was still burning terribly. His couldn't stop his breath from coming in heaves as his uncle cut the outside seam of his pants, and when Asa pulled the fabric back Ezra couldn't help but cry out again.

"Oh, Ezra, please don't die," Azalea cried, her voice thick with tears.

Ezra's breath hitched at those words and Asa looked up sharply at his eldest daughter. "Azalea! We can do without that. If that's all the help you can be, you can run on home." Azalea set back some, her mouth tightly closed. Asa meet Ezra's eyes again. "Ezra, it's gonna be alright. Try to relax."

Ezra bit his lip and did his best to do as his uncle said. It kind of worked; his heart didn't seem to be pounding quite as hard and it was a little easier to breathe, that was until he saw his leg. When he caught sight of his calf, already horribly swollen and turning a sickening blueish black color his fear returned in full force. At the moment, his leg was one of the most frightening things he'd ever seen. Azalea was right, he was going to die. "A-A-Asa," he gasped as panic set in. Then he couldn't breathe at all; no matter how hard he tried he couldn't fill his lungs with enough air. Tears started to burn his eyes. He was going to die!

Asa saw his nephew's struggle and momentarily abandoned the snakebite. Moving in closer he gently took Ezra's face in his calloused hands. "Ezra, listen to me." His voice was firm but soothing. "I know it hurts and I know you're scared, but you have to calm down. Just breathe, son. In and out."

Ezra stared into his uncle's dark eyes and did his best to follow the simple instructions. In and out, slow and steady. Just breathe in and back out. Slowly, some of the tension left his body and his heartbeat finally slowed.

"That's it," Asa said as he felt Ezra relax. "Good boy." He looked back to his daughter. "Zalea, take your sister and run home. Tell your mama what happened then go fetch Mrs. Johnson. We'll need her when we get home. I'm gonna do what I can before I bring Ezra back."

Azalea nodded her understanding. "Yes, sir. Come on, Ruby." Azalea grabbed her sister's hand and the two of them began to literally run home.

Ezra had closed his eyes and was still repeating his uncle's simple "in and out" instructions silently to himself when Asa spoke to him again. "Ezra?" Ezra opened his eyes. "You're doin' real good, Ez, just keep breathin'." Ezra nodded. Asa smiled. "Alright, I need to try and get the venom out of the bite. I gonna make a cut over the bite and suck it out."

Ezra bit his lip, he didn't like the way that sounded. "Do you have to?" he whimpered.

"Yeah, I do. But I'll be as easy as I can. I want you to lean back and try to relax. And keep breathin', alright?"

Ezra did what he was told, squeezing his eyes shut as he did. No one had to tell him what his uncle was about to do was going to hurt. His leg hurt plenty from just the snakebite and now Asa was going to cut him too. Ezra bit his lip and concentrated on his breathing but when he felt the razor sharp edge of his uncle's buck knife quickly slice across the bite he couldn't contain another yell.

"Relax," Asa muttered just before he began trying to clear Ezra's blood from the snake's poison.

Ezra's was trying to be tough for his uncle, but he couldn't help the whimpers and tears that came when Asa started sucking out the venom. It hurt at first; the inflamed skin around the bite was tender and the burning was as intense as ever, but slowly the pain became easier to bear. Ezra didn't know if that was because his uncle was clearing his blood of the deadly poison or because he was simply becoming accustomed to the action, but eventually he dared to open his eyes. There was something both fascinating and stomach-turning about watching Asa suck the venom from the wound and spit it on the ground.

Asa finally spit one final time. "Not tastin' anything but blood now." He gently set Ezra leg back on the ground. "That's as clean as I can get it."

"Is that good enough?" Ezra asked uncertainly blinking away what remained of his tears.

"It will be. We need to get you home now. Mrs. Johnson will be able to help more." Without another word Asa lifted Ezra off the ground.

"I can walk," Ezra protested weakly, although he really wasn't sure he could.

"No you can't. You need to be as calm as you can."

It didn't take much to convince Ezra. The fire in his leg had lessened but it was still burning and he was starting to feel hot and achy all over. He leaned his head over on his uncle's shoulder, he didn't even really care what Azalea would say about him being carried home. There was one thing he was slightly concerned about, however. "Asa?" he muttered feeling so tried.

"What?"

"Would you mind not telling Azalea I cried?"

Asa gave him a small smile. "Why do you think I sent her and Ruby home? What happened out here is between you and me. But you did real good, Ez. I'm proud of you."

That should have made him happy, Ezra knew it should, but for some reason he just couldn't think of what he needed to say in reply. He had been hot before, but now he felt chilled, although he was still aching. He tried to burrow deeper against his uncle hoping to get some warmth from his body. "Why's it cold?" he asked, his eyes suddenly too heavy to keep open.

"Relax, Ez," Asa told him. "You're gonna be fine."

Ezra shifted, looking for a more comfortable position, but the movement only made him more aware of his leg. He groaned softly. "Hurts," he told Asa, the single word being about all he could do for now.

"Shhh, we'll be home soon." That was the last thing Ezra heard before he let the darkness that was creeping ever closer take him.

A/N: Just a little note on rattlesnakes :) The snake Ezra was bitten by is an Eastern Diamondback. Rattlesnakes are not typically aggressive and usually will not bite unless provoked, like being kicked or stepped on. Of course most provocation is unintentional but the snake doesn't understand the difference. Also, the treatment I'm writing about is what was done historically, not what is done today. If you should ever get bitten by a viper, don't try to suck out the venom. Thanks for reading!