Hitch cursed to himself while pushing past rain-soaked leaves, wondering what could possibly have prompted Carolyn to run off. A butterfly, probably. She likes butterflies. The woods that secluded the cabin he and the rest of the Rats' families were staying in weren't exactly in a flat area. There were cliffs and rocky outcrops and a lot of things that just screamed "dangerous" for a nearly six-year-old girl to be around. What scared Hitch was that he hadn't even noticed his daughter was missing until nearly a half-hour since he, or anyone else, last saw her. She could be anywhere by now.
"Well, this is a great start to the day, and our trip in general," Troy grumbled behind him. He had broken his leg just a few months before, and was finally down to using one crutch instead of two. Being out in the woods after a heavy rain the night before probably wasn't a good idea, but Troy wasn't one to care.
"Seconded," said Moffitt. "How did no one notice Carolyn leaving?"
"Yeah," Tully added. "All of us in that cabin and yet somehow no one saw her run off."
Dietrich's contribution to the conversation was a muffled grunt, as his mouth was full of coffee cake, a remnant of the breakfast he left behind at the cabin.
"Maybe we need to split up," Moffitt suggested. "Cover more ground. We'll find her."
"She can't have gotten far," Hitch said. "She can certainly run, but she's not fast."
"Did this have to happen this early in the morning?" Dietrich asked after finally swallowing the piece of cake in his mouth.
"Yes. Yes, it did," Tully replied.
"Hey, none of us have finished our coffee—" Troy cast a sideways glance at Moffitt, "or tea, so we're all still a bit groggy."
Moffitt suddenly stood straight and shivered. "Although rainwater from a leaf dripping down your shirt will certainly wake you up."
Anah laughed from her usual place around Moffitt's shoulders. "Nothing beats the time I put an ice cube down the back of your shirt, though."
"That was awful and you know it!"
Troy whispered loudly, "It was my idea!"
"And quite a good one, dear," Anah replied.
"Yes. You two are such wonderful, productive people when you're put together." Moffitt looked over his shoulder to glare at Troy. "You know, I thought you were supposed to start being a bit more responsible, now that you have a child."
"Hitch and Tully came out okay," Troy replied with a shrug.
"Bit busted up, but we're functional," Tully said, smirking.
Hitch turned to face them. "Could we focus, please?"
"Sorry."
The group was quiet, until Anah said, "I sense your daughter's aura up ahead, down the hill."
Hitch took off running. "She didn't fall, did she?" The ground was soft, and he nearly slipped a few times in mud. He came to a stop at the top of the hill. "Carolyn!"
"Down here, Daddy!" Carolyn shouted. "Look what I found!"
Hitch began climbing down the hill. "What'd you find, sweetie? You shouldn't have run off like that!"
"Look! A coral snake!"
Hitch's breath caught in his throat. Please tell me she didn't actually find a coral snake. "Don't you mean a kingsnake, Carolyn?"
"Nope! It's a coral snake!" Carolyn pointed to a snake curled up on a rock. It was indeed an eastern coral snake. Carolyn was a good distance away from it, but that didn't make Hitch any less nervous.
"Guys!" he shouted. "We have a bit of a problem here!"
"What is it?" Troy called back.
"Carolyn found a coral snake."
"Nobody's been bitten, right?"
"No." Hitch looked at Carolyn. "You know not to touch these, right?"
"Auntie Anah taught me," Carolyn said.
"Good. Only Auntie Anah and Uncle Moffitt can touch them. Okay, let's leave the coral snake alone, and go back to the house."
"Okay, Daddy." Carolyn started walking toward Hitch. As she did, the coral snake slithered off its rock, in her direction.
Hitch swore aloud. "Carolyn!" He pushed his daughter away, getting between her and the snake. The snake seemed to be in a panic as well, frantically trying to get to a burrow that Hitch was blocking. "Go on, shoo!" Hitch shouted.
His boot caught a mud puddle, and he found himself falling. As he tried to break his fall with his hands, one hand nearly caught the coral snake. A stinging sensation flooded him, and he saw the snake's fangs embedded in his left hand. "Damn it, get off! Moffitt! Anah!" In a panic, he grabbed the snake, yanking it from his hand and tossing it into the grass.
The lanky Englishman came sprinting down the hill. "What is it? What happened?" He froze upon seeing the blood running down Hitch's hand. "It got you?"
"Daddy!" Carolyn dashed over to her father. "Uncle Moffitt—"
"He's going to be alright. Go up the hill to the others," Moffitt said.
"But—"
"Go with the others, okay?"
Carolyn sounded like she was about to cry as she went up the hill.
"Anah, find the coral snake," Moffitt ordered. "Hitch? Are you alright?"
"I think so." Hitch gripped Moffitt with his uninjured hand.
Moffitt was starting to look uneasy. "I don't think you are."
"Why? I felt a sting, but I'm not really feeling anything else. Maybe it didn't give me any venom."
"I have a really bad feeling. Let's go."
Troy and Dietrich were next down the hill. "What the hell happened to your hand?" Troy asked.
"The coral snake bit him," Moffitt said. "We should get him to a hospital, now."
"Great."
"I found the snake!" Anah called.
Troy took Hitch while Moffitt jogged over to where Anah was coiled around the struggling coral snake.
"I cannot hold it like this forever," Anah said. "We will need a jar."
"Carolyn should have a jar she uses for butterflies," Hitch said.
Moffitt looked up the hill. "Dietrich! Is Carolyn with you?"
"She is crying on me, yes!" Dietrich called back.
"We need her butterfly jar!"
Eventually, a jar was tossed down to Moffitt, who caught it before saying, "Thank you!"
Anah was careful while maneuvering the coral snake into the jar. Moffitt quickly closed the lid. "Alright. I doubt it'll escape this."
"We should hurry," Anah said. "I sense Hitch has been envenomated."
"I had a feeling." Moffitt went back over to where Troy was starting to help Hitch get back up the hill.
"I feel fine," Hitch said. "Honest."
Troy gave him a look. "Are you seriously questioning the magical talking Egyptian cobra? If she says that damn coral snake gave you venom, then you were given venom. We're going to a hospital."
Dietrich's face paled. "I am afraid I have some bad news on that front."
"Oh?"
"The wives took the car for a trip into town just before we realized Carolyn was missing."
"So we call an ambulance!"
"No phones out here," Hitch said.
"You're kidding."
"No, Sarge."
Troy bit his tongue, then hissed out a curse. "What're we going to do, then?"
"This feels like a really familiar situation," Tully said.
"Yeah, except the coral snake bit Hitch instead of shot him, Dietrich's actually working with us, we have no jeeps, no machine guns, we're in the damn woods instead of the desert, and there's a little girl with us."
"When have unusual circumstances ever stopped you, Troy?" Dietrich asked, folding his arms over his chest.
"Uh, let me think…" Troy pretended to think. "Never."
"It's a pity we couldn't bring the horses," Moffitt said.
"There is another option," Anah said.
"Let's hear it." Troy adjusted his grip on Hitch.
"A potion. I can brew it, but we will need to find the other ingredients."
"Alright. What do we need?"
"Well, we have the snake responsible. We will need to extract some of its venom."
"What else?"
"Half a ginger root, raw pumpkin—"
"Anah, it's March. Where are we getting raw pumpkin in March?"
"You can substitute seeds or canned pumpkin. You will also need badger essence, and ten leaves from an ash tree."
"Wait, wait, wait, did you say 'badger essence?'"
"I did, dear."
Troy's expression grew more confused. "'Badger essence?'"
"In sorcery, badger pelts help with paralysis," Moffitt explained. "Essence is cauldron water after an ingredient has been boiled in it, like a stock."
"Number one, I am not hunting a badger or boiling its pelt. Number two, there are no badgers in North Carolina."
"Potion shops sell badger essence. It is quite common for anti-paralytic potions," Anah said.
"Can we skip it or substitute it? I'm not going to a witch village."
"No. Elapid venom is neurotoxic and within the next few hours, Hitch will start to lose various functions due to paralysis. One of those could be his heart or diaphragm."
Troy sighed. "Alright. Where the hell are we getting badger essence?"
"This is quite a remote area. Surely there are hidden witch villages in the woods. They may even have a snakebite potion we can already use."
"Okay. So, our grocery list includes badger essence, pumpkin, ginger root, and ash leaves. How do we want to tackle this?"
"I'll find a witch village to get the badger essence," Moffitt said. "Anah, you'll need to come with me, and I'll need a cloak to blend in."
"Do you need one of those pointy hats?" Troy asked.
Moffitt rolled his eyes. "No. All I'll need is the cloak. Troy, you and the others can get the other ingredients."
"Moffitt, you sure going into a witch village you know nothing about is a good idea? Those can be extremely dangerous," Tully said.
"That's why I'm bringing Anah." Moffitt handed the jar with the coral snake in it to Troy.
"Wait, why do I have to hold this?" Troy asked.
"Someone has to."
"Why not give it to Dietrich?"
Dietrich was holding Carolyn. "My hands are full, Troy."
"Give it to Tully!"
"I'll take Hitch instead," Tully replied, putting Hitch's arm around his shoulder.
"Fine." Troy sighed, then glared at the snake in the jar. "You're in big trouble, you know that?"
"Uh, Sarge? I don't think it can talk back," Tully said.
"I don't particularly care. It's still in trouble."
Even if the coral snake couldn't talk, it seemed to understand, and didn't like being stared at by the infuriated Troy. It tucked its head under its banded coils, and seemed to shiver in fear.
The group made their way back to the house. Dietrich and Tully began bandaging Hitch's wound in the bathroom, while Troy explained to the kids, left under Eleanor's supervision, what happened.
"I didn't think corals bit this hard," Tully said while wiping the blood from Hitch's hand.
"I yanked it off," Hitch said with a grimace.
"I am not sure that was a good idea." Dietrich gave him a concerned look. "Snake fangs can break off. Hopefully, you do not have one stuck in your wound."
"You panicked, though, so we don't blame you for doing that," Tully added. "I think we should consider you lucky that you weren't bitten by a rattlesnake or cottonmouth or any other viper. Those're nasty."
"I have seen the effects of viper venom in some of my men who were bitten by native species in North Africa," Dietrich said. "It is extremely ugly, and there were a handful of soldiers who had to be discharged from service entirely because they needed an arm or leg amputated."
"I don't think we'll need to worry about that."
"No, but neurotoxic venom is just as ugly when allowed to progress."
That wasn't something Hitch wanted to think about. He was more concerned about the fact that he felt fine now, although Anah said the coral snake did give him venom. How long would it take for the effects to start to show?
"Hopefully, Anah can get that potion done before anything happens," Tully said. He pressed a bandage down on Hitch's hand, holding it so Dietrich could wrap a layer of gauze around it.
"I know I was bitten by a copperhead once." Hitch winced. "No venom, though. I wonder why."
"Probably a warning that if you bugged it again, it'd give you venom."
Moffitt appeared in the bathroom doorway, dressed in a long, black cloak that came down just below his knees. "How is he doing?"
"I feel fine," Hitch said. "It's honestly scaring me."
"Stay calm. You've been through a lot worse than this."
"I would argue that the slower something is, the worse it is," Dietrich said. "You had best get going, Moffitt. Good luck."
"Thanks." Moffitt put the cloak's hood up as he turned to leave.
Almost as soon as Moffitt left, Troy went to check on Hitch. His expression had gone from utter confusion about the potion ingredients to one of concern. "Carolyn thinks this is her fault," Troy said.
"It's not," Hitch replied. "It's nobody's fault."
"She still shouldn't have run off," Tully said.
"Doesn't matter now." Troy leaned against the doorway. "We need ginger root, pumpkin, and ash leaves."
"Ash leaves are probably the easiest to acquire," Dietrich said. "We walked by a few Carolina ash trees in the woods."
"That leaves pumpkin and ginger."
"Is there canned pumpkin in the house somewhere? Anah said that would work."
"I'll go look."
Hitch gave Tully and Dietrich a nervous look. "Hey, did Moffitt already leave?"
"Yeah. Why?" Tully asked.
"I taste copper, like I've got a penny in my mouth. Is that normal?"
"Well, I would not say it is normal in general, but, yes, for your condition, it is normal," Dietrich said. "A few soldiers bitten by Saharan horned vipers said they had a strange metallic taste in their mouths after the bite occurred."
"One other thing…" A weak feeling was gradually intensifying, flowing from the epicenter of the bite on Hitch's hand. "There're two of each of you."
Tully looked at Dietrich. "I thought it'd be well over an hour before he started feeling anything."
"Apparently not," Dietrich said. "That coral snake really dug in and delivered."
"Well, I did nearly fall on it," Hitch said, his words starting to slur together. "Wasn't trying to hurt it. Just… make sure it didn't get to Carolyn… that's all."
"It was an accident. Accidents happen," Tully said. "Nobody should be blaming themselves or anyone else for what happened. We'll get this sorted out. Just hang in there."
Troy returned to the bathroom. "We have one can of pumpkin."
"That's all we need. Hitch is starting to feel the venom, Sarge."
"Wonderful." Troy sighed. "Hopefully Moffitt gets back here soon."
"We will stay with Hitch," Dietrich said. "I think you should distract Carolyn by getting the ash leaves with her."
"Yeah. That's a good idea." Troy turned to leave.
"And Troy?" Dietrich spoke up.
"What?" Troy paused, limping back to the bathroom door.
"None of the children should see this. The symptoms could become quite awful and shocking to look at. We have no idea how bad this is going to get before Moffitt and Anah return."
"Well, if the wives get back before they do, we're going to the hospital. For now, we're making a potion."
"We do have to think about the fact that Moffitt's walking into a witch village. Those aren't known for being nice places," Tully said. "He could get into a lotta trouble."
"So we do what we do best and break him out."
"With what, Sarge? You've got your handgun, I've got mine. We could give Hitch's to Dietrich. Three M1911s against a bunch of witches isn't going to do much."
"You say that like Troy will actually reconsider," Dietrich muttered.
"Well, we don't exactly have the jeeps and the .50s anymore. We've got the wagons that the kids brought—" Tully stopped when he saw the big grin spreading across Troy's face. "Oh, no."
"I see those evil gears turning in his brain," Dietrich said.
"Come on, Sarge, give Moffitt an hour!" Tully begged.
"Hitch might not have an hour," Troy said. "I'm not sitting around waiting."
"Moffitt could be on his way back for all we know," Dietrich replied.
"We don't know, though. We're going after Moffitt. Tully, get the wagons—"
"Sarge, who's gonna look after Hitch?" Tully asked.
"Eleanor. She's old enough. Dietrich, grab Hitch's gun and meet me outside." Troy switched his gaze between Tully and Dietrich's uncertain expressions, but his only response was to adjust his hat and utter a phrase he hadn't said in over fifteen years. "Let's shake it."
