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Chapter 4
“So how far are we walking anyway?” Yulia asked.
“Oh, I’d say about 50 miles.” Lena answered.
“WHAT?! We have to *walk* 50 miles? In two weeks?!” Yulia said in disbelief.
“Would you relax? That averages out to about 3 Ѕ miles a day. Four at the most. Just think of it as a couple of circles around the mall except you have a river and the wilderness as scenery.” Lena said.
“Whatever. If my feet have bunions on them, *you* will be the one to rub them.” Yulia said.
“The day I rub your feet is the day I turn into a cheerleader.” Lena said.
Suddenly, Lena put her arm out in front of Yulia, abruptly bringing them both to a halt.
“What the hell did you do that for?” Yulia said angrily.
“Oh I dunno. I didn’t think that five foot black rat snake would appreciate you stepping on him.” Lena said.
“WHAT?! SNAKE?! WHERE?” Yulia screamed.
“Good gosh girl calm down! Watch this.” Lena said as she made her way towards the snake.
Lena approached the snake from behind as it was slithering away into the undergrowth. Slowly she picked up the tail…
“Lena! What are you doing?! Put that down! It’s going to bite you!” Yulia said as she began to panic.
“No it won’t!” Lena said as the snake frantically began trying to free itself from Lena’s grasp. “Get me a stick!”
Quickly Yulia threw Lena the closest stick she could find.
“Alright now watch. The snake is just scared. Notice how it’s just trying to get away and not bite me. You just have to put the stick underneath its belly about midsection to give it a feeling of support until it calms down.” Lena said.
Sure enough the snake stopped its wild movements and went into a slow, yet steady rhythm.
“See how it’s just gliding through my hands? It can tell that I don’t want to eat it. All it’s doing is trying to get away. See? All snakes are not that bad. You can come touch its tail if you want.” Lena said.
“Uh no that’s quite alright. I’ll just stay right here for now.” Yulia said as she took a few extra steps back just as a precaution.
As soon as Lena let the snake go, Yulia ran up to her and hit her on the shoulder.
“What are you trying to do? Give me a heart attack?! You could’ve gotten bit! Then what would I have done? Think before you act Katina!” Yulia said.
“Relax! Look, I’m fine. I handle snakes all the time. Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.” Lena said.
If only Yulia believed Lena when she said she knew her snakes, maybe she could’ve avoided what happened to her next.
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