HOME | DD

Description
Scene from my upcoming sequel to "The Outsider"

Two days after they started excavating, Ruthie came across her first rattlesnake. She was only three feet away from it when she heard the sinister hissing. Her heart jumped into her throat as she looked towards the sound. Sure enough, there it was, staring at her and ready to strike. Fortunately the snake was only about three feet long and just out of range. Also, Ruthie knew what she needed to do. She slowly backed away to get herself further out of its striking range. Jacob heard the hissing and saw his companion's legs shaking as she slowly stepped backwards.

"Keep your eyes on it. I'll show you what to do. We're gonna be dealing with this a lot."

From the pickup he grabbed a four-foot pole that had a short piece of metal that opened and closed. He calmly walked up to the snake and clamped the lever on its neck. He then grabbed the tail and carefully lifted it up, keeping the tail and body well above the head. He walked with it about 50 yards away, opened the lever, and casually dropped it on the ground.

"Mark's always coming out here to shoot 'em. I keep telling him that's stupid, 'cause they do serve a purpose. I always just move 'em."

He handed the pole to the graduate student and told her to practice opening and closing the lever.

"I'll have you practice on the next one."

"Uhh... maybe I can just leave this part to you?"

"Yeah. And what happens if I'm not around? And there's something you gotta get to fast? Let's say, one's sittin' next to your canteen, it's your last water, and you just gotta have a drink? What are you gonna do? Wait all day for him to go away? And if he does go away, that's not gonna help. He's still gonna be around, just now you're not gonna know where he is. And you're gonna be wondering: 'where's the fucking snake? Where'd he go?'"

Ruthie sighed. She had not signed up for snake-handling, but Jacob was right. It was a skill she'd have to learn.

Later that afternoon, Jacob called her over to a slab opposite the pickup truck. At first she thought he had found something interesting. However, he was holding the snake-pole and she could hear the sinister-sounding hiss. Shit. That meant he was serious about forcing her to learn how to move rattlesnakes and it was show time.

The second snake was slightly bigger than the first one, about four feet long. He used the pole to grab it by the neck, like he did before, and then grabbed the tail, making sure she saw each step of what he was doing. Then, to her dismay, he set the snake back on the ground and released its neck.

"I'll talk you through it. You might have to do it a couple of times to get the hang of it."

With that, he handed the pole to Ruthie, with the snake curled up and savagely hissing the whole time.

"Easy... easy. Go slow. Get the clamp about three inches down from the head. Good. Release." (He meant the control lever that closed the trap shut on the snake's neck.)

Ruthie was trembling and her hands were unsteady, but she managed to grab the neck where instructed.

"That was the hard part. Now, get the tail. Keep your hand clear of the head. A quick grab, and lift."

Ruthie managed that part on the first try. She was still trembling, but she lifted the snake to chest level.

"That's it! You got him! He's yours! Now, walk him out of here."

As she moved towards the open area beyond the landslide, she was surprised by how still her captive remained. As long as she kept the body well above the head, it wasn't going to do anything. She moved well beyond the fifty yards Jacob recommended. When she let go of that rattler, she definitely never wanted to see it again. Following his instructions, she dropped the snake, stepped back, and released the lever holding its neck. The viper immediately curled up and got ready to strike, but they were safely out of the way and could ignore it.

Description
Scene from my upcoming sequel to "The Outsider"

Two days after they started excavating, Ruthie came across her first rattlesnake. She was only three feet away from it when she heard the sinister hissing. Her heart jumped into her throat as she looked towards the sound. Sure enough, there it was, staring at her and ready to strike. Fortunately the snake was only about three feet long and just out of range. Also, Ruthie knew what she needed to do. She slowly backed away to get herself further out of its striking range. Jacob heard the hissing and saw his companion's legs shaking as she slowly stepped backwards.

"Keep your eyes on it. I'll show you what to do. We're gonna be dealing with this a lot."

From the pickup he grabbed a four-foot pole that had a short piece of metal that opened and closed. He calmly walked up to the snake and clamped the lever on its neck. He then grabbed the tail and carefully lifted it up, keeping the tail and body well above the head. He walked with it about 50 yards away, opened the lever, and casually dropped it on the ground.

"Mark's always coming out here to shoot 'em. I keep telling him that's stupid, 'cause they do serve a purpose. I always just move 'em."

He handed the pole to the graduate student and told her to practice opening and closing the lever.

"I'll have you practice on the next one."

"Uhh... maybe I can just leave this part to you?"

"Yeah. And what happens if I'm not around? And there's something you gotta get to fast? Let's say, one's sittin' next to your canteen, it's your last water, and you just gotta have a drink? What are you gonna do? Wait all day for him to go away? And if he does go away, that's not gonna help. He's still gonna be around, just now you're not gonna know where he is. And you're gonna be wondering: 'where's the fucking snake? Where'd he go?'"

Ruthie sighed. She had not signed up for snake-handling, but Jacob was right. It was a skill she'd have to learn.

Later that afternoon, Jacob called her over to a slab opposite the pickup truck. At first she thought he had found something interesting. However, he was holding the snake-pole and she could hear the sinister-sounding hiss. Shit. That meant he was serious about forcing her to learn how to move rattlesnakes and it was show time.

The second snake was slightly bigger than the first one, about four feet long. He used the pole to grab it by the neck, like he did before, and then grabbed the tail, making sure she saw each step of what he was doing. Then, to her dismay, he set the snake back on the ground and released its neck.

"I'll talk you through it. You might have to do it a couple of times to get the hang of it."

With that, he handed the pole to Ruthie, with the snake curled up and savagely hissing the whole time.

"Easy... easy. Go slow. Get the clamp about three inches down from the head. Good. Release." (He meant the control lever that closed the trap shut on the snake's neck.)

Ruthie was trembling and her hands were unsteady, but she managed to grab the neck where instructed.

"That was the hard part. Now, get the tail. Keep your hand clear of the head. A quick grab, and lift."

Ruthie managed that part on the first try. She was still trembling, but she lifted the snake to chest level.

"That's it! You got him! He's yours! Now, walk him out of here."

As she moved towards the open area beyond the landslide, she was surprised by how still her captive remained. As long as she kept the body well above the head, it wasn't going to do anything. She moved well beyond the fifty yards Jacob recommended. When she let go of that rattler, she definitely never wanted to see it again. Following his instructions, she dropped the snake, stepped back, and released the lever holding its neck. The viper immediately curled up and got ready to strike, but they were safely out of the way and could ignore it.