‘That’s another one!’
‘Its mate probably fell down while they were getting frisky. It’s mating season.’
‘It’s still down here somewhere,’ Bel said nervously, torn between keeping an eye on the snake above and searching for the one that had fallen.
‘I got him,’ Dean said, crouching down by some nearby equipment.
‘Youwhat?’ Bel’s eyes widened as she watched him reach under and withdraw the reptile. ‘Oh my God. Are you insane?’
‘He’ll want to get back up to his girlfriend. There you go, mate,’ he said, taking him across to the wall, where the terrifyingly large snake proceeded to cautiously navigate the rough timber walls as it made its way back up onto the exposed rafters above.
Bel gave a shiver of revulsion, scampering off the pile of feed and out of the dim shed.
‘They aren’t poisonous,’ Dean said. ‘He was probably more shocked than you were.’
‘I highly doubt that,’ she said as another huge shiver wracked her body.So gross. ‘Are you just going to leave them in there?’
‘They keep the rats and mice away.’
‘And now me. I’m never going in that damn shed again.’
‘You probably won’t even see them after this.’
‘That’s not comforting at all.’Notseeing them was far more terrifying than seeing them, now that she knew theywere there. Then she suddenly remembered the other thing she’d found.
‘Dean, there’s something else,’ she said, pointing at the wooden box. She watched him retrieve it and bring it outside. He lifted the lid.
‘What the hell is that doing here?’ he asked.
Bel shook her head. ‘I have no idea. But I know who will.’
