Chapter 4: National Defense

There were no stars in the night sky, and the moon sat behind a still cloud. The darkness was stifling. The water littered with muck and algae. Rotten stumps that a hundred years ago were majestic hardwoods, protruded from shallow pools, the long-dead roots barely clinging to the soft, murky bottom. Tadpoles darted blindly through the black water, and the only noise was the creaking of old, worn trees in the breeze.

Above the shallows, a slow river flowed eastward. The River was only ten feet wide and a few feet deep at this point. The odd fish that swam this far upstream would quickly go hungry, or become a meal itself. The River would eventually pick up steam, but for now, was as still and quiet as The Swamp at its southern bank. The northern bank, while dry, was just as dark, and smelled just as rank. But some nights, like tonight, the northern bank wasn’t so still.

“I’m sssick of gnatsss and ssskinny frogsss.”

“Yesss, I am as well.”

“The Woodsss are fertile, and there are lotsss of munksss.

“But it isss dangerousss for usss.”

“I don’t care, I have to have sssome meat before I die of ssstarvation.”

“I ssshare your hunger, but you remember the lassst time.”

“Yesss, but we’ll be ready for them thisss time.”

“Are you sssure thisss will work?”

“Yesss, a beetle told me about an unguarded entranssse to The Woodsss as he begged me not to eat him”

“Ssso, the information isss reliable?”

“Yesss.”

“Where isss thisss beetle now?”

“He wasss dry and ssscrawny. Never again.”

After crossing the river from The Swamp, the two snakes crawled upward through the night. The vines became bushes, and bushes became trees, until finally they reached the edge of The Woods. There was no path from the south, as there was from the west from Dunwoody Grove. But there were always places where slithery snakes could squeeze into The Woods from the thick brush.

“I can sssmell them from here.”

“Yesss, ssso can I.”

“Let’sss go, my ssstomach is already growling.”

“Wait! Let’sss find the entranssse the beetle ssspoke of. A downed tree, hollowed and rotten. Thisss way.”

They slinked along the edge of The Woods, and found the fallen tree. It actually pointed towards a small gap in the trees forming the boundary. There were no signs of munks anywhere. They could certainly get in unnoticed from this area.

“Thisss is it.”

They started towards the gap, slowly at first. But as they got closer, the smell of munks became stronger, and the two snakes became hungrier and more excited. They started to move faster and faster, and the gap appeared larger and more reachable to their eyes. Once they were in, they could hide anywhere, and sneak up on munks for as long as they cared to eat.

They were almost in when one of the snakes slid over a dry branch. It rustled over a small clump of leaves. It made a slight ruffling sound that disturbed the quiet night air. The second snake looked over to his accomplice and warned, “Quiet! We’re almossst there.”

Just then, they heard a whoosh and felt a swift gust of air overhead. Then another whoosh. Then another. They heard a piercing screech, and then two, then three screeches one after the other. The snakes reared upright, and one took a thump to the back of its head. Then the other was scratched on its back. Then the first one was hit twice in the face. Then screeches began to fill the night air, coming from the left, right, and overhead. The snakes were flailing around, desperately seeking the source of the horrible noises. Suddenly, they were surrounded. Scratching, squealing bats dive-bombed them relentlessly. The snakes snapped at the air in vain as the swooping bats clawed away the scales on their backs. The dislodged scales twirled around in the gusts from the bats flapping wings like confetti.

Realizing their only choice was to back off, or lose all their scales, the snakes retreated and slinked off back to The Swamp. At the gap, the bats regrouped, with the biggest one barking orders to the rest. He divided them into two platoons in formation, one to guard the gap for the rest of the night, the other to continue the regular patrol route. The Woods would be safe for another night.