Mercy

Michelle heard a twig snap above her. She glanced up at the branches a scant second before she felt a weight drop on her left foot. It took every ounce of willpower she possessed not to scream. Whatever had fallen was now slithering up her leg. She

froze, her hand gripping the flashlight in her lap, her finger on the switch.

'Theo, grab the oar,' she whispered, trying not to move a muscle. 'When I turn the light on, you've got to knock it out of the

boat. Okay?'

He didn't understand. What it? What was she talking about? He didn't question her, though. He simply picked up the oar, held

it like a baseball bat, and waited.

'I'm ready.'

She flipped the switch on. Theo felt his heart lurch in his chest. He almost dropped the oar when he saw the hideous black

snake. The monster's forked tongue was darting in and out, as though he were anticipating the morsel he was going to bite, his triangular flat head poised above Michelle's kneecap. He seemed to be looking into her eyes.

Time suspended as Theo swung the oar at the snake and hurled it into the water. He jumped to his feet and grabbed Michelle. 'Son of a bitch,' he roared. 'Son of a bitch.'

Michelle scrambled to her knees, her heart racing. She kept her flashlight beam trained on the snake, watching as it skimmed across the water into the bushes on the other side of the muddy bank. Then she scanned the water, reached out, and grabbed

the oar that Theo had thrown out. Dropping it on the floor of the boat, she leaned back. 'That was a close call.'

Theo was slapping at her legs. 'Did he get you?' he asked frantically.

'No, he didn't. He was probably more afraid than we were.'

'What the hell was it?'

'A cottonmouth,' she answered.

'Son of a… they're poisonous.'

'Yes,' she agreed. She grabbed his hand. 'Stop hitting me.'

'I just wanted to make sure there weren't any others…' He stopped when he realized how crazy he sounded.

'Any other snakes crawling up my pant leg? There aren't any. Trust me, I'd know. Try to calm down.'

'How can you be so friggin' calm? That thing was on your leg.'

She put her hand on his cheek. 'But you got rid of it.'

'Yeah, but…'

'Take a breath.'

She wasn't as calm as she sounded. When he put his arms around her, he could feel her trembling. 'You know what?'

'Let me guess. You hate snakes.'

'How'd you know I was going to say that?'

She smiled as she pulled away from him. 'I just had a feeling.'

'Let's get out of here.'

He put his hand into the water to see if he could push the boat away from the bank. His fingers felt as if they were being

sucked into the mud.

Michelle grabbed his arm and pulled him back. 'You don't want to put your hand in the water, not around here.'

He didn't need to ask why. He pictured an alligator leaping up at him and shuddered over the thought. Grabbing the oar, he used

it to push away. 'Do you think this way cuts through?'

'I've lived here all my life and I know these waters, but in the dark, I'm still second-guessing myself. I think this one dead ends about a quarter of a mile from here. If we keep going, we could get trapped, and I don't want to walk through the swamp. It

isn't safe, not at night, anyway. I think we should turn around and go back.'

'That's got my vote.'

'When we cross back over, let's use the oars and row across. If they're out there, they won't hear us.'

She picked up the other oar and helped him get the boat turned.

'If another damned snake lands in this boat, they'll hear me, all right.'

Theo changed places with Michelle and used the oars to get them to the opening of the channel. He stopped, then turned to look. 'What do you think? Can we make it back to

your place? If I could get to my cell phone-'

She interrupted him. 'We went too far downstream. We'd have to backtrack and that's pushing our luck.'

'Okay. We'll head straight across and hope there's a dock close.'

He couldn't see more than ten feet ahead of him but knew it was too risky to turn the flashlight on now. Michelle climbed over

the bench so she could get to the motor. She put her hand on the cord, ready to yank it if they were spotted. She was worrying about everything now. When was the last time she filled the motor with gas? She couldn't remember. What if they reached the middle and then the spotlight found them?

They were gliding across the water now. Theo's powerful arms worked the oars like an expert.

She could see the light scanning the water. 'They're looking for us in the channels,' she whispered.

Theo kept rowing but glanced behind him. The beam of light was crisscrossing the water, but the boat wasn't moving. It was

about two hundred yards away.

'They haven't seen us yet.'

'Should I turn the motor-'

'No.' His voice was urgent. 'Hang in there. We might make it.'

A minute later, the beam turned back in their direction. Michelle didn't wait for Theo to tell her to start the motor. She pulled hard. It didn't catch the first time. Theo swung the oars in and shoved Michelle down as a bullet whizzed past his head. She yanked on the rope and cried out when the engine sputtered to life.

Theo pulled his gun from the holster, shouted for Michelle to keep her head down, just as another bullet struck the water next to them. He propped his elbow on the bench and fired his weapon.

The bastards were coming fast now. Theo was trying to shoot out the spotlight. The first shot missed, but he heard someone

shout, and he hoped that meant he'd hit one of them. He squeezed the trigger again. He was on the mark this time. The bullet shattered the light, giving them maybe five, ten seconds max before one of the hitters turned his flashlight on them.

Michelle couldn't judge how close they were to the bank. She tried to reach the throttle to slow the boat down, but it was too late. The boat suddenly lurched up, out of the water, and slammed into thorny bushes. It didn't stop but bounced twice before striking a tree. The impact threw Theo into the front of the boat. He landed on his left side, slamming his knee into the aluminum. His upper arm, still throbbing from the cut from the window glass, hit the metal rim, tearing his skin and sending a jolt of pain down to his elbow.

Michelle's forehead struck the bench and she cried out as she threw her arms up to protect herself.

Theo leapt out of the boat, holstered his gun, and pulled Michelle. Dazed from the impact, she shook her head, trying to clear it

as she felt around the boat for the flashlight.

'Come on,' he shouted over the roar of the motor coming closer and closer.

He was lifting her when she found the flashlight. Jerking her arm free, she snatched it. Her heart was slamming against her sternum, and her head felt as though it had been split apart, the pain almost blinding as she