"How?" Trevor asked.
"Um." Conner looked around and then pointed. "Go get that stick. One of you can poke the snake and hopefully it'll just go right into our damn trap."
Adam crossed his arms against his muscular chest. "You're making it sound awfully easy."
"It's a better idea than yanking it by the tail."
Trevor returned with the stick. "So? Should we get ready?"
"Yeah," Conner walked a curved path a good distance behind the rattlesnake. He paced himself cautiously, inching closer to Jared's shoes. When he was a couple feet away, he crouched low. He looked into Jared's eyes. "If it bites you, we'll get you to the hospital."
Adam muttered, "And if it bites you, we'll get you to the hospital."
Conner meticulously positioned the opened shirt-bag above Jared's knees and then lowered it steadily to the ground. His hand trembled, causing the stick to vibrate and the edge of the shirt to droop onto the ground. In response, the snake moved its head, and its tail rattled.
The snake's movement scared the hell out of him, but he stiffened his body to avoid reacting. His heart jackhammered. Biting his lip, he held his breath. Then he gently beckoned with his head for Trevor.
Conner's biceps spasmed. Sweat pooled in his armpit and streaked down his torso.
"Gently tap it," he said.
Trevor set the stick against the snake's body, and it jerked into a tighter ball. Its rattle vibrated.
"Ew. No, no, no," Trevor whispered.
Conner inched the shirt closer to the snake's head. "If it races in there, this stick won't support the weight. One of us will have to grab the trap as fast as we can. Okay?"
"Uh, huh."
"Now, kinda push it so it goes into our trap."
Jared fixed his eyes onto Conner's, as if silently pleading, this better work.
Conner took a deep breath. "Get ready."
"Okay," Trevor replied in a tone that was undeniably more irritated than encouraging.
"It'll work," Adam mumbled.
Conner motioned with his head. Trevor poked with the stick. The snake rattled and sprung forward a few inches.
"Again," Conner said.
Trevor poked.
The snake slithered right into the bag.
As expected, the snake's weight yanked the shirts off the Y-stick.
Both Conner and Trevor dove for the trap.
The snake writhed in the folds of the fabric and then ceased moving.
Trevor clutched the trapped snake, heaved it from the ground, and tossed it towards the woods. Unfortunately, it didn't sail far. The encased reptile thumped against the etched tree and fell onto the dirt with a thud.
Jared jumped to his feet, nearly knocking Conner to the ground.
The snake, rightfully angry, coiled and raised its rattling tail.
All four guys darted several feet away with a frightened cry.
Then the snake slithered right through a gap into the etched tree.
"Yuck. Gross!" Adam shuddered in an exaggerated dance.
The four jumped onto each other, hooting and hollering.
Conner inspected Jared's bloody palm. "What happened?"
Jared clutched it to his stomach. "The guy twisted the tip of a pocketknife into my hand. It's fine, let's get outta here."
"That son of a bitch!" Adam shouted. "Let's kick his ass."
"Forget him," Jared replied. "I don't want anything to do with him. Let's just go."
As the four raced through the field, Conner asked, "Did you guys find the goat?"
"No."
"Yes!" Adam exclaimed. "Billy's still free!"
* * *
The four carried on with the vacation, rendering the goat incident as one they might reflect on in the future. They continued to hang out at the cabin and swim in the lake, and they enjoyed two afternoons on the boat Mr. Wheeler had rented. For the most part, they avoided town, realizing that trouble wasn't something they wanted to encounter again during the trip.
Jared often appeared to be deep in thought. Yet when his friends questioned his silent preoccupation, he claimed he was just thinking about stuff. And when they asked him about trying to find the goat, Jared would only say the man had gotten angry and jabbed his hand with a knife before dropping the rattlesnake at his feet.
Late one night, Conner and Jared sat on the twin beds, discussing the activities of that day. At one point, Jared seemed stunned by something on his phone. When he went into the bathroom, he left his phone on the bed. So, Conner crept over to take a peek. Expecting to see text messages or a series of photos, Conner was surprised to see a Wikipedia page titled Cambion.
When Jared had finally fallen asleep, Conner typed Cambion into his browser. According to the search results, a cambion was a half-human, half-demon offspring. The term had been used for centuries. The concept of the hybrid was widely considered a truth, gaining popularity during the nineteenth century.
And that was as far as Conner researched. He didn't want to learn more. He didn't want to ask Jared about it. And he certainly didn't want to mention it to Adam and Trevor. He considered it to be directly linked to the goat incident with the strange man, and he wanted to push that experience to the farthest corner of his mind.
Mr. Wheeler had rented the boat for the final afternoon at the lake. In spite of the cloudy sky, it was a warm day. The guys enjoyed spending time on the water, sailing and splashing around in Lake Bantam. Once they returned to the cabin, it was time to sit down for dinner. Then the evening was spent cleaning areas of the house and gathering personal belongings before their departure in the morning.
The night was a cool sixty degrees, and the area was alive with life following the light rain earlier in the day. Frogs called out to potential mates or to lay claim to their territories. Occasionally, a bird screeched in the distance. An owl hooted somewhere nearby. Insects chirped and buzzed or whined. The cicadas emitted a chorus of noise that escalated and weakened throughout the night. At one point, they seemed to join forces to
